The bell of Solaris rang across the city.
KLANG! KALATONG! KALEMBANG!
The enormous arena gates opened.
Thousands of spectators filled the terraces.
Technomagik banners moved beneath the golden sunlight.
Merchants crowded the streets outside.
Engineers demonstrated ancient machines.
Hunters gathered their weapons.
The entire city had come alive for the Solaris Defenders Tournament.
And standing inside the arena were three outsiders from Aurion.
Dorion.
Lirion.
Sorion.
The three brothers had arrived in Solaris by accident—or so they thought.
Their broken Desert Skiff had carried them across the Burning Sea, following Sorion's bronze compass.
Now that compass pointed directly toward the tournament prize.
The Grand Cape of Solaris.
But the tournament was about to reveal something far more important.
THE SECOND BATTLE
Across the arena stood three Solaris warriors.
The first wore heavy desert armor and carried a massive resonance hammer.
The second carried two curved technomagik blades.
The third wore a compact combat exosuit surrounded by hovering drones.
The announcer raised his voice.
"CHALLENGERS FROM AURION!"
The crowd responded with a mixture of cheers and curiosity.
"VERSUS THE HUNTERS OF SOLARIS!"
The Solaris warriors raised their weapons.
The announcer shouted:
"THREE AGAINST THREE!"
The arena shook.
"BEGIN!"
DORION VS. THE RESONANCE HAMMER
The first Solaris warrior charged.
His resonance hammer struck the ground.
BOOM!
A wave of energy traveled across the arena.
Dorion jumped over it.
The warrior swung again.
Dorion blocked.
CLANG!
The impact pushed Dorion backward.
The crowd cheered.
The Solaris warrior attacked repeatedly.
Dorion defended.
Then the Iron Legion Knight changed his stance.
His armor began radiating molten gold-red industrial energy.
The Solaris warrior noticed.
"So you're an Iron Knight."
Dorion smiled.
"Iron Legion."
The warrior grinned.
"Then show me."
He charged.
Dorion met him.
Their weapons collided.
BOOOOOOM!
The shockwave crossed the arena.
Dorion twisted his body and struck the warrior's armor.
The Solaris warrior staggered.
Dorion followed with a powerful blow.
The warrior was thrown across the sand.
He landed safely.
Then slowly stood.
The crowd erupted.
The Solaris warrior laughed.
"You're strong."
Dorion raised his weapon.
"So are you."
LIRION ENTERS THE MACHINE FIGHT
The third Solaris warrior activated his exosuit.
Six drones launched from his back.
They surrounded Lirion.
Their weapons activated.
Lirion remained still.
His eyes scanned them.
Then something began moving across his body.
It emerged from his technomagik core.
A dark substance flowed over his arms.
Across his shoulders.
Down his chest.
Across his back.
It covered his body like living liquid metal.
Black.
Fluid.
Almost alive.
Then blue-black data began moving through it.
The substance shifted with every movement Lirion made.
It was not armor that he had put on.
It was part of him.
Black Noetic Fluid.
A living technomagik machine wrapped around the Machine Lord's body.
Blue-black data streamed across its surface like flowing information.
The crowd became silent.
Lirion raised one hand.
The liquid machine responded.
Its surface formed a mechanical gauntlet.
The drones fired.
Lirion moved.
WHOOOM!
The living machine covered his arm with a defensive plate.
The attacks struck.
The Black Noetic Fluid absorbed the impact and redistributed the energy through its structure.
Lirion looked at the drones.
Then he smiled.
"Interesting."
THE AUDIENCE RECOGNIZES HIM
Something unexpected happened.
The audience did not react with fear.
They reacted with recognition.
Several Solaris spectators immediately stood.
"That technique!"
"Look at him!"
"Black Noetic Fluid!"
"He's using a living Noetic interface!"
"That's a Machine Communion technique!"
Lirion stopped.
His expression changed.
He looked toward the stands.
They knew what he was doing.
Not everyone understood his particular form.
But the underlying technology was clearly familiar.
An elderly Solaris engineer stood near the arena wall.
He stared at Lirion's body.
"I haven't seen that level of control in years."
Lirion looked toward him.
"You know this technique?"
The engineer laughed.
"Technique?"
He pointed toward Lirion.
"Boy, Noetic systems like that are used throughout this region."
Lirion's eyes widened.
"Throughout Solaris?"
"Solaris and the surrounding settlements."
The engineer gestured toward the machines around the arena.
"Desert skiffs."
