At the Oxorn Military Base, outside the grand, imposing Acrua Building, personnel gathered in rows of five, with thirteen individuals per line. These were the Valorians, soldiers who had grown up within the confines of the military, their lives shaped and disciplined by Project Valor—a rigorous training program now overseen by Dr. Litene, a renowned geneticist and officer within the Oxorn ranks. The Valorians were more than just soldiers; they were living embodiments of the project’s success, hardened and refined.
Standing at the forefront was Midas, their squad leader, who scanned the ranks with a watchful eye, performing the head count. As the numbers added up in his mind, murmurs began to spread through the formation.
“What’s this about, Midas?” one of the soldiers asked, breaking the silence.
Midas kept his gaze forward, his tone measured as he replied, “Orders were to bring you all here. Dr. Litene herself requested the assembly.”
Ryon, a quieter member of the squad, took in this information with his usual stoicism, though he couldn't help but let his gaze drift toward one of the female soldiers nearby. She stood silent and still, her face unreadable. His thoughts lingered on her for a moment, lost in speculation, until Midas’s voice snapped him back to attention.
“Form up and brace!” Midas ordered. “We’ll turn in files and march. Dr. Litene is waiting.”
With that, the Valorians moved in perfect unison, their steps echoing across the yard as they marched toward the building with swift precision.
---
Meanwhile, deep within the Oxorn facility, Commander Valis observed from behind a protective barrier in the Deemster Laboratory, the highly secure lab reserved for Oxorn’s most sensitive research. Alongside him stood his squad, fresh from their excavation mission, their expressions ranging from anticipation to unease. In the center of the room, lying on a table surrounded by machinery and scanning equipment, was the metallic cuboid artifact they had unearthed—a strange, steel structure, now dormant and silent, yet still exuding a faint, mysterious energy.
Dr. Litene joined Valis at his side, her eyes sharp as they focused on the artifact. “Commander Valis,” she began, her voice professional but laced with curiosity, “bring me up to speed. I want every detail.”
Valis nodded, his voice calm as he summarized the events. “We discovered the artifact in a concealed chamber, emitting a light that dimmed as we extracted it. My team secured the perimeter, and initial scans indicate an unknown energy source. However, it was too weak to classify—potentially related to void charge energy, but… different.”
“Fascinating,” Dr. Litene murmured, a spark of intrigue lighting her gaze. She then turned to the squad, her expression shifting as she addressed one of the younger members, Vinyl, who, despite the tension, managed to grin as he greeted her with an exaggerated salute.
“Dr. Litene, it’s a pleasure, as always,” he said, adding a playful wink.
The youngest squad member snickered while the others groaned and face-palmed. Dr. Litene returned his greeting with a wry smile, though a touch of awkwardness softened her demeanor. “Vinyl, now’s not the time,” she replied, her tone polite but firm. Still, she couldn’t entirely hide her amusement, nor fault the young soldier for his lighthearted spirit.
As they turned their focus back to the cuboid, one of the Deemsters, a scientist clad in lab gear and adjusting a control panel, spoke into the lab’s broadcast system. “Commander Valis, Dr. Litene, we’re preparing to initiate a void charge analysis. Scanners indicate the artifact is emitting a weak but steady energy signal. We’re not entirely sure of its nature, but initial readings show some relation to void charge parameters. All personnel, please remain behind the protective barrier.”
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The room fell silent as four mechanical appendages extended toward the artifact, each tipped with a pair of gleaming electrical probes. As the Deemsters initiated the void charge countdown, Valis exchanged a brief look with Dr. Litene, their shared curiosity tempered with caution.
“Commencing in five… four… three… two… one…”
The probes activated, releasing controlled surges of void energy that struck the artifact, enveloping it in waves of faintly glowing, grey energy. The hum of the machinery filled the lab, intensifying as the void charge continued, particles shimmering in the charged atmosphere. They held the charge for a tense fifteen seconds before powering down, the room falling into silence once again.
