—— ? ——

  Simon was bored.

  After his whole speech to the giant lizard ‘Forged’, he kind of expected they would go on some adventure, or something to help the guy.

  Did anything like that happen?

  Nope!

  Instead, a stairway descended from the platform they had stood on, and they followed the instructions of the… projection?

  That was something else that was confusing. Simon thought he had a decent grasp of what Zerathis was. The reptilian man, a Serraki who was "Forged" apparently, reminded Simon of the Wizard of Oz.

  He was half convinced they would enter this ‘Tower of Stabilization’ and find a haggard old lizard in some form of magical sleeping pod or something. That wasn’t the case.

  What they found was something that was basically Brian’s lab on steroids.

  The first level of the tower's interior stretched out in a vast circular chamber. Metal shelves spiraled up the walls in impossible helixes, each one packed with tomes.

  Books bound in scales that shifted color with the light, others wrapped in what looked like living vines that pulsed.

  But the books were just the beginning.

  Workbenches carved from single pieces of obsidian held devices that made Brian's contraptions look like children's toys. A sphere of interlocking brass rings spun lazily above one table, each ring inscribed with runes that blazed brighter as they aligned.

  Glass tubes filled with swirling, luminescent liquids snaked between the workstations like the veins of some massive organism. The fluids within shifted through spectrums of color Simon didn't have names for. Deep purples that hurt to look at directly, golds that seemed to sing when the light caught them just right, and blues so vivid they made his eyes water.

  "Holy shit," Simon had breathed, turning slowly to take it all in. "This is like if Einstein and Merlin had a baby, and that baby grew up to be a hoarder."

  "Welcome to my sanctum," came Zerathis's voice, though the projection was nowhere to be seen. "What you observe are the accumulated works of the tower.”

  Simon spun around, looking for where he was projecting his voice from. "Where are you?”

  A soft chiming sound echoed through the chamber, like wind chimes made of crystal. High above them, near the chamber's peak, something began to descend.

  It wasn't the reptilian figure they'd been speaking with.

  Instead, what lowered toward them was a sphere of pure, radiant light roughly the size of a grapefruit. But as it drew closer, Simon could see it wasn't just a simple orb. Complex geometric patterns were etched into its surface of a pure white glowing sphere.

  Concentric rings of different metals rotated around the sphere's equator, each one inscribed with symbols that pulsed in rhythm with the core's brightness.

  "This," Zerathis's voice emanated directly from the floating construct, "is what remains of me. The projection you spoke with was merely a convenience. I wasn’t exactly sure what the best form was to show you, so I relied on the one I was most comfortable with.”

  Simon stared up at the impossible thing. "You're a... a magic eight-ball?"

  "I am a soul construct," Zerathis replied, and Simon could swear he heard amusement in the construct's voice despite its lack of facial expressions. "Not sure what a ‘magic eight-ball’ is, but I can imagine it's nothing like me.”

  The orb sighed.

  “Despite my long lifespan, my physical form began to fail. My experiments to separate the souls of my race had all ended in failure. However, I did have some success in… other avenues.”

  The sphere drifted closer, its orbital rings spinning faster. "Through my study of the cursed metal from our world I had discovered how souls were bound to it. Painstaking years passed as I worked with samples of the cursed metal. After decades, I was able to achieve what I thought was impossible. A goal that the high mages wished they could have done.”

  The rings spun faster.

  “A purification of the hunger and presence from the metal. It left behind untainted material that was flawless and white. Had the High Mages taken their time, then we may have been able to achieve their prideful goal. But it was too late.”

  Lights dimmed on the orb as it drifted a bit lower. “My body was fading, I could feel it. I could not leave this life with the curse of metal unlifted. So I decided to follow in the foolish footsteps of my people. I created a new grand solution. I bound myself to the untainted metal, sharing the fate of my kind.”

  "I had intended it as a temporary measure," Zerathis continued, his light dimming slightly. "A way to preserve myself until I could find a solution. That was... considerably longer ago than I care to admit."

  Simon opened his mouth to ask another question, but Kaelalin suddenly stepped forward, her eyes bright with an intensity Simon recognized.

