The dark, cavernous interior of the lower repair docks at Checkpoint 44 smelled of cold grease, oxidized iron, and the faint, bitter tang of raw elemental copper.The Al-Me’raj floated silently inside the massive, enclosed marble and brass bay, its obsidian hull casting long, ominous shadows against the reinforced retaining walls.
High above the main deck, the massive dark-matter sails were completely retracted, hanging like heavy, motionless curtains of black ink.
The ticking three-hour countdown issued by the Aurelian Merchant Guild had officially begun, manifested as a glowing, silver holographic timer floating directly beneath the vault’s high ceiling arch.02:59:59 02:59:58Every microsecond that bled away brought the heavy, suffocating shadow of Commander Vane—the Tier 6 Sky Archon whose massive, moon-dense mana core ruled this quadrant—one step closer to legally impounding the undocumented star-metal vessel.Down beneath the rear command deck, Kaelen stood upon a narrow, wet iron scaffolding that hovered precariously over the dark vacuum of the lower maintenance shaft.
His muscular upper body was bare, his chest and arms wrapped in thick, coarse linen bandages that were already heavily stained with sweat and the green, glowing residue of the Void Leviathan’s cosmic blood.
His hands, raw and bleeding from the brutal physical strain of the previous battles, gripped a heavy, multi-layered star-metal welding mallet.
With a low, gravelly grunt that resonated through the hollow metal shaft, Kaelen swung the mallet, striking the fractured seam of the ship’s primary steering rudder.CLANG.The deafening metallic impact sent a shower of bright, white-hot sparks flying into the dark void below.
The fracture in the rudder was deep, an existential micro-tear in the star-metal alloy that required absolute, flawless physical precision to fuse back together before the overdrive systems could be safely re-engaged.Sargon sat silently upon his grand captain’s throne, his long, messy white hair falling perfectly over the golden headband resting across his forehead.
He didn’t move a single muscle, his expressionless, Gintama-like face remaining completely detached.
Yet, behind his closed eyelids, his Primordial Consciousness was actively tracking the intricate energy grids of the entire repair dock.
His internal system interface hovered within his mind, flashing with a dull, persistent amber warning light:
[Current Core Energy Reserves: 14.1% (Critical Low Status remains active).][Warning: Atmospheric parameters within the local repair bay are undergoing erratic structural shifts.][Analysis: The localized gravity index within the maintenance shaft has increased by 400%. The weight of all raw materials and physical tools within a fifty-foot radius of the rudder has been multiplied.]
Sargon slowly opened his pitch-black void eyes, the miniature stellar galaxies within his pupils spinning in slow, calculative circles.
His gaze drifted past the ship’s railing, focusing on the distant, high command glass panel of the repair dock where the elven adjudicator from Chapter 19 stood, holding his holographic ledger with a cold, greedy smirk.The sabotage was silent, cloaked entirely within the dock’s standard structural maintenance protocols.
The greedy elf had intentionally rewritten the gravity parameters of the bay, making Kaelen’s physical tools a hundred times heavier.
He wanted them to fail.
He wanted the three-hour timer to hit zero so the Aurelian Merchant Guild could legally seize the legendary obsidian leviathan and strip its core matrices for corporate profit.Sargon felt a subtle, cold twitch at the corner of his pale lips.
Deception.
Greed.This was the true, unvarnished face of the wider Ether Sea.
It was no different from the lawless mortal kingdoms of Aethelgard; the higher gods simply hid their cruelty behind silver plates, platinum armor, and written merchant codes.
He was currently too weak to extend a single finger and delete the entire checkpoint from history without his own fragile human vessel disintegrating from the internal core backlash.
He could not use force.
He had to use strategy.System, Sargon commanded inwardly, his voice carrying an unyielding, imperial coldness.
Initialize the secondary passive chain of the second law.
Lock onto Kaelen’s coordinates.
Negate the localized weight.
[Notice: ‘Ultimate Attribute: Ruler of Authority’ initialized.][Passive Chain Active: [Concept Override: Mass Control] has locked onto the designated coordinates.][Current Target: The star-metal mallet, the welding rods, and Kaelen’s physical framework.]
