In the next five seconds, silence gripped the Conclave forces as they struggled to process what had just occurred. The concept of a black hole was something they had only studied from afar, a distant cosmic phenomenon at the center of the galaxy, safely observed but never experienced. Now, faced with the unimaginable reality of being caught in its devastating force, panic set in. The terror was overwhelming—horror-inducing, will-breaking, and utterly impossible to combat.
Ten seconds later, the urgency hit them. With only fifteen seconds left to respond or face another round of annihilation, chaos erupted. Frenzied shouting filled the air as soldiers and commanders alike screamed for their leaders to surrender. Discipline, rank, and years of training were forgotten in the face of imminent death, as the overwhelming fear of being obliterated consumed them.