Chroma Ark
Civic Center
Antonio Sklyvander sat on the rooftop of the mayor’s tower, which towered over other skyscrapers in the civic centre overlooking what had once been a small and peaceful county. He still couldn’t get used to how much what was once his former place of residence had changed.
The small Mansion and most homely medieval-style manors and houses hadn’t survived the rift and the following conflict. Those that had were removed. He once again gazed at the towers and other weird architectural marvels expanding as far as his eyes could see and sighed.
Made of coloured crystalline materials or solid metals without any windows or anything else, “so they don’t interfere with the rhyme and symphony of the frameworks,” in their creators' words, most buildings were either single-coloured or gradients of 2 to the point where they looked like coloured solid blocks from afar. In the darkness of the night, the town shone radiantly with a general bluish hue under the golden glow of the weave.
‘Even after years, they still look so unnatural, just like their creators’, he thought. ‘Though they’re a nice lot. Just odd.’
He had come a long way from the mere rank 2 Weaver he had been when the rift opened. Having completed his 4th layer just 2 decades ago, he already felt tired and would probably retire once he was out of here.
His younger version, who dreamed of exploring the labyrinth and reaching the peak of power, would have scoffed at the idea, but now he didn’t have much fight left in him. The fire had died down long ago.
With a small stubble of silver hair on a chiselled jawline along with metallic eyes, He looked like any other handsome middle-aged Celestial elf out there, even if he was well on his way to completing his 1st century. But by the rank 4 standards, he was still pretty young.
‘I’ll start a family somewhere away from here, maybe go back to the Count. I wonder if he’ll accept me now or he’s still grumpy about the past. I just might have to set up my own barony in some quiet place.’
He looked up at what was called the Grand Weave. Beyond the clouds, he gazed at the vastly intricate, ever-moving golden tapestry that encompassed the sky. Trying to understand the millions of interconnected moving patterns of the Weave that covered the whole planet was a fool’s task, ‘But it sure looks beautiful, and this is merely the visible part.’
He was busy with his meanderings when the weave descended.
First, it was only one, then ten, then a hundred, and a few moments later, they were in tens of thousands. Countless fist-sized Orbs shining with golden light fell towards Chroma Ark.
Antonio didn’t try to escape. It was simply because he knew there was no escape. He stood calmly as a sphere separated from the rest that fell lower within the buildings, searching for their own targets like a tide. On a closer look, the orb wasn’t just an orb. It was an intricate, spherical-like filigree made of moving, shining golden threads.
The ‘sphere’ gently passed through his chest and entered his mind space. He felt a click as it anchored into his mind space. His eyes glinted with recognition. ‘the conduits used during summoning. But why now? There are still decades remaining ?’
There were a few more oddities.
First, There should have been a [proclamation] by the Weave, and then a notification asking for his permission should have come.
Second, and the more obvious one, the weave only reaches out to rank 4 weavers and higher ones. Unless there were a few thousand rank 3s who ascended to rank 4 this week, and he hadn’t heard the news yet, he doubted that was the case.
Or there were thousands of hostile rank 4s under the ground planning an ambush, which also probably isn’t the case. This shouldn’t be happening.
As far as he knew, there were a little less than 200 rank 4s currently residing in Chroma Ark, with most of them in the labyrinth right now, and as the Assistant Secretary of the mayor, he knew a lot of things.
He was coming to another conclusion, which was also the most probable one, but the ramifications didn't mean anything good for the world. Bu-
His communication device buzzed with dozens of messages. He read them. and knew that he was right. Rank 2s and 3s are going to be included. What the hell is the world coming to now? How big will the wave be now?
A few moments later, the expected notifications arrived along with a timer.
[A new round of Summoning is taking place]
[You have been selected as a Facilitator for the Renewal]
[You are advised to reach a Safe Location within 4hrs]
[03:59:59]
###
Victor decided he didn’t like PE. This should be illegal. Why the hell do we have to engage in physical activities under the midday sun? This is pure torture. He thought as he ran across the whole court for the umpteenth time.
In truth, He was just taking his frustrations out on the poor sun. Sports with on-the-spot thinking weren’t his favourites, Simply because he was bad at it. And basketball was just that game.
I bet I’m just looking like a moron running from one end of the court to another, shouting for the ball when I just pass that shit cause I can’t dribble for fuck’s sake.
