Asher opened his eyes first and saw Lucy sleeping on her chest. She was still smiling, even in her sleep—proof of much she enjoyed it.
Though for him, it was just passable, if he was being honest.
It wasn't as satisfying as it had been with Hailey, but it felt better than usual. He appreciated the effort Lucy had put in.
He caressed her hair for a few more minutes before leaning in to kiss her forehead, which woke her up.
Lucy blinked slowly, her smile widening when she saw him.
"Already up?" she mumbled, voice still heavy with sleep.
"Yeah," he said, brushing a strand of hair from her face. "Didn't want to wake you."
She stretched, then curled closer, resting her head against his chest. "You could've stayed a little longer."
He hesitated. "Can't. Got sothing I need to take care of."
Her fingers traced lazy circles on his arm. "Is it about Hailey or the Queen of Fairies?"
Asher didn't answer right away. Just stared at the ceiling, his mind already sowhere else.
"Lucy, take care of the Fairies' territory while I'm gone," he said, breaking the silence.
"Why? Where are you going?" She pushed herself up, confusion flickering in her eyes.
She had only just gotten him for a couple of hours, and now he was off sowhere else again.
Asher could feel her eyes on him, searching for sothing in his expression, so kind of reason or explanation.
He took a breath, looking away for a mont. He had hoped to keep her out of it.
But she wasn't going to let it slide, not now. Her curiosity—and her worry—was too strong.
He couldn't keep the truth from her any longer.
"I'm going to the Void to rescue Index."
"The Void?" she repeated, her voice rising slightly in shock. "But you told it would take you at least a year to be strong enough to go in and leave that place?"
"I know what I said. But things are different now. I discovered sothing that could help ."
Lucy's eyes narrowed, her worry deepening. She sat up fully, pushing the blankets off her body. "What changed?"
He exhaled slowly. "Just trust ."
She searched his face for any hint of hesitation, but the seriousness in his eyes told her everything she needed to know.
"I trust you," she whispered, though there was still a flicker of fear in her eyes.
"Thank you." With one last lingering look, Asher gave her a passionate kiss before blinking out of the bedroom.
Lucy was left alone and let out a deep sigh.
"I have no ti to be lonely..."
She quickly got dressed and made her way to her personal library. She needed to focus on studying more magic.
***
***
***
He found himself back at Valsrath Fortress, now standing on one of the many islands in the demon world.
No one else remained here except him, which made it the perfect place for his next plan—to build a flying airship strong enough to withstand anything in the Void.
That's right. After seeing how human technology had killed a titan, he realized just how limited he was, relying solely on his own power.
He could forge an item to amplify his power, to make up for any weaknesses, and to face future threats.
"This is the key to my plan." Asher murmured to himself, his fingers brushing over the soft substance he pulled from his storage space.
It was the gel from the Alpha Particle, flexible and powerful.
With it, he could design a new type of engine—one that wouldn't just power the ship but also maintain a much stronger barrier over long periods.
Not just that—he also planned to upgrade the ship's weapon. He would design a new one based on the sa principle as the Alpha Particle Charges—but his version would go further.
And he already knew the best way to make it happen.
'That thing was limited because they used so kind of glass as a dium,' he mused inwardly. 'But what if I used dragon cores instead?'
The dragon cores weren't just powerful—they were adaptable. Unlike the glass dium, which had limitations in absorbing and releasing energy, the cores could be refined and altered to suit different types of energy.
By embedding the cores into the design, the cannon wouldn't just be stronger—it would be versatile, able to adjust to whatever threat the Void threw at it.
'Luckily, I have a lot of them.'
He had a collection of low-ranking ones stored away. He could easily empty them out, breaking down their essence so they could function differently.
It would render the cores useless for other purposes, but that wasn't a concern. He didn't need them for anything else.
The side missions had consud a lot of his ti, but now it was ti to focus on the main objective.
First, he redesigned the bow—the entire front section of the ship. He reshaped the bulbous bow and streamlined the hull, cutting away anything that might slow it down.
Decorative parts, unused compartnts, and weight-heavy fras were all removed.
After that, to ensure precision, he carved molding holes directly into the ground. Each one was asured to fit the external plates he had designed.
Next, he began by reinforcing the airship's fra with a lightweight tal that he got from Eryx.
It was rare, and the quantity wasn't much. That's why no one ever used it to build a ship. But he wasn't using it the usual way.
Instead of forging it into parts, he diluted the material and applied it like paint across the airship's outer layer.
This substance had a unique effect: it could withstand both extre heat and intense cold, sothing no ordinary tal could manage for long.
The airship, now nad the "Void Slasher," had undergone a remarkable transformation.
When he finished working on the exterior, the airship took on a more futuristic look and was way smaller and leaner.
The sleek, aerodynamic shape reduced drag, enhancing its speed and maneuverability.
'Now for the engine.'
Previously, the ship had relied on a dragon core—a powerful but sowhat inefficient solution.
He already designed the new engine with the gel in mind. The gel's flexibility would allow it to adapt to the ship's needs way faster.
But there was a catch.
The gel was too large—too unwieldy to fit into the previous core housing. It needed to be compressed, transford, and refined into a more manageable form.
'Ti to make this work,'
The first few attempts were unsuccessful. The gel resisted the compression, expanding back into its original size every ti he tried to contain it.
With a deep breath, he adjusted his approach. This ti, instead of trying to compress the gel with brute force, he focused on the underlying structure of the substance.
Using his knowledge of energy flow and manipulation, he began adjusting the molecular bonds of the gel, folding them in on themselves without losing its power.
Hours passed in concentrated silence, but finally, a small surge of energy rippled through the gel. It contracted, shrinking into a much more manageable size.
This was the breakthrough he'd been waiting for.
That single mont of success gave him exactly what he needed—the thod, the control.
It unlocked a deeper understanding of the particle's behavior, how it responded to pressure, structure, and energy flow.
He didn't waste a second.
Slowly, the oversized gel shrank down, forming a dense, compact unit.
'This is small enough to fit on my ship. And since it's more compact, it can push out more energy at once.'
The denser form ant less waste, faster output, and tighter control. Energy would surge through the system faster, fueling the engines and the barrier with more force than he originally predicted.
Asher crouched beside the engine housing and carefully slid the new core into place.
Next ca the pipeline—or more accurately, the energy line.
The old setup wasn't built to handle this kind of output.
So, he stripped out the entire line system—wires, conduits, and energy channels—ripping through the belly of the ship piece by piece.
In their place, he installed reinforced tubes laced with a heat-resistant alloy They were flexible, strong, and built to hold energy surges without warping.
Each one was lined with an internal coating that kept energy flow stable, preventing leaks or feedback.
He reworked the layout too.
Every line now fed directly from the core and looped cleanly through the key systems—engine, barrier generator, weapons array. The entire ship was now one connected web, all fueled by the new core.
When he fired up the main control and watched the power readings level out perfectly across the board, he knew it had worked.
The Void Slasher could now fly.
Stretching his hand out, Asher blinked straight to the upper deck.
It was now ti to build his version of the Alpha Particle Launcher.
For that, he needed a flat, stable surface which the upper deck has.
'This place is the perfect spot,'
User Comments
0 comments from readers