  Oh boy. Here we go.

  "The purification process," she said, her voice sharp with focus. "You managed to separate the soul-binding properties from the cursed metal without destroying it entirely?"

  The orb's rings spun faster, and Simon could swear the light brightened. "Precisely! Most attempts to cleanse cursed metal result in complete magical nullification. The process I developed can identify the essence of hunger. I developed a runic circle to continually pull on and–"

  “Condense then trap the essence, allowing you to shunt the essence to a specific section?” Kaelalin finished practically vibrating. “It’s probably similar to a mana condensing formation. Let me guess, you then cut that section away and repeated the process over and over?”

  “Exactly!” Zerathis beamed. “It failed more times than it succeeded, but I was able to learn from every mistake.”

  Kaelalin’s eyes glowed with wonder. “Just how much material did you have to use?”

  The orb chimed. “An army's worth.”

  A grin spread across the Frost-kin’s face. “Did you document how this approach worked? Do you think it can be repeated?”

  "Everything is here," Zerathis replied, drifting toward one of the obsidian workbenches. "Though I fear much of it would be difficult to transport."

  Kaelalin was already moving, her hands ghosting over the various devices with the reverence of someone handling religious artifacts. "We don't need to take everything. Just the core research, the fundamental principles. Simon, can you…”

  She stopped, looking around as if just remembering he existed.

  “Yeah! I can help” Simon said with gusto. He scrambled forward and moved to one of the obsidian tables. He saw a metal device that looked easy enough to carry. Right before his hands reached the device, a glowing orb shot across the room and blocked him.

  “NO! DON’T TOUCH THAT!”

  Simon recoiled as if he had been burned. “Uh… sorry.”

  Zerathis the orb, chimed angrily. “Your mana could overload the device if you touch it directly. Please, Have your companion direct you to what you can do.”

  Simon turned to Kaelalin with a hopeful look. Her eyes examined Simon, then scanned the room. She tapped her fingers thoughtfully.

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

  "Actually, maybe you could... watch for anything dangerous while we work?"

  Simon felt a familiar pang of uselessness. It was the same feeling he'd gotten back on Earth when his friends would talk about their careers, their relationships, their five-year plans, while he was just trying to figure out what to have for dinner. More recently, it was a feeling that had become far too close a companion in this new world.

  "Right," he said, forcing a smile. "I'll just stand here and... look intimidating. Or something."

  He turned and took a few steps towards the entrance. Seeing the books, he realized that he might be able to at least help with those.

  Simon turned back to the lab, but Kaelalin and Zerathis were already deep in conversation, rapid-fire exchanges about "mana resonance cascades" and "soul construct stabilization" that might as well have been in ancient Greek for all Simon understood.

  He wandered over to one of the bookshelves, careful not to touch anything that looked like it might explode, curse him, or both.The books were fascinating, unlike anything he had ever seen. Some were ordinary, while others were just bizarre. There was one that had text that shifted and changed as he watched, symbols rearranging themselves like living things.

  Probably shouldn’t touch any of these either.

  Simon found himself a relatively safe-looking chair near the entrance. He reasoned he could look intimidating enough from a soft chair. He sank into the dark leather chair. It was far too big for him and felt more like an oversized loveseat than an actual chair.

  Watch for anything dangerous… yeah, right.

  Simon stared at the entrance. The stairs had been taken down to allow them entrance. Now, the very same stairs had been retracted and sat in a nice block of metal.

  I guess I can watch the nonexistent entrance. Simon grumbled.

  He looked back towards Kaelalin and Zerathis. The two were practically zipping back and forth. Kaelalin had pulled dozens of bags from her oversized backpack and was deep in conversation with Zerathis.

  He felt like the world’s most useless intern. The guy everyone nods at and gives ‘tasks’ to do, but in reality they are just being shunted to the side to stay out of the way.

  Boredom plagued his mind as he sat and the minutes ticked by. He watched as Kaelalin was carefully selecting items with Zerathis’s guidance. Crystalline constructs, metallic sheets covered in intricate diagrams, and vials of substances that looked radioactive. She would grab an item, scamper over to the bags, have a quick rapid-fire discussion and then place the thing into a bag.

