The Nomad dropped out of hyperspace with a groan that Dex felt in his teeth. The forge-world loomed ahead, a scarred gray ball hanging in the void. Rings of debris orbited it like broken halos. Factories long silent. Forges cold. But the data chips Lira pulled from the outpost console promised untouched vaults. High-grade rune cores. Magitech schematics. Enough to buy them breathing room from the corp hunters.
Dex kept his eyes on the scanner. "No signals. No patrols. Looks quiet."
"Too quiet," Lira muttered. She sat cross-legged on the co-pilot seat, tools spread across her lap. A small welding torch hissed as she reinforced a weak spot on Dex's armor. "Forge-worlds like this attract scavengers. Or worse."
Dex flexed his shoulder. The patch from Zorath still itched, but the Eclipse Core's nanites had already knit the flesh. "Worse than mutants?"
"Mutants are predictable. They click and charge. Purists? They preach. Then they burn."
Purists. Dex had heard the name. Fanatics who believed the Convergence was a sin. Magic pure. Tech corrupt. Anything fused? Heresy. They had a habit of executing anyone who carried hybrid gear.
He pushed the thought aside. "We go in fast. Grab what we can. Out before anyone notices."
Lira snorted. "Famous last words."
They suited up. Dex's armor now had faint purple veins running along the seams. The Core's work. Lira eyed them but said nothing. She carried a compact toolkit and a stun pistol modded with a rune capacitor. "For EMP bursts," she explained. "Tech hates magic. Magic hates tech. I just make them hate each other more."
The descent was bumpy. Atmosphere thick with ash. The landing pad was cracked. Vines of black metal snaked through the concrete. Spores drifted in lazy clouds.
Dex stepped out first. Hammer in hand. It was still in cutter mode. Compact. Ready. The recall function hummed in his palm.
Lira followed. "Air's breathable. Barely. Keep the filters on."
They moved toward the main structure. A colossal forge-temple. Doors tall enough for mechs. Inside, darkness swallowed the light. Dex activated his helmet lamp. Beams cut through dust.
The place was a graveyard of machines. Half-finished hulls. Conveyor belts frozen mid-turn. Runes on the walls flickered weakly. Like dying embers.
Lira whistled. "This was a premium site. Look at those alloy mixes. Pure grade-A."
Dex ignored the admiration. He followed the data map on his wrist display. Vault three. Lower levels.
They descended stairs. Echoes bounced off metal. The deeper they went, the warmer it got. Not heat from engines. Something else. A low hum. Like a heartbeat.
At the vault door, Lira knelt. Pulled out a decryption tool. "Heavy encryption. Give me five minutes."
Dex stood guard. Back to the wall. Hammer ready.
Minutes passed. Then a click. The door groaned open.
Inside, shelves lined the walls. Crates. Consoles. And in the center, a pedestal. On it, a glowing blue core. Bigger than the one Dex bonded with. Intact. Pulsing.
Lira's eyes lit up. "Jackpot. That's a master rune core. Could power a ship for years."
Dex stepped forward. The Core in his chest responded. A tug. Like magnetism.
Then the ground shook.
From the shadows, shapes moved. Mutants. Dozens. Bigger than the ones on Zorath. Flesh fused with armor plating. Limbs replaced with industrial tools. Chainsaws. Drills. Eyes glowed with corrupted circuits.
They had been waiting.
"Ambush," Dex growled.
Lira drew her pistol. "No kidding."
The first mutant charged. A hulking thing with a drill arm. Dex met it head-on. Hammer extended to full length. He swung. The plasma-rune head connected with the drill. Sparks flew. Metal screeched. The mutant staggered.
Lira fired. A burst of EMP-charged rounds. The thing's circuits fried. It dropped.
But more poured in.
Dex activated Void Rage. The red haze returned. Strength flooded his limbs. He charged into the horde. Hammer sweeping in wide arcs. Each hit crushed plating. Shattered limbs. Void energy crackled along the weapon. Left smoking trails.
