A Different Doraemon World

Everyone's faces turned pale. Kelly trembled as she asked, "How… how could this happen? I don't understand… You exist as electromagnetic waves, so how can you be attacked, let alone… killed?"

Doraemon struggled to sit up, leaning against Nobita for support, panting heavily, his body trembling uncontrollably. He said in a panicked voice, "I don't know! I don't know! When I left this robotic cat body just now, my thoughts suddenly became blank. Then, the ions composing my consciousness began to dissipate. If I hadn't managed to return to this body in time, I fear I would have vanished, just like the other Përjetësia here!"

Everyone stared in stunned silence at Doraemon's words. They had never seen him so distraught. Connie, still in disbelief, bit her lip and said, "That's impossible! Consciousness can't die—it's not even physical! You've transcended your physical forms!"

Doraemon lowered his head. "While it's true that consciousness is not constrained by lifespan, theoretically, it can still be destroyed. It's akin to mental illness or a vegetative state in humans. The body may remain intact, but it's just an empty shell—because their consciousness is already in a half-dead state."

Nobody could respond. The more Doraemon explained, the paler everyone's faces became. The Përjetësia, their final hope, now seemed just as vulnerable.

Doraemon continued in anguish, "But this shouldn't be possible. We, the Përjetësia, resolved this issue billions of years ago. Although we exist as electromagnetic brainwaves, we're far more than just simple waves. How could anyone destroy us? Who… who attacked this place?"

"Could it be… connected to that black spot?" Karen speculated shakily. After all, it was the only suspicious element. But what was that black spot? Was it a living creature or some kind of weapon? Why did it attack the sun? And was it truly connected to the deaths of the Përjetësia here?

There were too many unanswered questions, and nobody had any answers—not even Doraemon, the one they had always relied on to solve everything.

Shizuka gripped her trident and spoke gravely, "If I'm going to die, I want to die on Earth, to die with Atlantis." If even the Përjetësia were in such dire straits, what could humans or the Atlanteans possibly do? She had placed her faith in the Përjetësia for the second time, only for it to shatter again. But this time, she didn't blame Doraemon. After all, he was only trying to make amends for the Përjetësia past mistakes.

Kelly's group also agreed with Shizuka. None of them wanted to die in a foreign land. To die far from one's homeland was already a sorrowful fate for a human being, let alone dying here—on an alien-constructed observation station, light-years away from Earth.

Nobita looked at everyone, who seemed to have accepted their fate, and felt an overwhelming sorrow. But what could he say? Even if he were destined to become "Father" in the future, right now, he was just a clumsy boy. He had always relied on Doraemon's gadgets. If even Doraemon couldn't do anything, what could he possibly do?

Doraemon looked at the group, sighed, and nodded. "Alright, I'll take everyone back."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Knowing the inevitable outcome, resisting further would make no difference. A calm acceptance seemed to settle over them all.

Everyone boarded the spaceship and secured their seats. The spacecraft slowly moved through the wide corridor, departing from the observation station and leaving behind the colossal artificial celestial body. Through the large electronic screen onboard, they watched the station recede into the distance. Out in the infinite expanse of space, the massive blue sphere grew smaller and smaller.

After all their efforts and hopes, after coming face-to-face with the pinnacle of evolution and witnessing the technological wonders of an alien civilization, they had been so close. The radiant light of tomorrow was blossoming before them, only to—poof—vanish like a fragile candle flame. In just a moment, it was all snuffed out. The cruelest irony? None of them even knew what mysterious force had extinguished it all.

Bang! Connie slammed her fist against the wall. Everyone remained silent. Doraemon, meanwhile, began the preparations for a warp jump. Earlier, due to the need to travel 500 years into the future, the ship's fuel had been almost entirely depleted. This had prevented him from initiating the procedure. However, after resupplying at the observation station, the fuel levels were sufficiently restored, and Doraemon decided to activate the jump, determined to get everyone home as quickly as possible.

