Ethan stumbled out of the portal and onto solid ground—or what felt like ground. He looked around and saw nothing but endless void, dotted with swirling gaxies and streaks of light that defied logic. He was standing on a ptform of pure energy, its surface shifting beneath his feet like a living thing.
“Welcome to the Astral Forge,” Kaelor said, his voice echoing in the emptiness. “This is where you will unlock the true potential of the Arc-Helix.”
Ethan turned in a slow circle, taking in the surreal beauty of the Forge. Pilrs of light rose into infinity, their surfaces covered in runes that glowed faintly. The air hummed with power, and Ethan could feel the Arc-Helix responding to it, pulsing more strongly than before.
“What is this pce?” Ethan asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
“The Forge exists outside of time and space,” Kaelor expined. “It is a sanctuary of creation, a pce where ideas are forged into reality. Here, you will train. Here, you will build.”
Ethan raised an eyebrow. “Build what?”
Kaelor gestured to a nearby console—a floating panel of light and energy. “Anything you can imagine. The Arc-Helix holds the schematics of countless weapons, tools, and devices. But it is your mind that shapes them.”
Ethan stepped toward the console, his scepticism warring with curiosity. He hesitated, then pced his hand on the glowing surface. Instantly, his mind was flooded with information—blueprints, schematics, and designs that danced in his vision like a kaleidoscope of possibilities.
“Whoa,” he breathed, pulling back. “That’s…a lot.”
Kaelor allowed himself a small smile. “The Forge will challenge you, Ethan Solis. But it will also prepare you for the battles to come.”
The next several days passed in a blur of training and creation. Ethan worked tirelessly under Kaelor’s watchful eye, pushing himself to the limits of his endurance. Nyx guided him through the process of unlocking the Arc-Helix’s potential, helping him construct weapons and armour that were as much a part of him as the artifact itself.
His first creation was a modur exosuit, designed to enhance his physical abilities and protect him in combat. The suit’s sleek bck and silver design mirrored the Arc-Helix’s aesthetic, and its energy shields flickered to life with a thought.
But the Forge wasn’t just about building—it was also about learning. Kaelor taught Ethan the fundamentals of multiversal combat, from energy manipution to portal navigation. The training was brutal, and more than once Ethan found himself ft on his back, staring up at the infinite void.
“You must do better,” Kaelor said after one particurly harsh session. “The enemies you will face will not hesitate. You cannot afford to either.”
Ethan wiped blood from his lip and gred at Kaelor. “Yeah, well, maybe I’m not the hero you’re looking for.”
Kaelor’s expression softened, just slightly. “The Arc-Helix chose you for a reason, Ethan. You are more capable than you realize.”
As the days turned into weeks, Ethan began to prove Kaelor right. He learned to channel the Arc-Helix’s energy with precision, creating constructs and weapons that felt like extensions of himself. His movements became faster, his strikes more precise. The timid scavenger from Aeteris was slowly transforming into something else—something greater.
But not everything in the Forge was as it seemed. Ethan began to notice subtle cracks in Kaelor’s calm demeanour, moments where the older warrior seemed distant, even haunted. And then there was the Forge itself—its energy felt…wrong, somehow. Like it was alive and watching him.
“Nyx,” Ethan whispered one night as he sat on the edge of the ptform, staring out at the endless void. “Is it just me, or is this pce…weird?”
“The Astral Forge is not a mere construct,” Nyx replied. “It is a living entity, connected to the fabric of the multiverse. It sees. It remembers.”
Ethan shivered, pulling his exosuit’s cloak tighter around him. “Great. Another thing to worry about.”
He didn’t realize how right he was—until the Forge revealed its true nature.