Sargon did not lift his arm.
He remained perfectly relaxed, leaning his head back against the dark stone cushions of his throne.
But across the three-hundred-foot distance separating the throne from the lower maintenance shaft, his authority law silently rewrote the universal ledger.
He didn’t attack the dock’s systems; he simply intercepted the concept of “Weight” governing Kaelen’s localized environment.Down on the wet iron scaffolding, Kaelen was preparing to lift the heavy star-metal mallet for another grueling strike.
His muscles were tearing, his breath coming in ragged, shallow gasps as the artificial 400% gravity expansion threatened to crush his spine against the iron planks.But the moment Sargon’s law settled over his frame, the crushing atmospheric weight instantly dissolved.The heavy, mountain-dense mallet suddenly felt as light as a feather in his bleeding hands.
The dense star-metal alloy rods became entirely weightless, matching the exact baseline density Kaelen needed to execute his strikes at superhuman speeds.
Kaelen didn’t look up, nor did he break his rhythm.
Under the iron vice of Sargon’s command law, he didn’t possess the mental capacity to feel shock; he only recognized that his master’s invisible hand was supporting his spine.
CLANG!
CLANG!
CLANG!
Working with a sudden, terrifying physical velocity, Kaelen’s mallet became a blur of dark steel and white sparks.
He hammered the fractured seam with a masterclass display of raw physical veteran mastery, his Tier 5 mortal mana flaring into his curved scimitar resting nearby to channel the heat directly into the star-metal alloy, fusing the micro-tears together with absolute, flawless symmetry.
01:12:43
00:42:19
The silver holographic timer in the sky aggressively melted away.Up in the glass command booth, the elven adjudicator’s smirk slowly began to warp into a mask of pure, anxious confusion.
He frantically tapped his holographic ledger, checking the gravity meters.
The bay’s index was still set to maximum crushing capacity, yet the cloaked traveler’s servant was moving faster and striking harder with every passing minute, his movements defying the very laws of physics enforced by the station.
00:03:02
00:01:15
The final minutes of Arc 1 had arrived.
Kaelen executed one final, thunderous blow against the rudder, the star-metal ringing out with a clean, perfectly resonant tone that signaled a complete structural restoration.”The rudder is fused, My Lord!” Kaelen’s voice roared up from the maintenance shaft, raspy, exhausted, but completely unyielding as he swung himself back onto the main deck, his body soaked in sweat and blood.”Engage the primary cores,” Sargon ordered softly, his quiet voice echoing through the star-metal planks.HUMMMMM.The millions of ancient geometric runes carved along the flanks of the Al-Me’raj ignited simultaneously, flaring into a brilliant, deep cosmic violet light.
The engine matrices, fully saturated by the space-time ores from Chapter 13, let out a mighty, rumbling roar that caused the entire marble walls of Checkpoint 44 to violently vibrate.
00:00:03
00:00:02
Up in the glass booth, the elven adjudicator panicked, slamming his hand down onto the emergency alarm array.
“Stop them! The timer has—”
00:00:00
The silver timer hit zero.
At that exact microsecond, the massive brass bay doors of the repair dock automatically slid open outward.
But before the station’s heavy iron-locking arrays could project their golden webs to trap the hull, the Al-Me’raj executed a flawless, silent launch.With a smooth, instantaneous surge of its maximum overdrive engines, the colossal obsidian cruiser launched forward like a shadow breaking from a cage.
The ship glided effortlessly out of the cavernous dock, its dark-matter sails expanding to their absolute limits as it shot past the boundary lines of Checkpoint 44 and plunged straight into the deep, dark indigo star ocean of the open Ether Sea.A heartbeat later, a massive, blinding flash of platinum light erupted from the central command tower of the outpost.
Commander Vane—the Tier 6 Sky Archon—had finally unleashed his divine search arrays, his colossal mana scanning the local quadrant with an immense, suffocating weight.
But his tracking lines locked onto nothing but an empty, vacant repair dock and a frustrated, trembling elven adjudicator.The sovereign and his first mate had already vanished into the protective, boundless expanse of the uncharted cosmic currents, leaving the borders of Aethelgard and the outer trench completely behind them.
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