We have been on the road for three days now. I already recruited several people, but the most important meeting is yet to come.

Our convoy parked in front of a several kilometers wide, gigantic campus.

A big sign at the entrance to the light brown building complex states 'Adria Air Force Facility'.

Rick, my four soldiers, and I entered the facility's gate and informed the director of our arrival through the counter.

"Chief General Rostov, it's a pleasure that I can welcome you again in our facility."

"The pleasure is all mine, Director Parkins; your men are the best in my whole corps. I hope to rely on them more."

"That's great to hear. As you know, quality is essential to us. We don't release any pilot without having the ability to wreak havoc in the enemy lines."

We continued to talk while Director Parkins showed us the facility.

"To cut straight to the core, I plan on recruiting three hundred pilots from you; and that as fast as possible. I am going to depart in three weeks. Can you manage to select three hundred pilots in such a short time frame?"

"It won't be easy, but we are going to manage. This costs 450000 ducats; are you fine with that, Chief General Rostov?"

"Yes, quality has its price. Your pilots managed to generate way more than this in just one battle. You can be really proud of your training facility."

"Thank you; it's settled then. Where should they meet you?"

"In three weeks at the military airport in Michigan. For their transport will be cared for."

"Glad to do business with you; I hope you strike it big, Chief General."

"Thank you, Director."

"For what do you need three hundred pilots? I thought you only lost 130?" Rick Pepperstein asked, clearly interested.

"You are correct. The other pilots are, to some extend, back up, but mostly I plan to expand my air force, and for that, I need pilots. The air room on Orio should be firmly in my hands. It's an investment in the future, so to say."

"That's a wise decision, but an expensive one. I'm sure it will pay off; no one wants nasty space pirates."

"Yes, especially when Orio starts its function as a petrol station. Pirates are generally such a pain in the ass." I said with a sigh.

Four days later, and many visits later, we finally arrived at the mine.

"I hope this whole detour was worth it."

"It is, trust me." My friend Rick assured me.

We quickly entered the mine shaft, my four soldiers in tow.

Three minutes into walking, we spotted our first Rubin (a red diamond) the size of my hand.

I used a pickaxe lying on the wall and worked the Rubin free.

"This is just the beginning, Michael. In this mine are more of these rare Rubins than have ever been found in another mine. The problem with that is that this will spark a huge commotion, and everyone will want to have a chart of this pie. Also, the underground will surely set their eyes on this mine. Those two are the reasons why I want to cooperate with you on this project. No one besides me, and obviously the workers of my company who found it, know of this. Michael, I don't have the confidence to protect it from greedy hands. If you cooperated with me in this project, no one in their right minds would rob a Chief General, and we would fully own this property. If it goes onto the market, this land plot will cost astronomic sums, but we have the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to buy it for a fraction of its real price from the Schillers, who own this land before everyone else does. What do you think? We each own fifty percent of this mine, and there will be no prying eyes. This will cost you just 100000 ducats."

"Rick, don't get me wrong, but this feels way too good to be true. Why would the greedy Schiller family sell you this property for a fraction of its real price?"

"That's a good question, my friend, and it's actually very easy to answer. They simply don't know the real value. My workers discovered this mine by accident and only reported it to me. The Schillers don't have a clue, and no one else does. But this won't stay like that for long; I can only pretend to be doing something else here for so long. That's also why it's so urgent to get this thing done."

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"If that's the case, I'm on board, but let's keep heading deeper into this mine; you told me there were bigger ones than the one I'm holding in my hand, right?"

"Indeed. Please go along." Rick went back to his usual happy, carefree face after he completed his sales pitch.

We went deeper into the recently dug mine, the tunnels illuminated in a dark red light, through the reflection of the light on the Rubins.

The deeper we went in, the Rubins grew bigger and bigger.

"Can you also hear this?" I asked my companions.

"What do you mean? I can't hear anything." Rick answered.

"I also don't hear anything, Sir." A soldier commented.

But there was something—an eerily quiet murmuring of some sort.

'Come here,' a voice bellowed, seemingly originating out of my head.

I got goosebumps all over my body.

I looked all around; no one was behind us or before us.

Where did that voice come from? I wondered.

Most people would have exited the mineshaft right there, but I instead got excited.