  Simon sat, drumming his fingers. Minutes stretched into eternity. He hummed to himself once, but that was almost immediately met with death glares from the other two in the room.

  Who knew a floating magic-eight ball could give someone the stink eye?

  Visions of a magical airship danced through his thoughts as he watched the floating orb. What if they had like… dozens of Zerathis? Couldn’t they just fly out of Varnholt using magic-eight ball power?

  "Hey, Zerathis," he called out during a brief lull. "Not to be that guy, but how exactly are you planning to come with us? Can you just like, float anywhere?”

  The construct's light dimmed slightly. "That is not possible, unfortunately. This form requires the tower's power to maintain its ability. When I leave here, I will lose most of my functionality and abilities.”

  Simon clicked his tongue. “Well damn. It’s not going to hurt you, is it?”

  “No. I will just need assistance moving outside of this place.”

  Kaelalin looked up from the ancient tome she'd been carefully wrapping. "What about a portable power source? Something that could maintain your constructs power?"

  "Possible, but the energy requirements..." Zerathis spun his rings thoughtfully. "Actually, there might be a way. The core of this tower could be removed. If we could modify it, create a self-contained system..."

  And just like that, they were off again, diving into technical discussions about "energy constraints" and "magical stability formations" while Simon sat there feeling like a third wheel on a very nerdy date.

  Watch out Brian. He smirked to himself. You’ve got competition now.

  Simon looked around for something to alleviate his boredom and spotted what looked like a relatively harmless crystal on the nearby table. He picked it up and turned it over in his hands.

  It felt warm and seemed to pulse with an inner light that matched his heartbeat.

  "I wouldn't…" Zerathis began.

  The crystal flared a brilliant white, and Simon's vision followed. It felt like his head had been submerged under water and then had his eyes welded shut.

  “...do that," Zerathis finished weakly.

  “Hello? What the hell?! Why can’t I see?” Simon shook his head, and blinked violently. Despite his efforts, nothing helped and the only thing that greeted his eyes was darkness. He chucked the warm crystal away from him and tried to stand.

  “Please don’t get up,” Zerathis said, a warm metal object touching Simon’s shoulder

  “Holy shit!” he said, shoving back into the oversized couch. His heart raced as his hands reached towards his face. “Did I just blind myself? Why the hell is that little crystal just sitting next to the chair!”

  Zerathis’s voice chuckled. “Don’t worry, it's temporary. That crystal is a meditation aid for relaxing”

  “What?!” Simon waved towards what he assumed was his face. “How is this relaxing?!”

  “By depriving yourself of sight, you can focus better on what lies within.” Zerathis intoned.

  “Yeah that’s some bullshit. How long?”

  Seconds of silence passed.

  “Zerathis.” Simon ground his teeth. “How long does this ‘meditation aid’ last for?”

  “About an hour.”

  Simon sat in stunned silence for a moment, processing this information. An hour. Maybe more. He was going to be sitting here, blind, for at least an hour while Kaelalin and Zerathis did... whatever thing they were doing.

  "An hour," he repeated flatly.

  "Perhaps longer," Zerathis added helpfully. "Your physiology is quite different from ours."

  "Oh, fantastic." Simon leaned back into the oversized chair, which suddenly felt like a prison. "So I'm stuck here, blind, while you two pack up the magical laboratory."

  "Simon, are you alright?" Kaelalin's voice came from somewhere across the room, though she sounded distracted.

  "Oh, just peachy," Simon called back. "Apparently, I grabbed the wrong shiny object."

  He heard Kaelalin sigh. "What did you touch?"

  "The relaxation crystal," Zerathis supplied. "I should have warned him earlier about the various meditation aids scattered throughout the sanctum."

  "There are more of these things just lying around?" Simon asked incredulously.

  "Several different varieties," Zerathis confirmed with what Simon was beginning to recognize as his characteristic chiming sound of amusement. "Sight deprivation, sound amplification, temporal displacement–"

  "Temporal displacement?!" Simon nearly shot out of his chair.

