novelraw Chapter 69: Just Nerves
Chapter 69: Just Nerves
"B-Grade," Daniel whispered, a smile touching his lips. He decided to test it immediately. He raised his left hand, palm facing outward.
He didn’t just call for a shield, he willed it into existence. A hexagon of blue light materialized in the air. But this time, it wasn’t static.
Daniel twisted his wrist, and the shield rotated. He pushed his hand forward, and the shield flew out a few meters, hovering in the air where he directed it.
"Oh wow, I can move it," he realized. "I can protect myself from a distance, or I can use it to block a path."
It was a game-changer. He wasn’t just a fighter anymore, he was becoming a controller of the battlefield. Daniel turned his attention back to the pile of crystals.
The energy was gone, absorbed into his soul, but one object remained. Sitting in the center of the shattered remains was a solid, non-glowing object.
It looked like a piece of complex machinery, shaped like a pyramid with intricate grooves cut into its surface.
He picked it up. It was somehow heavy.
[Item Acquired: Omega Shard (Key Fragment)] [Description: A high-level access key required to breach the Primary Control Center. It emits a faint signal that guides the holder to the source.]
"The Key," Daniel said, gripping the shard tightly. "This is what I need to finish this." As if responding to the item in his hand, his Databand buzzed violently.
The holographic screen popped up without him touching it. The map of the Astral Verge expanded, revealing a new, dark area that had been hidden before.
[Objective Updated.]
[Target: Primary Control Center.]
[Mission: Initiate "System Purge Protocol."] [Time Remaining: 71 Hours, 45 Minutes.] [Status: Extraction Portal will generate upon completion.]
Daniel read the text twice. "System Purge Protocol," he muttered. It sounded final. It sounded dangerous.
The map highlighted a path. It led out of the Transit Hub and toward a massive structure that loomed in the distance.
"I have the key, and I have the target," Daniel said, checking his gear. "Time to go." He didn’t waste any more time. He stepped over the remains of the Guardian and walked toward the far exit of the hub.
The energy barrier that had blocked his path earlier was gone, dissolved by the death of the Arbiter.
Daniel walked out of the Transit Hub and stepped onto a long, open bridge. He stopped in his tracks. The view was breathtaking and terrifying.
He was high up, suspended over a bottomless pit.The bridge connected the hub to a massive structure that stood in the center of the void.
It was the Red keep. The structure looked strange and huge. It was made of a black material that seemed to absorb the light around it.
White energy lines ran up its sides like veins, pulsing with a slow, rhythmic heartbeat. It stretched up into the darkness of the ceiling, its top hidden from view.
It looked like a needle piercing the heart of the Verge. "That’s it," Daniel thought. "The end of the line." The wind howled across the bridge, tugging at his clothes.
It was cold here, colder than anywhere else in the facility. Daniel started to walk. He kept his eyes on the structure.
He felt small against the scale of the structure, but he didn’t feel weak. The power of the Level 6 Elite coursed through him, keeping him warm and focused.
He crossed the bridge and reached the base of the Red keep. There was no door, just a large, triangular opening that led into the darkness.
He stepped inside. The atmosphere changed instantly. The howling wind cut off and was replaced by an oppressive silence.
The interior of the Red Keep was clean. The walls were made of the same black material as the outside, polished to a mirror finish.
A wide ramp twisted up along the walls and disappeared into the darkness above. It was quiet... too quiet.
"Where are the guards?" Daniel wondered. "Where are the drones?" He activated his [Omnivision], pushing his senses outward.
He expected to see a swarm of enemies. He expected traps. But he sensed nothing. The Keep felt empty. However, it wasn’t dead.
His [Energy Siphon] skill reacted immediately. It flared to life, pulling the dense mana from the air and funneling it into his reserves.
Daniel felt his mana bar filling up rapidly. It was like walking through a fountain of energy.
"Passive regeneration," Daniel noted. "At least I won’t run out of fuel." He started to climb the ramp.
His boots made soft thuds on the floor, resonating slightly in the vast, empty space. He walked with caution, his Skyreaver Bow held loosely in his left hand.
He kept his back near the wall, his eyes scanning the shadows above. The ramp spiraled up and up. He passed levels that were sealed off by glowing white barriers. He looked through the energy fields, seeing rows of strange machines and stasis pods, but he couldn’t access them.
"The Omega Shard is for the top," he reminded himself. "The Central Hub." He climbed for what felt like an hour. The silence began to weigh on him. It felt like the calm before a storm.
Daniel didn’t relax. He knew that in a place like this, silence was usually a weapon. As he ascended, the air grew thinner and colder. The white lines on the walls pulsed faster, matching the rhythm of his own heart.
He reached a landing. The ramp leveled out for a moment before continuing upward. Daniel stopped to catch his breath. He checked his status again. He was fully healed. His mana was full. His stamina was topped off.
He was in peak condition. "I am ready," he whispered to the empty air. He looked up at the spiraling path ahead.
His [Omnivision] flickered. For a split second, he thought he felt a presence. It wasn’t a solid shape, but a blur of motion high above him. He focused on that spot, but there was nothing there.
"Just nerves," he told himself, though his grip on his bow tightened. He started walking again. He moved faster now, eager to break the silence, eager to face whatever was waiting for him at the top.