Chapter Two — The First Weapons, The First Pulsars
The laboratory quivered with anticipation. Nanobots writhed inside containment tanks, black as ink streaked with red and violet veins. Their pulsing glow painted shifting shadows across the chamber. Around the tanks, a group of chosen volunteers stood in silence—some gripping their own wrists until the knuckles blanched, others clasping their hands tightly as if in prayer. The metallic hum of the reactor filled the air, like a heartbeat syncing with their own.
Elira's voice cut through the tension. Calm, commanding, but edged with warning.
"They will bond with you only if you are ready. If you try to force them, they will reject you. Trust is not weakness—it is the key."
Bonding with Nanobots
Jaren Kal, one of the youngest among them, stepped forward. His skin was pale, his hands trembling. He hovered over the containment glass, voice quaking.
"Do… do I just… let it?"
Elira crouched to meet his eyes, her tone softening.
"Not with your hand. With your intent. The nanites sense more than flesh—they listen for what you hold within."
The liquid writhed, alive. A tendril of nanobots rose, hesitant, and lingered just above Jaren's wrist. His chest tightened when his AR display flickered:
[WARNING: LOW PULS CAPACITY]
Panic nearly overtook him. But Elira placed her hand gently on his shoulder.
"Not rejection," she whispered. "It's testing you. Calm yourself. Show it your resolve."
Jaren swallowed hard, steadying his breath. Slowly, the tendril spread over his skin, crawling along his arm like a sheath of liquid shadow. The black-red shell hardened into sleek armor, pulsing faintly with his heartbeat. His HUD glowed:
STAT PANEL — PULSAR HUD
Name: Jaren Kal | Rank: D | Level: 1
Strength: 11 | Defense: 12 | Agility: 12
Puls Capacity: 20 / 100
Affinity: Zephyros (Air) — Level 1
"I… I can feel it," Jaren whispered, half in awe, half in disbelief. "It's listening."
Elira allowed a small smile. "Good. Always listen first. Never rush. That is the bond."
Choosing the Pulsarite
The laboratory floor shimmered with massive Pulsarite shards, arranged like sacred relics. Each crystal pulsed faintly, veins glowing in dim light. Kael motioned for the volunteers to step closer.
"Now," he said, his voice steady as stone, "your nanobots will seek out the Pulsarite that matches your resonance. But even then, the choice is yours. Do not take lightly what it offers."
A young girl, Mara Lune, edged forward. Her nanobots stirred across her arm, hissing softly as they tested the air. The shard nearest her—a glimmering blue core of liquid Veyra—flared with sudden brilliance.
Her HUD chimed:
[PULSARITE DETECTED — AFFINITY MATCH: 92%]
Mara gasped, her hands trembling. "Is it… mine?"
Elira knelt beside her. "Do not ask if you own it. Ask if it will walk with you. Connection is not conquest."
The nanobots slithered like serpents, wrapping her arm and plunging into the shard. Energy flared, rushing into her body. Her HUD blossomed with new light:
STAT PANEL — PULSAR HUD
Name: Mara Lune | Rank: C | Level: 1
Strength: 12 | Defense: 13 | Agility: 14
Puls Capacity: 27 / 100
Affinity: Veyra (Water) — Level 1
Mara's eyes widened. "It's… part of me."
One by one, the volunteers approached. Some shards ignited in resonance. Others dimmed, silent, rejecting unworthy matches.
Kael finally pressed his palm against a deep green crystal, veins of stone throbbing with ancient strength. His nanobots surged, entwining with the shard, drinking in its essence. His HUD confirmed what he already knew:
STAT PANEL — PULSAR HUD
Name: Kael | Rank: B | Level: 1
Strength: 18 | Defense: 16 | Agility: 12
Puls Capacity: 35 / 100
Affinity: Terralith (Earth) — Level 5
Kael exhaled, his lips curving in a rare smile. "The earth answers me. As it always has."
First Combat Test
The reinforced bay doors hissed open. Behind them, restrained C-rank Neutrons stirred, their bodies twitching with residual Puls corruption. Their glowing eyes pierced the dim chamber.
"Remember," Kael warned, his voice a growl. "Your Pulsar amplifies your body—but your mind must lead. If you let fear command, you will lose. Think. React. Adapt."
Lira Venn stepped forward, her nanite-arm igniting into Pyrrion flame. She lunged, slashing a Neutron across its chest. Sparks and embers danced in the air. Her HUD flared with alerts:
[CRITICAL STRIKE]
[LEVEL UP: 2]
Others joined, testing their newborn power. Some shells faltered, glitching under stress. Fear caused armor to shatter back into black liquid. Others adapted—shields blooming, spikes forming, elemental waves flowing with instinctive precision.
Selene moved among them, torrents of water guiding allies, redirecting stray debris. Kael summoned Terralith pillars from the earth, splitting Neutron packs and opening escape routes. Together, they formed the rhythm of survival—teachers and students fighting as one.
Every clash updated their HUDs: bond stability, stress tolerance, elemental resonance. The nanobots were not only tools—they were tutors.
S-Rank Emergence
The alarms screamed. Restraints shattered. A new presence filled the chamber, heavy as the void itself.
The S-Rank Neutron stepped free. Its body rippled like liquid shadow, its aura bending reality into warped spirals. The volunteers froze, their HUDs flashing red:
[WARNING: S-RANK ENTITY DETECTED]
Kael seized Elira's hand, his voice sharp but steady.
"We protect them. For Roy. For the future."
Earth and water roared together. Kael raised colossal walls of stone, Elira summoned torrents to shield the volunteers. The Neutron's void pulse clashed against them, reality cracking under the force.
HUDs blared across the bay:
[CRITICAL STRESS]
[PULS CAPACITY OVERLOAD]
[ELEMENTAL SYNC: 95%]
Kael and Elira moved as one—husband and wife, mentor and protector, their shells burning with synchronized fury.
The Final Sacrifice
The S-Rank unleashed a void rupture. It tore through their defenses, collapsing stone and water alike. Kael and Elira staggered, blood trailing, armor flickering.
Still, they pressed forward. Together, they forged a final construct—a pulsar band, woven with memory and encoded with their essence. They clasped it onto their son's wrist.
Elira's whisper came first, fragile but unyielding.
"Roy… trust your bond. Trust us."
Kael's voice followed, rough, fading.
"Protect… learn… lead."
Their shells dissolved into ash and light. The S-Rank collapsed soon after, dissipating into a storm of void and embers. Silence devoured the chamber.
Humanity's First Step
The surviving volunteers regrouped, battered but alive. Their shells flickered with new resonance, Pulsarites fused into their cores. The HUDs stabilized, glowing faintly like newborn stars.
Roy's band pulsed against his skin, carrying his parents' legacy. Beyond the shattered lab walls, Neutrons still prowled, shadows of the chaos to come. But humanity had taken its first step—
The first Pulsars had awakened.