⫸ [ TIME: 06:00 LOCAL PLANETARY TIME ]
⫸ [ LOCATION: HORIZON SEEKER – MED BAY ]
⫸ [ STATUS: REBOOT SEQUENCE ]
Consciousness returned to Elian Vance like a system coming online after a hard reset.
First came the sensory data. The smell of antiseptic. The hum of the reactor vibrating through the floor plates. The cold stiffness of his new skin.
Then came the logic.
He opened his eyes. The electric blue irises adjusted instantly to the low light. The headache that had plagued him for two days was gone. His thoughts were sharp. They were crystalline. The new neural pathways had mapped successfully.
[ Good morning Commander. ]
[ Biometric Scan: Optimal. ]
[ Caloric Reserves: 85%. ]
[ Sleep Cycle: 4.5 Hours. Efficiency Rating: 100%. ]
Elian sat up. His joints popped. He felt heavy but strong. The gravity of Sector Zero still pulled at him but his reinforced skeleton pushed back with casual indifference.
He looked at the operating table.
The prisoner was still strapped down. She was awake.
She was staring at him with eyes wide with terror. She had been watching him sleep. She had been watching the grey-skinned monster in the corner.
Elian stood up. He walked to the sink and splashed water on his face. It sizzled against his thermal skin.
"Status report," Elian said. His voice was raspy.
[ The prisoner regained consciousness two hours ago. ]
[ She attempted to cast a spell. I detected a spike in isotopic radiation. ]
[ I administered a mild sedative gas to keep her motor functions paralyzed while retaining consciousness. ]
Elian nodded. "Good. Did she have weapons?"
[ Negative. However, I deployed a maintenance drone to confiscate a pouch from her waist. ]
[ It contained no physical weapons but it radiated a spatial anomaly. ]
A.R.C. highlighted a small silk pouch sitting on the far counter. It looked like a simple embroidered bag.
[ Scan indicates the interior volume exceeds the exterior dimensions by a factor of 500. ]
[ It is a dimensional pocket. A stable wormhole anchored to fabric. ]
Elian walked over to the pouch. He picked it up. It weighed almost nothing.
"Quantum folding," Elian murmured. "They use localized spatial distortion to carry cargo. It is elegant. It is dangerous."
He tossed the bag into the decontamination airlock and sealed it. He would crack the encryption later. Right now he needed software not hardware.
He turned to the prisoner.
She was young. She wore white robes embroidered with the crimson flame insignia. Her arm was splinted. Her jade flute lay shattered in the corner.
Elian approached the table. He did not smile. He grabbed a metal stool and dragged it across the floor. The screech of metal on metal made the woman flinch.
He sat down.
"A.R.C.," Elian said. "Activate Translation Matrix. Set to Learning Mode. I want to build a lexicon."
[ Matrix Active. Confidence: 62%. ]
Elian tapped his vocal synthesizer.
"STATE YOUR DESIGNATION."
The mechanical voice boomed in the small room.
The woman trembled. She looked at Elian's eyes. She looked at the strange machines surrounding her.
"I am... Disciple Lin," she whispered. Her voice was melodious but weak. "Of the Crimson Flame Sect."
[ Terminology Logged: "Sect" (Political/Military Faction). ]
"WHY DID YOU ATTACK?"
Lin swallowed hard. "The Ancestor... he saw the light. The Heavenly Treasure. He said a Star had fallen. He wanted the... the metal cave."
"The ship," Elian corrected.
He leaned forward. The hexagonal scales on his face caught the light.
"TELL ME ABOUT THE ENERGY. THE FIRE. THE FLIGHT. HOW DOES IT WORK?"
Lin looked confused. "It is... Qi. The Breath of the World. It is the foundation of the Dao."
"Qi," Elian repeated. He looked at the data stream in his HUD.
A.R.C. was analyzing the woman's bio-rhythms as she spoke. It monitored the energy flowing through her meridians.
◤ ENERGY ANALYSIS ◢
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
⬢ Local Term: Qi
⬢ Scientific Classification: High-Energy Isotope
⬢ Properties: Programmable, Mutagenic, Radioactive
⬢ Behavior: Permeates atmosphere. Responds to neural waves.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
"It is not breath," Elian said. He switched off the synthesizer and spoke to A.R.C. "It behaves like a medium. An invisible field that connects matter and energy. It allows for action at a distance."
[ It matches the classical definition of the Luminiferous Aether. ]
Elian nodded. "Aether. We will call it Aether. And the crystals are Aether Crystals."
He turned back to the prisoner.
"TELL ME WHERE WE ARE. NAME THIS ROCK."
Lin blinked. "Rock? This is... the World."
"THE NAME."
"Aethelgard," she whispered. "The Grave of Gods."
◤ DATABASE UPDATE ◢
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
⬢ Planetary Designation: Aethelgard
⬢ Status: Confirmed
⬢ Meaning: Grave of Gods
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Elian sat back. Aethelgard. The name sounded ancient. It sounded like a tomb.
"The Grave of Gods," Elian mused. "That explains the barrier in the sky. It is not a shield. It is a lid."
He pointed to the hologram of the battle site.
"THE MEN I KILLED. THE ONES WHO DIED TO MY WALL. WHAT WERE THEY?"
Lin flinched. "They were outer disciples. They were only Qi Condensation stage. They had just begun to gather the breath."
"AND THE COMMANDERS? THE ONES WHO FLEW ON SWORDS?"
