2026-01-01 23:54:07Chapter 3: Shadows in the Black Market
The Nomad emerged from hyperspace on the edge of the Fringe Belt, a sprawling zone of asteroid stations, pirate havens, and black-market hubs that even the biggest corporations avoided unless they had overwhelming firepower. Nexus Station had been chaotic. This place, called Shadow Drift, made Nexus look like a polite tea party. Dex cut the engines to idle. The ship drifted among the debris field. Scans showed dozens of docked vessels. Most were patched-together wrecks. A few looked like they could still fight. Lira leaned over the console. "Shadow Drift. You sure about this?" "We need upgrades," Dex said. "The hammer is strong, but the armor is still street-grade. And we need intel on what the hell an Eclipse Core really is." Lira tapped the master core they had taken from the forge-world. It sat in a containment field on the workbench. "This thing is singing to your Core like a siren. If we integrate it, you might jump tiers overnight. Or overload and turn into one of those clicking nightmares." Dex stared at the glowing blue sphere. Temptation pulled at him. The corruption meter had dropped to 18% during the jump. Stable. But he knew the next big fight would push it again. "Not yet," he decided. "First, we sell the minor relics from Zorath. Get credits. Find a real mechanic. Then we ask questions." Lira raised an eyebrow. "And who exactly is going to answer questions about forbidden Convergence artifacts without trying to kill us or steal them?" "Jax has a cousin here. Runs a chop shop called Iron Veil. Supposed to be discreet." Lira sighed. "Discreet in Shadow Drift usually means they only shoot you after they take your money." Dex smirked. "Better than shooting first." They docked at one of the outer rings. The station smelled of burnt wiring, cheap liquor, and desperation. Armed guards eyed them as they stepped onto the promenade. Dex kept his hammer in compact mode. Lira had her toolkit slung over one shoulder and the stun pistol at her hip. The crowds were thick. Scavengers hawking parts. Mercenaries looking for work. A few void-touched individuals with glowing veins tried to sell "enhancements." Dex steered clear of them. Iron Veil was tucked in a lower level. A heavy blast door with a faded sign. Dex knocked the code Jax had given him. The door slid open. A massive figure filled the frame. Gene-modded. At least seven feet tall. Arms like tree trunks. One eye replaced with a red optic. "Name," the giant rumbled. "Dex Taylor. Jax sent us." The optic scanned them. Then the door opened wider. Inside was a cavernous workshop. Sparks flew from welders. Mechs in various states of repair hung from chains. The air thrummed with machinery. At the center stood a woman. Mid-thirties. Short-cropped black hair. Grease stains on her coveralls. She wiped her hands on a rag and looked them over. "You Jax's contact?" she asked. "Yeah. Sera Kain." Sera's gaze lingered on Dex's armor. On the faint purple veins. "You reek of Eclipse energy. Fresh bond?" Dex tensed. "You know what that is?" "Seen a few. Most of the hosts are dead now." She jerked her head toward a side room. "Bring it in. Let's talk business." They followed her into a private bay. Sera closed the door. Activated a sound damper. "Show me the core," she said. Lira hesitated. Dex nodded. Lira placed the containment unit on the workbench. Sera leaned in. Her red optic whirred as it focused. "Master rune core. Clean. No corruption traces. You pulled this from a forge-world?" "Level three vault," Dex confirmed. Sera whistled low. "Impressive. Most scavengers die on level one." "We had motivation," Lira said dryly. Sera looked at Dex again. "The bond. How far along are you?" "Tier one. Some new skills. Rage mode. Step teleport. Surge wave." "And the corruption?" Dex met her eyes. "Under control. For now." Sera nodded slowly. "You're lucky. Most Nullborn who bond Eclipse Cores burn out in weeks. You seem... stable." She turned to a console. Pulled up schematics. "I can upgrade your armor. Integrate some of the master core's energy without full fusion. Give you better protection. Faster nanite repair. Maybe a passive shield." "Cost?" Dex asked. "Twenty thousand credits. Plus a favor." Lira crossed her arms. "Favors in Shadow Drift are expensive." "Not this one," Sera said. "There's a job. A convoy passing through the belt tomorrow. Helix Corp. Carrying prototype magitech weapons. I want one crate. You bring it to me, I upgrade you for free. And I throw in information about the Sovereign prophecy." Dex and Lira exchanged glances. "The Sovereign?" Dex asked. Sera's optic glowed brighter. "Old legend from the Convergence era. A Nullborn who bonds the first true Eclipse Core. Becomes the Sovereign. Balances magic and tech. Or destroys everything trying." Dex felt the Core in his chest