Location: Starforge Nexus - Training Facility → Ritual Chamber | Starforge Nexus - Dimensional Fold
Time: Day 43, Morning (External: 7 Days)
Jayde woke to silence.
Not the oppressive silence of slave pits or the anxious silence before White's training sessions. Just... quiet. Peaceful. The kind of silence that came after storms had passed and before new ones arrived.
Day forty-three. Unsealing day. Everything changes today.
She sat up slowly, muscles protesting but functional. Six weeks of systematic destruction had transformed her body into something stronger, more capable. The scars remained—would probably always remain—but beneath them was actual muscle, actual strength earned through suffering.
(Today's the day,) Jade whispered nervously. (We get real power.)
If we survive the unsealing. White said the pain would be worse than anything we've experienced.
(We've survived everything else.)
True.
Jayde dressed in clean training clothes—someone, probably Isha, had left them folded on the sleeping platform while she'd slept. Simple black fabric, lightweight and flexible, designed for movement rather than protection.
She found food waiting in the training arena's alcove. Breakfast: grilled meat, eggs, bread, fruit, water. High protein, high energy, preparation for what was coming.
Fuel for the ordeal ahead.
She ate methodically, chewing thoroughly, letting her body process the calories it would need. No taste, no enjoyment, just function. Federation habits died hard.
"Good morning."
Jayde looked up.
Isha stood at the arena's entrance, his feline grace as elegant as always. But someone else was with him—someone Jayde hadn't seen before.
Tiny.
That was her first thought. The woman standing beside Isha was maybe five-foot-two, petite enough that Jayde actually had an inch or two on her despite being fifteen and chronically malnourished most of her life. But something about the woman's presence made "tiny" feel misleading. Dangerous, even.
She had porcelain skin—smooth as polished jade, almost artificial in its perfection. Ash-blonde hair pulled back in a severe bun, not a single strand out of place, tight enough that it probably hurt. And eyes—fractured emerald eyes that looked like shattered glass, pupils dilating with unsettling precision as they tracked Jayde's movements.
Those eyes. They're assessing everything. Posture, breathing, muscle tension, threat level. Combat analysis or something close to it.
The woman wore flowing green robes, elegantly tailored, covered in subtle runic stitching that glowed faint silver in the light. The fabric moved like water with each small gesture, silk or something similar, expensive as hell.
Her hands were what really caught Jayde's attention though. Small, delicate-looking hands with perfectly manicured nails. But they were steady as surgical instruments, held with the kind of precision that came from years of practice at something requiring absolute control.
And there was a faint burn scar on her left palm—old, healed, but visible. The kind of scar you got from magical backlash.
Mage. Powerful one. And those robes aren't just decoration—the runic stitching is functional. Probably defensive enchantments or essence amplification patterns.
"Jayde," Isha said warmly, "this is Green. She's our cultivation specialist—essence manipulation, Ember Qi theory, circulation techniques. She'll be guiding your magical development after the unsealing."
Green stepped forward.
And her movement was precise. Economical. Not a single wasted motion, every step calculated for optimal efficiency. Like someone who'd trained themselves to eliminate anything unnecessary until only perfection remained.
She stopped exactly three feet away—close enough to speak normally, far enough to maintain professional distance.
"Jayde." Her voice was surprisingly soft, almost delicate, with a slight musical quality. But there was steel underneath, like silk wrapped around a blade. "I've reviewed your training records. White's assessment. Your character stats. Your progress over six weeks."
Green's fractured emerald eyes studied Jayde's face with unsettling intensity.
"Adequate foundation. Physical stats sufficient for Inferno unsealing. Pain tolerance demonstrated through repeated trauma recovery. Mental fortitude proven through dual-consciousness stabilization."
She talks like a medical report. Clinical. Detached.
"However," Green continued, and her voice gained an edge, "physical preparation is necessary but insufficient. Cultivation requires mental discipline. Precise essence control. Absolute attention to technique. Sloppiness in circulation kills—meridian rupture, Qi deviation, core fracture. I do not tolerate sloppiness."
(She's scary,) Jade whimpered.
Different kind of scary than White. He's physical brutality. She's... perfectionist tyranny.
"Green is exacting," Isha said diplomatically. "But effective. After your unsealing, you'll spend time with her learning proper cultivation techniques. Circulation methods. Essence manipulation basics. The foundation for all future growth."
