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Chapter 3 - Lost in the Void

Darkness folded over them like a velvet curtain.

After the cold awakening on the SS-BANGTAN, time lost all meaning. None of the members remembered how or when it happened. One moment, they were together, confused but united. Next, each of them drifted alone in blackness, like stars scattered across a void.

And when they awoke again...

They were changed.

Namjoon opened his eyes to soft violet light. He was lying beneath a glowing tree whose leaves shimmered like binary code. He sat up slowly, blinking at a sky full of three moons and spiraling data clouds.

"Where...?" he whispered.

His voice sounded the same, but his body felt different—lighter, stronger. He glanced at his hands. The fingers were longer, subtly reinforced with a silver sheen.

Then he noticed a small star-shaped mark glowing on his forearm. Faint but pulsing. Familiar.

And then came the song. Soft. Ethereal. A lullaby stuck somewhere between his ears and his chest. A melody he didn't know, but felt like he should.

"You are the echo in the silence... the rhythm in the void..."

Footsteps echoed nearby. Namjoon stood, startled. A figure approached, humanoid but featureless—its face a holographic screen, scrolling symbols he couldn't read.

"Subject RM. Mind-stable. Emotional core intact," it said in a robotic voice. "Welcome to Archive Moon Theta-7."

"Where are the others?" Namjoon demanded.

"Your crew has been scattered across Sector Echo."

"Why?"

"Synchronization malfunction. Emotional frequency fragmented. Mission paused."

Namjoon clenched his fists.

"Then I need to find them. All of them."

The figure tilted its head.

"You will. Follow the melody. They hear it too."

_____

Jin gasped as he woke in a glass chamber filled with bioluminescent plants, glowing softly in neon blues and greens. The air was warm and floral, but the walls reflected a hundred versions of him, some older, some younger, some not quite human.

"Is this… a simulation?" he muttered.

He caught sight of himself in the largest mirror. His face looked the same, flawless as ever, but there was a silver trace along his jawline. A synthetic enhancement? He touched his cheek, startled to feel warmth. Still handsome.

A star-shaped glow pulsed on his neck, like a birthmark.

"Okay, nope. This isn't a dream," he said aloud. "Or if it is, it's got too much budget."

He stood, inspecting the plants. Some responded to his voice, swaying as if listening. He hummed instinctively, just a random line from an old BTS song, and the entire room lit up.

Then came the voice. Soft. Feminine. From the intercom above.

"Subject JIN. Designation: Empath. Status: Calibrating."

"Can you please calibrate me back to Earth?" he groaned.

"You are not broken. You are becoming."

"Great. A riddle," he muttered. "Where's a door when you need one?"

One of the mirrors shimmered, turning transparent. A long hallway stretched beyond.

"Follow the harmony," the voice said.

"You know, I really miss our manager right now," Jin sighed as he walked through.

_____

Yoongi's eyes snapped open to darkness.

The only light came from the walls, engraved with glowing circuitry that pulsed like veins. He lay inside a chamber that hummed beneath him, and metal tendrils gently detached from his skin as he sat up.

"Okay... not the studio," he muttered.

He groaned as he moved, his arms aching. When he glanced down, he gasped.

His forearms shimmered with embedded lines of metallic alloy, sleek, dark, and elegant. He flexed his hands. They moved with perfect control, like he'd had them forever. A glowing star mark shimmered on his left hand, near the knuckle.

"What... the hell is this?"

A robotic voice chimed from the walls.

"Subject SUGA. Synchronization: 97%. Cognitive integrity: stable."

"Cognitive—wait, am I... enhanced?"

"Resonant frequencies embedded. You are the Soundsmith."

Yoongi sighed. "I don't want a title. I want to know where my friends are."

"Fragmented across the Echo Sector. All subjects carry the melody. Follow the signal."

Yoongi stood, rubbing his neck.

"Of course they dumped me in a sound lab. And of course, it's my job to fix this mess."

_____

Hoseok screamed midair before flipping into a slow-motion landing.