pulse. Almost like it recognized the name. "What's the catch?" Lira asked. "Helix has escorts. Armed to the teeth. And rumors say Purists are sniffing around too. They hate anything Convergence-related." Dex considered. Twenty thousand credits was a lot. Free upgrades were better. And information... he needed to know what was happening to him. "We'll do it," he said. Sera smiled. It did not reach her eyes. "Good. Meet me at docking bay 17 at 0400 station time. We'll plan the hit." They left Iron Veil with a data chip containing the convoy route. Back on the Nomad, Lira paced the small common area. "This is a bad idea. We're scavengers, not pirates." "We need the edge," Dex said. "The corps are already hunting us. Purists might be next. If there's truth to this Sovereign thing, we need to know." Lira stopped. Looked at him. "You're changing, Dex. The power. It's making you bolder. Reckless." "Maybe," he admitted. "But sitting still gets us killed slower. Not safer." She sighed. "Fine. But we do this smart. In and out. No heroics." Dex nodded. They spent the next hours preparing. Lira modded her stun pistol with higher capacity. Dex tested the hammer's new limits. The recall felt smoother. The weight perfect. At 0400, they met Sera at bay 17. She had a small assault shuttle ready. Fast. Stealth-coated. Three other mercs were there. Hard-looking. Armed heavy. "These are my people," Sera said. "Rik, Mara, Talon. They know the drill." Introductions were short. No one trusted anyone. Sera briefed them. "Convoy is three heavy freighters. Two escort fighters. One gunship. We hit the middle freighter. Grab the crate marked Alpha-7. Get out before the escorts respond." Dex studied the holo-map. "Defenses?" "Automated turrets on the freighters. Boarding parties if we breach. The crate is in the central hold." Lira frowned. "We need a distraction." Sera nodded. "That's where you come in, Nullborn. You have the flashiest power. Draw their fire. We slip in behind." Dex did not like being bait. But it made sense. They launched. The convoy appeared on scanners. Big. Slow. Vulnerable. Sera's shuttle approached from the debris field. Cloak engaged. Dex stood at the airlock. Hammer ready. "Ready?" Sera asked. Dex activated Void Rage. The red haze returned. Strength surged. "Ready." The shuttle decloaked. Launched grapples. Attached to the middle freighter. Alarms blared across the convoy. Dex opened the airlock. Stepped into vacuum. Eclipse Step activated. He blinked across the gap. Landed on the freighter hull. Turret fire started immediately. Plasma bolts streaked past. He teleported again. Appeared on top of a turret. Hammer came down. Crushed it. More turrets turned. He kept moving. Blinking. Smashing. Below, Sera's team breached the hull. Dex drew more fire. Rage at peak. Corruption climbing. 25%. 30%. A fighter swung in. Missiles launched. Dex leaped. Eclipse Surge erupted. Void tendrils caught the missiles. Detonated them harmlessly. The fighter circled back. Dex grinned. "Come get some." He jumped. Landed on the fighter's wing. Hammer smashed the cockpit. The pilot panicked. Spun out. Sera's voice crackled over comms. "We have the crate! Get back!" Dex blinked back to the shuttle. They detached. Engines flared. Pulled away. Pursuit came fast. Gunship closing. Sera pushed the throttle. "Hold on!" Dex stood at the rear hatch. Hammer extended. The gunship fired. Heavy plasma. Dex swung. The hammer met the bolt. Deflected it. The recoil shook his arms. Another shot. He deflected again. The gunship closed. Dex leaped out. Into vacuum. Teleported onto the gunship's nose. Hammer came down. Cracked the canopy. The ship veered. Spun. Dex teleported back to the shuttle just as it jumped to hyperspace. They escaped. Back at Iron Veil, Sera opened the crate. Inside, prototype magitech rifles. Rune-enhanced. Deadly. Sera smiled. "Perfect." She turned to Dex. "As promised. Free upgrades. And information." She pulled up a holo-file. Ancient text. Diagrams. "The Sovereign is not just a legend," she said. "The Eclipse Cores were created during the Convergence to find a balance. Only a Nullborn can wield them without immediate corruption. But the power calls to others. Fragments. Like the master core you have." Dex listened. "And there is one who already has a superior fragment. An Apex Echo. She is the closest to the Sovereign. And she is hunting the others." Lira tensed. "Hunting?" "To consume them. Or eliminate them. No one knows." Sera looked at Dex. "If you keep growing, she will come for you." Dex felt the Core stir. The hunt was not just from corps and Purists. It was personal now. Sera began the upgrades on his armor. Nanites flowed. Runes etched. Lira watched Dex. Worry in her eyes. He met her gaze. "We keep moving forward." She nodded. Slowly. The galaxy had just gotten a lot bigger. And a lot more dangerous. 
