The Color Out of Time | Spooky Stories Co. 🎃

Summary

In the dark infinity of space, the crew of the spaceship, 'The Ark', follows a kaleidoscopic apparition to a desolate crater on planet KE-56. Succumbing to obsession over time-bending crystals found in the crater, the crew unknowingly sets into motion the awakening of a cosmic entity older than time itself. Veteran Geologist Noopad, the lone survivor immune to the transfixing power of the crystals, sacrifices himself to halt the birth of this unholy entity. On earth, his last transmission stands as a chilling testament to the destructive capacity of man's curiosity when faced with the unknown.

The interstellar vessel named 'The Ark' roamed through the eternal darkness, carrying with it a crew of the earth's most intellectual beings—all headed to the distant planet KE-56. Geological surveys, carried from earth, estimated the planet as a volatile world, yet dusted with enticing rich resources.

Noopad, the veteran geologist among the boffin crew, first noticed the abnormal phenomenon. An ethereal color, as captivating as it was frightening, ebbed into the surroundings. It wasn't any hue comprehensible to the human eye, but a spectral shimmer more akin to the diverse, bizarre colors of deep space.

Curiosity led them to approach the color source—a desolate crater. Inside, they found an agglomerate of otherworldly crystals, the origin of the kaleidoscopic display. Every researcher was immediately obsessed, defying Noopad's warnings of unnatural radiation readings.

Noopad's anxiety materialized when the crew began to change. Their personalities, even their physiology morphed. They raved about knowledge from the past, future, and times never existed on earth, gifted to them by ethereal whispers from the crystals.

Word of a massive cosmic entity reached Noopad's ears—a timeless leviathan that predates even the universe. The crystals were its spawn, seeds sent through time and space to terraform planets for its coming.

Noopad found himself alone in sanity as the crew, now entranced by the crystals, became agents of the unholy leviathan—hastening to awaken the seeds to call the monstrosity.

Unable to convince or overpower the crystal-infected crew, Noopad, in an act of desperation, blew up The Ark's warp drive—the resulting supernova was enough to obliterate the planet. The explosion consumed him but denied the cosmic entity's birth.

The tale concludes with the earth receiving one last transmission from Noopad, warning humanity of the vitiated color out of time. A solemn lesson to hold our curiosity, for some truths are too monstrous to bear, and some mysteries should remain untouched in the fabric of reality.