"Mining crawlers."
"Farming machines."
"Defense constructs."
"Technomagik exosuits."
"Even some medical machines."
Lirion looked at his living armor.
The Black Noetic Fluid moved beneath the blue-black data.
He had always considered his Machine Lord abilities a rare branch of technomagik.
Yet here, the basic principle was common.
The difference was control.
The Solaris engineer continued.
"Most people use Noetic Fluid to operate machines."
He looked directly at Lirion.
"You use it as though the machine is part of your body."
Lirion became quiet.
Then he smiled.
"So my abilities aren't unusual here."
The engineer shook his head.
"The foundation isn't."
He paused.
"But your mastery is."
Lirion looked around the arena.
For the first time, he understood something important.
Aurion was not the only place where technomagik had evolved.
Solaris had developed its own traditions.
Some of them might even be older than Aurion's.
Lirion's expression became intensely curious.
"So this region remembers."
The engineer frowned.
"Remembers what?"
Lirion looked toward the ancient machines.
"Where the technology came from."
LIRION TAKES CONTROL
The Solaris warrior shouted.
"Stop talking!"
His drones attacked again.
Lirion raised both hands.
The Black Noetic Fluid spread across his shoulders and arms.
Blue-black data exploded outward.
The drones suddenly stopped.
The Solaris warrior's expression changed.
"What did you do?"
Lirion answered:
"I listened."
The drones turned.
Their weapons pointed toward their own operator.
The crowd exploded with laughter and cheers.
The warrior immediately shut down the drones.
But Lirion was already moving.
His living liquid machine formed a massive mechanical fist around his arm.
He struck.
BOOM!
The Solaris warrior flew backward.
He landed outside the combat boundary.
The announcer shouted:
"OUT!"
The crowd erupted.
Duel of Shadow and Light
The arena fell silent.
The next fighter entered.
No introduction was necessary.
The crowd already knew him.
Valek Solar.
The undefeated champion of the Solaris arena.
The most feared dual-blade warrior in the Burning Sea.
Two ancient Solar Blades were already armed in his hands.
Their edges burned with concentrated golden technomagik light.
Every movement left thin trails of radiance through the air.
The audience began chanting his name.
"VALEK!"
"VALEK!"
"VALEK!"
Dorion watched from the edge of the arena.
"That's the champion?"
Lirion scanned him.
"Confirmed."
His scanner continued.
"His combat resonance is extremely high."
Dorion looked toward Sorion.
"You sure about this?"
Sorion quietly drew his weapons.
Two short blades emerged from beneath his cloak.
The Veil Dual Daggers.
Unlike the Solar Blades, they produced almost no visible light.
Their edges seemed to absorb it.
Dark silver mist gathered around them.
Sorion looked at Valek.
"I'll be fine."
Valek raised both Solar Blades.
"You're the Veilkeepers warrior."
Sorion nodded.
Valek smiled.
"Then this will be interesting."
Sorion lowered into his stance.
"Come! Bite me."
The arena bell rang.
KLANG!
LIGHT STRIKES FIRST
Valek disappeared.
BOOM!
He crossed the arena in an instant.
His right Solar Blade struck.
Sorion blocked with his left dagger.
CLANG!
The impact produced a burst of golden light.
Valek immediately followed with the second blade.
Sorion twisted.
The Solar Blade passed beside his face.
Sorion countered.
SHNK!
His Veil Dagger nearly touched Valek's throat.
Valek leaned backward.
The dagger passed through empty air.
The crowd gasped.
Valek smiled.
"So fast."
Sorion vanished.
Valek immediately turned.
CLANG!
Solar Blade met Veil Dagger.
The two warriors locked weapons.
Light pushed against shadow.
Neither moved.
Then both disappeared.
SHADOW VS. LIGHT
The arena became a storm.
Golden light streaked across the battlefield.
Dark silver shadows followed.
Valek attacked.
Sorion countered.
Sorion attacked.
Valek countered.
Their weapons collided again and again.
CLANG!
SHNK!
KRAANG!
WHOOOM!
The audience could barely follow them.
Some spectators stopped cheering.
They simply watched.
The fight was moving too quickly for ordinary eyes.
Valek's Solar Blades created arcs of light.
Sorion's Veil Daggers created almost invisible lines through the darkness.
Light revealed.
Shadow concealed.
Valek attacked the places where Sorion should have been.
Sorion moved before the attack arrived.
Sorion attacked the places Valek would move toward.