Nothing happened.
The Deemsters exchanged puzzled glances, and murmurs spread through the lab. “No reaction detected,” one of them announced with a hint of frustration. “Perhaps another approach is needed…”
Before they could proceed, a loud, rapid beeping sounded from the scanner. The screen showed a spike in energy output—a massive one.
“High energy reading detected!” another Deemster shouted, his voice tinged with panic as the lab began to shake, as though under siege from a seismic force.
Valis braced himself as the floor quaked, his eyes locked on the cuboid as it began to glow again, this time with an intensity that surpassed the previous light by tenfold. The glow spread, its radiance filling the room, forcing everyone behind the barrier to shield their eyes.
Vinyl, squinting against the blinding light, muttered, “Is it… supposed to be doing that?”
“Everyone, stand back!” Dr. Litene shouted, her voice carrying an edge of alarm.
The cuboid pulsed once, then again, the energy within it growing until, with a sudden burst, it released a radiant shockwave that shot upward, piercing the ceiling and extending into the sky like a beam of pure energy. The entire facility fell silent, watching in awe as the beam surged beyond the atmosphere, visible from miles away—a beacon stretching into the vastness of space.
---
Seval sat in a fishing boat on the quiet, moonlit lake, a bucket brimming with their catch resting between him and his friend, Adam. The night had been calm, filled with the steady rhythm of their reeling and casting, and both men were content, laughing as they admired their haul. Wiping his brow, Adam stretched with a grin. "Well, I’d say we’ve done more than enough for today. Ready to head back?"
But Seval, who had been about to agree, suddenly went still. A strange sensation washed over him, prickling along his senses, almost like the hum of distant energy. His gaze drifted upward, drawn by something he couldn’t explain.
"Hey, Sev? You okay?" Adam asked, noticing his friend’s sudden stillness.
Seval didn’t answer. His eyes had fixed on a brilliant beam of light shooting up into the night sky. The light arced across the heavens in a bright, radiant line, as if reaching out toward something far beyond their world. It was too bright, too steady to be a mere star, and it seemed to pulse with an otherworldly energy.
Adam squinted upward, following Seval’s gaze. "What the... Is that some kind of military test?" he wondered aloud.
But Seval shook his head slowly, the awe unmistakable in his voice. "No… it doesn’t feel like that. This… this is something else."
He barely finished his sentence before another sensation pulled his attention away from the sky. There, standing just above the lake’s dark, mirrored surface, was a radiant figure. It was unmistakably human-like, though the form was composed entirely of glowing light, shimmering in hues that danced like fire and frost. The figure stood poised, gazing upward toward the beam that connected earth and sky.
Seval’s breath caught. The figure’s presence was magnetic, almost sacred, and despite himself, he felt an unshakable sense of familiarity, though he didn’t know why. He couldn’t look away.
Adam, glancing back and forth between Seval and the lake, grew visibly uneasy. "Sev, what are you staring at? There’s nothing out there."
But Seval didn’t respond. His eyes were locked on the figure, who seemed to be aware of the light beam’s origin and purpose. There was a serenity in its stance, a sense of understanding far beyond human comprehension, and yet it was here, as real as the lake beneath them.
The figure’s gaze remained fixed on the beam, as though it were waiting, watching for something to happen. Its glowing form stood in silent communion with the light in the sky, a spectral witness to an event Seval could hardly begin to understand.
Then, as suddenly as it had appeared, the figure began to dissolve, its light dispersing like mist in the morning sun. Seval’s heart raced as he tried to hold onto the vision, even as it faded into the darkness. He blinked, the silence around them seemed more profound than before.
"Seval, come on," Adam said, his voice now strained. "Let’s get out of here."
Seval could only nod, his mind reeling with questions he had no way to answer, the image of the figure seared into his memory. The lake was calm again, but nothing felt quite the same.