"How long?" Jayde asked.
"Today, we unseal," Green said crisply. "Then you rest—unsealing is traumatic to the system. Tomorrow, we begin cultivation training. Basic circulation until you can complete ten cycles without error. Then essence sensing. Then basic Sparkcasting. One week minimum, possibly two, before you're competent enough to cultivate independently without immediately destroying yourself."
One to two weeks of her tyrannical instruction. Wonderful.
"But first," Green's expression softened fractionally, "we must assess your readiness. Come."
She turned and walked toward a different section of the Nexus—not the training arena, somewhere Jayde hadn't been before. Isha gestured for Jayde to follow.
They walked through corridors that shifted subtly as they moved, dimensional architecture adjusting to accommodate passage. The Nexus did that sometimes—rearranged itself based on need, like a living building that anticipated where you wanted to go.
Still not used to that. Space that thinks.
They entered a new chamber.
This one was clearly medical—white walls, sterile lighting, crystalline examination table in the center. Holographic displays floated around the room showing various data streams Jayde didn't recognize.
"Lie down," Green commanded, gesturing to the table.
Jayde complied.
Green's hands moved over her body without touching—staying inches away, sensing something through the air. Her fractured eyes narrowed in concentration, pupils dilating and contracting rapidly.
"Meridian structure," Green murmured. "Primary channels strengthened adequately. Secondary pathways developed. Tertiary network shows minor weakening but acceptable. No critical blockages detected."
Her hands hovered over Jayde's lower abdomen, where the Crucible Core rested in its dimensional pocket.
"Core structure... sealed as expected. Divine Eightfold Lock intact. Eight layers visible—Inferno outermost, Voidshadow innermost. Lock integrity at... ninety-seven percent. Excellent preservation for fifteen years dormant."
Green's hands paused. Her expression shifted—subtle change, barely noticeable, but something flickered in those emerald eyes.
Concern, maybe. Or calculation.
"Interesting," she said softly.
"What?" Jayde asked.
"Your core structure beneath the seal. There's... pre-existing damage. Old fractures, poorly healed, likely from early childhood trauma. The seal disguised them, but they're present. They'll be revealed when we break the first layer."
Damage. Of course there's damage. Ten years of slave labor, malnutrition, constant stress. Why would my core be intact?
"Is that a problem?" Isha asked, tension in his voice.
"Depends on severity." Green's hands moved again, probing deeper through whatever sense she was using. "Won't know for certain until unsealing reveals full extent. But it means post-unsealing cultivation must be
careful. Gentle. A cracked core requires delicate handling or it shatters completely."
(We're already broken,) Jade said sadly. (Even before we start.)
Not broken. Damaged. There's a difference. Damaged can be repaired.
"Can it be healed?" Jayde asked.
"Yes." Green's voice carried absolute certainty. "With proper cultivation technique over time. One year of careful, controlled practice should stabilize the cracks and allow full recovery. But that requires discipline. Patience. Precision in every circulation. No rushing, no shortcuts, no foolish risk-taking."
She met Jayde's eyes.
"I will teach you proper technique. You will follow my instructions exactly. No improvisation, no experimentation, no 'I think this way might be better.' My methods work. They've kept contractors alive for millennia. Your job is to obey and learn."
Tyrannical perfectionist confirmed. She's going to be worse than White in completely different ways.
"I understand," Jayde said.
"Good." Green stepped back. "Physical assessment complete. You're ready for unsealing. Follow me to the ritual chamber."
***
The ritual chamber smelled like ozone and old stone.
They'd walked through more shifting corridors to reach it, descending what felt like several levels though the Nexus's dimensional architecture made "levels" a questionable concept.
The chamber itself was massive—at least a hundred feet in diameter, with a domed ceiling that disappeared into darkness overhead. The floor was obsidian, polished to mirror finish, carved with intricate formation patterns that spiraled outward from the center. Each line glowed faint amber like dying coals.
Beautiful and terrifying. Like standing inside a piece of art designed to kill you.
Eight pillars ringed the chamber at perfect intervals, creating an octagon. Each pillar was carved from different colored stone and stood maybe fifteen feet tall:
Red jasper—pulsing with heat even from distance.
