The hum of the Rusty Glider settled into a steady rhythm—a mechanical heartbeat echoing through the metal shell. Outside, the endless twilight of the Nebula Seas pulsed with faint auroras, painting the void in drifting hues of violet and blue.
Li Feng leaned over the main console, eyes fixed on the holographic schematics blooming across his display. The Void Forge interface had fully integrated overnight, its digital architecture unlike anything he'd seen.
[System Interface: VOID FORGE – Tier 1] [Capabilities: Basic Item Synthesis / Equipment Repair / Prototype Fusion] [Energy Conversion Efficiency: 12.3%]
He whistled under his breath. "A portable forge that converts matter directly into equipment. That's... beyond human tech. No wonder the Archivist called this place unstable."
The interface pulsed, awaiting input. He dragged the resource window open—200 Neutron Shards, Quantum Scrap ×10, and a few pieces of Drone Debris from his earlier battle.
"Let's start small."
He selected Prototype Fusion. The holographic prompt unfolded like a digital flower.
[Blueprint Detected: Adaptive Armor Fragment 1/3] [Compatible Fusion Materials Found] [Estimated Output: Low-Grade Reactive Plating (Custom Fit)] Proceed? [Y/N]
Li Feng grinned. "Hell yes."
The Void Forge came alive. Energy surged through the ship's hull, the air vibrating with low resonance. Shards and scrap floated up from the cargo bay, dissolving into streams of molten light that spiraled into the holographic core.
For a moment, he could feel the process—atoms rearranging, quantum data folding upon itself, the boundaries of physics bending just enough to cheat entropy.
Then—silence.
A glimmering suit fragment materialized before him, sleek and silver-black, its surface rippling like liquid metal.
[Item Created: Reactive Plating (Tier 1) – Self-Adaptive Armor Layer] [Effect: +10% Defense / Minor Kinetic Absorption / Energy Conductive Frame]
Li Feng reached out, fingertips brushing the material. Warm. Alive, almost.
He slipped it onto his exosuit, feeling it shift and conform to his body with a whisper of static. A faint hum settled against his chest, syncing to his pulse.
"Now that's craftsmanship."
The Void Forge interface blinked again. A new notification scrolled across the top.
[Emporium Subroutine Expanded – Resource Loop Stabilized] [Bonus Feature Unlocked: Item Replication (1 per Cycle)]
"Replication?" He raised an eyebrow. "That could change everything."
He quickly opened the details.
Item Replication – Allows duplication of one crafted or acquired item per trade cycle. Consumes massive energy and resets upon use.
His mind raced. If he could replicate rare serums, blueprints, or even energy cores… the possibilities were endless.
But a warning flashed across the screen before he could try.
[WARNING: Void Stability 87% → 79%] [Overuse may attract Null Entity attention]
Li Feng froze. "Right. Maybe not today."
He leaned back in his chair, watching the faint shimmer of the forge fade. Somewhere deep inside the ship, the new systems clicked into place, blending alien tech with human engineering.
For the first time, the Glider felt less like a relic and more like a living thing—half machine, half symbiote.
He opened the comms log, eyes narrowing as he noticed faint static interference—an unknown signal embedded deep in the data stream.
A voice, distorted, whispered just on the edge of hearing:
"...Warden detected... Forge resonance confirmed..."
Then silence.
Li Feng straightened. "So someone's watching."
He keyed in a course correction, setting the Glider on a slow drift toward a nearby nebular cluster—its energy readings spiking with unstable radiation.
"If they're tracking me, I might as well give them something worth finding."
He smiled faintly, tightening the last plate of his new armor. The hum of the engines rose again as the ship vanished into the violet mist, leaving trails of light in its wake.
The Void Forge pulsed once in the darkness—like an awakening heart.