Thoren spoke first.
"So the demon in your head wants to resurrect his army using ours?"
Then he looked back at the holographic colony map, where cities made from warships were slowly forming a new capital on a dead world. The projection rotated slowly above the table—district rings, defense towers, reactor cores, landing fields, and the central structure that would become his palace.
He turned back to the group.
"Before we talk about armies and demons," Darion said calmly, "let's talk about what actually happened to me."
Kavik immediately activated another hologram. Darion's body appeared as a rotating medical scan—bones, nerves, bloodstream, and faint dark-red energy lines moving through his system like glowing veins.
"I ran full diagnostics," Kavik said. "Multiple times. Blood chemistry, neural activity, DNA mapping, cellular regeneration rates. I thought the scanners were broken at first."
Thoren crossed his arms. "Are you dying or not? Start with that."
Kavik shook his head. "No. That's the problem. He's not dying. He's adapting."
He zoomed the hologram into Darion's lungs and nervous system.
"This planet's atmosphere is toxic and oxygen-poor. Normally we can survive only with masks and filters. But Darion's body is no longer relying purely on oxygen exchange. His nervous system and bloodstream are filtering toxins and converting ambient energy into usable metabolic fuel."
Mira frowned. "In simple language."
Kavik nodded. "In simple language — he can breathe this planet. Without a mask. Without filters. His body separates toxins and uses the energy in the air like fuel to fire."
The room went quiet.
Thoren looked at Darion. "Convenient."
Kavik continued, clearly excited. "We don't fully understand the mechanism yet, but the energy present in this world isn't just radiation or chemical toxicity. It's something else — a form of environmental energy field."
He brought up another data panel filled with old exploration records.
"This energy has different names across various civilizations. Mana. Qi. Aether. Prana. Different cultures, same concept — a natural energy that can be absorbed, manipulated, and weaponized."
Mira looked at the data. "And this planet?"
Kavik tapped the screen. "Old survey data classifies this world as a Mana-rich environment. The previous inhabitants — according to ruins and relic data — likely used this energy for combat, enhancement, or what we would classify as magic or energy manipulation."
Thoren raised an eyebrow. "Magic."
Kavik shrugged. "Advanced energy manipulation looks like magic if you don't understand the science."
Darion looked at the hologram of his own body again, the faint crimson energy flowing through his nerves.
"So my body now runs on this… Mana?" he asked.
Kavik nodded. "Partially. You still function normally, but your nervous system has somehow upgraded to process this energy. You are completely immune to this environment now."
Darion slowly reached up and unclipped the oxygen mask from his face.
Everyone in the room watched.
He took a slow breath.
The air was thin, metallic, and tasted like dust and cold iron — but he didn't cough. He didn't feel dizzy. Instead, he felt a faint warmth spread through his chest, like inhaling heat instead of air.
He exhaled slowly.
"Well," he said quietly, "that's new."
Kavik looked extremely satisfied. "Your body is converting environmental energy into usable metabolic output. We don't yet know how to control it consciously, but this opens… enormous possibilities."
Darion nodded slowly, then leaned slightly against the table.
"There's more," he said. "The voice in my head. He calls himself Azhurath."
He paused for a moment before continuing.
"I will refer to him as Azhurath from now on. According to him, the dead on this planet are not entirely… gone."
Thoren frowned. "I don't like where this is going."
Darion continued calmly. "He says the souls of the dead are still immersed in this land. With the Symbiarch Infernum system acting as a junction between two entities… integration is possible."
Mira stared at him. "Integration?"
"He did it with me," Darion said. "He believes the same process can be done with others. A dead entity and a living host. Not possession. Coexistence. Shared power."
Silence filled the room.
Thoren spoke first. "You're talking about putting dead warriors into our soldiers."
Darion nodded once. "Yes."
Mira looked at Kavik. "Is that even possible?"
Kavik rubbed his chin. "Scientifically? No. Technologically? Also no. But considering we already have a demon integrated into our prince and his DNA is rewriting itself, I'm going to say the situation has moved beyond conventional science."
Thoren looked at Darion. "Is it safe?"
Darion answered honestly. "We don't know."
Kavik nodded. "We cannot determine long-term stability in such a short time. Normally I would recommend years of testing."
Mira pulled up supply reports on the hologram and spoke without looking up.
"We don't have years."
Everyone looked at her.
She zoomed the resource chart.
"Oxygen reserves, food production, reactor fuel, medical supplies. Even with rationing and hydroponics, we have limited sustainability until the colony becomes fully self-sufficient."
She paused, then said quietly,
"We have weeks before oxygen dependency becomes a critical problem."
The room became very quiet.
Darion looked at each of them slowly — Thoren, Mira, Kavik, Calvek. These were not just officers. These were the people who had followed him when the empire abandoned him.
Even now, they were not questioning his authority.
They were waiting for his decision.
But Darion shook his head slightly.
"Not my decision alone," he said.
They looked at him, surprised.
"Even when I was a prince," Darion continued calmly, "I did not have the right to gamble with other people's souls without their consent."
He rested his hands on the table and looked at all of them.
"If we proceed with this plan, people may gain power. Or they may die. Or something worse. So I will ask once — do we proceed?"
Thoren spoke first. "If this is what keeps our people alive, I'm in."
Mira nodded slowly. "If the choice is slow death by atmosphere or risky evolution, I choose risky evolution."
Kavik grinned slightly. "Scientifically irresponsible, ethically questionable, historically significant. I fully support this plan."
Calvek simply bowed his head slightly. "I will follow your command, Your Majesty."
Darion looked at them for a long moment, then nodded once.
"Alright," he said quietly. "We begin with volunteer soldiers. Small batches. Controlled integration."
He turned slightly toward the holographic map where the mechanical city continued to expand across the black plains.
"Symbiarch," he said. "Prepare integration protocol for external subjects."
"Confirmed," the system replied. "Project Symbiarch Legion initializing."
Across the colony, soldiers and engineers began preparing for implantation. Silver injector devices were distributed, medical teams assembled, and testing chambers activated inside the lower levels of the flagship-palace.
Darion walked to the edge of the command platform and looked out over the rising city — ships becoming districts, towers rising from engine housings, lights appearing across the black wasteland like new stars.
Inside his mind, Azhurath spoke quietly.
"You are building something very dangerous, Darion Veynar."
Darion watched his people moving across the metal platforms and construction fields.
"Yes," he said softly. "That's usually how empires begin."
High above, Darknova's crimson sky flickered with distant lightning as the first true city of exiles continued to rise from the black sands.
His empire had fallen.
But Darion Veynar was still alive.