"They were Foundation Establishment masters," Lin said with reverence. "They had turned their Qi to liquid."
"AND THE GOLD-ROBED MAN? THE ONE I VAPORIZED?"
Lin choked on a sob. "He was Elder Yan. He was a Core Formation Ancestor! He had forged the solid seed of immortality! He could level a mountain!"
Elian narrowed his eyes. "Is he the strongest?"
"No," Lin whispered. "The Patriarch... he is a Nascent Soul Monarch. He can sever the spirit with a thought. He is beyond mortality."
Elian held up a hand. "Stop. A.R.C., analyze the progression."
[ Processing... ]
[ The hierarchy is based on the state of matter of the internal energy. ]
[ 1. Qi Condensation = Gas State. ]
[ 2. Foundation = Liquid State. ]
[ 3. Core Formation = Solid State (Reactor). ]
[ 4. Nascent Soul = Psionic State. ]
Elian nodded. He grabbed a datapad. He began to draw a chart.
"It is not magic," Elian said. "It is phase transition. Physics."
◤ THREAT CLASSIFICATION (UPDATED) ◢
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
⬢ Tier 1 (Qi Condensation): Gaseous Energy. Enhanced Biology. (The Disciples).
⬢ Tier 2 (Foundation): Liquid Energy. Localized Magic. (The Commanders).
⬢ Tier 3 (Core Formation): Solid Reactor. Flight. City-Level Threat. (The Elders).
⬢ Tier 4 (Nascent Soul): Psionic Entity. Regional Threat. (The Patriarch).
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
"Where do I fit?" Elian asked.
[ Based on your bone density and thermal skin... you are physically equivalent to a Tier 2. ]
[ But your damage output with The Arbiter is Tier 3. ]
Elian looked at the chart. He was a Tier 2 fighting a sect led by a Tier 4. The math was bad.
He looked back at Lin.
"ELDER YAN. WAS HE IMPORTANT?"
Lin looked down. "He was the Patriarch's brother."
Elian froze.
[ Diplomatic Status: Catastrophic. ]
[ You did not just kill a commander. You killed royalty. ]
[ The retaliation will not be a raid. It will be a crusade. ]
Elian stood up. He paced the small room. The floor plates creaked under his boots.
"They will come back," Elian said. "And they will bring the Patriarch."
He stopped in front of Lin.
"WHERE IS YOUR SECT? SHOW ME ON THE MAP."
He projected a hologram of the local geography captured by the ship's radar.
Lin stared at the floating light in awe. She pointed a trembling finger to the East. To a massive volcanic mountain range fifty kilometers away.
"The Crimson Peak," she whispered. "The Fire Sect."
Elian zoomed in. The mountain was a fortress. Towers of red stone scraped the clouds. Thousands of heat signatures moved inside.
It was not a sect. It was a military industrial complex powered by magic.
Elian killed the hologram.
"Grom!" Elian shouted into the comms.
"Iron-Star?"
"Prepare the tribe. We are not just building a wall anymore. We are building an army."
Elian looked at Lin.
"And you," Elian said. "You are going to teach me everything about this 'Aether'. Because if I am going to kill a god I need to know how he bleeds."
⬡ ─── ⬡ ─── ⬡
⫸ [ TIME: 08:00 LOCAL PLANETARY TIME ]
⫸ [ LOCATION: HORIZON SEEKER – CARGO BAY ]
⫸ [ STATUS: INDUSTRIALIZATION ]
Elian walked into the cargo bay. The Giants were awake. They were eating the last of the Scuttlers.
He climbed onto a crate. He held up The Arbiter.
The Giants went silent.
"The Sky-People are coming back," Elian announced. His synthesized voice echoed. "And they are bringing their King."
A ripple of fear went through the tribe. Grom gripped his shield.
"But we have something they do not," Elian said.
He pointed to the Fabricator in the engineering bay. It was humming. It was powered by the Crystalline Capacitors Elian had looted.
"We have Iron."
Elian pressed a button on his datapad. The Fabricator hissed.
The glass door opened.
Inside was not a chest plate. It was a weapon.
It was a Pneumatic Pike.
A six-foot shaft of titanium with a piston-driven tip capable of punching through stone armor.
Elian picked it up. He threw it to Grom.
Grom caught it. He felt the weight. He felt the power.
"WE DO NOT HIDE IN THE MUD," Elian roared. "WE ARE THE NEW APEX."
The Giants roared back. It was a sound of war.
Elian looked out the airlock at the violet sky. The fog was clearing. The suns were rising on a new era for Aethelgard.
The Scientist had arrived. And he was done observing.
[END OF CHAPTER 12]
Authors note —
The Mask of Command.
Some of you might wonder: "Why is Elian boasting about being the Apex when he is clearly outmatched by the Sect?"
To Elian, Morale is just another variable in the equation of war. The Giants operate on a primal hierarchy—they follow strength. If Elian shows even a flicker of the fear he actually feels, his new army will crumble. He isn't shouting that line to the universe; he is programming his troops. He has to act the part of the "Iron God" to ensure they don't run when the Patriarch arrives.
We also finally have a name for the world: Aethelgard. And we have a name for the energy: Aether. The mystery is peeling back, but the danger is scaling up.
Next Chapter: We stop scavenging and start manufacturing. The Industrial Revolution has arrived in Sector Zero.
If you enjoyed the "Data Heist," please leave a comment and drop a Power Stone! The Iron Demon needs all the support he can get.