Ground Layer.

Lifting Station.

Darker, bleaker, quieter. That was the atmosphere of the lifting station despite it being a place with considerably more energy compared to the other areas of this Layer. Though the people from the upper Layers came down, bringing with them the energy and excitement found above, it did not last much long as the atmosphere here assimilated them quickly, and soon they became a part of the atmosphere that persisted in the Ground Layer.

People, individual or in groups moved around, some having just exited the lifts while others waited for them to turn to get on the ships.

A radius of 500 meters, in the center of the station, was filled with columns rising from the ground and touching the ceiling, and going even further above until they reached the topmost Layer. Some columns were small and slim, others large enough to house thousands of people at once. Most people waited near the biggest columns while a few waited near the smaller ones.

The top of one of the biggest columns suddenly lit up with dim light, not quite strong enough to repel the dark atmosphere but enough to be visible to all. As the light approached the ground, the crowd shifted as people headed towards the said column.

While that was happening, multiple groups carrying heavy bags headed towards different locations which ultimately allowed all of them to get a clear view of a smaller column. These people were silent moving silently like many other groups, with nary a sign of their actual intentions.

Once they arrived at their positions, there were people waiting for them already who beckoned them into various buildings all having a common point, they allowed them a clear view of their targeted lift while keeping them hidden from the people outside.

Once inside, the ground opened their bags, taking out equipment that they expertly assembled into long-nozzled guns; multiple pipes connected to the bottom part of the weapon. On the other end of the nozzle were spheres made from metal, each housing a Refined Core.

Soon after all of the nozzles were pointing to that specific column, that column also lit up in a dim light which almost instantly arrived at the bottom. Next, the column started rippling and the material making up the column shifted, opening a passage for the passengers to exit.

Refined Cores were quickly sucked, and a dense but fully contained stream of Qi passed through the pipes which further refined and compressed the Qi, then it finally entered the body of the weapon where it was mixed and stabilized. Almost instantly and at the same time, the weapons surrounding the lift column were all ready, just waiting for the orders to fire.

***

Vissbl stood in the middle, surrounding him was the regiment of his private guards, each and every one of them once an experienced harvester who then had to go through an even greater level of training such that almost nothing could face off against them in this settlement.

His fingers rubbed the ring, a bubbling excitement hidden under his outwardly grave demeanor. Excitement that had been rekindled within him after such a long time, so much so that he was almost grateful that his heir was kidnapped. The atmosphere currently brewing inside the settlement was perfect, as though ordained by God. This time he had both things, not just the cause, but also the power he had been missing last time. The excitement made him rub the ring even quicker.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

It was the result of his many cycles of research, a small object with many abilities, all of which were powerful enough that he would have no problem fighting the heads of the remaining families and easily overpowering them.

Reaching the Ground Layer, the lift came to a stop and all inside felt their bodies being lifted in the air, a feeling of weightlessness filling their senses, then the gravity grabbed them once again and the sensation was gone.

The wall on all sides quivered, and eventually, multiple paths were opened on all sides as the metal flowed back like it was water. First to exit were the guards, who first scanned the surroundings before allowing Vissbl to leave. Though he was stronger than all, that was only physically unlike the guards each of whom had survived outside for many cycles.

“Let’s go,” Vissbl ordered his men, waiting for the hidden rodents to finally attack him. Once he cleaned them all, he would have a perfect excuse to launch an attack on other families, after all, they still had not found how these people had infiltrated the settlement. Now that he had greater power and a cause, he just had to blame and attack those up above.

His face twitched as he tried to calm down, to keep the smile under control.

The simile crumbled in infancy. He could sense it, the guards could sense it. It was slight but undoubtedly there. A powerful accumulation of Qi all around him. All the hair on his body stood up. An aura exploded out from his body throwing away the guards surrounding him, instinctively, his Qi rushed into the ring, and the next moment he was surrounded by a barrier from all sides.

At the exact moment, multiple beams of Qi crashed into his barrier, simultaneously hitting the barrier on all sides.

‘Danger. I am in danger, I have to escape,’ was the only thing going through his mind but he did not know what to do. He could not move, the moment he did so, his instincts told him he would die. His heart beat crazily as he watched the barrier being deformed despite him sending all his Qi into the ring which was quickly heating up. The moment he got hit, he would be erased, Vissbl fully understood as he bore the attacks. His mind raced like it never had before but nothing.

He who was different from the masses. He who had undergone Shedding, the metamorphosis. He was going to die.

Desperation grew as the barrier deformed to an even greater extent and he pulled his Qi faster to which the gaseous Qi running through his body responded. The moment he had successfully undergone the metamorphosis, no longer was it just a concept, no longer just an illusion. His Qi was real and thus it contained power that was incomparable to that illusionary Qi that flowed in the bodies of normal humans who had not undergone Shedding.

The barrier around him solidified, the process of deforming slowing down but he could feel the terrible power inside the beams had not stopped destroying the masterpiece he had spent so much time to create. ‘Should I activate the other functions,’ but that thought was dismissed the moment it appeared. All of his Qi was being pumped into the barrier that allowed it to bear the assault so he could do nothing but watch as the time ever so slowly crawled by.

He could see the guards breaking into a sprint, each of their moments clearly captured by his eyes. He could see as their arms moved forward and backward, as their legs moved forward and backward. Only a few stood by his side, protecting him. Everything was slow, whether it be his guards or the sea of people surrounding them. The aura of death suddenly intensified but there was no time, not even for his emotions to erupt.

While the guards headed towards the location from where the attacks were launched, Revensol watched the whole thing with Harlev, Arv, and other members of the group at his side.

“Strike,” Harlev ordered a person who came out of his hiding, in his hand a bolt ripple similarly connected to Refined Cores. Being so close, the guards around Vissbl locked onto his presence the moment the bolt rifle started gathering power but before they could come near, a burst of dense Qi shot out, hitting the barrier, instantly the barrier crumbled and the beams of Qi hit the Vissbl.

First to disappear were his appendages, then his lower body, then the right side of his chest, leaving in their wake a broken body with its owner unconscious. More and more members emerged from the surroundings, dealing with the guards and grabbing the remaining body of Vissble.

“With this, the operation had officially started. Harlev you are responsible for the top Layer as for others, do as dictated by the plan,” Revensol said.

“Yes, sir!!”