The world stood still.
Nova's eyes remained locked on the crimson dot suspended in the darkened sky. Even though everything around him had gone quiet—no buzzing street lamps, no humming gadgets, not even the distant whir of city drones—his heart thudded like war drums in his chest.
> "LUMINA... what is that ship made of?"
> "A hybrid construct of collapsed neutron matter, obsidian-core alloy, and anti-light shielding. It defies most physical laws native to this galaxy."
Nova swallowed. He hadn't even scratched the surface of Device X's secrets, and already the universe was knocking on his door. Hard.
The power outage had swallowed his settlement in total darkness. A flicker of blue light occasionally shimmered from the ring on his finger—LUMINA, his only guide through this madness. His only hope.
> "I thought they didn't know where Device X landed?"
> "They didn't," LUMINA replied with an edge. "But when you activated me, a trace signature pulsed across sub-dimensional layers. They triangulated it. We have limited time."
> "How limited?"
> "They will arrive by nightfall."
Nova's breath hitched.
> "What do they want?"
> "You. Or rather, me."
A tremor shook the ground beneath him. A soft vibration, barely perceptible, but enough to feel like the first drop of water before a storm.
The Last Traces of Normal
Nova's guardian was still at work, and the house was silent.
He didn't want to worry anyone. What would he even say?
"Hi, I just bonded with a universe-defining nanotech weapon that speaks in my head and is hunted by evil alien warmongers."
No. Not a good idea.
He packed a small satchel—his datapad, an old kinetic torch, some food packs, and the one thing that still made him feel human: a little stuffed creature he'd owned since he was five.
> "Are we running?"
> "No," LUMINA said. "We are relocating. I am uploading coordinates to a region where their scanners are least likely to detect residual traces of my neural matrix."
> "English, please."
> "We're heading to the Mountains of Vireth."
Nova stared blankly.
> "Where?"
> "It's a collapsed volcano in Sector 12. It houses ancient magnetic distortions. I can hide us there—for a time."
Nova nodded. His heart thumped wildly as he crept out of the house and slipped into the quiet forest just beyond the outskirts.
As he walked through twisted trees, his mind buzzed.
> "LUMINA… why did you choose me?"
A pause.
> "I did not."
Nova stopped.
> "Wait, what?"
> "I did not choose you. Device X did. The Source did."
> "The Source?"
> "The Supreme Architect of all that is, all that was, and all that may yet become."
Nova felt the air grow heavier. His thoughts spiraled.
> "Is the Source a god?"
> "Not in the human sense. But that question lies in Level 6. You're at Level 1."
Nova groaned. "You keep doing that."
> "Because the power of Device X is tied to responsibility. Knowledge cannot precede wisdom."
He sighed, frustrated. But deep down, he knew she was right.
An Unexpected Message
As night fell, the stars blinked above the forest canopy, more vivid than Nova had ever seen them.
He arrived at a jagged cave opening nestled between stone spires like dragon teeth. As they entered, LUMINA lit up the walls with a soft holographic projection.
> "You will need to begin your training here."
> "Training?"
> "Mental resilience. Physical endurance. Dimensional awareness."
Nova slumped. "Sounds… exhausting."
> "Also necessary."
He pulled out his datapad to distract himself, but it buzzed with static. Then, it glowed blood red.
A new message appeared. Not from LUMINA. Not from any network he recognized.
> "Stellar Genesis has awoken. Surrender the bearer. Or your world shall be erased."
Nova's skin prickled. The message repeated in a dozen unknown languages before vanishing.
> "LUMINA… did you see that?"
> "Yes. They are broadcasting warnings across psychic frequencies. They want fear to take root before they attack."
> "It's working."
LUMINA didn't respond.
> "Why won't they just take the device by force?"
> "Because they can't. Device X is bonded to you. Physically, psychically, spiritually. It will kill any unauthorized user."
Nova stared at the ring. "So I'm the vault and the key."
> "Correct."
Suddenly, a shriek echoed from the skies. A vibration split the night air like a blade.
Nova rushed to the cave entrance. Overhead, three burning streaks fell through the sky—scouts. Not satellites. Not aircraft. Not human.
> "They've arrived."
LUMINA's voice had never sounded so grim.
Suspicion in Shadows
Back at the settlement, strange lights danced on rooftops.
A patrol of dark figures—tall, armored, and sleek—descended silently. They didn't use ships to land. They simply emerged, as if reality itself bent to their presence.
Each had a weapon fused into their arms, pulsing with crimson light.
One knelt beside a puddle of dried mud.
> "Traces confirmed. Device X was here."
The tallest Zarnokian, its body lined with black chrome, turned slowly. It had no visible eyes. But it saw everything.
> "The bearer is young. Weak. Predictable. He will run. Let him."
The others nodded in silent unison.
> "We will tear the sky if we must. We will raze this world. But Device X… will return to Xal'Zur Dominion."
As they melted back into shadows, the leader paused.
He raised a clawed hand to the stars and whispered:
> "There is no hiding from entropy."