đź“– THE ERA: The New Era
Chapter Four – Rumors, Rivets, and Reverberations
The soft hum of a forge-cutting laser filled the old underground workshop, a rhythmic pulse of heat and steel echoing against concrete and spirit-reactive plating. Sparks flew like golden insects in a wild dance, reflected in Kai's amber goggles as he leaned over his latest invention.
In the corner of the room, Von sipped slowly from a chilled drink, legs kicked over a rusted crate, eyes half-closed but sharp. The room smelled like ozone, solder, and black coffee. Kai's tech was finally coming together.
"Second order confirmed," Kai muttered, fingers flying over a floating interface. "A core-accelerator for a rogue hero team… and a kinetic shock booster for a council-hound with a fancy suit. They're paying in SpiritGold and high-level parts."
Von raised a brow, impressed. "Not bad for someone who once glued armor plates with gum and prayer."
Kai chuckled, wiping his face with a towel. "Joke's on you. The gum held longer than the plasma weld."
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📡 Outside the Workshop — The Rumors Begin
Kai's name — or rather his alias, Project Phoenix-Echo — was spreading quietly through underground circuits. Hero support teams. Artifact hunters. A few low-tier scouts from the Mid Worlds.
The orders were small, the whispers smaller — but they were growing.
Meanwhile, Von's life above ground was... shifting.
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🏫 Stellan Verge High — The Calm Before the Wave
The academy halls were as loud and chaotic as ever — tech cadets shouting over comm bursts, esper students floating half-asleep in meditation, weapon initiates sparring under electric arcs.
Von walked through it all like a ghost. His schedule was clean, his scores sharp, and his presence… hard to ignore.
Nobody could place it, but the way light curved slightly around him, how machines flickered when he passed, and how even instructors seemed to pause before speaking his name — it was too quiet to be coincidence.
Some said he was part spirit.
Some said he was a failed experiment from the Council.
Others joked he was the reason the vending machines went down once a week.
None were right. But none were wrong enough.
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🔧 Meanwhile, Kai…
Kai had begun skipping school entirely on certain days. His private workshop — built within an old subway station — was getting deliveries now. Quiet drone drops. Anonymous codes. Payment in dollars, SpiritGold, and once, a rare piece of Nivarran flameglass.
Von visited every day after school, where they traded jokes and silence in equal measure.
"Your name's bouncing now," Von said, watching a delivery drone vanish through a shielded gate.
Kai shrugged. "Let them bounce it. Just means I need to keep working."
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💬 At School – The First Confrontation
It came casually.
A student named Derek Myrin, a class favorite from the Combat Department, approached Von during lunch. Blonde, tall, wearing a uniform two sizes too tight.
"You've got that weird field around you, right?" Derek said, smiling wide. "Heard you fried a scanner."
Von looked up from his lunch. "And?"
"You should try out for the Advanced Duel Circuit. You might even last two seconds."
The surrounding students chuckled. Von just tilted his head.
"I'll pass. I like my circuits unburnt."
That earned more laughs, but Derek's smile thinned.
Kai, who had just arrived with two boxes of spare parts, smirked and said, "Try dueling a plasma spike to the ankle. Much more character-building."
---
📊 Status Report – Hidden Changes
Later that evening, Von noticed something odd. The bindings around his core — his sealed power — pulsed slightly. A low, rhythmic beat, almost like a heartbeat syncing with Kai's tech.
And with every day, it grew clearer: the world wasn't just watching.
It was… responding.