I didn't even need to ask whether my compatriots had heard that voice since their unbothered faces revealed everything.

We continued downwards.

Suddenly the lights started flickering.

"What is happening?" A surprised Rick asked aloud.

"Maybe we should get out and check what happened." A scarred Soldier proposed.

I had no plans to stop my investigation.

"Sure, everyone that wants to check on the lights can go; I will continue in the meantime."

No sooner than I said that, the lights ultimately died down.

Surprisingly I could still see. Dark red light originated out of the Rubins.

"Why do they glow?" A confused Rick asked out loud.

"That's easy to answer; these are not Rubins; they are Bloodstones," I informed with a slight laugh.

"Bloodstones?" Rick asked.

"Bloodstones develop in places, as the name might suggest, where tons of blood has been shed. However, this place did not form naturally. There were never big enough battles in this place to explain the massive amount of Bloodstones. Someone or something created this."

"How do you do that?" Rick asked curiously.

"You said this plot of land belongs to the Schiller family? We will need to interrogate them discretely. I don't believe they have enough enemies to explain so many Bloodstones. And obviously, this Bloodstone reserve can't leak out. If you had faced huge problems when the Rubin mine was made public, those interested in these Bloodstones would literally kill you."

"Why use do these have, Michael?" Rick gulped while asking.

"The main use is to expand your lifespan, essentially granting everlasting youth, as long as you have enough of those. I also heard that they modify your body."

"There is only one way to find it out, anyway," I said with a mysterious smile before I pulled out a combat knife hidden in my trousers and slashed at my left artery. Blood streamed out of my left arm onto the big Bloodstone I held in my right arm—greed and excitement all over my face.

"Men, today you have the one-time chance to transcend the mortal realm. Swear your absolute loyalty towards me and become part of the Bloodwatch." I directed my knife in the four soldiers' direction, blade in my bare hand, while the handle is held out.

"Have you gone nuts?" A bewildered Rick cried out in shock, finally getting over the shock that I just sliced my artery.

"Rick, my friend, I have in no way gone crazy. I will be forever grateful for what you have gifted me today. You don't have a clue how precious these Bloodstones are. It would be a waste to sell them; their worth is not possible to measure in ducats. You have to understand that Bloodstones are paid for by sentient blood. We shall use this godsend gift ourselves."

A soldier went forward and grabbed the knife I was extending as he saw that I was not dying. In fact, the wound started to close at a visible speed. The blood-soaked Bloodstone ever-increasingly glowed before becoming transparent and entering my open wound.

This all just took a minute, and the only reminder of what transpired was dried blood at the floor and artery.

"Men, if you want to integrate a Bloodstone into your system, you have to understand that it's a sentient being. It will fight against you, cloud your head, and devour your body If your resolve is lacking. You have to dominate and placate it while it enters your body. You will have to master control over your emotions and thoughts, or it will get you in your weakest moment. If you are fine with all that, grab this knife and stab it in your heart."

"Take your helm off and tell me your name; we will be blood bound towards another in the future, and I want to see who I'm bonding with."

The soldier took off his white helmet, revealing several long brown braids, tanned skin, and resolute green eyes.

"I'm William."

I went to the nearby wall and punched it—a deep crater formed on the right of a vast Bloodstone embedded into the wall. Several punches and a gaping mouth of Rick later, the Bloodstone was free.

"You can start, William."

William closed his eyes and rammed the knife in his heart. I took the knife out of his hand and cut my left artery again. I sprayed the Bloodstone with my blood and then held the stone towards the heart of William.

Three minutes later, William was back on his feet, as vital as ever.

"It takes longer to assimilate when it's your first time," I explained.

"Get yourself some more Bloodstones and procced as I did. You don't have to hit your heart; your artery is fine as well. Stabbing your heart is only required the first time."

"Who wants next?" I asked with a smile on my face, hands full of blood.

"Me," Rick said with determination in his voice.

"I knew you were no coward, Rick."

"Michael, you are right. These Bloodstones are really something to behold."

In the end, we left the mine two hours later. Everyone consumed as many Bloodstones as their mind could handle—the cries of the dead resounding in our heads.

On this day, five people on Adria transcended their mortal shell.