Kaelan keeps his hand raised, fingers slightly curved as though holding an invisible sphere. Around him, the surrounding spiritual energy begins to stir, subtle currents bending to his will. His spirit power stabilises the gravity runes that encircle the suspended robot-like creature.
The runes glow faintly in layered rings, simple, efficient.
He has not cast a complicated formation.
For trapping something, gravity is enough.
Spiritual energy pours steadily into the gravitational control array, feeding it like a constant tide. The robot struggles midair, its propulsion jets igniting in bursts of blue flame, but its feet remain lifted, body locked in invisible force.
Raphael bends forward, hands resting on his knees, chest rising and falling heavily.
He looks up at the floating creature.
"Can you finish it?" he asks between breaths.
Kaelan glances at him once.
He does not answer.
Instead, he increases the gravitational pressure.
His raised hand lifts slightly.
The robot is pulled higher toward the cavern ceiling, dragged upward as if seized by the grip of a colossal unseen hand. Blue blood, thick, luminous, and unmistakably infused with vitality, drips from the damaged plating.
Kaelan watches closely.
He calls it a robot-like creature because vitality flows from it. It bleeds. It emits an aura.
It is neither fully machine nor fully organic.
His fingers begin to close slowly into a fist.
The gravity intensifies.
The runes around the creature brighten as pressure multiplies layer upon layer. The air itself seems to compress. The metallic body creaks under strain, joints grinding audibly as the invisible force squeezes inward.
The creature's aura flares violently.
Blue energy erupts from its body, pushing outward against the gravitational field. For a moment, the pressure equalises. The robot's limbs twitch, attempting to move.
Kaelan's expression remains unchanged.
He tightens his fist further.
The gravitational field thickens like solidifying stone. The robot's metal plating dents inward. Blue blood sprays in thin streams from ruptured seams. Its internal energy flickers erratically, sparks flashing beneath cracked surfaces.
The struggle continues.
Then weakens.
The creature's aura dims.
Its propulsion jets sputter and die.
Its resistance fades.
It hangs suspended, battered and crushed, ready to accept destruction.
Then,
Kaelan's eyes shift.
From the darkness of the hole in the cavern wall, two blue energy beams burst outward. They are shaped like dragon heads, jaws open, roaring silently as they tear through the air toward him.
Kaelan assesses instantly.
The attacks are nothing to him.
He could take them directly with his body without injury.
But that would reveal too much.
It would raise questions.
It would force explanations.
And he has no intention of displaying his full strength before a half-stage Sky Knight and an excavation team.
Nor does he release prey once caught.
His decision forms in less than a heartbeat.
With a subtle motion of his hand, the gravitational field shifts.
The suspended robot-like creature is flung downward and forward.
It is thrown directly into the path of the two dragon-shaped beams.
The collision is immediate.
The blue beams strike the creature head-on.
Light erupts violently.
The explosion shakes the cavern, blasting dust and debris outward in a concussive wave. The white domes in the distance shimmer under the shock. The luminous plant buds above flicker momentarily but hold.
Raphael braces himself, lightning armour flaring to absorb the shockwave.
When the blinding light finally fades,
The creature still stands.
Barely.
Its torso is shattered and scorched. Both arms are gone, torn away by the blast. Blue blood drips steadily from ragged openings at the shoulders. Internal mechanisms spark weakly.
Kaelan studies it calmly.
It must have raised its arms instinctively to shield its core.
Raphael curses loudly.
"Bloody shit, we're in trouble."
Behind the first creature, two more step out of the hole.
Identical in form.
Identical in gleaming metallic skin.
Their eyes glow brighter than they ever did.
Kaelan's gaze flicks briefly to Raphael.
The knight stands with sword ready, posture steady.
But Kaelan senses the truth.
Raphael's fighting energy reserves are not even at half capacity.
He cannot sustain another prolonged battle at full intensity.
Kaelan speaks evenly.
"You recover. I will hold them for a moment."
Raphael blinks in surprise as Kaelan walks forward, passing him without hesitation and positioning himself ahead.
Raphael opens his mouth to protest, but the advancing threat leaves no time.
He exhales sharply.
"Give me a few more minutes," he says.
The first creature, injured but still functional, turns and begins retreating toward the hole.
The second and third charge forward simultaneously.
Kaelan's eyes narrow slightly.
He glances at the retreating one.
"You are not escaping," he murmurs.
His spirit power moves.
Runes manifest in front of him, assembling in midair with crisp precision. They arrange themselves into a rotating circular formation, clean, efficient geometry layered within layered rings.
Spiritual energy pours into the array.
It activates instantly.
Then something else happens.
The glowing plant buds hanging from the cavern ceiling brighten.
