[Temporal connection available.]
[Future access expanded.]
Adrian selected the notification.
A second window appeared above it.
[Previous temporal coordinates recorded.]
[Return point available: Meridian Martial Federation — Branch Facility.]
[Maximum projection duration increased: 30 minutes → 2 hours.]
[Enter?]
The previous night, he had awakened in the middle of an avenue without knowing where he was, how long he could remain there, or what would happen if he died.
Now he had a location, two hours, and a class capable of breaking A-rank defenses.
It was an acceptable improvement.
Adrian placed his provisional license on the table and lay back.
"Enter."
The room disappeared.
The cold came first.
Then the smell of dust, metal, and dead flesh.
Adrian opened his eyes inside the training hall where he had found the plaque describing humanity’s disappearance. The machines remained inactive, the posts were still broken, and the violet light of the sky entered through an opening in the ceiling.
His future body retained none of the injuries from his first visit. His wrist was intact, his ribs didn’t hurt, and the cut on his cheek had disappeared.
He could also feel Starbreaker within him.
He opened his status.
[Temporal Projection stabilized.]
[Current attributes synchronized: 100%.]
[Registered Classes available: 1.]
[Remaining connection time: 01:59:52.]
Adrian synchronized the class.
The dark blue ring closed around his wrist. The instructor’s stance returned to his muscles, and the minor adaptations retained by his present body were reproduced within the projection.
[Starbreaker synchronized.]
[Starbreaker Fist — Level 2.]
[Maximum Fracture layers: 4.]
Adrian approached one of the training plates on the wall. During his first visit, a memory had reacted to his touch, but he hadn’t been able to unlock it.
[Insufficient Starbreaker mastery.]
[Required mastery: Beginner 10%.]
His current mastery had barely reached one percent.
He needed resistant targets.
Something struck a door in the corridor.
Adrian stepped away from the plate.
The sound repeated.
It wasn’t a disorderly impact. Three metallic knocks echoed at precise intervals, followed by the movement of several pieces of armor.
Adrian deactivated the visible ring around his wrist and positioned himself beside the entrance. The Class Archive remained synchronized, but the light disappeared.
Footsteps.
Five people.
Two heavy.
Three light.
The first appeared on the other side of the doorway.
Gray armor covered its entire body. A torn cloak hung from its left shoulder, and the symbol of the tower surrounded by seven stars remained visible on its chest.
The same emblem Adrian had found on the instructor’s uniform.
The helmet had no visor. A blue strip occupied the space where the face should have been, although several black roots had pierced the metal and spread around the neck.
The figure carried a rectangular shield and a short sword.
A window appeared above it.
[Corrupted Future Soldier]
[Level: 12.]
[Condition: Deceased.]
[Combat function partially preserved.]
Adrian read the third line.
"Of course you’re dead."
The soldier turned its head toward him.
The blue strip across its helmet turned red.
Adrian struck first.
His fist hit the neck joint. The metal caved in, but the corpse barely moved.
[Fracture: 1/4.]
The shield struck him in the chest.
Adrian flew backward into the hall, landed on one foot, and slid several yards before regaining his balance. The impact had numbed his ribs even though he blocked it with both arms.
The soldier entered.
Four figures appeared behind it.
The second carried a spear and a smaller shield. The third wielded a longsword. The final two carried weapons resembling rifles, although blue crystals occupied the space where the magazines should have been.
[Corrupted Future Soldier — Level 12.]
[Corrupted Future Soldier — Level 12.]
[Corrupted Future Soldier — Level 12.]
[Corrupted Future Soldier — Level 12.]
All five spread out as soon as they crossed the doorway.
The first raised its shield. The spear-wielding soldier positioned herself behind him. The swordsman protected one flank while the two riflemen separated to find different firing angles.
They didn’t move like corpses.
They moved like a unit.
Both rifles lit up.
Adrian ran.
Blue projectiles tore through the spot where he had been and opened holes in the wall. They didn’t explode, but the material around each impact turned to dust.
Adrian slid behind a training machine.
The first shot pierced it.
The second passed through the space beside his head.
"Definitely not training weapons."
