A black blossom rested inside the holographic trade note—delicate, spectral, and frozen in mid-bloom. It wasn't real, not yet. Just data. Just a hint.
Item Classification: [Temporal Resource – Mythic Tier]Status: Extinct in Common RealmsEffect: Alters relative trade time for buyer and seller.Warning: Harvesting requires synchronization with a Time-Sensitive Dimension (TSD).
Kai narrowed his eyes. "Alters relative time?"
He checked the TradeNet forums—nearly all listings of Black Blossom were archived. Some called it myth. Others said Sovereigns once used it to slow their own aging—or accelerate market crashes and booms.
Zael's Note offered only a cryptic phrase:
The blossom blooms once in a dead second.To reach it, find the moment the market stilled.
Kai didn't know what that meant yet. But he knew where to look.
The Hollow Exchange
Inside his private hub, the Vault Ledger pulsed faintly. With the Legacy Vault at 2/5 unlocked, a new section had become accessible: Hollow Exchange - Dormant Portal.
It was an ancient marketplace that once existed between seconds—a dimensional slipstream where Sovereigns traded knowledge, secrets, and artifacts that couldn't be moved in normal time.
[Unlocking Hollow Exchange Access...]Key Required: Trade Key – Temporal Access SigilStatus: Not OwnedAlternate Access Method: Locate Dimensional Stabilizer
His only clue was a recent Whisper Trade from a Pale Listener:
"Frozen trade routes don't rot. They calcify. Look in a place where time broke but trade lingered."
Journey to the Broken Moon
Kai charted a course for Verin's Moon, a collapsed trading outpost destroyed in a dimensional rift war nearly 80 cycles ago. The strange thing? Every few galactic months, a trade beacon still blinked from its ruins.
He warped in cautiously, scanning through static.
Amidst fractured buildings, radiation spikes, and phantom echoes, Kai found the trade post's still-glowing kiosk. It sputtered to life when he approached.
"Welcome... trader... error… error… latency breach..."
The system didn't reject him. Instead, it offered a deal.
Offer Detected: Fragmented Dimensional Stabilizer CoreCost: 350 CUSeller: Unknown (Legacy Transaction Record - Zael)Warning: Unstable until recalibrated in a live trade zone.
"Zael," Kai whispered. "You left this for me?"
It was possible the system had preserved the trade for decades. Or maybe... time never passed correctly here.
He accepted the deal.
CU Spent: 350Item Acquired: Dimensional Stabilizer Core (Fragmented)New Mission Unlocked: Reforge Core in Real-Time Nexus Trade
Back to Trade
Back aboard his ship, Kai felt the strain of fast growth. His Rank was still low. He lacked reputation with high-end traders. He couldn't jump straight into mythic-tier deals—not yet.
So, he made smart moves.
Bought bulk memory coils (discounted from a Zinth trader) at 1 CU/unit.
Sold to a backwater realm using pre-AI tech for 3 CU/unit.
Acquired broken drone shells (0.5 CU each), recycled them via his auto-smelter, and turned them into mid-grade alloys worth 2 CU each.
Repeat. Repeat.
Momentum Gathers
The numbers didn't lie:
His cargo hold was no longer half-empty.
His network of minor buyers had grown from 3 to 19.
He started receiving low-rank trader requests via whispers.
And his name—Kai the Void-Buyer—began circulating on minor trade forums.
He was no longer just the heir of Zael.
He was becoming a trader in his own right.
Status Panel
Trader Rank: 3.7CU Balance: 890Credits: 145Reputation: Minor Realm Circles (+12), Pale Listener Fringe (+3)Title(s): Heir Who Fulfills Promises, Void-BuyerAssets:
Dimensional Stabilizer Core (Fragmented)
Zael's Trade Note: Black Blossom
Recycled Alloy Cargo x80Sovereign Path Progress: 42%Legacy Vault: 2/5 Unlocked