The array draws light energy from them, siphoning the luminous essence they emit. The buds pulse faintly as the array channels their energy downward.
The formation hums.
And then,
It fires.
Light condenses into bullet-shaped projectiles, dense, concentrated beams shaped like elongated drops of sunlight.
They shoot outward in rapid succession toward the advancing creatures.
The cavern fills with streaks of golden light.
Kaelan's expression remains calm as his array continues to fire. Light bullets pour from the rotating formation in disciplined waves, each projectile precise, controlled, and guided by his spirit.
The second and third creatures react immediately.
Blue light flares before them, forming curved shields that shimmer like condensed plasma. The shields lock together as they advance, absorbing the first volleys of golden bullets. Sparks erupt where light meets light.
Behind them, the first injured creature staggers toward the hole.
Golden rounds strike its back repeatedly, blasting chunks of metallic plating away. Blue blood sprays across the ground in glowing arcs.
The two uninjured constructs tighten formation, shielding it from further damage.
They charge forward through the barrage.
Kaelan does not retreat.
He adjusts.
The circular array rotates faster.
The hum deepens.
Spiritual energy flows in thicker currents as he increases the firing rate.
Golden bullets multiply.
Ten becomes fifty.
Fifty becomes hundreds.
The cavern air vibrates under the pressure of compressed light.
Raphael watches with widening eyes.
The steady stream transforms.
It becomes a barrage.
The light streaks blur together, forming continuous golden lines that tear through the cavern.
The blue shields begin to crack.
Hairline fractures ripple across their surfaces under relentless assault.
The sound changes—from discrete impacts to a sustained roar.
The golden streaks compress into what appears to be a beam of solid light.
A column of radiance slams into the charging constructs.
Their forward momentum halts.
The shields fracture entirely.
Blue shards explode outward like shattered glass.
The beam does not stop.
It drives through metal bodies, through internal cores, through reinforced frames.
The cavern trembles under the sustained blast.
Then—
Silence.
The light fades.
The rotating array slows.
When the last golden streak dissolves, only fragments remain where the creatures once stood.
Scorched metallic limbs.
Severed torsos.
Scattered internal components still sparking faintly with dying blue light.
The array vanishes.
Raphael stands motionless for a moment.
Then he exhales slowly.
"How… is this possible?" he asks, voice low.
"You only became a Master Alchemist a couple of months ago."
Kaelan does not immediately respond.
His eyes lock onto a fragment among the wreckage, a sphere with holes around it.
He steps forward.
Three measured strides.
He bends and picks up the component.
The metal is warm, faintly vibrating with residual energy.
He turns to face Raphael.
"I could have become a Master Alchemist years ago," he says evenly. "But the world stopped me."
Raphael's brows knit briefly.
Then understanding dawns.
Before the world's recovery, advancement beyond certain limits was impossible. The environment itself lacked the necessary energy density. No matter how talented, cultivators were capped.
Now the world is recovering.
Raphael studies Kaelan more carefully.
"Then, when the world recovers further… will you advance to Title Alchemist the moment it allows it?"
Kaelan's gaze remains steady.
"If I have enough energy," he replies, "then yes."
He does not boast.
He states it plainly.
Raphael falls silent.
The implication is clear.
Kaelan reveals just enough of his capability to establish a boundary. The ruin's value is obvious—even now. Once fully explored, it may shake the power balance of kingdoms.
If the Royal Griffon Crown entertains ambitions toward him, they will reconsider.
For Kaelan, their hostility would be trivial.
But troublesome.
And he dislikes trouble.
Without further ceremony, he slides the metallic fragment into the sleeve of his robe. The movement is casual.
Hidden from Raphael's sight, the component vanishes—drawn silently into his spirit space for later study.
Kaelan turns toward the dark hole in the cavern wall.
The opening seems deeper now.
More ominous.
"Shall we enter?" he asks calmly.
Raphael steps beside him, staring into the darkness.
A faint chill crawls along his spine.
"I feel uneasy looking at it," Raphael admits. "Let's regroup first. We should let others enter first."
Kaelan nods.
"When you are ready," he says, "call me."
Without waiting for further discussion, he turns away.
In a few short steps, he reaches one of the white dome-shaped buildings nearby.
He places his hand lightly against its smooth surface.
The door slides open silently.
He enters.
The door seals behind him.
Seconds later, the dome shimmers.
Its edges blur.
Then the entire structure dissolves into mist, as though it had never existed.
Raphael stares at the empty space where it stood.
The cavern returns to silence once more.
The hole in the wall waits.
And within one of the vanished domes, Kaelan begins his examination of a civilisation long buried beneath five thousand years of forgotten history.