While Ian was breaking through, Vaelsh sat quietly in his villa, a carved glass in his hand, half-filled with a pale amber drink. Two attendants stood nearby, motionless, but not idle.
One of them, the older one, spoke. "He doesn't appreciate the offer. Perhaps it's time you remind him who holds the reins here."
The younger one replied with a faint shake of his head. "He's not just some Academy brat. Some High Scholars from academy hold a very high view on him. A rising name in the circle. If you push now, you risk more than pride. Besides if Lady Elara finds out, we might get punished instead."
Vaelsh didn't respond immediately. He took another sip, then set the glass down, eyes on the fading sky beyond the window.
"Stop," he said at last. "There's no need to linger on this. If he doesn't want to get involved, so be it."
He stood. "Get ready. Tomorrow will be busy."
Next morning
In the garden of Wiokz's home, Ian knelt with his arms open, palms out, as the youngest of Wiokz's siblings, a chubby, light-skinned Luminvar toddler with large silver-flecked eyes, waddled toward him.
The child was laughing, half-chasing floating pollen tufts that shimmered in the morning light. Ian let him crash into his arms, then lifted him with ease, setting him on his shoulders. The boy squealed, tiny fingers gripping Ian's hair.
Wiokz watched from a distance, arms crossed, smiling. "He likes you."
"I hope so," Ian replied, reaching up to steady the boy. "You like me, don't you, Amo?"
Amo just giggled, kicking his feet gently as Ian continued walking with him.
After a light meal, they set out again, this time westward, following a path that curved along the outer edges of the city. The cliffs there weren't tall, but they were striking, vast stone faces shaped by time into spirals and ridges, streaked with violet, bronze, and silver.
Clusters of crystal-like growths jutted out of the rock at strange angles, catching the sun and scattering rainbow-colored light onto the pale stone below. Above them, a waterfall carved through an arched formation, sending mist down into a clear, still pool.
For a time, Ian forgot everything else as watched the quite scenery.
Meanwhile, Deep underground
Far away and beneath the area where Luminvar reside, in a chamber carved before the any known civilization even existed on Relt, five figures stood in a low-ceilinged vault. The walls were marked with deep channels, some pulsing faintly with residual energy. Roots from the surface hung down like cords, motionless in the stagnant air.
Kolvar, covered in masked robe, stood in silence near a sloped pillar, arms crossed, a tense look in his eyes.
Kailu knelt by a large circular recess in the center of the floor. The structure was ancient, concentric stone rings fitted with teeth and grooves, overlaid with strange alloy bands. Dust coated its edges. At the center was a narrow slot.
Vaelsh stepped forward, reaching into his storage bracelet. He produced an object the length of a hand, a flat shard of black crystal with metallic veins woven through its surface. It shimmered slightly when brought close to the mechanism.
"This is the thing," he said.
Kailu took it, turning it over slowly in his hand. His eyes narrowed. "Yes," he said, "this is it."
Vaelsh gave a nod. "Remember our deal."
Kailu didn't answer. But Kolvar spoke up instead. "We do."
His eyes had shifted to the elven man standing quietly behind Vaelsh, tall, composed, in dark armor. Kolvar recognized him. A Second Order military attache, tied to the Elreth house. He was here to keep an eye on them.
Vaelsh said nothing more. He didn't need to. In truth, he had hoped Ian would take interest. Ian could've helped crack the mechanism. Vaelsh had the key, but not the means to activate it. That's why he'd accepted Kolvar and Kailu's offer. They claimed they could unlock it, and in return, they wanted some things from the inside.
Kailu knelt in front of the mechanism. He studied the grooves and markings around it, then carefully aligned the crystal shard. There was a narrow slot near the center, not obvious unless you knew what to look for. He slid the shard in slowly. It fit. But nothing happened yet.
He placed both hands on the stone surface, fingers resting over several faded symbols. Then he began tracing a pattern across them, not random, but deliberate, a specific order of touches and pauses. As he moved, faint lines lit up beneath his fingers.
Then, the change began.
The platform beneath their feet shifted. A dull grinding sound grew louder by the second. The walls of the cave began to pulse, as if something buried inside the rock had just awakened. Patterns previously invisible began lighting up across the surfaces. Not just around the door, all across the cavern. It wasn't simply opening. The entire region was responding.
The ground trembled. Dust poured from the ceiling. One of Vaelsh's servants stepped back as a section of stone cracked and rose on its own, rearranging into a new arch.
Then the first shockwave hit.
Above ground, miles away, Ian felt the sudden quake. He was standing near a narrow cliffside trail with Amo. The baby had been laughing a second earlier, pointing at colorful birds flying below. Then the earth rumbled beneath them.
A deep crack split the ground just a few feet ahead, and part of the cliffside dropped. Ian immediately stepped back, holding Amo tight as the baby clutched his head. He shifted his stance, moving away from the edge.
The quake didn't stop.
Rocks from nearby ledges began to slide and tumble. Trees swayed, some uprooting. Across the landscape, distant mountains shifted. Deep in the sky, faint trails of energy flickered, invisible to most eyes, but present.
Ian crouched low, shielding Amo with his body as dust and debris rained around them.
He wasn't the only one caught off guard. All over the region, and in places far from where Vaelsh had activated the mechanism, the land began changing. Structures trembled, waters surged, and deep beneath the surface, long-dormant veins of something unnatural stirred for the first time in ages.
