- Forward - 

Eidolon Station was a city of contradictions. Beneath the glittering glass dome that housed its vibrant core, steel corridors twisted into labyrinthine depths where only the desperate or determined ventured. Its surface was alive with noise—a cacophony of bustling markets, sparring adventurers, and the ever-present hum of mana-powered machinery.

Here, magic and technology weren’t enemies, but they weren’t quite friends either. Engineers and mages coexisted in a tenuous alliance, their creations forming the backbone of the station’s economy. Mana batteries lit the endless night, spell-infused engines powered interstellar ships, and enchanted textiles clothed both adventurers and aristocrats.

For all its wonders, Eidolon was a place of survival. Guilds fought for dominance, corporations hoarded resources, and the System—a sentient AI that governed the universe’s delicate balance—watched it all with silent impartiality. To most, the System was a tool. To a select few, it was destiny.

Karyth never thought of himself as special. He was a researcher, a tinkerer blending circuits and sigils, scraping by on freelance contracts and an overclocked imagination. But he dreamed big. Affordable mana batteries for the working class, enchanted tools that could revolutionize agriculture—ideas that would change lives, if only he had the funding.

What he couldn’t know was that fate had something far more significant in store for him. His life’s work was about to become the catalyst for a transformation he couldn’t comprehend—and might not survive.

   - Chapter 1 - 

The market buzzed with chaotic energy, a vibrant tapestry of sound, light, and movement. Stalls stretched out in every direction, displaying goods that ranged from the mundane to the impossible. Vendors shouted over one another, advertising enchanted wares and rare artifacts.

“Genuine mana-infused gemstones! Perfect for adventurers and enchanters!”

“Rare star-metal alloys, straight from the ruins of Zepharon!”

“Hand-crafted spellweave cloaks, guaranteed to withstand a dragon’s breath—or your money back!”

Holograms flickered above the crowd, depicting bold advertisements for dungeon tours and guild membership perks. A group of adventurers strode past, their armor gleaming with runic etchings, their laughter echoing in the crowded air.

Karyth weaved through the throng, his lab coat making him stand out against the sea of adventurers and merchants. He paused at a stall lined with glowing potions, their contents swirling with faint sparks of mana.

“Karyth, remind me why we’re here again?” came Eirys’s voice, crisp and tinged with exasperation. Her holographic avatar flickered to life on his wrist communicator—a sleek, blue-toned figure with sharp features and an ever-present smirk.

“And we’re here because I need a stabilizer crystal,” Karyth replied, picking up a vial of green liquid and examining the label. “You know, the thing that might actually make the battery work this time.”

Eirys arched a digital eyebrow. “Work, as in function safely? Or work, as in explode slightly less violently?”

“Harsh,” Karyth muttered, putting the vial back down. “And for the record, this one’s going to be different.”

“You said that about the last three.”

He ignored her, stopping at another stall where a merchant was hawking what appeared to be crystalline rods, each one glowing faintly.

“Rare mana conduits!” the merchant called. “Perfect for channeling energy through unstable spells—or keeping your ship running in a pinch!”

Karyth picked up one of the rods, examining the faint etchings along its surface. “What’s this one do?”

“Channels mana through unstable environments,” the merchant said proudly. “Found it myself in the ruins of an ancient relay station.”

“It’s junk,” Eirys interjected. “Those etchings are decorative. He probably made it in his garage last week.”

Karyth smirked, setting the rod back down. “Pass.”

He moved on to another stall, where a wiry man with mismatched cybernetic eyes was displaying shimmering shards of crystal. One shard in particular caught Karyth’s eye, its surface iridescent with faint, pulsing veins of light.

“Ah, a discerning customer!” the merchant said, his eyes whirring as they focused on Karyth. “That’s a rare find—pure mana quartz, perfect for delicate experiments.”

Karyth held up the shard, turning it over in his hand. “How much?”

“For you, a bargain—three hundred credits.”

Karyth raised an eyebrow. “Seventy-five.”

“Seventy-five?! You insult me! That crystal is worth triple that!”

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“One-fifty, and you throw in that mana capacitor,” Karyth countered, pointing to a small device tucked in the corner of the stall.

The merchant hesitated, then sighed. “Fine. One-fifty. But only because you look like a man of taste and refinement.”

As Karyth handed over the credits, Eirys’s voice piped up. “You know, for someone who’s supposed to be cautious, you have a real knack for buying things that explode.”

“This one won’t explode,” Karyth said confidently.

“Uh-huh. Famous last words.”

Back in his lab, Karyth carefully unpacked the crystal, setting it in the center of a stabilizing ring. His workspace was a controlled chaos of wires, glowing mana conduits, and half-finished prototypes. Holographic screens floated in mid-air, displaying formulas interspersed with arcane glyphs.

Eirys’s avatar appeared on the main console. “You know, this place has a certain... charm. Like a scrapyard with ambition.”

“Funny,” Karyth said, donning a pair of goggles. “You’ll be eating your words when this experiment succeeds.”

Eirys folded her holographic arms. “I’ll believe it when I see it. Or when I’m not piecing you back together afterward.”

Karyth chuckled, adjusting the stabilizing ring around the crystal. “Relax. I’ve triple-checked everything. The crystal’s resonance is perfect, the mana flow’s within limits—this is going to work.”

“Famous last words,” she muttered, but there was a flicker of concern in her tone.