“Andy, pass the ball!!” he shouted at a blonde boy who was currently being grouped up near the mid-court line.
“Here!” shouted ‘Andy’ as he shot the ball towards him, and he caught it.
Now the hard part, he thought as he glanced around, trying to find the person who he’ll pass the ball to because, as he said, he can’t dribble for shit,
“VICTOR SHOOT!!” shouted the coach from across the court, ‘fuck’ he thought as he stared up at the hoop that was directly in front of him, its net slowly waving back and forth in the wind.
And he also had a clear shot.
Going by logic, he knew he should shoot, but he knew he would miss it. After all, his shooting skills were even worse than his dribbling.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
He glanced around one last but finding no one, he tensed his shoulders, crouched a little and aimed for the square on the hoop and-
A piercing pain erupted from the back of his head, and he fell to the ground with a shriek that sounded like a girl, but he didn’t have time to care about that.
His head erupted with waves of pain that spread all over his body. He barely forced his eyes open and saw that all the other boys were also suffering.
He Screamed as one final wave of agony passed him that felt like all his organs were wrenched from inside, He spasmed, and then he was pulled out of his body. That was the last thing he felt before he lost awareness.
###
[01:46:23]
In the cacophony of noise generated by the unexpected thunderstorm of the day, the echoing sound of metal boots stepping on the marble floor could still be heard. The whole mansion was currently a whirlwind of activity with servants, messengers and guards running here and there.
With quickening steps, he passed the main gate. He stopped only for a short few seconds for the guards to check him, then hastened into the main hallway. Crossed the main hall, passed through another set of guards, and reached the living quarters of the Viscount.
He paused in front of a majestic gate with beautiful engravings of a serpent with 5 eyes. Unfortunately, he had no time to be intrigued by them.
Viscount’s Butler had just raised his hand to knock when a snarling voice hissed through the hallway, “Enter!!”. He didn’t dare to delay. Upon entering the room, he bowed to the tall lith figure whose face was hidden by the hood of his blue cloak, 2 slanted red eyes, and a vertical one in the centre of the forehead. “Your lordship, I-”
“The message! Now!”
" Act accordingly, don’t engage in conflict and await further instructions "
This was the message that Marchioness Veralisse had sent through the astral passage for everyone residing in the Fenigh region.
“Just as I expected, even the marchioness isn’t any wiser here”, he remarked as he picked up a glass, “Any news from our ‘Prophet’ ?”
“He says that the future is too turbulent. The world is in danger, a lot of rifts are going to open, and everything is going to change.”
The Cloaked figure sighed, “Everyone knows that. Anything specific ?”
“He says the grand weave can’t be predicted for its actions and motives are beyond the comprehension of us mor-”
The mirror on the adjacent wall shattered as Viscount Prefenslik smashed his glass into it.
“FUCKING USELESS !!, All that idiot knows is how to win at cards! Tell him to empty his living quarters before the clock strikes 6, or I’ll gorge his eyes out myself! ”
###
[00:04:12]
‘Only a few minutes’, thought Alfreno, commander of Viscount Prefenslik’s Auxiliary forces. He was an 8-foot giant with long golden hair and double-iris eyes of the same colour.
He stared at the dozens and dozens of scattered weavers spaced from each other in the courtyard behind the mansion, standing with either nervousness or excitement.
He wished to do this in the main hall, but there wasn’t enough space for all the confidants.
Since he was at the bottom of the chain, he was excluded to “supervise the unruly weavers and ensure that all forces’ summoning takes place smoothly without err, and then to maintain decorum until given further orders”
‘What in the damned hell am I even supposed to do when something pops up? I’m not even a rank 3 weaver.’ he huffed in annoyance.
Being given this much responsibility as only a rank 2 would have been a thing to be proud of if he wasn’t as anxious as he was now.
‘This is 3 decades early. Things were just calming down! Why did the weave have to change the schedule now? This is something only rank 4 and above are supposed to be involved in. Fuck. I was supposed to be tier 3 by the time of the next summoning, leading the forces to explore the new rifts. How bad will the wave be now?’ he tried to imagine, but he couldn’t. Hard times are coming.
