Chapter 283: The Shard

Adrian stayed with his council for a day, enjoying the sense of unity and family. It was a necessary pause before the plunge.But the call of the Void was persistent. He was ready to go after stronger beasts, creatures located far deeper inside the Galaxy. It was expected that he wouldn’t return for some time.

Before he left, Damien had approached him.

"These Void Crystals you speak of... the fuel for our new weapons. What do they look like?"

He wasn’t the only one curious. Nyra, Serena, and even Master Von looked on with interest. They had seen the effects, but never the source.

Damien’s eyes held a craftsman’s hope. "If I could study one... perhaps I could learn to shape it."

Adrian knew there was almost no chance for that to happen. But he respected Damien’s ambition. After some consideration, he reached into his [Inventory]. He had found a way to deconstruct Void Crystals into smaller, less volatile fragments.

He held out a small, jagged shard. It was tiny, one of a hundred pieces from a C-Grade crystal, but it still pulsed with a deep, mesmerizing violet light that seemed to warp the air around it.

"This is a fragment," Adrian said, handing it to the Dwarf. "It is stable, but potent. Do not play too much with it, Damien. It is not stone. It’s more of a solidified space."

Damien took it with reverent hands. "Aye, Sovereign. I’ll treat it with respect."

With that final gift given, Adrian departed.

***

One Week Later...

The white light of the Transit Hub faded, depositing a weary but triumphant Karl back onto the Sparkborn platform. He stretched, his bones cracking, a wide, satisfied grin on his face. He had just returned from a grueling day long session in the Galactic Clash.

"Platinum League," he whispered to himself, savoring the words. He had finally broken through the Gold League’s ceiling and was now a Platinum fighter, the frost from the Slums to climb that high, second rather.

His PAD chimed. It was a call from Serena.

"Hey, Rena," Karl answered lightly. "Miss me already?"

"No, but you’re about to miss your combat class. It’s your turn to handle training, Karl... and you’re late."

"I’m sorry. On my way, Ma’am," he chuckled.

Even after their displacement to the Nexus, Adrian’s educational system hadn’t deviated. The young Sparkborns were still trained rigorously in both knowledge and combat. Karl, as the Knight-Commander, was the head instructor for the latter.

He lifted off the ground and flew towards the training grounds. It was a large, open space created by converting a block of empty grey houses near the edge of their sector. The internal walls and some roofs had been removed, creating a massive, indoor dojo.

When he arrived, the hall was packed. Hundreds of students were lined up in neat rows. They varied in age; most were teenagers, but there were also older citizens.

"Commander on deck!" a young elven prefect shouted.

The chatter died instantly. Hundreds of fists slammed against chests in a unified salute. Karl floated down to the central dais, landing softly.

"At ease," he said casually, waving a hand. "What’s up, everyone? Ready to sweat?"

The tension broke, replaced by eager murmurs. But Karl noticed that their eyes weren’t on him.

They were fixed on the silver spear floating lazily in the air beside him, bobbing up and down as if it were breathing.

"Sir!" a bold young dwarf raised his hand. "How can your spear fly? Is it... magic?"

Karl grinned, grabbing Lark out of the air. "This is Lark," he introduced the weapon proudly. "And yes, it’s special. Adrian, your Sovereign did something to it."

’Spear strong!’ Lark’s childish voice chirped in his mind.

"Can we make our weapons fly too?" another student asked, hope in his voice.

Karl chuckled. "Hold your horses. You’d need a Void Crystal for that. And even if you had one, you’d need to be strong enough to survive Adrian’s training to get him to make you one."

"What’s a Void Crystal?" a Dwarven apprentice asked.

Karl opened his mouth to explain, but paused. Describing it wouldn’t do it justice. He remembered the shard Adrian had given Damien. "You know what? Instead of telling you, I’ll show you."

He held up a finger. "Give me a minute. Talk amongst yourselves."

He shot out of the dojo, flying straight for Damien’s private workshop in the Stone District. He tried calling the Dwarf, but got no answer. He knocked on the heavy iron door. Nothing. Damien was likely deep in a forging trance or asleep.

"He wouldn’t mind," Karl muttered. He used his master-level access ID; a privilege of being a Vassal to override the lock. The door hissed open. Inside, Damien was indeed asleep, snoring loudly in a chair, the small violet shard resting on a velvet cushion on his workbench.

Karl crept in, snatched the shard, and crept out. "Just borrowing it, old man," he whispered.

He returned to the dojo in a flash. "Alright, feast your eyes on this!"

He held up the shard. Even in its small size, it was mesmerizing. It pulsed with a deep, rhythmic violet glow, and the air around Karl’s hand seemed to warp and distort slightly.

"Whoa..." The sound of hundreds of students gasping in unison filled the room.

"This," Karl said, basking in their awe, "is a piece of a Void Crystal. The stuff of stars."

After letting them admire it for a few minutes, he decided to start the training. "Alright, enough staring. Let’s spar!"

He looked around for someone trustworthy to hold the precious item. He spotted the prefect, a young Elven mage he had been mentoring. "Yuna, hold this for me. Guard it with your life, yeah?"

The girl nodded furiously, taking the shard confidently. She moved to the side of the hall, sitting on a bench to watch the sparring. As it wasn’t her turn yet, she also took to admiring the shard.

The training session began. It was intense. Karl was in his element, correcting stances, demonstrating moves, and occasionally sparring with the best students. He lost track of time, absorbed in the joy of teaching.

It was an hour later when he called for a break. He wiped sweat from his brow and looked towards the bench where he had left Yuna.

She wasn’t there.

He frowned, scanning the room. He found her near the back exit. She was slumped against the wall, clutching her stomach. Her face was pale, and a trickle of blood ran from her nose. No one else seemed to have noticed in the chaos of the training.

Karl was beside her in an instant. "Yuna! What happened?"

She looked up at him, her eyes filled with tears and fear. "Commander... I’m sorry... someone... someone shoved me. They hit me with a spell... I couldn’t scream..."

Karl’s blood ran cold. "The crystal?"

She opened her trembling hand. It was empty. "They took it. A... a hooded figure. They ran out the back."

Karl stood up with fear. He had lost the shard Adrian gave them.

"Oh, no."