The Rusty Glider skimmed low over the surface of a fractured moon—an ashen sphere split by tectonic scars and glowing fissures. Broken ship hulls jutted from the ground like ribs of long-dead titans.
Li Feng adjusted the controls, eyes locked on the flickering signal on his HUD."Target's two clicks ahead. Designation: Remnant Node 47-B. Power core still active after three centuries."
K-23 stood behind him, steady as a statue. "Probability of intact technology exceeds forty percent. Probability of explosive detonation… also forty percent."
Li Feng grinned. "So, fifty-fifty odds. My kind of job."
The android's optic flared once—his version of a sigh, Li Feng suspected.
They descended through a haze of ionized dust and landed beside the half-buried wreck. The hull markings were faint but recognizable: Vanguard Expeditionary Fleet, same as K-23's origin.
"Your people," Li Feng said quietly.
K-23's voice carried no emotion. "My predecessors. What remains of them."
They entered through a jagged breach in the hull. Inside, gravity was weak, lights dead. Only the rhythmic hum of the Forge link filled Li Feng's mind—a living pulse that seemed to resonate with the wreck itself.
K-23 activated his shoulder beacon. "Engineering drones deployed."
Tiny silver orbs detached from his arm, fanning out through the corridors. Each projected a grid of blue light, scanning the interior.
[Scan Complete] [Detected: Containment Core – Stable at 21% Integrity] [Hazard: Dark Matter Leak – Containment Field Collapsing]
Li Feng raised an eyebrow. "So… still alive, still lethal."
"Affirmative. Containment breach imminent. We must extract the core before it destabilizes."
They moved quickly through the wreckage. Twisted hallways gave way to a central chamber filled with floating debris. In the center, a crystalline sphere rotated slowly, leaking threads of violet plasma.
Li Feng felt the pull of it—the same strange resonance as the Void Forge, but… distorted.
"This thing's humming like it recognizes me," he murmured.
K-23 stepped forward. "It may. The Vanguard used prototype resonance engines—early attempts to mimic the Emporium's technology. Dangerous and unstable."
"Guess I'm about to find out how unstable."
He connected his neural link to the core's outer lattice. The moment his consciousness touched it, screams echoed in his mind—not human, not mechanical. A thousand fragmented data imprints clawing to be remembered.
The Forge reacted instantly, its power surging through his veins.
[Warning: Resonance Interference Detected] [Forge Stability Dropping – 82%… 67%… 54%]
K-23 seized his arm. "You're overloading! Disengage!"
"Not yet—just a little more!"
He gritted his teeth, forcing the Forge to sync with the broken core. His vision blurred. Through the static, he caught flashes of memory—Vanguard engineers around a luminous gate, data shards bearing the sigil of the Emporium. Then—light exploded outward.
When the glare faded, the core floated dormant and stable once more. The warnings vanished.
[Resonance Fragment Secured] [Forge Tier Progress: 73% → 84%] [New Blueprint Unlocked: Adaptive Field Generator]
Li Feng stumbled back, gasping. "That was… intense."
K-23 analyzed the core. "You stabilized a three-century-old singularity with nothing but willpower and an overclocked Forge. That should be impossible."
Li Feng smirked weakly. "Good thing I didn't know that before trying."
Then the ground trembled. Outside, the moon's fissures glowed brighter—something stirring beneath.
K-23's tone sharpened. "Residual resonance attracting scavenger fauna. Multiple signatures inbound."
"Fauna?" Li Feng echoed. "On a dead moon?"
Shapes emerged from the mist outside—sleek, eyeless creatures formed from metallic ash, drawn to the Forge's pulse.
Li Feng drew his plasma cutter. "Looks like test time for those upgrades, partner."
"Engaging Salvage Protocol," K-23 replied, raising an arm. Drones reassembled into hovering turrets, locking onto targets.
The first wave hit. Ash-serpents lunged through the wreckage, shrieking in radio static. Turrets blazed, carving molten arcs through their forms. Li Feng weaved between them, slicing with precise bursts of plasma, every motion guided by his augmented reflexes.
A massive creature—part machine, part nightmare—rose from the fissure, its spine glowing with unstable energy.
K-23's optic flared. "Alpha signature detected. Suggest retreat."
Li Feng grinned. "And miss the finale?"
He slammed the adaptive generator's prototype into the ground. A field of energy burst outward, freezing the beast mid-charge.
"Now, hit it!"
K-23 unleashed a focused plasma beam, spearing the creature through the chest. It disintegrated in a blinding surge, scattering molten dust across the crater.
Silence followed.
Li Feng stood amid the wreck, chest heaving, armor scorched but intact. "That's… one way to test the upgrades."
K-23 retrieved the stabilized core. "Result: successful. Efficiency rating—forty-seven percent. Emotional stability—questionable."
"Welcome to my style of engineering."
The two boarded the Glider as the moon's crust began to crumble. Engines roared, lifting them into orbit just as the fissures collapsed inward, consuming the wreck below.
From the cockpit, Li Feng watched the dying moon shrink into the nebula haze.
K-23 turned toward him. "You risked destabilizing the Forge for a single fragment. Why?"
Li Feng smiled faintly. "Because every fragment brings us closer to understanding what the Emporium really is."
The android tilted its head. "And if understanding it destroys you?"
"Then I'll just make sure I'm the one writing the ending."
The Rusty Glider shot into the stars, leaving the ghost of the Vanguard behind.