Valek changed direction before the dagger arrived.
Their combat was becoming a battle of prediction.
THE FIRST COUNTER
Valek suddenly crossed both blades.
Golden energy exploded outward.
SOLAR CROSS!
A massive X-shaped wave of light traveled across the arena.
Sorion disappeared.
The attack passed through him.
Or so everyone thought.
The crowd gasped when Sorion reappeared above Valek.
His Veil Daggers descended.
Valek crossed his Solar Blades.
CLANG!
The impact forced him to one knee.
Sorion landed.
Valek immediately swept his leg.
Sorion jumped.
The Solar Blade followed.
Sorion twisted through the air.
The blade passed beneath him.
He landed behind Valek.
Valek turned.
Their blades met again.
CLANG!
Both warriors were pushed backward.
THE VEIL AFTERIMAGE
Sorion activated his Veil technique.
A shadow form appeared beside him.
It was not a full duplicate.
It was a manifestation of his movement.
A faint silhouette.
Almost invisible.
Valek's eyes narrowed.
"Two?"
Sorion moved.
The shadow moved with him.
Valek attacked the shadow.
His Solar Blade passed through it.
Sorion's real dagger came from the opposite side.
Valek barely blocked.
CLANG!
The crowd erupted.
The Solaris engineers recognized the technique.
"Veil Shadow!"
"Look at the timing!"
"He isn't creating another body!"
"He's making the Veil predict his movement!"
Lirion watched carefully.
"No."
Dorion looked at him.
"What?"
Lirion's blue-black data flowed around his hands.
"He's doing something more precise."
Lirion's eyes followed Sorion.
"The shadow isn't predicting him."
"It is revealing where his movement could have been."
VALEK ADAPTS
Valek stopped chasing the shadow.
He closed his eyes for half a second.
Then opened them.
He stopped watching Sorion's body.
He watched the space around him.
Sorion attacked.
Valek blocked.
Sorion changed direction.
Valek countered.
Sorion disappeared.
Valek swung without looking.
CLANG!
His Solar Blade caught the Veil Dagger.
Sorion's eyes narrowed.
Valek smiled.
"I understand your trick."
Sorion answered:
"Good."
He vanished.
Valek followed.
But Sorion wasn't where Valek expected.
The Veil shifted.
Sorion changed his trajectory in the middle of the movement.
Valek's eyes widened.
"He changed direction…"
Sorion's dagger stopped beside his neck.
"…after you committed."
Valek jumped backward.
The crowd exploded.
THE CHAMPION'S FULL POWER
Valek stopped holding back.
Golden energy flooded through his Solar Blades.
The entire arena became brighter.
The Solaris crowd stood.
They knew what was coming.
Valek crossed his weapons.
SOLAR PHASE — SECOND FORM.
His body became surrounded by golden resonance.
His speed increased.
Then he attacked.
Sorion barely blocked.
CLANG!
Another strike.
CLANG!
Another.
CLANG!
Valek's blades became almost impossible to see.
Sorion's body moved like liquid shadow.
He dodged by millimeters.
A Solar Blade passed through his cloak.
Another cut his sleeve.
A third struck the ground where his foot had been.
Sorion countered.
Valek blocked.
The two warriors moved across the entire arena.
No wasted movement.
No unnecessary attacks.
Every strike was designed to force a reaction.
Every reaction became another opening.
It was no longer a tournament fight.
It was a duel between two masters.
THE UNBELIEVABLE EXCHANGE
Valek attacked high.
Sorion blocked.
Valek immediately switched low.
Sorion jumped.
Valek changed direction mid-strike.
Sorion twisted.
The Solar Blade passed beneath his body.
Sorion's dagger struck toward Valek's shoulder.
Valek rotated his blade.
CLANG!
The weapons locked.
Sorion pushed.
Valek pushed back.
Then both released simultaneously.
Valek spun.
Two Solar Blades formed a circle of light.
SOLAR WHEEL!
Sorion crouched.
His Veil Daggers crossed.
A dark ring formed around him.
VEIL EQUILIBRIUM.
Light collided with shadow.
BOOOOOOM!
The shockwave swept across the arena.
Both warriors disappeared inside the explosion.
Silence.
Then—
two figures emerged from opposite sides.
Both were still standing.
MEMORY
Sorion breathed slowly.
Valek was breathing heavily.
But Valek smiled.
"You are the strongest Veil warrior I've ever fought."
Sorion looked at him.