The spaceship moved farther and farther away from the observation station, and Pluto was now visible in the distance. Doraemon had almost completed the setup for the jump, reaching the final stages. Just as he was about to initiate the warp jump, the ship suddenly began to shake.

This wasn't the up-and-down jolt they had experienced on the time machine earlier. This time, the shaking was rotational, spinning in a way they hadn't encountered before.

Caught off guard, everyone was thrown to the floor. Doraemon nearly fell out of the pilot's seat. He shouted at the electronic screen, "Aktivizoni stabilizoni e gravitetit! (Activate the gravitational stabilizer!)" Once stabilized, the ship steadied somewhat, but the ongoing tremors revealed that it was still spinning uncontrollably. Moreover, it seemed the spaceship was being pulled backward by an unknown gravitational force.

Nobita asked in a panic, "Doraemon, what's happening?"

Before Doraemon could answer, the electronic screen quickly displayed the unfolding situation. Behind the observation station, an enormous spiral vortex had appeared. The vortex was gigantic, but still significantly smaller than the station itself. Comparatively, if the station were the size of Earth, the vortex would be like the Moon. Yet what was truly unimaginable was the speed at which this vortex was devouring the observation station.

It was like water draining into a hole—swift, unstoppable.

"A... black hole!?" The group stared wide-eyed at the display, stammering in shock. Kelly, gasping for breath, shouted to Doraemon, "This is bad! Doraemon, full throttle, now!"

Although the spaceship was still a considerable distance from the black hole, its gravitational pull was immense. Even at this distance, they were being drawn back. Outside, countless celestial objects streaked past, all being sucked into the black hole.

Doraemon didn't waste any time. He quickly issued commands, pushing the spaceship's engines to maximum power. The ship briefly resisted, holding its position, but then resumed its backward drift.

Seeing this, everyone panicked. Rim shouted, "Hurry, activate the warp jump! Use spatial folding to get us out of here!"

Doraemon continued adjusting the controls on the display, gritting his teeth. "It's not working! The ship is shaking too much, and the black hole's gravity is distorting space itself. The warp system can't determine the jump coordinates!"

"Are we just going to die here!?" The group turned to Doraemon in desperation.

"No, we're not… We're not dead yet! There's still a way!" Doraemon replied while rummaging through his pocket.

Hearing this, the group quickly regained some hope. Nobita eagerly asked, "Doraemon, what's the plan?"

Instead of replying, Doraemon pulled something out of his pocket.

Seeing what Doraemon had taken out, Nobita frowned in confusion and asked, "The small light?"

Doraemon nodded. "The reason we can't execute the warp jump is because the ship is shaking violently, and the gravity distortions from the black hole are destabilizing the surrounding space. These two factors make it impossible for the ship's system to calculate a precise departure point. So, if we use the small light to minimize the spaceship and ourselves, the surface area affected by these forces will decrease. This should reduce the shaking and stabilize the surrounding space, allowing us to complete the jump and return to Earth."

Hearing this, everyone exhaled a sigh of relief. This plan seemed worth a try. They weren't out of options yet—there was still hope.

However, Doraemon continued, "But there's one problem!"

The group looked at Doraemon in confusion, waiting for him to explain.

Doraemon elaborated, "Since the entire spaceship and everyone inside needs to be shrunk, the flashlight has to be positioned outside the spaceship to illuminate it. But… just look outside!"

Everyone frowned, realizing the issue. Indeed, the conditions outside were chaotic. The immense gravitational pull had celestial debris flying wildly in every direction. The only reason the spaceship was still intact was its powerful propulsion and sturdy defenses. The small light, however...

Kelly surveyed the chaotic scene outside for a moment before saying, "Then we'll just have to take a gamble!"

Doraemon was puzzled. "A gamble? What do you mean?"

Crossing her arms, Kelly replied, "Activate the small light and throw it toward the black hole's inner vortex. While spinning, the flashlight will have a chance to illuminate the spaceship. If it can shrink us and the spaceship before getting destroyed by debris, we'll win. But if the flashlight gets destroyed immediately without shrinking us, then today, we'll just have to take a tour inside the black hole!"

