073 THE ECHO CORE
The host appeared as a tall man in a polished silver mask, his voice echoed smoothly through the hall.
"Ladies and gentlemen, tonight's offerings come from the battlefield of Fortress Myrone — artifacts recovered by licensed excavators. Each piece carries verified meta-resonance, certified by our in-house appraisers."
Damen's pulse jumped.
"Fortress Myrone again?" He clenched his fists under the table.
"Are they really auctioning another relic from that cursed place? Last time the Eye of Ra almost got me killed," he thought.
"See something you fancy?" Zairgid asked him.
Damen shook his head.
One by one, items appeared on stage — charred weapons, fractured energy cores, bones fused with metal. None of them felt right.
Then the final item was unveiled.
A black, palm-sized orb floated inside a containment field. Blue lightning coiled within it but never touched the edges, as if the energy feared being caged.
The host's tone dropped, reverent now.
"Lot #47 — codename Echo Core. Believed to contain residual meta-patterns from an unknown lifeform encountered at Fortress Myrone. Estimated value: incalculable. Opening bid — two hundred thousand Aurs."
Damen pulled out his phone to snap a picture — and froze.
His DemCoin App opened by itself. A strange glyph flashed on-screen as the system locked onto the Core.
"What the hell…" he muttered, tapping the Appraise button — this was a new feature from the new DemCoin 2.0 update he hadn't tested yet.
A digital hum rippled through his screen, and data flooded in:
Name: Echo Core
Origin: Remnant of unidentified alien construct, recovered from the Fortress Myrone battlefield.
Function: Enhances meta-capacity through resonant duplication of internal energy or meta states.
Compatibility with abilities:
Momentum Charge — 86%
Electrocution — 23%
Damen's eyes narrowed. "Compatibility? What's that supposed to mean…"
"What did you say?" Zairgid turned toward him.
"Oh, nothing." Damen pocketed the phone, forcing a calm tone. "What do you think this thing actually does?"
Zairgid shrugged. "No clue. If anyone did, it'd be in the brochure. Probably something only the research labs can use."
The bidding began.
Corporate labs, collectors, and government buyers all joined in, driving the price higher and higher.
"Four hundred thousand Aurs—any advance on four hundred?"
"Should I bid?" Damen's thoughts churned. His app probably wanted him to have it — that was clear.
"Five hundred thousand Aurs," he Damen aloud.
Zairgid nearly choked. "Are you insane? You don't even know what that thing is!"
Whispers rippled through the hall. Up on the balcony, a man with slicked hair and a serpent pin leaned forward, his grin thin and cold.
"Six hundred thousand," the man said lazily.
Damen didn't blink. "One million."
The room fell silent. Zairgid buried his face in his hands.
The masked host's gaze lingered. "One million Aurs to the young man in black. Any other bids?"
The serpent-pin man smirked, then leaned back. "There are so many noob collectors out there. Let the boy have it."
Bang. The hammer fell.
Damen's pulse was still racing.
He's checked the man with the serpent pin. He was Valtor Veyran…. His nemesis.
"Great, I've won the bid", he muttered before adding, "that Valtor would jump if he knows…"
He had just outbid the Veyran family. Good thing he was wearing a mask. If they'd known it was him, they would've doubled the price just to piss him.
-----
Damen waited in a private delivery chamber — a room that looked more like a bank vault than part of an auction house. The air was cold and dry, lit by a single strip of white light running across the ceiling.
Every surface gleamed with metal.
"This better be worth it", he told himself as he waited.
But he didn't mind the steep price.
After all, he could afford it. Winning over three million Aurs in that wagered duel against Freeland Veyran had given him the means to play on this level.
It almost felt poetic — using the Veyrans' money to buy something they wanted.
A heavy mechanical hiss echoed as a large steel crate was pushed into the room. The clerk who followed wore immaculate gloves and a fixed smile.
"Dear esteemed guest, your item is ready for delivery." She set a silver tray in front of him.
Damen placed two Aur cards on it without hesitation. The clerk brought them to a wall-mounted register, transferring the one million Aur payment. When she returned, she handed him one card — the balance still glowing faintly in green light.
"Payment confirmed," she said. "You may inspect and take delivery of your item. This room has no cameras or surveillance. You are granted full privacy while you remain in here."
She gave a small bow and exited, the heavy vault door closing behind her with a deep, echoing thud.
Silence followed.
Damen approached the box. "What the hell did I just spend a fortune on?" he muttered, undoing the locks.
With a metallic hiss, the lid opened.
Inside, suspended in mid-air, floated the Echo Core — the black orb from the auction, faint blue lightning coiling endlessly within it.
It pulsed once, faintly.
Damen frowned. "How am I supposed to carry this out? Anyone who sees me with it would rob me."
He raised his phone, meaning to take a quick photo for reference. The DemCoin App opened automatically again.
This time, a new button appeared at the bottom of the screen — one he had never seen before:
[ASSIMILATE]
He hesitated only a moment, then tapped it.
The orb began to dissolve, disintegrating into a fine stream of light that poured into his phone like liquid fire.
On the screen, a progress bar appeared:
Assimilating Echo Core... 1%
He watched, entranced, as the light continued to drain. His phone vibrated faintly, humming with energy that seemed alive.
Finally, the bar hit 100%. The Echo Core was gone. Not a trace left — not even dust.
Damen scanned the box again just to be sure. The app showed nothing.
"So that's it," he murmured. "There's nothing left."
He turned toward the vault door, pressed the call bell, and waited as faint currents of blue static danced briefly across his fingertips — unnoticed.
-----
"Why the hell did you buy that thing for a million Aurs?" Zairgid snapped, glaring at Damen from the passenger seat as they were going home.
Damen didn't reply. He was busy trying to feel the power of the assimilated Echo Core inside of him.
"I know you made that money easy, but seriously—have you even counted how much gear, upgrades, or even a small hovercycle you could've bought with that?" he continued to grumble.
Damen didn't answer.
His eyes were fixed on the road ahead, the faint glow of streetlights cutting through the tinted windshield.
He wasn't about to tell Zairgid what really happened in that vault — or what his phone had done.
"Damen?" Zairgid pressed. "You're not even listening—"
Suddenly, a thunderous bang split the air.
The vehicle lurched violently to the side — metal shrieked as glass shattered. A massive, armored truck slammed into them from behind, sending their car spinning.