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Crew of the Damned
Chapter 6: Crew of the DamnedThe Nomad emerged from hyperspace on the fringes of the Iron Veil sector, far from the Dead Nebula’s grasp. The ship’s hull still groaned from the storm’s punishment, but they had made it. Dex cut the engines to minimal power and let the vessel drift among a cluster of small asteroid outposts. No signals. No pursuit. For the first time in days, silence felt earned.He leaned back in the pilot chair, eyes closed. Tier 2 power hummed under his skin like a second pulse. The new skills—Void Dominion and Eclipse Armor—waited like loaded weapons. He could feel them. Ready. Hungry.Lira stood in the doorway of the cockpit, arms crossed. She had been quiet since the derelict. Watching him more than usual.“You’re different,” she said finally.Dex opened his eyes. “Good different or bad different?”“Both.” She stepped inside. “You move faster. Hit harder. But every time you use the new stuff, your eyes… they get darker. Like the void is leaking
The price of Power
Chapter 5: The Price of PowerThe Nomad limped away from Vespera Station, engines running hot after the emergency jump. Dex sat in the pilot chair, knuckles white on the controls. His armor was scorched in places where Nova's casual shove had sent him through steel and crystal. The nanites were already repairing, but the ache in his ribs lingered.Corruption sat at 38%. Stable, but high. Every heartbeat felt like a warning.Lira paced behind him, boots echoing on the metal floor. She had not spoken since they broke dock. Finally, she stopped."That was her. The Apex Echo.""Yeah.""She didn't even try. She could have ripped the Core out of your chest and walked away."Dex kept his eyes on the starfield. "She wants me to grow first. Test me. Break me. Whatever the prophecy bullshit says."Lira came around to face him. "And you're going to play her game?""No choice. She's miles ahead. If I don't close the gap, I'm dead the next time she decides the test is o
Echo of the Apex
Chapter 4: Echo of the ApexThe upgrades from Sera Kain took the better part of two days. Dex spent most of it in the chop shop bay, shirtless on a raised platform while nanites crawled under his skin like living tattoos. The new armor fused seamlessly with his body. Lightweight plates that shifted like liquid metal when he moved. Purple-blue veins now ran openly along the seams, pulsing in time with his heartbeat. The Eclipse Core approved. Every test made the corruption meter flicker but never climb past 22%.Lira watched from the side, arms crossed. She had spent the time tinkering with her own gear. Upgraded the stun pistol into something that could now fire charged rune bolts. "You're starting to look like one of them," she said quietly."Like what?" Dex flexed his arm. The plates rippled."Like the Convergence legends. Half man, half machine, half monster."Dex met her gaze in the reflection of a nearby console. "As long as the monster is on our side, I'm good."
Shadows in the Black Market
Chapter 3: Shadows in the Black MarketThe Nomad emerged from hyperspace on the edge of the Fringe Belt, a sprawling zone of asteroid stations, pirate havens, and black-market hubs that even the biggest corporations avoided unless they had overwhelming firepower. Nexus Station had been chaotic. This place, called Shadow Drift, made Nexus look like a polite tea party.Dex cut the engines to idle. The ship drifted among the debris field. Scans showed dozens of docked vessels. Most were patched-together wrecks. A few looked like they could still fight.Lira leaned over the console. "Shadow Drift. You sure about this?""We need upgrades," Dex said. "The hammer is strong, but the armor is still street-grade. And we need intel on what the hell an Eclipse Core really is."Lira tapped the master core they had taken from the forge-world. It sat in a containment field on the workbench. "This thing is singing to your Core like a siren. If we integrate it, you might jump tiers ove
Forge shadows
Chapter 2: Forge ShadowsThe Nomad dropped out of hyperspace with a groan that Dex felt in his teeth. The forge-world loomed ahead, a scarred gray ball hanging in the void. Rings of debris orbited it like broken halos. Factories long silent. Forges cold. But the data chips Lira pulled from the outpost console promised untouched vaults. High-grade rune cores. Magitech schematics. Enough to buy them breathing room from the corp hunters.Dex kept his eyes on the scanner. "No signals. No patrols. Looks quiet.""Too quiet," Lira muttered. She sat cross-legged on the co-pilot seat, tools spread across her lap. A small welding torch hissed as she reinforced a weak spot on Dex's armor. "Forge-worlds like this attract scavengers. Or worse."Dex flexed his shoulder. The patch from Zorath still itched, but the Eclipse Core's nanites had already knit the flesh. "Worse than mutants?""Mutants are predictable. They click and charge. Purists? They preach. Then they burn."Purists.
Scavenger falls
Chapter 1: Scavenger's FallThe air on Zorath Prime hung thick with the stench of decay. Dex Taylor crouched behind a crumbled wall of what used to be a towering arcology. His breath came in short bursts through the filter mask strapped to his face. Void spores floated in the dim light like deadly snowflakes. One wrong inhale and you were done. Turned into one of those clicking horrors that shambled through the ruins.Dex gripped his makeshift plasma cutter tight. It was a jury-rigged piece of junk. Salvaged from a crashed freighter last month. But it had saved his skin more times than he could count. He was a Nullborn. No magic flowing through his veins like the elite Hex-Engineers up in their orbital stations. Just wits, grit, and whatever tech he could scrounge.The planet was off-limits for a reason. The Convergence had hit here hard centuries ago. Magic and AI tech slammed together in some cosmic accident. Now the place was a graveyard of fused horrors. Bio-machines tha
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