Marcus stroked his chin, his eyes scanning the lengthy series of notifications on his system panel. After a minute spent absorbing the details, he turned and headed back towards the cabin housing the Marker. As he had anticipated, the second phase of his system mission was indeed tied to the enigmatic alien artifact.
Soon, Marcus returned to the Marker's chamber, now accompanied by two Brain Bugs. After activating a psionic shield around himself, he slowly approached the glowing structure. The closer he got, the clearer the whispers in Marcus's ears became, a maddening chorus of voices. Having survived countless life-or-death battles, Marcus firmly held his mental resolve, extending his hand to touch the Red Marker's cold, alien surface, now finally within reach. The instant his fingers made contact, the pervasive whispers vanished.
The system's notification chimed precisely at that moment:
[Detected that the host has completed mission objective 2. Mission judgment is in progress. Judgment passed. Mission reward is being issued. Obtained random lottery draw × 1. Obtained title 'Mental Distortion'. Title effect: Your attacks will carry the 'Mental Distortion' effect, causing enemies with weak willpower to fall into a state of madness.]
Withdrawing his hand, Marcus gazed at the Red Marker, surprised that the mission had been completed so smoothly. According to his previous experiences, once he completed the "Kill the Brood Lord" mission, he should be able to leave the Dead Space universe. Marcus pondered this. He then recalled the two Brain Bugs and left the Marker's cabin, walking towards the tram station on the Crew Deck. Since all Necromorphs on the Ishimura had been cleared, the terrifying roars that once echoed through the ship were gone, leaving an unsettling quiet.
Taking the tram, Marcus quickly arrived at his destination—the Flight Lounge. The lounge was now crowded with many dazed Ishimura survivors, some of them injured. Nearby, Hammond and several other relatively sane crew members were tending to these people. Upon seeing Marcus, Hammond immediately approached him.
"These are all the survivors on the Ishimura," Hammond reported, his voice tight. "A total of thirty-four people. Some others, due to severe injuries, have already—" He clenched his fists, frustration evident. He had already learned from these survivors about the horrific deeds committed by the Unified Church on the Ishimura: the terrifying sacrifices, the inhumane experiments, and the undeniable traces of deliberate sabotage. "Damn Unified Church, how dare they! The United Government will judge them!"
Marcus nodded, taking in the scene. "All the Necromorphs on the Ishimura have been cleared by me."
Hammond froze, then slowly processed Marcus's words, speaking with disbelief. "You mean? All those unkillable monsters have been cleared by you!?"
Marcus nodded with a faint smile. "What? You don't believe it?"
Hammond quickly shook his head, denying it.
"You can go to the Medical Bay," Marcus suggested casually, "and see if the medical equipment there is still usable. These people are in urgent need of treatment." Hearing this, Hammond immediately expressed his profound gratitude. He then called for the able-bodied survivors to escort the severely injured crew members to the Medical Bay for treatment.
As Marcus prepared to leave the Flight Lounge, he spotted Dr. Elizabeth Cross and her lover, Acting Chief Engineer Jacob Temple, among the crowd. His eyes lit up, and Marcus immediately called out to them. "Mr. Jacob, please wait." Hearing his name, Jacob turned back, and Dr. Elizabeth also paused. Seeing Marcus, Elizabeth immediately introduced him to Jacob. "It's him. This is the gentleman who killed the Leviathan."
After handing off the injured crew member he was assisting, Jacob walked up to Marcus and shook his hand. "Thank you very much, Mr. Marcus. If it weren't for you, I might never have seen Elizabeth again."
Marcus waved a dismissive hand. "It was nothing." Immediately, he stated his purpose. "Engineer Jacob, can the Ishimura's gravity tethers be released actively?"
Though slightly perplexed by the question, Jacob still replied, "Yes, it can, but the operation is very cumbersome. It requires the simultaneous consent of the captain, first officer, chief engineer, and others." As he spoke, he looked at Marcus with a puzzled expression.
Marcus didn't hide his intentions, beginning to explain to the two of them. "The colony on Aegis VII has fallen and is now overrun with Necromorphs. There's also a giant Necromorph there, even more powerful than the Leviathan, (named 'Nest Overlord') which acts as a central hub, controlling the actions of other Necromorphs. We can't just leave like this; we must find a way to deal with it."
Dr. Elizabeth, standing beside them, looked visibly nervous. She was well aware of the Leviathan's terror and couldn't imagine how difficult it would be to kill a monster even more powerful. Jacob immediately connected this to Marcus's earlier question about releasing the gravity tethers. "So, you mean—?"
Marcus nodded decisively. "That's right. I hope to release the Ishimura's gravity tethers and drop that trillion-ton payload directly onto the colony on Aegis VII, thoroughly purifying everything there." Marcus made no secret of his intentions.
After hearing Marcus's words, Jacob agreed without much hesitation. He had already witnessed the horrifying disaster that had unfolded on the Ishimura. Releasing the gravity tethers and destroying everything on Aegis VII was indeed the most effective way to eliminate those terrifying monsters. As the acting chief engineer on the Ishimura, and now the only surviving engineer, the task of releasing the gravity tethers naturally fell to Jacob.
"But the authorization issue—" Jacob looked at Marcus, concern etched on his face.
"Don't worry about that," Marcus said casually. The Shield's intelligent system had completely taken over the Ishimura, so authorization issues were no longer a concern. "In addition, another engineer named Isaac will assist you in releasing the gravity tethers."
Jacob nodded. He had heard Isaac's name from Hammond earlier and knew he was a highly skilled engineer. After arranging everything, Marcus left the Flight Lounge and walked towards the USG Sanctuary, docked not far away. Upon arriving at the shuttle, the three Tyranid Warriors who had been guarding the singularity core immediately emerged and returned to Marcus's side. After recalling them, Marcus boarded the Sanctuary.
At this time, the Sanctuary was empty. Chen and Johnston, who were originally guarding it, had both been called by Hammond to help with the survivors. Upon reaching the rear of the ship, Marcus saw the Sanctuary's singularity core, the very means by which humans in the Dead Space universe achieved faster-than-light travel.