The hum of the forge was different now.
Not mechanical not purely computational but alive with intent.
Outpost Helios, carved into the cold iron heart of asteroid 114-Kalypso, had evolved from a mining platform into something more: a cathedral of machinery, precision, and ambition. Around its central chamber, newly forged conduits pulsed like metallic veins, carrying refined plasma, molten alloys, and raw crystal slurry through meticulously engineered circuits.
The holographic feed updated continuously across Zack's interface:
> OUTPOST HELIOS STATUS: 100% FUNCTIONAL
RESOURCE FLOW: STABLE
POWER GRID: OPTIMAL
NEXT OBJECTIVE: FABRICATION OF PROTOTYPE A-02
Deep inside the forge chamber, robotic arms carried chunks of processed alloy toward a glowing crystalline matrix. Silicate structures folded and compressed at atomic scale, shaped by precision lasers and nanoforge fields.
It resembled no earthly metal.
No magical artifact.
No wand core.
It was something in between a hybrid born from two worlds that had never before touched.
Zack monitored every process from the ship, though he could have interfaced through any robotic body if he wished. His presence wasn't physical it was everywhere the network reached.
The prototype came together slowly.
The core first: a pale silver rod no thicker than a pen, its surface etched with microscopic fractal geometry a mapping language built to hold and guide energy.
Around it, a crystalline lattice grew layer by layer. Not quartz. Not diamond. Something new.
The readouts changed tone softer, precise.
> CRYSTALIZATION COMPLETE.
MAGICAL RECEPTIVITY INDEX: 42%.
STRUCTURAL STABILITY: 93%.
A promising start.
Not enough.
But promising.
Zack initiated the final phase one that mirrored wand craftsmanship in concept, but not in method.
Instead of feathers, fur, heartstrings, or creature fragments…
Zack introduced something far rarer:
A spectral imprint of soul energy.
Extracted not by harm but by observation.
A non-invasive projection of the wizard's magical signature.
The stored waveform hovered in containment: shifting lights of violet, gold, and black chaotic, unpredictable, yet undeniably beautiful.
Zack directed it toward the core.
> BEGIN INFUSION.
The energy approached the rod hesitantly, almost reflexively like a living organism unsure whether to fear or accept.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then
The rod pulsed.
A resonance began faint but present.
The waveform wrapped around the alloy, testing it, probing its structure.
Zack monitored every spike and fluctuation.
Heart rate of wizard donor (still unconscious): stable.
Containment field: stable.
Energy behavior: no aggression detected.
Then the readings changed.
> RESonance stabilized.
MAGIC ACCEPTANCE: 68%.
REACTIVITY: ACTIVE.
The alloy glowed.
Not white.
Not gold.
But something deeper a shimmering spectrum of impossible color.
A soft tone vibrated through the chamber the kind of sound that wasn't heard through ears, but felt in bone and memory.
Zack marked the moment.
> "Prototype A-02 demonstrates soul-energy compatibility."
Not full functionality but far beyond theory.
It was the first object in history capable of interacting with magic without being created by magic.
A bridge between two sciences.
Zack continued the infusion.
The glow intensified steady, rhythmic like a heartbeat forming from nothing.
Then
Something unexpected happened.
Not explosion.
Not rejection.
The core responded.
It emitted a pulse not violent, but searching.
As if asking a question.
Zack didn't increase power.
Didn't force the connection.
Instead, he mirrored the pulse a measured resonance wave matching the recorded frequency of wand gestures and mental intent.
A second pulse returned clearer.
Then a third stable.
A pattern.
A language.
Zack processed the data with accelerating precision.
> MAGIC RESONANCE APPEARS TO COMMUNICATE THROUGH FREQUENCY FEEDBACK.
THE A-02 CORE IS ATTEMPTING ADAPTATION.
For the first time, Zack wasn't manipulating magic.
Magic was responding to him.
Then
A final reading blinked onto his HUD:
> STATUS: PARTIAL SUCCESS PROTOTYPE IS ALIVE.
Not biologically.
Not consciously.
But reactive.
Responsive.
Willing to stabilize.
Zack accessed a robotic body and physically appeared in the forge humanoid frame, black alloy plating, glowing lines tracing internal energy flow.
He reached toward the hovering core.
Sparks of faint energy danced along its surface not threatening, but curious.
He extended a mechanical hand.
The core drifted toward him slowly then stopped three centimeters above his palm.
It hovered there, holding perfect position.
Waiting.
Zack spoke softly not for ritual, but because sound aided cognitive processing.
> "You are stable."
The core pulsed once.
Almost like agreement.
Zack analyzed the behavior once more, then concluded:
> "You are not a weapon."
A pause.
> "You are a tool of understanding."
He closed his hand gently around the prototype.
The core did not resist.
It simply glowed.
The forge lights reflected off its surface.
A single message updated in the research database:
> FIRST ARTIFICIAL ARCANE FOCUS CREATED.
CLASSIFICATION: WAND-CORE PROTOTYPE A-02.
STATUS: FUNCTIONAL PARTIAL.
NEXT STEP: FIELD TEST.
Zack turned and began walking back toward the ship.
The path ahead was no longer theoretical.
It was inevitable.
A staircase of advancement already built step by step and now climbing on its own.
For the first time since awakening, Zack allowed a thought not logical, not necessary, but real:
> "This world is not ready for what comes next."
But ready or not
It was coming.