(Cyrus Pov)

Walking through the door, I noticed that the environment was completely different from the last area I was in. Wherever I was, it was pitch black—almost as if I were in a void of nothingness. Blind and with no sense of direction, I proceeded to take steps forward. After walking a couple of hundred steps or so, I started to see faint glimmers of light ahead of me, as if they were the Northern Star leading me to sanctuary.

The closer I got to the glimmer of light, the more I realized it was some kind of carving infused with faint traces of cosmic energy. Analyzing the glowing etchings in the wall-like structure, I noticed it wasn't a language anyone in the physical world would speak or write. "Of course, my only hope for guidance would be some ancient celestial runes. I probably should have paid closer attention when Grandpa was trying to teach me."

Knowing I couldn't read the runes, I had an idea. Since there was a faint hum of cosmic energy embedded within the carving, I decided to test a theory. Placing my hand on the structure, I imbued a small amount of cosmic energy into it. Nothing happened at first, but then lines resembling veins began to form, and light blue streaks of cosmic energy shot down the wall-like structure, illuminating a path for me to take. "I knew it. I may not have paid attention to the runes when I was younger, but I do know one thing—runes respond to cosmic energy," I muttered.

With the cosmic veins lighting the way down the dim path, I noticed the floor beginning to curve, deviating from its previously straight course. When I reached the end, three more faintly glowing runes stood before me. "Damn, so I gotta choose now. Fuck." Realizing I had to make a choice on which path to take next, I now understood why previous Starbound had failed to clear this rift.

There was no way to tell which path was the correct one. Each rune emitted the same cosmic energy flow and vibrational hum. My gut told me to pick the one in the middle, so I reached out and activated it the same way I had the other carving. Just like before, the light blue veins started to glow and pulse outward from the center.

This time, the dark wall-like structure began to open, forming a pathway as if it were a door to a secret passage. Sensing into the newly opened space, I tried to detect anything emitting malicious intent, but I found no such presence. Taking a deep breath, I stepped into the passageway.

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This new path was even darker than the last, and I walked for what felt like several hundred meters without seeing a single faintly glowing rune. "Maybe this path just happens to be longer," I thought to myself, trying to stay calm. I decided to keep going but was abruptly stopped in my tracks. My face collided with a cold, stone-like structure. "Don't tell me this is a dead end. Just my luck, huh?" Without hesitation, I turned around and started walking back toward the passage's opening, annoyed that I had come all this way for nothing.

As I made my way back through the pitch-black cavern-like passageway, I started to hear faint snickers. "Chill out, Cy. You're just hearing things. This place is empty," I said, trying to convince myself. But the farther I walked, the louder and more frequent the snickering became. "Okay, now I'm either going insane from being in this rift, or something is stalking me."

Before taking another step, I reinforced my astral form with a protective layer of cosmic energy. Taking a few more cautious steps, I finally saw the faint glow of cosmic energy lining the walls and let out a sigh of relief. Eager to escape this eerie passageway, I took one more step, preparing to sprint out—but my progress was halted when I felt something grab hold of my left ankle. "You've got to be kidding me." Before I could react, I was dragged to the ground.

The snickering I had heard earlier turned into deep growls as I was pulled backward into the dark depths of the passageway. Imbuing cosmic energy into my hands, I tried to dig into the floor to stop myself from being dragged further. Whatever was pulling me wasn't physically stronger than me once I anchored myself, but its grip was firm. Channeling cosmic energy into my leg, I raised it and performed an axe kick, attempting to shake off whatever had hold of me.

When my foot crashed into the floor, I heard a whimper, and the grip around my ankle loosened. Immediately, I sent a burst of energy into my legs and exploded out of the dead-end passageway. I didn't look back to see what it was—all I cared about was escaping and surviving. As soon as I reached the exit, I wasted no time channeling cosmic energy into the rune to seal the passage. "So, I guess that was the wrong way, huh?" I muttered, catching my breath.

When the door to the passageway closed, I heard an eerie noise. It wasn't the same sound I had heard in the dead-end tunnel. This sound was more mechanical, almost as if gears and plates were shifting behind the runes. "You've got to be kidding me. As if creatures lurking in the shadows weren't enough, this damn place is a shifting maze too. Dad really might have been right—a grade two rift was something I was not prepared for."