  "Nothing dangerous," Zerathis assured him quickly. "It merely allows one to experience the flow of time differently for purposes of extended meditation.”

  Simon slowly sat back down. He carefully scooted into a corner of the chair.

  “So, I’m going to just sit here and not move a damn muscle. You don’t happen to have one that will make this go by quicker?” Simon asked with a nervous laugh.

  “Unfortunately, you can only use one of them at a time.”

  “Neat.”

  After a few seconds, he heard Zerathis and Kaelalin talking again.

  Great. Now I'm bored and blind. Fantastic.

  —— ? ——

  Two. Freaking. Hours.

  That’s how long it had taken for Simon’s sight to return. He made a promise to himself that he would never touch harmless-looking magical things ever again.

  Probably.

  His vision still felt a bit strange, despite Zerathis’s assurances that it should be back to normal. Something just felt off. Like he had stayed up all night and was seeing the world through sleep deprivation.

  The trio now stood on the top floor of the Tower of Stabilization. They had ascended countless stairs that Zerathis had commanded to open for them. The tower was a massive structure.

  Simon felt bad for the lizard turned eight-ball. He couldn’t miss the drop in Zerathis' mood as he gave them a tour of the various living areas above. When the creature had described watching his fellow researchers perish, Simon hadn’t realized just how many there were.

  The tower could easily house hundreds of Serraki. Multiple floors were dormitories and common areas. One floor was like a commercial kitchen and dining hall.

  After passing the empty and haunting floors, they had finally reached the peak of the tower. As soon as Kaelalin had crested the last step, a humming radiated from the bundled System Anchor she held.

  Zerathis and Simon stood watching as she held the anchor in her hand and seemed to let it guide her.

  The top floor seemed to be at an observation level. Massive dark planes of glass made up the exterior wall giving a view of the cavern outside. Simon could see faint lights of glowing pools of metal in the distance despite his vision issues.

  Kaelalin approached the center of the chamber. She held out the Anchor, and as her hands passed near the center, it leapt from her grasp.

  A deep pulsing hum radiated from the palm-sized object. Its gleaming crystalline structure pulsed with color and energy as it floated in the middle of the room. Glowing strange panels appeared, popping into existence. They spun and whirled around the glowing crystal.

  They rippled with impossible colors. Red and blue swirled in fractal storms across its surface, their spirals never repeating, never stopping. The growing patterns moved with purpose, flowing like living paint.

  With each second the crystal grew and expanded. Kaelalin stepped away from the center and watched in amazement.

  Within moments, the panels had expanded to take on a familiar shape. It looked like a miniature version of the system hub was taking form.

  Then its growth increased exponentially. Crystal tendrils extended from the shape and melted into the floor of the tower.

  “Absolutely fascinating.” Simon heard Zerathis mutter.

  The form of the anchor solidified into a smaller version of the hub. As it changed from its fluid form to solid, energy started to grow inside it.

  Then light exploded out from the device and washed over them. Simon heard soft crystalline chimes and echoes of glass as the wave passed him.

  The world fell silent.

  Then, a familiar chime sounded, and a notification appeared in front of Simon.

  —- SYSTEM NOTICE —-

  > QUEST: METALLURGIC MAYHEM

  > Status: Complete!

  Congratulations! You have successfully stabilized the sub-realm of the Forger.

  The System Anchor has been secured at the convergence point with 3 hours and 17 minutes remaining. Planetary core contained, preventing future implosion.

  Sub-realm stabilization achieved at 97.3%

  > Rewards:

  Material Harvesting Rights - 18% of all future sub-realm extractions allocated to the stabilizing party. The nearest System Hub has been granted oversight authority.

  Bonus Reward - Two units of Purified Metal. One currently occupied by the soul of: Zerathis of the Serraki.

  Harmony is offered. Growth is earned. Limits are unknown.

  ——————————

  Simon stared at the notification floating in front of him, his jaw dropping as he read the rewards section.

  "Hold up, hold up, HOLD UP!" He waved his hands frantically at the glowing text.

  "Did the System just... did it just list Zerathis as a reward? ”

  —— ? ——

  — AUTHOR NOTICE —

  ~TheBusyBard

  ——————————