The Eidolon Fold, now a living canvas of Auron's will, resonated with the quiet hum of accumulated power. Auron sat in the Observation Throne, his obsidian seat feeling less like a chair and more like the very core of his world. The light flares from Squad One's completed missions had long since faded, leaving behind a deeper, richer resonance in the ambient air. The space itself felt heavier, more substantial, as if the vacuum of the void had been replaced by a new, tangible substance. The interface projected a Lux Current line graph in the air before him, a flowing, shimmering ribbon of light that showed peaks with each assassination completion. The numbers, cold and absolute, confirmed his success.
Total Lux: 15,500.
Auron ran a hand over the Lux-woven armrest of his throne, his fingers tracing the faint, ethereal patterns. The amount was significant, a fortune in a lesser realm, but it was not about the quantity. It was about what it represented. A stable economy. A self-sustaining future. "Enough for something permanent. Enough for independence," he murmured to himself. He would not be a mere bounty hunter, chasing fleeting contracts to power his nascent world. He would be a creator, an architect of a universe, and a god does not beg for sustenance. A god creates his own sun.
He opened the Fold's Core Architecture Menu with a thought, a shimmering, hexagonal map of upgrade paths blooming in the air before him. The diagram was a complex tapestry of possibilities, showing future expansions for weaponry, creations, and security, but his gaze went to the very center. At the heart of the schematic was an empty slot, pulsing with a gentle, expectant light.
[Primary Lux Engine: None Installed]
Without hesitation, he selected his target: Genesis Engine – Type I. The schematic flickered into existence, a blueprint of a colossal, heart-like generator that would feed on ambient void energy, converting it into a steady, reliable stream of Lux over time. The cost was immense, a staggering 12,000 Lux, but it would free him forever from the constraints of needing external contracts for basic survival. The time to build was listed as "Instant," a function only available to him, the Creator. He would not wait; he would forge this future now.
The floor of the Fold, the very obsidian surface he stood on, cracked open like splitting glass. The fracture was not violent, but graceful, a slow, inevitable unveiling. From the chasm that opened beneath him, a colossal, heart-like core rose, suspended in chains of light that pulsed with a life of their own. It was not a mechanical device, but a living engine of pure energy, its surface a swirling vortex of deep blues and purples. With every beat, it sent a wave of pale-blue Lux out into the air, a silent, powerful pulse that filled the Fold with a new, vibrant energy. Thin trails of light, like a living root system, wove upward from the engine, attaching themselves to the walls and ceiling until the entire Fold glowed faintly, a beacon of creation in the eternal darkness.
"It will breathe," Auron whispered, a genuine sense of awe and pride in his voice. "And I will never starve again." This was his first enduring creation, something meant to last for eternity, not just a fleeting weapon for a single mission. It was the foundation of his immortal empire.
With the engine humming, a steady flow of Lux now being generated passively, he turned his attention to a new priority: security. He had tasted the unknown, the contract predator that had dared to look back, and he would not be caught unprepared again. He allocated a portion of his remaining Lux to install three new defensive upgrades directly into the engine's architecture, making his Fold a fortress.
The first was the Lux Seal, a conceptual lock that would prevent unauthorized Lux extraction. The second was the Null Veil, a field that would conceal the Fold from dimensional scans, making it invisible to all but his own will. The third was the Pulse Cloak, a subtle but effective disguise that would make the Fold's Lux signature appear as natural void radiation, a harmless flicker in the background of a chaotic universe.
"If the contract predator comes again," Auron thought, the words a cold promise, "it will find nothing but shadows."
He stepped away from the Throne, the polished obsidian walkway feeling different under his feet. The empty black cube now had dimension and depth, paved obsidian walkways branching out from the central platform. Light spires, born from the engine's overflow, rose from the floor, casting long, elegant shadows in the Fold's new light. The hum of the living world's first heartbeat was a constant, soothing rhythm, a promise of a future filled with infinite possibilities.
As he walked, he noticed Squad One kneeling silently in formation in a newly designated armory wing. Their forms, now a familiar and comforting presence, were respectful but also unnervingly perfect, waiting for their next command. He stopped before Nyxthra, his first creation, the one who had made all of this possible.
"Orders, Creator?" her voice was a soft, almost imperceptible hum.
Auron shook his head. "No. Not yet. We let the engine grow." He was a master craftsman, and he would not rush this. He had time. He had eternity.
He returned to the Observation Throne, its Lux-woven surface now feeling less like a temporary perch and more like a permanent seat of power. He had just settled in when the Pale Contract pinged with a new, urgent alert. The glowing glyph that appeared was redder, more insistent, than any he had ever seen.
[High-Priority Offer Detected] Reward: 50,000 Lux Target: "The Sky Eater" World: Velis-4 Difficulty: Cataclysmic – Planetary Threat]
Auron studied the listing, the sheer scale of the reward making the numbers feel almost unreal. Fifty thousand Lux. That was more than every contract he had taken combined. It was an amount that could buy him an entire armory of creations, a small legion of assassins. The target, "The Sky Eater," was an entity of such power that it was listed as a "Planetary Threat." A creature that consumed worlds. He felt no fear, only a deep, abiding curiosity.
"A world eater. And they're offering fifty thousand just to have it gone… Interesting." The words were a quiet prelude to a new chapter of his power. The Fold was no longer a hollow shell; it now had a permanent Lux Engine, feeding Auron's creations endlessly. But the next contract was massive enough to require more than just assassins—it may demand a god-level creation. Auron would not be fighting with blades anymore. He would be fighting with gods.