Lyra was half out of her seat, her white hair flying everywhere.
"LET GO! LET GO RIGHT NOW! WE'RE GONNA DIIIIIE—"
CRUNCH? THUD?
Nope.
There was a single sound
THUD.
The spaceship stopped. Instantly. Mid-air.
Everyone blinked.
Outside, Tyrant stood exactly where he had been one hand up, palm pressed against the nose of the ship like he was stopping a rolling cart at the grocery store.
The engines roared. Dust flew. Grass flattened in a perfect circle around him.
But Tyrant didn't move an inch. His coat didn't even flutter.
He sighed through his nose. Still holding the ship back with one hand, he adjusted his glasses with the other. Then, through the cockpit window, he looked directly at Boboboy and Lyra, both tangled in the seats.
"Children," he said dryly, "please don't try to kill me with breakfast before lunch. It's terribly impolite."
He gave the ship's hull a small pat, like calming a nervous animal. "Also, you're scuffing the landing struts."
Inside, Lyra slumped back into her seat, out of breath, her face pale.
Boboboy slowly let go of the yoke, looking down at Tyrant in awe.
"...Wow," he whispered. "He stopped the waffle."
He turned to Lyra, beaming. "Can we do it again?!"
Lyra groaned and dropped her face into her hands.
LATER...
The green light of the valley slowly faded as night arrived. The sky turned deep purple and dark blue. Soft-glowing plants lit up around the big, still lake shining like tiny emeralds and sapphires. The water was so calm it looked like a second sky, full of stars. It felt like the whole world was made of light and silence.
Boboboy sat beside Lyra on a smooth, warm rock. He gently kicked his bare feet in the water, making little ripples dance across the reflection of the stars.
After a long pause, he asked quietly, "Why is it so... empty?"
He looked around at the glowing plants and the quiet lake. "It's really pretty. Like a dream. But… nobody's here."
Lyra hugged her knees, her white hair glowing faintly in the plant light. It made her look like a ghost or an angel. She gave a small smile, but it didn't reach her eyes.
"There are lots of places like this in the Eternity," she said softly. "Beautiful. Quiet. Forgotten. The Federation finds them, writes notes about them, maybe sends a few scientists. But they never stay. People like noise. Power. Crowds. Cities. Dirt."
She sighed. "Places like where we live."
Boboboy blinked. "Eternity?"
It sounded like a magic word.
Lyra looked at him. "Eternity is… everything. All the space we travel. It's made of four parts , four universes. Or… it was."
She hesitated. "Now there are only three."
Boboboy's face scrunched up. "What happened to the other one?"
Lyra didn't answer right away. Her hand gently touched the shiny metal of Recruiter on her belt.
"It's gone," she said finally, her voice quiet. "One universe… disappeared."
Boboboy didn't really understand. He just said, "Oh."
There was a pause. Then Lyra turned fully toward him. Her face was in shadow, but her bright blue eyes caught the starlight. She leaned in a little, and her voice changed. It was still soft, but it had a sharp edge now. Secret. Serious.
"Boboboy…" she said, tilting her head. "Do you wanna see them? The other universes? The stars? The places full of light and noise and people?"
Boboboy's eyes lit up. "In Waffle? Flying?"
"Yes," Lyra whispered. Her smile came back but it felt strange now. Tight. Like it was hiding something. "Just you and me. Flying through the Eternity. Seeing everything."
Boboboy opened his mouth, excited… but then her smile faded again. Something in her face shifted. She didn't look like the happy, playful Lyra anymore. She looked older. Tired. Sharp.
Her hand moved closer to Recruiter.