Blue lapis—cool and still as deep water.
Green jade—humming faintly with life essence.
Grey granite—solid and unyielding as mountains.
Silver metal—gleaming with sharp edges.
White marble—pristine and cold as winter.
Gold something-or-other—radiant as sunlight.
Black obsidian—absorbing light like a void.
Only the red pillar was active. Essence stones socketed into its surface glowed like captured fire, pulsing with heat Jayde could feel from thirty feet away.
(It's beautiful,) Jade whispered in awe. (Like stars trapped in stone.)
Beautiful and expensive. Those essence stones probably cost more than a small kingdom. Each one packed with condensed Inferno Qi, harvested from volcanic regions or fire-aspected spirit beasts.
"The Divine Unsealing Formation," Isha explained, his voice carrying reverence. "One of seventeen still functional in the Nexus. This one specializes in Inferno—which is fortunate, since that's your first layer."
White was already there, leaning against the chamber's far wall with arms crossed. He nodded once when Jayde entered—acknowledgment, maybe approval. Hard to tell with him.
"Stand at the center," Green commanded, pointing to where all the carved lines converged.
Jayde walked to the formation's heart. The obsidian was cold beneath her bare feet—she'd removed her shoes at the chamber entrance at Green's instruction. The carved patterns felt smooth, almost slippery, like ice despite being stone.
The temperature contrast was weird. The floor: cold as winter. The air: hot as summer, thick and pressing, hard to breathe properly.
Environmental contrast. Deliberate design. Cold anchors the physical body, heat primes it for Inferno essence integration.
"The formation does three things," Isha said, moving to stand near one of the control crystals embedded at the chamber's edge. "First, it amplifies Luminari energy to divine-era frequency. The lock was created using power from that ancient time—to break it, we need matching resonance."
A holographic display materialized above the floor—showing Jayde's Crucible Core in cross-section. Eight colored layers clearly visible, nested like boxes: red, blue, green, grey, silver, white, gold, black.
"Second, it protects you. Unsealing releases massive energy discharge as the lock fractures. Without the formation containing and redirecting that force, you'd be vaporized. The obsidian channels excess power into the Nexus's dimensional substrate rather than your body."
Safety measures. Good. Prefer not exploding.
"Third," Isha's voice softened, "it tests you. The Divine Eightfold Lock isn't just a seal—it's a trial. Each layer requires proving yourself worthy. Inferno tests courage and pain tolerance. If you break, if you give up, if you can't endure—the unsealing fails."
Silence in the vast chamber, broken only by the quiet hum of essence stones.
"Can I fail?" Jayde asked.
"Yes," Isha said simply. "Approximately thirty percent of contractors attempting Inferno unsealing fail. The pain overwhelms them, their minds fracture, or they instinctively reject the essence flooding their core. Failure doesn't kill—the formation prevents that—but it means trying again later after more preparation."
Thirty percent failure rate. Better odds than some Federation missions.
"Physical foundation: adequate," Green said crisply, moving to stand beside Isha. "But cultivation requires more than physical strength. Mental discipline. Precise control. Absolute attention to technique." Her fractured emerald eyes bored into Jayde. "Do not fight the pain. Accept it. Let it transform you. Endure until the lock breaks."
(I'm scared,) Jade whispered.
So am I. But we've survived worse. We survive this too.
"I'm ready," Jayde said aloud.
White pushed off from the wall, walked to the formation's edge. "You earned this," he rumbled quietly. "Six weeks of refusing to quit. You survived what breaks most contractors. Whatever happens next—you earned the right to try."
(He's proud of us,) Jade said, surprised.
Character growth extends even to sadistic trainers, apparently.
"Position," Green commanded. "Center point. Sit cross-legged. Hands on knees, palms up. Close your eyes when the formation activates—the light will be blinding."
Jayde sat. Cross-legged. Hands on knees, palms facing skyward. Tried to breathe steady despite the thick, hot air.
This is it. Six weeks of preparation for this moment. From Voidforge to cultivator. From powerless to powerful. First step on the path.
(Together,) Jade said firmly. (We do this together.)
Together, Jayde agreed. We endure together.
"Formation activation in three," Isha announced. His furred hands moved over the control crystal, ancient runes flaring to life. "Two. One."
The essence stones exploded with light.