The group fell silent, understanding the stakes. This gamble was a huge risk.

Shizuka was the first to speak up, her voice calm. "I agree."

The others nodded hesitantly, one by one, agreeing with the plan.

Seeing everyone's decision, Doraemon nodded, activated the small light, and sent it out through the ship's rear escape hatch.

All eyes were glued to the display screen, holding their breath.

The ship drifted ever closer to the black hole. The massive observation station was no longer visible, having already been consumed.

The flashlight spun as it flew from the spaceship. No one blinked, and Doraemon's hand hovered over the button to activate the warp jump. The moment the spaceship shrank to the required size, he would press it, instantly jumping them back to Earth.

The flashlight spun in everyone's view. Suddenly, it seemed to grow twice as large in their eyes.

The group froze momentarily before erupting in cheers. Success—the flashlight had illuminated the spaceship.

Doraemon, however, remained tense. This amount of shrinking wasn't enough. He continued watching the flashlight, his focus unwavering.

Then a speeding meteor suddenly streaked past, grazing the flashlight. The flashlight, affected by the meteor's gravity, began spinning even faster.

Before anyone could react, darkness engulfed them, leaving them unable to see anything.

The outside of the spaceship was pitch black. And since there was no sound in the vacuum of space, they couldn't hear anything either.

Confused, the group tried to make sense of the situation. Suddenly, an even stronger gravitational force pulled the spaceship. The group was alarmed, realizing they were being sucked back toward the black hole.

Karen shouted, "Doraemon, stop waiting! Activate the jump now!"

Doraemon quickly slammed the button, but just as the warp jump was about to start, a counterforce pushing against the black hole's pull suddenly hit them. The two opposing forces compressed the spaceship, shaking it violently. Then, all at once, everything went still.

The vibrations ceased. The spaceship stabilized, floating silently. The abrupt calmness was so jarring that none of them could react for a moment. All six passengers lay sprawled on the floor, dizziness washing over them. Nausea threatened to overcome them after the intense turbulence.

Shizuka was the first to recover. Using her trident as support, she stood up and asked Doraemon, "What's our situation now?"

Doraemon quickly checked the instruments and replied in a shaky voice, "The ship's systems are heavily damaged. When we initiated the jump, a sudden counterforce pushed us out. The clash of gravitational forces disrupted the systems, altering many settings!"

Shizuka asked nervously, "So… did the jump succeed or not? Where are we now? Are we inside the black hole? How is that possible?"

Doraemon's expression was grim. "I don't know either. Although the counterforce gave us more time to perform the jump, the setup has been completely altered. I have no idea whether we'll succeed or where we're headed."

Sighing, Doraemon gazed out of the spaceship.

Everyone couldn't help but follow his gaze.

All they saw was the endless expanse of the universe. 

At first glance, the scene outside seemed to be just the normal endless universe, but soon, they all began to notice something strange about this "universe." A shiver ran down their spines as a terrifying question surfaced in their minds—

Where… exactly are we?

The space outside was shrouded in an unfathomably deep darkness. But this darkness was not simply black—it was an eerie blend of midnight black and deep ocean blue.

It was as if their spaceship was drifting through a vast, frozen sea of dark blue, making it impossible to tell from above whether they were moving or standing still.

Feeling uneasy, Nobita asked anxiously,

"Doraemon, where are your gadgets? Hurry up and use them to find out where we are!"

Doraemon shook his head and replied gravely,

"It's no use. This space is completely different from the universe we know. My four-dimensional pocket… isn't working here!"

A wave of panic washed over everyone. "Then… what do we do now?!"

Doraemon took a deep breath and tried to reassure them, "Don't worry. First, I'll focus on repairing the ship's damages. Once the system is restored enough, I'll have the computer analyze the surrounding space. If we're lucky, we might find a way out of here. But for now… our only option is to stay on the spaceship."