One mutant grabbed him from behind. Claws dug into his back. Dex roared. Teleported with Eclipse Step. Blinked forward. Slammed the creature into the wall. It crumpled.
Lira worked fast. She tossed a grenade. "Cover!"
The blast was not explosive. It was a magitech pulse. Runes flared. Mutants in the front row seized. Circuits overloaded.
Dex used the opening. Leaped onto a crate. Hammer came down on a cluster. The impact sent shockwaves. Bodies flew.
But the numbers were overwhelming. They kept coming. Endless.
"Vault door!" Lira shouted. "We need to seal it!"
Dex nodded. He fought his way back. Grabbed the master core from the pedestal. It burned in his hand. The Core inside him sang. [Compatible fragment detected. Integrate?]
Not now.
He tossed it to Lira. "Hold this!"
She caught it. "You're insane!"
Dex turned to the horde. Rage at max. Vision red. He felt the corruption meter climb. 15%. 20%. Warning flashed.
He did not care.
With a shout, he unleashed a new ability. The interface called it Eclipse Surge. Void energy erupted from him in a wave. Purple-black tendrils lashed out. Wrapped around mutants. Drained them. Their glow faded. Bodies dropped.
The room fell silent.
Dex staggered. Dropped to one knee. Corruption at 35%. Pain throbbed in his skull.
Lira ran to him. "Hey! Stay with me!"
She slapped a stim-patch on his neck. Nanites flooded his system. The pain eased.
Dex stood. "We got what we came for."
They ran for the exit. But the forge-world was waking up. Alarms blared. Lights flickered on. Automated defenses activated.
Turret emplacements. Laser grids.
Lira cursed. "The core must have triggered security!"
They dodged beams. Dex used Eclipse Step to blink past gaps. Lira slid under one. Rolled to her feet.
They reached the surface. But the landing pad was swarmed. More mutants. And something bigger.
A guardian mech. Ten meters tall. Arms ended in plasma cannons. Eyes glowed red.
It turned toward them.
Dex gripped his hammer. "Run to the ship. I'll hold it."
Lira glared. "Like hell. We do this together."
She pulled out a device. A portable rune beacon. "I can overload its systems. But I need time."
Dex nodded. "Then buy me time."
He charged the mech.
The guardian fired. Plasma bolts scorched the ground. Dex rolled. Teleported. Appeared on its leg. Hammer slammed into the knee joint. Metal buckled.
The mech swung. Dex jumped. Landed on its arm. Climbed higher.
Lira worked frantically. Beacon planted. She typed commands.
The mech grabbed Dex. Squeezed. Armor creaked. Pain flared.
Dex roared. Void Rage at peak. He smashed the hammer into the grip. The arm exploded.
He fell. Landed hard.
The mech staggered.
Lira shouted, "Now!"
She triggered the beacon. A pulse shot out. The guardian seized. Systems fried. It toppled.
Dex stood. Breathing hard.
They sprinted to the Nomad. Engines already hot.
They lifted off. The planet shrank behind them.
In the cockpit, silence. Both panting.
Lira looked at Dex. "That was stupid."
"Yeah."
"But effective."
She held up the master core. "This thing. It's calling to your Eclipse Core. You felt it."
Dex nodded. "Yeah."
"You going to integrate it?"
He hesitated. The corruption meter sat at 28%. Stable. But he knew. More power. More risk.
"Not yet," he said. "Need to understand it first."
Lira leaned back. "Smart. For once."
Dex chuckled. "Don't get used to it."
The ship jumped to hyperspace.
In the quiet, Dex felt the weight of it all. The power. The danger. The woman beside him.
She was still here. Not running.
Maybe that meant something.
The stars streaked past.
And in the distance, another signal. Faint. But growing.
Someone else was watching.
Far away, in a sleek black vessel, Nova Reyes monitored the feed. Her eyes narrowed.
The Nullborn had survived again.
And he was getting stronger.
She touched the fragment embedded in her chest. Superior. Untouchable.
"Soon," she whispered.
The chase continued.