"You're the strongest warrior I've fought."
Valek raised his blades.
"Then let us finish this."
Sorion's eyes changed.
His Veil resonance deepened.
The silver-violet energy around him became almost completely silent.
Lirion immediately recognized the change.
"Sorion…"
Dorion looked at him.
"What?"
Lirion's expression became serious.
"He's going to use it."
"The memory technique?"
Lirion nodded.
"But not yet."
THE FINAL EXCHANGE
Valek charged.
Sorion charged.
They met in the center.
Solar Blade.
Veil Dagger.
CLANG!
Second blade.
Second dagger.
CLANG!
Valek attacked.
Sorion countered.
Sorion attacked.
Valek countered.
Four strikes.
Eight.
Twelve.
Twenty.
Their movements became impossible to follow.
The arena lights seemed to flicker between gold and darkness.
The audience could no longer tell who was attacking.
They only heard the weapons.
CLANG!
SHNK!
KRAANG!
CLANG!
Then Sorion made his move.
Not toward Valek's body.
Toward his memory.
MEMORY MANIPULATION
Sorion's Veil spread silently.
It entered the space around Valek.
No explosion.
No flash.
No dramatic sound.
Only silence.
Valek suddenly stopped.
His eyes widened.
He remembered his first battle.
His first Solar Blade.
His first victory.
His training.
His techniques.
His combinations.
His counters.
His instincts.
Then Sorion began separating them.
Not destroying his mind.
Not damaging his body.
Removing the combat memories that had built Valek into a master.
One memory vanished.
Then another.
Then another.
Valek tried to move.
His body still had strength.
His hands still held the Solar Blades.
But the knowledge behind the movements was disappearing.
He attempted his Solar Cross.
Nothing.
He tried his Solar Wheel.
He couldn't remember the sequence.
He attempted his signature counter.
His body stopped halfway.
Valek stared at his own hands.
"What…"
Sorion stood before him.
Valek's voice trembled.
"I know these weapons."
He looked at the Solar Blades.
"I know I've used them."
"But…"
His expression became frightened.
"I don't remember how."
THE MASTER BECOMES A BEGINNER
Valek raised one blade.
He attempted a basic stance.
It was wrong.
His feet were positioned incorrectly.
His grip was uncertain.
His balance was gone.
The greatest warrior in the Solaris arena—
was suddenly fighting like someone who had never trained.
The crowd was completely silent.
Sorion stood motionless.
His Veil Daggers lowered.
Valek looked at him.
"Why?"
Sorion answered quietly.
"Because your strength was never the danger."
Valek stared.
"Your experience was."
Sorion released the technique.
The Veil withdrew.
Valek remained standing.
Alive.
Uninjured.
But everything that had made him the undefeated champion was gone.
His mastery.
His combinations.
His counters.
His battle instincts.
His accumulated experience.
Forgotten.
Valek dropped his Solar Blades.
CLANG.
He looked at Sorion.
"I surrender."
THE ARENA'S REACTION
Nobody cheered.
Nobody laughed.
The crowd simply stared.
The most feared warrior in Solaris had been defeated.
Not by superior strength.
Not by a faster weapon.
Not by a more powerful attack.
He had been defeated by having his experience taken away.
The tournament commander slowly stood.
He looked at Sorion.
Then at Valek.
Then at the discarded Solar Blades.
He finally understood why the Veilkeepers was a feared warriors in the ancient age.
A warrior could survive a sword.
A warrior could survive fire.
A warrior could survive a machine.
But how could someone fight an opponent who could remove the knowledge of how to fight?
Lirion looked at Sorion.
The Black Noetic Fluid moved across his body like a living machine.
Blue-black data flowed through it.
His expression was unusually serious.
"Sorion."
Sorion looked at him.
"You didn't just defeat him."
Sorion said nothing.
Lirion continued.
"You erased the years that made him dangerous."
Sorion looked toward Valek.
"He can learn again."
Dorion looked at him.
"But he'll have to start over."
Sorion nodded.
"Or I bring them back."
EVEN THE MONSTERS SHOULD FEAR THE VEILMASTER
Far beyond the arena, beneath the Burning Sea, ancient machines detected the battle.
Their resonance sensors had recorded the fight.
They recognized the Solar Blades.
They recognized the technomagik energy.
But Sorion's Veil created something different.
Something the ancient machines could not classify.
A predator beneath the sand suddenly stopped.
Its ancient combat system attempted to analyze Sorion.