The shield-bearing soldier advanced toward his position. The spearswoman remained behind him while the riflemen circled the machine from opposite sides.
Adrian watched their movements through the reflection of a metal plate.
None of them spoke.
They didn’t need to.
The shield bearer adjusted his direction, and the others responded immediately. Even in death, they retained the coordination learned through years of combat.
Adrian picked up a metal fragment from the floor and threw it to the right.
One rifleman fired.
The spearswoman didn’t react.
Neither did the shield bearer.
They weren’t attacking sounds. The glowing strips across their helmets tracked movement and energy.
Adrian struck the machine he was hiding behind.
[Fracture: 1/4.]
A second blow landed on the same spot.
[Fracture: 2/4.]
The rifleman on the left came around the cover. His weapon began to charge.
Adrian struck a third time.
[Fracture: 3/4.]
The weapon aimed at his chest.
Adrian drove the fourth strike into the machine.
[Fracture: 4/4.]
[Target integrity compromised.]
The entire structure collapsed.
Adrian kicked its upper section as it separated from the base. Several tons of metal fell toward the rifleman.
The corpse tried to retreat, but the machine pinned it against the floor. Its rifle discharged as it fell, sending the projectile into the ceiling.
A section of concrete broke loose.
Adrian emerged from cover at the same moment the shield-bearing soldier charged him.
The short sword cut through the air at neck level. Adrian leaned aside, planted one hand on the shield, and vaulted over the corpse.
The spear was already waiting for him.
Its tip pierced his side.
The pain arrived before his feet touched the floor.
Adrian trapped the shaft beneath his arm and twisted. The spearswoman tried to pull the weapon free, but he used the movement to drag her closer.
His first punch struck the visor.
[Fracture: 1/4.]
The second landed on precisely the same spot.
[Fracture: 2/4.]
The soldier released her spear and tried to strike him with the edge of her shield. Adrian lowered his body, absorbed the impact with his shoulder, and threw the third punch.
[Fracture: 3/4.]
The swordsman was approaching from behind.
Adrian didn’t have time for a fourth strike.
He seized the spearswoman by her armor and pulled her between them. The longsword pierced her back and emerged through her chest.
No victory message appeared.
The dead soldier closed one hand around the blade passing through her body.
With the other, she reached for Adrian’s neck.
"Right. You were already dead."
Adrian struck her visor a fourth time.
[Fracture: 4/4.]
The front of the helmet caved in. Cracks spread through the metal and continued into the skull beneath it.
The visor’s light went dark.
[Corrupted Future Soldier defeated.]
Adrian shoved the body into the swordsman, ripped the spear from his side, and retreated.
The wound was bleeding.
[Puncture wound detected.]
[Muscular damage: Moderate.]
[Pain feedback: 100%.]
"That last part is still unnecessary."
The second rifleman fired.
Adrian raised the fallen soldier’s shield.
The projectile struck its center and exploded in a burst of blue energy. The impact forced him backward, but the metal held.
[Equipment identified: Meridian Infantry Mana-Shield.]
[Current integrity: 31%.]
Adrian held the spear in one hand and the shield in the other.
He couldn’t use either of them as well as the soldiers.
He didn’t need to.
The shield bearer charged again. Adrian received the impact behind the stolen shield and planted the base of the spear against the floor. The corpse tried to advance, but both shields became locked together.
The swordsman moved around his companion.
Adrian released the spear, struck the lower section of the enemy’s shield four times, and stepped away.
The strikes were fast, short, and used almost no shoulder movement.
[Fracture: 1/4.]
[Fracture: 2/4.]
[Fracture: 3/4.]
[Fracture: 4/4.]
The shield bearer raised his defensive weapon when the swordsman attacked.
The movement triggered the collapse.
The shield’s lower section shattered. The weight of the upper half dragged the soldier’s arm down and opened his guard.
Adrian recovered the spear.
Its tip entered through the blue strip across the helmet.
The body continued advancing.
Adrian pushed until the tip emerged from the back of its head.
[Corrupted Future Soldier defeated.]
The swordsman brought his blade down.