He hovered inside a zero-gravity dome. Metallic shapes floated around him, like frozen dancers in mid-spin. The floor, ceiling, and walls rotated in a lazy spiral, turning reality on its side.

"Whoa, okay," he muttered, flipping midair, "either I'm dreaming or I'm in a dance video directed by aliens."

He laughed nervously and floated toward a console that drifted past. His reflection shimmered in its polished surface. He looked, upgraded. His eyes glowed faintly gold.

A star mark pulsed above his heart.

Then came the beat, a low rhythm echoing in his ears. A heartbeat, yet also a song. His limbs began to move in time with it, involuntarily at first.

"Subject J-Hope. Kinetic sync: 72%," a voice said from above. "Locomotion stabilizing."

"Yeah? I'm stabilizing too," he said, twisting into a perfect flip. "Kinda."

"Now where's my group?"

The voice paused.

"The others are scattered. You are the anchor."

"So I've gotta dance my way across the galaxy to find them?" he smirked. "Sounds like something I'd do."

_____

Jimin opened his eyes to silence.

Not just the absence of noise, but the kind that rang in your ears. He stood in a city of glass buildings, like tuning forks, with streets that reflected like mirrors. The sky was blue, but the world was still.

He moved slowly. Each footstep barely made a sound.

"Hello?" he called.

No answer.

He pressed a hand to his chest. The soft star mark glowed blue just under his collarbone.

And then, a single note. A clear, emotional tone that escaped his lips like a sob.

Immediately, light pulsed from the buildings. The city reacted not with noise, but with emotion. The windows rippled with color. The silence wasn't dead. It was waiting.

"Are you... listening to me?" he asked.

"Subject JIMIN. Empath channel open. Language: emotion."

"I don't understand. Where's everyone else?"

"Follow the light inside you. They are doing the same."

Jimin nodded.

"I'll find them. I always do."

_____

Taehyung blinked against soft, golden light. He stood at the center of a theater with velvet curtains drawn back, spotlight warm on his skin. A galaxy shimmered overhead instead of a ceiling. Rows of ghostlike figures sat silently in the audience, watching.

"Is this… a dream encore?" he asked aloud.

Spotlights flicked on around him. He glanced down. His hands glowed faintly, threads of color dancing between his fingers.

The star mark was on the back of his neck.

A violin hovered in the air beside him.

He picked it up, instinctively placing it under his chin. He hadn't played in years, but it responded to his touch like an extension of his soul.

The ghostly crowd stood, faces forming, glowing with emotion. Some wept. Some smiled. All real.

"You are the channel," said a voice from the wings. "You awaken memory."

"Then help me find the others," he said quietly.

"They remember you. They are looking too."

He played a single note.

The theater dissolved into stars.

_____

Jungkook gasped, awake on a metallic floor. Around him rose circular giant walls, echoing with deep pulses like a heartbeat. It felt like a coliseum. He rose to his feet quickly, panting. He wasn't hurt, just stunned.

He looked down. His arms were glowing faintly. His right hand radiated with energy, flickering like sound waves. A star-shaped symbol shone on the back of his wrist.

Then the creatures came. Humanoid dark shadows flickering. Soundless.

He raised his fists instinctively. A pulse of sound shot out, knocking the closest one backward.

"What the—"

Another shadow charged. He punched it. Again, the impact released a shockwave of pure melody.

"How am I doing this?!"

"You are the Guardian," a calm female voice said. "You protect the bond."

"Where's everyone else?!" he growled.

"Scattered. You are the connection point."

He inhaled. He fought his way forward, calling out in every direction.

"Hyung! HYUNG!"

Somewhere, faintly, he heard a reply.

"Jungkook!" Taehyung's voice. A melody surged in his chest.

Across scattered planets and strange machines, seven voices hummed a tune only they could hear.

Seven lights glowed across the cosmos.

They were no longer in Seoul. No longer in the world they knew. Their bodies had changed, their roles unclear—but their bond? That remained.

Somewhere beyond the galaxies, a melody waited to reunite them.

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