The crystal began to glow, its light pulsing in sync with the mana flowing through the conduits. The hum of energy filled the room, building steadily. Karyth’s hands flew across the controls, monitoring the readings with growing excitement.

“It’s working,” he said, a grin spreading across his face. “Eirys, it’s actually working!”

But then, the hum shifted to a high-pitched whine. The crystal vibrated, faint cracks spidering across its surface.

“Karyth,” Eirys said sharply. “Something’s wrong.”

“No, no, it’s just a fluctuation,” Karyth insisted, frantically adjusting the controls. “I can fix this.”

The cracks deepened, and the whine became a deafening screech.

“Shut it down!” Eirys shouted.

Before he could react, the crystal shattered in a blinding explosion of light and mana.

The lab was unrecognizable. Smoke coiled through the air, acrid and suffocating. Sparks leapt from broken mana conduits, casting eerie flashes of light across the rubble. Karyth lay crumpled against the far wall, his body battered and lifeless.

“Karyth!” Eirys’s voice crackled through the haze, high-pitched and panicked. Her holographic form flickered on a nearby console, fractured by the damage to the systems. “Answer me! Don’t you dare—stay with me!”

There was no response.

Outside the lab, the faint hum of machinery grew louder. The doors hissed open, and EMT drones swarmed in, their sleek, insectoid forms moving with mechanical precision. One approached Karyth, its optical sensors scanning his injuries.

“Subject critical,” it announced in a monotone. “Burns: second and third degree. Fractures detected in ribs, femur, and left arm. Internal bleeding likely.”

“Then do something!” Eirys barked, her form flickering as she rerouted power to assist the drones. “Stabilize him. Now!”

The drones worked quickly, injecting Karyth with a stabilizing serum before lifting him onto a hover-stretcher. As they exited the ruined lab, Eirys’s voice trembled, low enough that only she could hear. “Don’t you dare leave me, Karyth.”

The next time Karyth woke, he was greeted by darkness. A dull, steady hum filled the air, accompanied by the faint whir of machinery. He tried to move, but a sharp, burning pain shot through his body, forcing a groan from his lips.

“Don’t move.” Eirys’s voice cut through the silence, calm but tinged with worry. A soft light flickered to life as her holographic form appeared beside him. “You’re in your med pod. The drones brought you here after the explosion.”

“What... happened?” he croaked, his throat dry and raw.

“The crystal wasn’t just unstable—it was something else entirely.” Eirys hesitated, her expression unreadable. “Your body took the brunt of the blast. Burns, broken bones, internal trauma... You’re lucky to be alive.”

Karyth let out a weak laugh, though it quickly turned into a pained cough. “Feels... lucky.”

Eirys’s face softened. “You’re stable now. The pod is handling most of the healing, but it’s going to take time. Weeks, maybe months.”

Karyth closed his eyes, letting the words sink in. The faint glow of the pod illuminated his arms, where faint, glowing scars traced intricate patterns across his skin. “What’s... wrong with me?”

“I’m still figuring that out,” Eirys admitted. “But whatever was in that crystal... it’s done something to you. Your DNA is changing.”

The days that followed were a blur of pain and frustration. The med pod worked tirelessly, regenerating burned tissue and knitting fractured bones, but the process was excruciating. Karyth spent most of his time staring at the ceiling, his mind a storm of conflicting emotions.

On good days, he let Eirys’s banter distract him. She teased him about his terrible decision-making skills, made sarcastic comments about his stubbornness, and even played old recordings of his failed experiments to make him laugh.

But the bad days were harder. On those days, the pain was relentless, and the weight of his injuries felt insurmountable. He withdrew, barely responding to Eirys’s attempts to engage him.

“You can’t just shut down,” she said one evening, her voice unusually soft. “I know you’re hurting, but giving up isn’t an option.”

Karyth’s eyes flicked to her hologram, anger flaring in his chest. “What do you know about pain? You’re a program, Eirys. You don’t feel anything.”

Her form flickered, her expression tightening. “You think I don’t care? I’ve been watching you tear yourself apart for years, Karyth. This isn’t just about you anymore.”

“Maybe it should be!” he snapped, his voice cracking. “Maybe you should’ve just let me die!”

The words hung in the air, heavy and bitter. Karyth turned his head away, guilt twisting in his stomach. “I didn’t mean that,” he mumbled after a long silence.

“I know,” Eirys said quietly. “But you need help, Karyth. You can’t do this alone.”

By the end of the week, Karyth had made small progress. He could sit up for short periods, though every movement sent sharp twinges of pain through his body. The glowing scars on his arms and chest pulsed faintly, a constant reminder of the accident.

“You’re stable enough to start therapy,” Eirys said, her hologram perched on the edge of the med pod. “Physical and mental.”

Karyth frowned. “Therapy?”

“Yes,” she said firmly. “This wasn’t just an accident, Karyth. It was trauma. And if you don’t deal with it, it’s going to eat you alive.”

He wanted to argue, but the truth of her words silenced him. After a long pause, he sighed. “Fine. I’ll do it.”

Eirys’s face softened, relief flickering across her features. “Good. And Karyth?”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t scare me like that again.”

Karyth leaned back against the med pod, staring at the faintly glowing lines on his hands. Something inside him had changed, and it wasn’t just the scars. For better or worse, his life would never be the same.

Outside the pod, Eirys watched him in silence, her gaze unreadable.