Adrian abandoned the spear and raised the shield.
The sword split it in half.
The tip struck his shoulder and opened a wound down to the bone.
Adrian stepped inside before the corpse could recover its weapon. He struck the elbow joint, seized its wrist, and used his entire body to drag it toward the ground.
The soldier was stronger.
Adrian had better balance.
He changed direction in the middle of the struggle, placed one foot behind the corpse’s knee, and threw it onto the remains of the shield. Before it could rise, he trapped its head between his arms and twisted.
The neck resisted his first attempt.
Adrian pressed one knee against its back and pulled again.
The black connections running through the armor tightened.
The third rotation broke the spine.
[Corrupted Future Soldier defeated.]
A shot grazed his leg.
Adrian rolled behind the body before the next one arrived. The projectile struck the dead swordsman’s back and opened a hole through the armor.
Two riflemen remained.
One was still trapped beneath the machine. It moved its free arm, attempting to aim its rifle through the wreckage.
The other advanced from the far end of the hall.
Adrian picked up the longsword.
The weapon was heavier than it appeared, but he didn’t need to perform a complicated technique. He waited for the next shot, stepped out of its path, and threw the sword.
The blade rotated twice.
The rifleman raised his weapon to block it.
The sword struck the barrel and knocked it aside. The blue projectile discharged into the ceiling.
Adrian was already running.
He struck the rifle once.
[Fracture: 1/4.]
The soldier turned the weapon and tried to use it as a club. Adrian blocked with his forearm, absorbed the impact, and struck the same point a second time.
[Fracture: 2/4.]
A metal knee slammed into his abdomen.
The air left Adrian’s lungs.
The soldier seized him by the throat and lifted him off the floor. Its armored hand began to tighten.
Adrian struck the rifle a third time.
[Fracture: 3/4.]
The corpse threw him into a column.
The wound in his side reopened. His shoulder barely responded, and his left leg was beginning to go numb.
The rifleman took aim.
Adrian didn’t try to dodge.
He ran directly toward the barrel.
The crystal inside the rifle lit up. Adrian knocked the weapon aside with one hand and delivered the fourth strike with the other.
[Fracture: 4/4.]
The rifle broke apart.
The energy accumulated inside the crystal had no way to escape.
Adrian shoved the broken weapon against the soldier’s chest and moved away.
The blue explosion tore away the upper section of its armor. The corpse fell onto its back with its torso blackened and the strip across its helmet dark.
[Corrupted Future Soldier defeated.]
The last rifleman was still trapped.
It had managed to free its armed hand and was slowly adjusting the barrel toward Adrian. The machine crushed its legs, part of its abdomen, and its left arm.
Even so, it continued obeying its final function.
Adrian picked up the first soldier’s short sword and walked toward it.
The rifle charged.
Adrian threw the sword.
The blade pierced the visor.
The shot went wide and carved a trench into the floor. The red strip flickered several times before going dark.
[Corrupted Future Soldier defeated.]
[Hostile units eliminated: 5/5.]
Silence returned to the hall.
Adrian remained still, breathing heavily. Blood ran down his side, shoulder, and leg. He had defeated all five, but his body wouldn’t survive another group.
He checked the time.
[Remaining connection time: 01:42:16.]
Eighteen minutes.
The battle had felt much longer.
He approached the first body. The spearswoman remained beside her shield, her visor destroyed by four strikes.
A blue light began forming above her chest.
[Compatible class source detected.]
[Class: Future Soldier.]
[Class Soul extraction available.]
Adrian looked at the other bodies. The same light appeared above each one.
Five Class Souls.
The profession didn’t appear as valuable as Starbreaker, but the accumulated memories could teach him to use the weapons and armor of the future. He extended his hand toward the first sphere.
Before he touched it, a blue crown appeared above all five corpses.
[Multiple defeated combatants detected.]
[Authority requirement satisfied.]
[Infinite Sovereign secondary function unlocked.]
[Unit Registration unlocked.]
Adrian stopped his hand.
A new section appeared within Infinite Sovereign. Unlike the Class Archive, which consisted of empty rings, this one contained rows of dark spaces.
