Around me, my constructors—the tireless crystal fish, glittering softly in blue and violet hues—continued their meticulous work, carefully assembling the final delicate sections. Without my full attention guiding them, it would take a few more hours. But that was fine.
I needed a brief moment to myself…
To brace for the inevitable chaos I was certain awaited me.
Gently shifting my awareness, I began reviewing the recent bursts of data, along with memories tagged as "important" by my Shards.
Ah… [Corona Solar].
The first thing that caught my attention was his remarkable growth. From a modest 1-kilometer core, he had blossomed into a vibrant, near 4-kilometer-wide planetoid radiating an intense solar brilliance, illuminating the network with golden pulses of mana.
Impressive. Victor must have been experimenting intensively.
I scanned through the stored data streams:
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Shields: Victor had discovered he could create bright, luminous barriers. Good. But his Dust integration experiments had been… problematic.
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Fire Dust: Functional, though disappointingly unstable, dissipating far too quickly.
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Ice Dust: It had literally exploded in Victor’s—and indirectly, [Corona Solar]'s—face. I imagined their shared shock, and felt amusement ripple through my crystal structures.
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Water and Wind Dust: Now actively avoided by Victor—no surprises there.
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Gravity Dust: Produced weak, semi-stable shields with minor gravitational attraction. Progressing, but slowly.
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Earth Dust: Initial attempts were hilariously flawed. First attempt—created a wall but left a pit underneath, resulting in Victor’s amusing tumble. Second attempt filled the hole… only for the wall itself to collapse instantly.
Only by his sixteenth trial, nearly depleted of Dust, did he finally form a reasonably strong, compacted earth barrier. Imperfect, yet promising.
Then something peculiar appeared:
Victor had started adorning his shields with elaborate designs—beautiful stylized suns intertwined with elegant vine motifs.
…But why?
[Data]: "He thinks it looks pretty."
I chuckled internally. Apparently, [Corona Solar] agreed wholeheartedly and had set this decorative pattern as his new standard.
Even more clever was Victor’s innovative use of shields as airborne stepping stones—jumping, leaping, and propelling himself through midair, maneuvering with impressive agility.
Further examination revealed another development:
Victor had employed his solar aura to nurture fruits and vegetables across his village, significantly easing local hunger and garnering substantial respect. Cristina, his friend, even convinced him to painstakingly cultivate her favorite fruit in her backyard, requiring hours of aura recovery just to complete it.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Fascinating progress indeed.
Yet…
What was this unexpected mutant vine?
Analyzing…
It wasn't intentional. This strange, glowing yellow trellis-flower possessed minor healing effects reminiscent of penicillin and induced mild relaxation. Useful, yes—but potentially disruptive if it spread unchecked through Remnant’s fragile ecology. Something [Harmony] would surely complain about once she awoke fully.
A matter to monitor closely.
My reflections were abruptly shattered by…
A sock.
An actual sock, floating absurdly in my pristine dimension.
My entire crystalline consciousness—continental, planetary, ever-growing—momentarily froze at the sheer absurdity of the item.
Then, rapidly, I scanned the area thoroughly, identifying a total of 123 misplaced items scattered chaotically across my dimension:
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Several odd-colored rocks, various mineral compositions.
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A collection of pens—most frustratingly, mundane.
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A… voodoo doll? Why?
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Multiple photo frames—family pictures included.
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A half-eaten donut—why in the stars would someone take that?!
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Various plant fragments, seemingly random.
Immediately, I knew the culprit.
"[Lensing]!" I called sharply.
Instantly, he appeared—eager, practically bouncing with enthusiasm like a crystalline puppy, scattering excited streams of data everywhere, displaying proudly what he'd collected.
I sighed deeply—metaphorically placing a hand on a metaphorical forehead that, in theory, shouldn't experience headaches.
At least the collected data was fascinating. Genetic structures, atomic and molecular analyses, even traces of Dust within one particularly peculiar pen—truly intriguing finds.
But… clearly he'd misunderstood [Linguagens]'s request to analyze certain inks and had instead obsessively gathered every pen within sight, largely mundane. One Dust-imbued pen was a pleasant surprise, though.
Moreover, [Lensing] had obsessively documented the lunar composition—failing to enter his designated rest mode due to my own oversight.
I made a note to correct that immediately.
His lunar observations were enlightening:
Remnant's moon had been deeply integrated into local mana flows. Its fragmentation had severely disrupted the planet’s magical ecosystem, leaving the mana slowly fading, fragmenting, and nearly dying out. Yet the Dust remained plentiful—a mystery worth deeper exploration.
"[Lensing], return all important items—discreetly—to their original locations. Document everything thoroughly and send me the comprehensive data logs. Afterward, enter immediate hibernation—consider it a polite punishment for excessive enthusiasm."
He complied swiftly, sending a final apologetic ping before slipping into enforced rest.
Next up, [Ripperdoc]:
Quickly reviewing his logs, I noted he'd identified several promising candidates for his future host, patiently awaiting my assessment. He'd also made preliminary attempts to conceptualize photosynthetic organic structures, though without a host, progress was slow. I would request his candidate list soon.
As for [Linguagens]:
He was performing remarkably well. Reaching a full kilometer, he’d become impressively adept at handling various linguistic systems—including spoken, electronic, and even subtle body language nuances.
His minor power had evolved, albeit with a few quirky restrictions:
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He could no longer directly write on living beings, much to the confusion of his host—the Technician.
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He'd also begun consuming aura to perform complex linguistic tasks.
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Most intriguingly, he’d developed remote writing abilities, enabling direct interaction with computers and scrolls—essentially programming remotely, which greatly aided his host’s work.
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He’d even acquired valuable multitasking data, improving both his own operations and potentially benefiting other shards.
Thankfully, nothing had exploded beyond a few minor thefts courtesy of [Lensing]—all manageable problems.
Gently pulling back my consciousness, I surveyed my progress.
Perhaps now was the right moment to pursue that intriguing new Shard concept I'd been contemplating recently… But not immediately. The constructors were finishing their weaving of the delicate filaments of the [Dreamy]—the elegant nexus soon to become central to our growing network.
For now, I would take a breath—prepare myself…
For whatever unforeseen chaos undoubtedly awaited just around the corner.
My vast crystalline form shimmered faintly with amused anticipation.
After all, managing this Shard network was proving far more unpredictable and delightful than I'd ever anticipated.
[Shards Active:]
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[Corona Solar] — 4 km, fully operational
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[Linguagens] — 1 km, advanced operational status
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[Lensing] — Temporary hibernation
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[Ripperdoc] — Awaiting host selection
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[Harmony] — Germinating (soon operational)
[Data Collection Status:]
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Fauna: Extensive
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Dust Analysis: Advanced, ongoing
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Language Processing: Complete lexicon operational
End of Revised Chapter