In the dim light of the trembling forest trail, Ian's storage ring glowed faintly. A moment later, it activated, light bursting from within and forming a hovering sphere beside him, casting a soft glow around the area.
Ian adjusted his grip on Amo and looked around. Unknowingly he was caught up in the quake and fallen underground.
"I hope Wiokz is safe..." he muttered under his breath. The baby was still clutching him tightly. Ian placed a steadying hand on his back, then stood. "But now... let's find a way out of here."
He moved cautiously along the broken underground path, eyes sharp, body balanced with each step. The trail had cracked in several places, parts of it tilted or sunken into the earth. Large stone slabs jutted out at odd angles, and faint green mist hovered low to the ground. Amo clung tightly to his shoulder, wide-eyed but giggling as Ian ducked under a sharp rock ledge. The glowing orb behind them floated calmly, its soft light pushing back the shadows.
Far below, deeper inside the structure, Vaelsh stood beside the man in the military uniform and one of his quiet servants. Dust still rained from the ceiling in small streams, and cracked walls flickered with dull blue patterns.
"Thank you, Uncle Taredd," Vaelsh said, turning toward the man.
Taredd gave a short nod. His sharp eyes were scanning the area already, his right arm resting near the weapon at his side. Earlier, he'd shielded Vaelsh from a falling stone column with one smooth step, moving faster than anyone else had noticed.
He looked up at the hole where sunlight had once entered.
"Let's clean this up and find a way out. Hopefully, we can just blast upward," he muttered.
Taredd had already sent out a message on a private channel. Reinforcements were likely on their way. But even he didn't know exactly what had caused this massive shift.
In another place, Kailu and Kolvar were doing their own thing. Kailu's voice was low as he muttered while adjusting a strange gear on the wall.
"As if I'd let them walk away with the Lord's legacy," he said. He was the one who had arranged half the entry plan, but he'd also modified the activation to turn against anyone else.
"Woosh… shapsh!" A series of twisting symbols glowed briefly in the air, forming rings of dark grey energy. From them emerged several misshapen creatures, some humanoid and some twisted hounds with elongated body covered in jagged, bone-like protrusions. They lunged forward, only to be instantly shredded as the Obryx blades tore them into clean halves.
Ian moved with ease at he watched the creatures broken into pieces by his blades. He'd seen similar forms in the old ruins of Lylva. Now they were here.
He heard a burst of fighting nearby. Down a slope, a small group was under attack, another species he knew. Grey-skinned with long limbs and flat faces. Ian had seen them before, the Bisaukla's, one of the protected non-elf species living on Relt's.
They were struggling, low on weapons, pressed by three more of the corrupted creatures.
Ian acted fast.
A single gesture, and the vines burst from the rocks around him, thick and fast. They lashed forward pounding all three beasts into pulp in a single stroke. The creatures collapsed with no sound, leaving nothing but a mass of corrupted flesh.
The group looked up at him in awe.
"Thank you, sire," the eldest among them said with a deep bow. "We would've died there."
Ian nodded "No worries."
The eldest looked at his people for some time, hesitated then turned to Ian "If possible… could we walk with you?"
Ian kept moving. "You can follow, but at your own risk. I'm not here to babysit anyone."
"We understand," the elder said quickly, grateful even for that.
They stayed a respectful distance behind him. A few others joined too, quiet survivors drawn to the calm center Ian seemed to create. Among them were a few First Order. From time to time, more creatures appeared, and all of them did their part to help. Some creatures were strong, comparable to First Order, but while the others struggled, Ian walked forward with complete control.
Thin vines were now trailing from his ankles and elbows, creeping silently along the terrain ahead. They mapped every corner, wrapped around cracks and hollows, feeding him subtle signals. Every movement gave him feedback, safe path, unstable stone, drop ahead.
The group moved through narrow paths and tight turns, until a heavy growl echoed.
A larger creature stepped forward. Twice the height of a normal one, with black scales and a chest that pulsed like a furnace. Its breath came in short bursts, spraying hot mist from its snout. Behind it, two smaller ones waited.
One of the elves with the group stepped forward, energy sparking around her hands. She was a First Order as well, young, fast, and fierce. She attacked, leaping in with sharp movements. But the creature slapped her back with one arm. She hit the wall hard and groaned.
Then Ian moved, the vines rushed forward.
Thick ones, some as wide as a man's waist, surged forward, wrapping around the beast's arms and legs. More shot upward, slamming into the ceiling and pulling it down like a trap.
WHAM—!In moments, the creature was crushed under falling stone and tangled in vines. The other two tried to run. Ian snapped his fingers, and they were skewered mid-leap.
Silence settled again, broken only by the shifting echoes in the cavern.
From behind him came a soft clap. Amo, still perched on Ian's shoulders, was laughing, completely unbothered.
Ian sighed and reached up, steadying the boy. The little Luminvar leaned forward, pressing his cheek against Ian's head, still giggling from the bumpy ride.
Behind them, others stared in shock. The elf who had been hit stood up, watching Ian with awe.
As the group moved forward, a few stumbled across small artifacts, old tech pieces, mineral cores, storage nodes. They kept them, smiling quietly.
Ian didn't care. Most of it was junk to him, outdated or already decoded. His attention was on the tunnels ahead.