[Unit Archive]
[Registered Units: 0.]
[Current capacity: 5.]
[Eligible units detected: 5.]
The soldier’s information changed.
[Corrupted Future Soldier — Level 12.]
[Class Soul available: Future Soldier.]
[Unit Registration available.]
[Select reward.]
Two options appeared before Adrian.
[Acquire Class Soul.]
[Register Unit.]
A warning appeared beneath them.
[Common combatants provide one reward.]
[Selecting Class Soul will consume the remaining combat imprint.]
[Selecting Unit Registration will preserve the combatant as a subordinate unit.]
[Exceptional combatants may provide both rewards.]
Adrian read the final line.
Common soldiers forced him to choose between their profession and the combatant. Someone like the Starbreaker instructor, whose life had produced a Class Soul containing sixty-three years of experience, might have been able to offer both.
He looked at the five corpses.
He could register Future Soldier once and sacrifice one of them. That would give him access to their basic training, but it wouldn’t guarantee that he could use their weapons without years of practice.
The other option would give him five Level 12 combatants who already knew how to use them.
The decision wasn’t complicated.
"Register Unit."
The blue crown descended over the first soldier.
Her body disintegrated into particles of light. The broken armor, destroyed helmet, and dried blood vanished with her.
[Future Soldier Lv. 12 acquired.]
[Unit capacity: 1/5.]
Adrian selected the shield bearer.
[Future Soldier Lv. 12 acquired.]
[Unit capacity: 2/5.]
The swordsman was third.
[Future Soldier Lv. 12 acquired.]
[Unit capacity: 3/5.]
Both riflemen disappeared afterward.
[Future Soldier Lv. 12 acquired.]
[Future Soldier Lv. 12 acquired.]
[Unit capacity reached: 5/5.]
A notification summarized the reward.
[Future Soldier Lv. 12 ×5 acquired.]
[Corruption removed.]
[Physical damage restored during registration.]
[Equipment bound to registered units.]
[Units retain combat skills, formation training, and fragmented mission directives.]
[Personal identity unavailable.]
Adrian opened the Unit Archive.
Five silhouettes appeared within the previously empty spaces. Each retained their equipment: shield and sword, spear, longsword, and two rifles.
Only one command was available beneath them.
[Deploy.]
Adrian selected it.
Five circles of light appeared across the floor.
The soldiers returned.
Their armor was intact. The black roots had disappeared, and the strips across their helmets shone with a steady blue light. The rifles had recovered their crystals, although their energy reserves were only at thirty-two percent.
None of them attacked.
The first soldier Adrian had registered walked toward him. She still carried the shield and spear she had used to impale him.
She stopped three feet away.
Then she rested her spear against the floor and knelt.
The other four did the same.
[Registered units awaiting orders.]
Adrian studied his first subordinates.
Every one of them was dead.
They had remained corpses for more than nine thousand years, tried to kill him when they found him, and now knelt before him as if they had always been awaiting his arrival.
"Stand."
All five obeyed simultaneously.
Adrian pointed at the spearswoman.
"Can you speak?"
The blue strip across her helmet flickered, but no sound emerged.
[Personal identity unavailable.]
[Communication functions damaged by memory degradation.]
"Then we’ll have to start with simple questions. Do you know what destroyed Meridian?"
The soldiers remained motionless.
"Do you know why there are no humans left?"
No response.
Adrian looked at the emblem of the tower and seven stars on their armor.
"What was your final mission?"
All five reacted.
They turned toward the opening in the hall.
The spearswoman walked to the edge and raised one hand. The other soldiers positioned themselves behind her, all facing the same direction.
Adrian approached.
From that height, he could see much of the ruined city. Broken towers, avenues covered in roots, and the remains of structures stretched to the horizon.
Something stood at the center of Meridian that Adrian hadn’t noticed during his first visit.
A black fortress covered several miles.
Its walls had grown around the skyscrapers and incorporated them into its structure. Enormous roots climbed across the towers, connecting them to a central spire that pierced the violet clouds.
A red light pulsed at its peak.
All five soldiers pointed toward the fortress.
At the same time.