228 TI TO RETURN
A faint smile touched Nicaesa's lips. "That's a space bracelet. You rember your assistant, Liorea, and her ability to store things through dinsional compression? It's similar… but this one draws its power from the artifact itself, not from awakened ability."
"There's actually sothing like that in this world?" Dan asked, intrigued.
"Yes. Take it…it's yours now," Nicaesa insisted.
"But this is too valuable…" Dan protested.
Nicaesa shook his head. "Don't worry. If I recover, I can make another. For now, you'll need it more than I do. You'll be scavenging the battlefield, and this will make it easier."
Dan nodded slowly, then smiled. "Alright… but I'll do it my way."
He scanned the bracelet first.
Na: Bracelet of Space Compression
Description: has the ability to compress space within the bracelet for storage and withdrawal of goods up to 150 cubic ters.
[150 cubic ters are equivalent to less than 2 shipping containers]
Instead of wearing the bracelet like others would, he focused his energy on it…. assimilating the artifact into his body with his mining app.
The silver band dissolved into light and vanished into his palm.
A new ssage flashed before his eyes:
[Congratulations. New Ability Acquired: Storage Space – Level 1]
Dan laughed aloud. "Storage Space? You're not joking!"
He experinted imdiately.
The process felt clumsy at first, like reaching through invisible doors, but soon he got the hang of it.
He now possessed a power akin to Liorea's… perhaps a weaker version, but invaluable, nonetheless.
Nicaesa smiled faintly, "Good. You're adapting much faster than I expected." Then he closed his eyes again and sank back into recovery.
Dan turned toward the ruins of the fortress. "Ti to work."
Outside, the battlefield stretched endlessly…mountains of alien corpses scattered under the twin suns. He activated the Scan function in Connect Vision.
Detected: Cores. Bones. Hearts. Eyes.
Each valuable piece shimred in his perception like buried treasure. Moving quickly, Dan harvested everything—ta artifacts, energy cores, and the remains of fallen aliens.
He stored them effortlessly within his new dinsional space, including entire carcasses. Those carcasses would be sent to the fortress to be drained of their blood by the android nurse and forged into new Bloodstones for Nicaesa's healing machine.
For days and then weeks, this beca his ritual.
Hunt. Harvest. Forge.
All while the silent heartbeat of the healing chamber pulsed within the ruins….keeping Lord Nicaesa alive, and the fortress dimly lit against the endless desert night.
Outside in the desert, the Space Rift that once connected Fortress Myrone to the outer world had been destroyed by Sienna during the evacuation.
Dan couldn't return through it anymore.
The only path ho now was to find another rift…and he would do so once Nicaesa recovered.
-----
[Palace of the Revolution- one week after the kidnapping of Argent]
"It's been a week since Argent was taken. We still don't know who snatched him or where they brought him," Queen Erythos said, pacing the room, her voice tight with worry.
Sienna sat quietly, sipping her iced coffee.
Argent was like a real brother to her, but she hid her emotions behind her usual calm façade. She closed her eyes, massaging her temples as she thought.
"We do know who took him," she said at last. "It's obvious. They're from Silver City."
"But who in Silver City?" Erythos countered. "There are too many factions there who would love to capture a Quantum Mind for themselves."
Silence stretched as Sienna thought.
Then another voice joined in. "Back when we were still in GenSyn, the Atheris family approached us for Ethan Lace. That was why we put him in suspended animation…to smuggle him out. But GenSyn fell before they could retrieve him," Kaiser Qiltera said.
"Yes. The Atheris," Erythos added darkly. "They even tried to breach our security once. We killed several of their psychics and put their bodies on display at the palace gate."
"Atheris…" Sienna murmured. Then she shook her head. "They don't have the ans to pull this off."
"What do you an?" Erythos asked.
"Those five Rank A psychics we killed and displayed on our gates were only scouts," Sienna replied grimly. "They ca to confirm whether a Quantum Mind was here. But there were others—stronger ones—who slipped into our palace unseen, wearing our faces, moving through our halls as if they owned this place…the Atheris family alone couldn't do all that."
"To summon five Rank A psychics just to test if Argent is a Quantum mind? The Atheris can't afford that," Erythosadded.
"Then who is it, if not them?" Kaiser pressed.
Sienna let out a low laugh. "Oh, the Atheris are still guilty. They're just not acting alone. Soone far stronger is behind them."
"Stronger than the Atheris?" Kaiser asked incredulously. "They're already one of the ruling families of Silver City."
Sienna took another sip before answering, "I'm talking about the hidden hand behind all the families in Silver City… the city's true owner…. its puppet master."
"There's such a person? A puppet master," Erythos whispered.
Sienna nodded once. "I have to go to Silver City."
"I'm coming with you," Erythos said imdiately.
"No. Liberty City needs you here," Sienna replied.
"You can't go alone. It's too dangerous," Erythos insisted.
At that mont, several figures materialized behind Sienna.
"Sienna won't be going alone," one of them said.
Kaiser stiffened. "Who are these people?"
Sienna smiled. "They are our allies."
-----
A month has passed since the fall of Fortress Myrone.
Dan spent his nights among its shattered walls, guarding the unconscious Lord Nicaesa as he slowly recovered.
By day, Dan crossed the scorched battlefield, scavenging ta artifacts and harvesting alien blood from the corpses left behind.
More than once, he encountered deadly threats, but under the twin suns of Anu he was untouchable. Their light nded every wound the mont it ford, making him invincible beneath their blazing heat.
And the month's harvest had been extraordinary.
Heart Cores
Heart of Ra — Lv. 5: 16 / 28Heart of Shu — Lv. 5: 16 / 19Heart of Heka — Lv. 4: 8 / 9
ta Cores
Core of Electricity — L8: 128 / 143Core of Kinetic — L7: 64 / 96Core of Echo — L5: 16 / 20Core of Light — L5: 16 / 26Core of Mind — L6: 32 / 62Core of Genesis — L8: 128 / 139Core of Blood — L7: 64 / 82
Other Cores
Core of Location — L6: 32 / 36
Dan reviewed his current status and allowed himself a rare, satisfied breath.
Over the past month he had drained the power of countless high-tier alien beasts, absorbing their strength without letting his Blood stat spiral out of control by carefully fueling his abilities with blood.
His Body Armor had reached Rank AAA—a milestone even he hadn't expected to hit so soon.
He clenched his fist, feeling the quiet surge of power beneath his skin. Everything was progressing exactly as he planned. The next ti he ets a Rank S, he might have a fighting chance.
Na: Dan Dark
Strength Rank:AA ta Rank:AA Blood Rank:BBB Psychic Rank:AA
Strength:14699 | Charm:14386 | ta:15131 | Command:15132 | Blood:3068 | Armor:20916
At last, Lord Nicaesa's wounds fully closed, his strength restored.
The ti had finally co for them to leave the desert of Anu behind.
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