Exiled Heir: God-Tier Forge System in the Eternal Night

4: The Bone-Grinder’s Waltz

... uses shadow-matter to liquefy titanium in under three seconds? Because that’s basically what we’re about to turn this entire hallway into, Silas. Grab those coolant canisters and don’t ask questions. Move!"

 

"Liquefy? Kael, you’re talkin’ about human beings! Those are Draven Enforcers! They got reinforced ceramic plates and kinetic shields!" Silas’s voice hit a pitch high enough to shatter glass as he hauled the heavy metal jugs toward the center of the room.

 

"I don't give a damn if they’re wearing god-tier plate armor from the Old Era. In this workshop, they’re just fuel," Kael hissed, his fingers flying across the holographic terminal. "System, link the 'Warden’s Molten Heart' to the primary ventilation shafts. Overload the thermal dampeners. I want this place to feel like the center of a dying sun the moment they step off that lift."

 

[Ding!]

 

[Linking Molten Heart to Facility Core...]

 

[Warning: This will cause permanent structural damage to the 'Silent Sector'. Do you wish to proceed?]

 

"Do it. If I can't have this place, Jax sure as hell isn't getting it," Kael growled. He turned to Silas, who was trembling so hard the canisters were clanking together. "Silas, listen to me. I need you to go into that side alcove. There’s a manual override for the pressure seals. When I give the signal, you pull it. Hard."

 

"And what happens then? Do we just... we just watch them burn?"

 

"No, we watch them realize they picked the wrong heir to screw with. Now, get in position!"

 

Kael didn't wait for a reply. He limped toward the 'Mana-Infusion Vat', his black-veined arm throbbing in sync with the pulsing blue lights of the machinery. The poison was screaming for more, and the System was only too happy to oblige.

 

[Item Appraisal: Mana-Infusion Vat (Damaged).]

 

[Proposed Modification: 'Void-Pressure Trap'.]

 

[Requires: 20 Forge Points + 1x Corrupted Core Shard.]

 

"Spend it. Spend all of it. Just make sure it bites deep," Kael muttered, slamming his hand against the vat’s glass. The violet light from his ring bled into the blue liquid inside, turning it a murky, threatening purple.

 

DING.

 

The sound of the elevator reaching their floor echoed through the ancient stone corridor. It was heavy. Metaphorically and literally. The weight of the Draven family's arrogance was coming down that shaft.

 

"Young Master Kael?" a voice boomed from the end of the hall. It wasn't Jax. It was deeper, more professional, and infinitely colder. "This is Captain Thorne. Your brother told us you might still be kicking. Honestly? I’m impressed. Surviving the Gatekeeper is one hell of a feat for a dying man."

 

Kael didn't answer. He stayed hidden behind the central forge, his hand tight on the hilt of the Bronze-Shadow Greatsword.

 

"Come on out, kid. Let’s make this easy," Thorne’s voice grew closer. The rhythmic clack-clack of mag-boots on the floor signaled at least six men. "Jax wants the ring back. He said if I bring it to him, I can do whatever I want with the body. And trust me, I’ve got some very creative ideas for someone who wasted my afternoon."

 

"You always did talk too much, Thorne," Kael called out, his voice echoing off the walls. "Is that why Jax sent you? Because you’re the only one dumb enough to walk into a Forge Master’s playground without an invitation?"

 

The footsteps stopped. "Forge Master? You? Kael, you couldn't even light a candle without your mother's help two years ago. Now, quit the tough-guy act. You’re poisoned, you’re weak, and you’re trapped."

 

"Trapped? You think I'm trapped in here with you?" Kael let out a dry, hacking laugh that ended in a spit of black blood. "Thorne, look at the ceiling."

 

There was a moment of silence, then a sharp gasp. "What the—? Scatter! Get back to the lift!"

 

"Too late. Silas! Now!" Kael screamed.

 

Silas yanked the lever. The heavy bronze doors behind the Enforcers slammed shut with a boom that felt like a localized earthquake. Simultaneously, the vents Kael had rigged hissed open.

 

Instead of air, a thick, white-hot mist erupted from the walls. It wasn't just heat; it was the 'Molten Heart' energy, compressed and weaponized.

 

"AGHHH! My eyes! My damn eyes are melting!" one of the guards shrieked. The sound of ceramic armor cracking under the sudden thermal expansion filled the room like popcorn.

 

"Shields up! Get the kinetic bubbles up!" Thorne roared, though his own voice was strained with panic.

 

"System, use 'Item Appraisal' on their shields. Find the frequency," Kael commanded, stepping out from behind the forge. He looked like a demon rising from the steam, his eyes glowing with that terrifying violet intensity.

 

[Scanning...]

 

[Kinetic Shields detected. Frequency: 440Hz.]

 

[Recommended Action: Harmonic Resonance Strike.]

 

"Got it." Kael raised the Bronze-Shadow Greatsword. The runes on the blade began to glow, vibrating so fast they blurred. "Hey, Thorne! Remember what my mother used to say? Every material has a breaking point. Even you!"

 

Kael lunged. He didn't feel the pain in his legs anymore. He didn't feel the poison. There was only the rhythm of the forge and the target in front of him. He swung the greatsword, and as the blade hit the shimmering blue energy of the lead guard’s shield, the runes detonated.

 

K-BOOM!

 

The shield didn't just break; it shattered into a thousand jagged shards of light that sliced through the guard’s throat. The man didn't even have time to scream before he slumped over, his armor glowing red-hot from the ambient heat.

 

"One down," Kael panted, his lungs tasting like sulfur. "Who’s next?"