The result returned:
UNKNOWN THREAT.
The machine attempted another calculation.
MEMORY INTERFERENCE DETECTED.
Its ancient instincts activated.
AVOID.
The creature turned.
It buried itself deeper beneath the sand.
Another machine detected the same resonance.
It also changed direction.
Then another.
The monsters of the Burning Sea were beginning to respond.
They did not understand Sorion.
But some ancient part of them remembered enough to know one thing:
Do not fight the Veilmaster.
THE CHAMPION FALLS
Sorion walked away from the arena.
The Grand Cape remained waiting on its ceremonial platform.
Its ancient flying resonance flickered.
The crowd watched him.
No longer as an unknown traveler.
No longer simply as one of three brothers from Aurion.
They had seen what he could do.
Dorion approached him.
"You know everyone is going to be afraid of you now."
Sorion looked at the crowd.
"That's not what I wanted."
Lirion joined them.
"But it's what they saw."
Sorion looked toward the desert.
The wind carried sand across the arena.
Somewhere beyond Solaris, ancient monsters were moving.
Some were approaching.
Others were retreating.
Sorion's bronze compass began turning.
The needle pointed deeper into the Burning Sea.
He tightened his grip.
"Then let them remember."
Dorion looked at him.
"Remember what?"
Sorion looked toward the horizon.
"That the Veil is still here."
Behind him, the Grand Cape responded with a faint ancient resonance.
And beneath the golden sands—
something enormous awakened.
THE THREE BROTHERS
The arena became silent.
Then—
ROOOOOOOOOAR!
The crowd erupted.
Dorion stood in the center of the arena.
Lirion's body remained covered by the living Black Noetic Fluid.
Blue-black data streamed over its surface.
Sorion stood quietly beside them.
The tournament commander entered the arena.
He studied the three brothers.
Then looked toward the crowd.
"Aurion."
He repeated the name.
"So this is what Aurion has become."
Dorion looked at him.
"You know Aurion?"
The commander shook his head.
"Not your Aurion."
He pointed toward Lirion.
"His technology."
Lirion became interested.
The commander continued.
"Your Machine Lord techniques have similarities to old Solaris systems."
Lirion's expression sharpened.
"How old?"
The commander looked toward the desert.
"Older than the histories we possess."
THE PRIZE
The tournament officials brought out the prize.
A ceremonial platform rose from the arena floor.
A transparent technomagik field surrounded a single object.
The Grand Cape of Solaris.
It was magnificent.
Dark ancient fabric.
Metallic threads.
Golden geometric patterns.
A large Solaris emblem was embroidered across its back.
A star inside a sun.
The cape moved slightly despite the absence of wind.
Lirion scanned it.
His expression changed.
"Resonance."
Sorion's bronze compass immediately reacted.
THUM.
THUM.
THUM.
Dorion stared.
"What is it?"
Lirion scanned again.
"Ancient technomagik."
He paused.
"Something associated with atmospheric resonance."
Dorion looked at the cape.
"Flying?"
Lirion nodded.
"Possibly."
THE FORGOTTEN FLIGHT SYSTEM
Lirion examined the cape remotely.
The technology was unlike anything he had seen.
The metallic threads formed an interconnected resonance network.
But there was no visible activation mechanism.
"No control interface."
Dorion asked:
"So nobody knows how to use it?"
"Not anymore."
Lirion looked toward the Solaris engineers.
"Does anyone know how this worked?"
The old engineer shook his head.
"Our ancestors simply called it the Sky Mantle."
Lirion repeated the name.
"Sky Mantle."
The engineer nodded.
"It was said that its wearer could cross the air."
Dorion looked at the cape.
"Can it still?"
Lirion shook his head.
"Not with the knowledge we currently have."
For now, the cape's value was not its power.
Its value was its history.
Its intricate ancient craftsmanship.
Its rarity.
Its symbolic grandeur.
A warrior wearing it would appear like a champion from the forgotten age.
The crowd admired it.
But Lirion saw something else.
A technological mystery.
SORION TOUCHES THE CAPE
Sorion approached.
His compass was vibrating harder.
He touched the protective field.
The Veil responded.
The world disappeared.
BEFORE OMNISSION
Sorion stood in ancient Solaris.
The desert was different.
There were rivers.
Gardens.
Huge technomagik towers.
Airships moved across the sky.
Solaris was magnificent.
The Grand Cape was being worn by an ancient warrior.
And beside him stood members of the Veilkeepers.
They were not enemies.