After every round of summoning, there’s an influx of power in the Labyrinth. Thousands of New rifts open up in every continent while the monsters of the previous rifts grow agitated and usually push out into the world as monsters from the deeper paths of the labyrinth push through. In rare cases, a few rifts are upgraded. This is called the wave.
Not all groups look forward to the summonings, but they all look forward to the wave that follows them. It has long been theorised that outworlders were summoned by the Grand Weave to battle the waves.
Almost all the clans, factions, noble houses, temples, and kingdoms go to war for these locations because new rifts mean danger, and danger means new resources. Some rise, some fall, some break alliances, while some form new ones. By the end of each wave, the power dynamics will have changed.
Then, a short-lasting peace is established between everyone as they settle into stalemates with each other, with some treaties and compromises. Then, they lick their wounds, grow their strength, and fan the flames of the war. Towns and cities are rebuilt, and broken relations are mended once again. Then, another summoning takes place, and the new wave sparks another round of conflict. This was the cycle.
However, now the cycle is broken, the wars were just dying down, and peace was in the process of being established. And everyone could already tell that this summoning was different. Only rank 4 weavers and above are given the conduits of summoning. Giving them to rank 2 and 3 means that the weave was taking extreme measures, and extreme measures are only required for extreme situations. ‘This wave was going to be bad. Like bad bad.’
His thoughts were interrupted when someone whispered, “It’s starting.”
Shortly, he felt the elusive golden structure stirring in his mind space. A tingling sensation raced down his arm from his chest, where his mind space was located. Then, without much thought, he raised his arm in front of him. He knew that even if he didn’t, it wouldn’t have mattered.
From what he had heard, the weavers first manifested the soul seed. And these soul seeds served two functions at the same time. Not only were they the containers of the outworlder's soul, but they also ended up forming the core of their mind space already attuned with a Soul artefact.
In them, the soul and soul artefact coincided. How was it possible? He didn’t know.
Popping sounds rang out in the air as he summoned 8 of them. They looked like tiny gems, each shining radiantly in its own unique blend of colours,
One was scarlet red, containing a significant portion of metallic silver, yet he could see traces of grey flickering here and there. Another was light blue, reminiscent of the morning sky, with tiny bits of green and earthly brown twirling in it. There was also one half royal purple, half yellow, the shade of honey. Not one gem was the same.
Yet all of them had an electric golden hue, courtesy of the weave, probably, he thought.
Then, the weave took over. He lost control over his mind space.
[The Facilitator of Renewal] sure is wordy, but it's not a complicated role. You just have to let the weave take over, and it’ll create new bodies for the summoned ones.
Suddenly, he felt a huge influx of energy into his mind space, which was siphoned off from him in 8 different directions into the soul seeds. Then, new bodies were created in front of him.
It started from the heart, then the lungs. Then, other organs were created.
White bones grew from the back and encapsulated the torso, while a tangled mass of nerves along with the spine extended from the top of the chest upwards, where a mass of soft pink wrinkled organ was made. Two optic nerves extended from the front of the brain, and their structure altered as their fronts contracted into themselves to form small white balls each, which were then held in place by the skull, which had just grown so fast to cover the head that it looked like it appeared out of nowhere.
Red strands of muscle grew all over the white bones, covering them. In the next moment. New skin appeared to cover everything. Its colour changed from pink to different tones quickly. New hair was grown from the scalp to imitate exactly how they had been, and clothes were then made out of thin air to cover the naked bodies. Then they opened their eyes.
Within a few seconds, 8 new shocked bipedal sentient individuals appeared out of visibility nowhere and stood in front of him. There were hundreds of them all over the courtyard.
Hundreds of new bodies had been constructed out of nothing in this courtyard. All within a few seconds.
There were hundreds of millions of weavers in the world, all scattered in patches all over the 12 continents of the world. This means that billions of bodies had been constructed out of nothing. All within a few seconds.
He knew that some things were impossible. Even the fleshmancers of the highest ranks couldn’t have constructed such a complex body this perfectly without causing unwanted mutations or messing something up. Without proper materials and preparation, much less out of air. Yet the weave had done it all. All within a few seconds.
He had heard that during the summoning, the weave creates the bodies out of nothing. Now that he had seen the process, he understood the impossibility of the task.
So Efficient, So Perfect, So Grand.
###
Fin.