 

"You little freak!" Thorne stepped through the mist, his heavy power-axe crackling with electricity. He was sweating, his face flushed a deep purple from the heat, but he was still a Level 18 combatant. "I’m gonna peel that ring off your cold, dead finger!"

 

"You can try, Captain. But you might find the material a bit... stubborn," Kael smirked, sliding into a low stance.

 

"Kael, watch out! There's two more coming around the side!" Silas yelled, throwing a stray wrench at a guard who was trying to flank them.

 

The wrench bounced off the guard’s helmet, but it was enough of a distraction. Kael spun, his greatsword catching the light of the Molten Heart. He didn't swing at the guard; he swung at the 'Mana-Infusion Vat' he’d rigged earlier.

 

"Eat this!"

 

The blade sliced through the glass. The pressurized, purple-tainted mana exploded outward in a violent wave. It hit the two flanking guards like a tidal wave of corrosive acid.

 

"IT’S BURNING! IT’S EATING THROUGH THE SUIT!"

 

The men collapsed, clawing at their own chests as the cursed mana liquefied their gear. The smell was horrendous—acrid, metallic, and sweet.

 

"You’re a monster, Kael Draven!" Thorne stepped over his fallen men, his axe raised high. "This isn't forging! This is butchery!"

 

"In the Eternal Night, Thorne, there isn't much of a difference," Kael snapped back.

 

Their weapons collided. The power-axe sparked against the Bronze-Shadow blade, sending a spray of molten metal into the air. Kael felt his bones groan under the impact. Thorne was stronger, much stronger. Every second they were locked in a struggle, Kael’s feet were sliding back.

 

"You're flagging, kid! The poison is slowing your heart!" Thorne sneered, leaning his weight into the axe. "I can see your hands shaking! Just give it up!"

 

"System... status..." Kael hissed through clenched teeth.

 

[Warning: Heart Rate at 190 BPM. Toxin spread: 35%.]

 

[Risk of 'Total Corruption' is high. Activating Emergency Protocol: 'Blood-Forge Overdrive'.]

 

"Do... whatever... you have to..." Kael gasped.

 

Suddenly, the black veins on Kael’s neck surged. They didn't just throb—they erupted out of his skin like barbed wire, wrapping around the hilt of his sword and then around his own arms, anchoring the weapon to his body.

 

"What the hell are you?!" Thorne’s eyes widened as he saw Kael’s skin turning a translucent, obsidian grey.

 

"I’m the guy you should’ve killed when you had the chance," Kael growled.

 

He didn't push back with his muscles. He pushed back with the weight of the furnace. The Greatsword pulsed with a dark, gravitational force, suddenly becoming ten times heavier. Thorne’s axe snapped like a twig under the sudden pressure.

 

"No! Wait! Kael, listen! I was just following orders! Jax, he—"

 

"Save it for the Void, Thorne."

 

Kael swung. The blade didn't just cut; it erased. It passed through Thorne’s chest piece, his ribs, and his spine as if they were made of mist. The Captain didn't even fall. He simply turned into a cloud of grey ash that was immediately sucked into the sword’s central rune.

 

[Ding!]

 

[Soul-Siphon Successful.]

 

[Level Up! Host is now Level 8.]

 

[Absorbed 'Power-Axe' fragments. Analyzing for Blueprints...]

 

Silence returned to the workshop, broken only by the sound of the cooling vents and Silas’s frantic breathing. Kael stood in the center of the carnage, his greatsword dripping with a mixture of oil and blood. He looked down at his hands. They weren't shaking anymore. They were cold. Perfectly, terrifyingly still.

 

"Young Master...?" Silas stepped out, his face pale. He looked at the empty suits of armor and the piles of ash. "You... you killed them all. Thorne was a decorated veteran. He was one of the best."

 

"He was scrap metal, Silas. Nothing more," Kael said, his voice devoid of any emotion. He turned toward the elevator. "And now, we have a way out."

 

"Wait, you're not thinking of going up there now, are you? There’ll be more of them! An entire garrison!"

 

"I'm not going to the surface, Silas. Not yet," Kael said, looking at the security keycard he’d taken from the Warden. "The System found another signal. Deeper. Beneath this lab. My mother didn't just build a workshop here. She built a vault."

 

"A vault? For what?"

 

Kael walked over to the elevator controls and slammed the keycard into the slot. Instead of 'Surface', a new floor appeared on the display. It was marked only with a single, red symbol: A dying sun.

 

"For the thing that’s going to help me burn the Draven estate to the ground," Kael said.

 

As the elevator began its descent into the true depths of the mine, the floor began to vibrate. A low, rhythmic humming sound started to rise from the darkness below—a sound like a massive, mechanical heart finally waking up after a hundred years.

 

"System, give me the scan for the lower level," Kael whispered.

 

[Ding!]

 

[Scanning 'The Abyssal Cradle'...]

 

[Warning: High-Density Cursed Energy Detected.]

 

[Multiple 'S-Rank' Materials identified.]

 

[Notice: You are being watched.]

 

Kael froze. He gripped the hilt of his sword, his eyes darting to the corners of the descending lift. "Watched? By what? Another Warden?"

 

[Negative. Signature is organic. Identity: Unknown.]

 

Suddenly, the elevator lights flickered and died. In the pitch blackness, a pair of eyes—not yellow, not violet, but a piercing, crystalline white—opened directly in front of Kael’s face.

 

"So..." a voice whispered, sounding like silk being dragged over sandpaper. "The little spark finally found the tinderbox. Tell me, boy... do you know why your mother really ..."