They were allies.
Sorion watched.
An ancient Solaris leader spoke.
"The Meridian network must remain sealed."
A Veilkeeper answered:
"If the northern road opens, the consequences will spread beyond Solaris."
The Bronze Plate warrior stepped forward.
"What are you afraid of?"
The Veilkeeper looked toward the sky.
"Omnission."
The vision fractured.
Solaris burned.
Veilkeepers fought Solaris warriors.
The Meridian network collapsed.
The ancient warrior wearing the Bronze Plate raised his weapon.
Then everything disappeared.
A final voice remained.
"When the Meridian awakens again, Solaris must remember what it chose."
The vision vanished.
Sorion returned to the arena.
Lirion caught his shoulder.
"What did you see?"
Sorion stared at the Grand Cape.
"The Veilkeepers and Solaris weren't always enemies."
Dorion's expression hardened.
"Then what happened?"
Sorion shook his head.
"Omnission."
THE GRAND CAPE CHOOSES
The tournament commander approached.
"By tradition, the winning team receives the Grand Cape."
He released the containment field.
The ancient fabric floated toward Sorion.
Then—
it settled across his shoulders.
WHOOOM.
A pulse of resonance spread through the arena.
Every technomagik machine flickered.
Lirion's Black Noetic Fluid reacted.
Blue-black data raced across his living machine body.
His eyes widened.
"The cape recognized the Noetic network."
The Solaris engineers stared.
The cape's symbols glowed faintly.
But it did not activate flight.
Not yet.
Lirion approached Sorion.
"This is important."
Sorion looked at him.
"Why?"
"The cape isn't dead technology."
Lirion scanned it.
"It is dormant."
He smiled.
"There's a difference."
THE TOURNAMENT ENDS
The crowd celebrated.
But the tournament commander did not.
He looked toward the desert.
"The celebration is over."
The crowd slowly became silent.
The commander raised his hand.
"The hunting season begins."
A massive projection appeared above the arena.
A map of the Burning Sea.
Red markers covered it.
Lirion scanned the display.
"Those are technomagik signatures."
The commander nodded.
"Thousands."
Dorion looked at him.
"Thousands of monsters?"
"Machines."
The commander corrected him.
"Machines that have become monsters."
THE DESERT HUNTERS
The commander explained.
Every year, the ancient machines beneath the Burning Sea became active.
Some were remnants of old mining systems.
Others were agricultural machines corrupted by centuries of unstable technomagik energy.
Others were ancient guardians.
And some were creatures whose bodies had merged with forgotten technology.
The hunting season was necessary.
If the machines were not controlled, they would attack farms.
Mining settlements.
Trade routes.
Villages.
And eventually Solaris itself.
The tournament was designed to find the strongest warriors.
Not merely champions.
Hunters.
Protectors.
Scouts.
Technomancers.
Engineers.
Anyone capable of surviving the desert.
The commander looked at the three brothers.
"You arrived at exactly the right time."
Dorion raised an eyebrow.
"Why?"
The commander pointed toward the map.
"Because something has changed."
THE RESONANCE
The map suddenly changed.
Thousands of red signals began moving.
Lirion scanned them.
His living Black Noetic Fluid reacted instinctively.
Blue-black data streamed faster across his body.
"They're moving toward the city."
The commander frowned.
"That has never happened."
Sorion looked at his compass.
The needle pointed toward the desert.
Then toward the Grand Cape.
Then back toward the desert.
Sorion understood.
"They're following the resonance."
Lirion looked at him.
"From the Meridian awakening?"
Sorion nodded.
"Grand Meridian woke the old network."
Lirion continued:
"And the network woke Solaris."
Dorion tightened his grip.
"And now Solaris is waking the machines."
THE HUNT
The city alarm sounded.
WOOOOOOOOON!
Citizens rushed into shelters.
Farmers secured their equipment.
Merchants closed their stalls.
Engineers activated defensive towers.
Hunters gathered their weapons.
The tournament warriors became the first hunting force.
The eastern gate opened.
Beyond it was an endless golden desert.
Then the sand moved.
A massive mechanical creature erupted from beneath the dunes.
ROOOOOOOAR!
Its body was covered in ancient bronze plating.
Six mechanical legs struck the sand.
Its jaws opened.
Technomagik energy burned inside its mouth.
A Solaris hunter shouted:
"Sand Crawler!"
Another creature emerged.
Then another.
Then dozens.
The hunting season had begun.
End of Episode 70