When Zenith returned to the freighter, Fable knew immediately that something was wrong. "You okay?" Zenith faked a smile and nodded. "Just a bit tired from the training. You said we got a new assignment?" he spoke with excitement and eagerness that was not faked.

Fable looked for a moment, knowing something else might be wrong, but he didn't want to pry so he nodded and grinned. "That's right! Let's go meet the others." He and Zenith soon entered the prep area where Mirabell and Jenabell were.

Mirabell had made tea and snacks for everyone, humming quietly as she served it all. Zenith thanked her. Jenabell, seeing everyone gathered, then spoke. "Kid, you're here, good. I'll get down to the details. After some consideration, our equipment and gear is a little bit behind. We also don't have the funds to spare right now for new equipment. Allspace has some unique blueprints that still hold up today. We can borrow the Fabricator in this outpost; the only issue is we lack materials."

Fable laughed quietly. "Figured as much." Jenabell ignored him as she continued to speak. "This Relic site is a little special. It's a hollowed-out planet in the middle of the white space. Resonant creatures of all sorts and shapes call that place home." Zenith was a little confused.

"White space? Is that where the relic sites are? Like the grassy plains?" Jenabell, hearing Zenith's question, nodded. "That's right. The white space is something no one knows anything about. We just know that it appeared when the humans were around, maybe even before, but that's where most of the relic sites are."

Fable considered some things and spoke up. "If it's a planet home to resonant creatures, isn't it a little too dangerous to take up?" Jenabell, having expected this, spoke up. "Don't worry, it's listed as danger level White Wolf for a reason. It doesn't have any Resonant creatures that are too bad. The worst you are going to find are car-sized ones, but those are far too few, and you can handle those easily, Fable. After how many times this device has been handed down, I got a good deal on it. Hopefully, we can still get some materials from it all."

Jenabell then turned to Mirabell. "Darling, bring the Thingamajig." Mirabell nodded, rushing off and returned with a backpack that had what looked like a hose attached and at the end of it a nozzle.

Fable pondered. "Isn't that the thing from the human movie called Zone Dusters?" He spoke up. Jenabell shook her head at her grandson's ignorance but corrected him. "This thing here was made a few years back by the federation. It allows us to shrink and store the bodies of resonant creatures and store them in a specially made enclosure storage area, sort of like the capsules we found. Don't ask me how exactly it works; those eggheads just made it work."

Nodding with amazement, Fable spoke up. "Well, saves us the trouble of having to drag all those bodies back to the teleporter." Zenith eyed it curiously and chimed in. "Guessing I'll be the one wearing it?" He smiled bitterly.

Fable chuckled. "Don't worry, we can take turns. I know you want to get more practice in." Jenabell spoke up soon after. "Good, okay, let's talk about the interior." Some time later, when it was all said and done, they would start the next day. Zenith was currently laid down on his bed in sleep attire, gazing at the ceiling. "Tsch," he clicked his tongue then gazed at his device before he began to look at information regarding the Vailen clan.

A few minutes later, he found what he needed. "Aleren Vailen, a super prodigy of the Vailen clan which holds an important position in the governance of the federation as well as industries around and even outside federation territory. At 10, his resonance was powerful enough that he found it hard to control, so it naturally leaked out of his body. At 15, he unlocked his resonance ability, simply known as 'Loved by the Stars.' It's said he has an unleashed Resonance ability, but no information is currently known other than what is available in public."

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

Zenith sighed a little. Aleren really was like that relic hunter said, a main character of his generation. Soon he heard his slide door knock. "Come in," he spoke, sitting up as he closed everything. Fable walked in, eating from a bag of snacks as he looked at Zenith quietly.

"Whatcha doin'?" He spoke curiously. Zenith blinked. "Just resting, why?" Zenith then looked in surprise as Fable laughed. "Well, you know you used the network from Allspace's account, so I could see what you accessed. Aleren Vailen, huh? I heard that Mythica chick was training in the relic site. Why interested all of a sudden? Are you into her?" He snickered a little.

Zenith's face turned red, not from embarrassment but from the fact he had been found out so easily. "I-it's not that... I was just curious about the politics and all that, of people my age, to see what I should strive for."

Fable nodded, leaning against the slide door frame. "Can you believe that bozo? Mythica Aralune the armored babe you saw, Celeste Everson who's the daughter of a relic syndicate head, and then there's Himiko Tamaoka, whose family is said to retain ancient ways that date back to human times. Her family leads one of few B rank relic hunter organizations; they call her the Samurai priestess, whatever the hell samurai means. All three are total 11/10's on my scale. He's got his own little harem, pfft. Bet he is compensating for something by making those girls like him."

Zenith couldn't help but smile a bit, wanting to laugh. Fable, seeing this, nodded and laughed a bit too as he went on. "They call him a main character of his generation, like a protagonist or some crap. The hell does he think he is? A dude from one of those trashy human novels? Not just him, but his girls too and those other prodigies. They all have one thing in common: their backgrounds are big and rich, resources to splurge and all that crap. Fed by golden spoons."

Zenith seemed thoughtful. He looked more carefully at Fable. "Why are you trying to cheer me up? What do you know?" He spoke, as if to imply he understood Fable knew something. Fable stayed quiet for a moment, then laughed.

"Well, I know when you came back, you were holding in a lot of anger. You didn't realize it, but your resonance was shaky and leaking a bit. Anger does that. Then the first thing you did after the meeting was come here and look up about the Vailen clan? Anything you want to get off your chest? Just know Allspace is a family. You don't need to be jealous of anyone; you're yourself, the own protagonist of your own life."

Zenith sighed quietly. "It's nothing, I swear. I'm not jealous; I really am just curious. Ever since I got a resonance frequency, I guess I have a competitive spirit light up and want to push myself."

Fable nodded, none the wiser as he wasn't all-knowing. He felt happy for Zenith. "That's great then! It's good to set goals. You're part of Allspace now. At our peak, those families and people were nothing in our eyes. If it wasn't for... well, forget it. Hey, get some rest. Tomorrow's a big day."

Zenith looked carefully at Fable, seeing he was a bit bitter regarding Allspace's situation. "Fable, thanks to you, Mirabell, and Jenabell for taking me in," Zenith admitted. Fable stopped and smiled before grinning, stepping out and turning back. "You're welcome. Hey, by the way, if you feel lonely, you don't need a harem. Why don't you date my sist-" Before he could finish, Zenith gave him an expressionless look and pressed the button to automatically close the slide door.

Zenith soon decided to rest, shutting his eyes and falling asleep, physically and now mentally exhausted. An hour or so later, as Zenith slept, inside his body, the mass of resonance that seemed dark and watery like a ball suddenly quivered. From the very center of that mass was a small round-like form. It looked like two hands clenched together, one milky white with swirling lights, the other void black resembling the hand of the human who had assisted with Zenith's resonance frequency.

The white hand quivered a little, releasing white strings that began to merge into the mass of resonance that made Zenith's core. This caused the mass to turn milky white. This mass of resonance, although useful for body strengthening, was the main source of resonance abilities and resonance runes, so it was not like Zenith couldn't use it.

After a half hour of this, the white hand stopped quivering and calmed down, the black hand trembling a bit before black strings left it and returned that milky white color into the dark murky watery mass. As if the two were now combined with no obvious difference, though if one paid close attention, they would see small twinkling lights fluttering every now and again around that mass of resonance.