The room was quiet, lit only by the soft flicker of the holographic table in the center. Old scratches lined the walls silent reminders of past training sessions, arguments, and sleepless nights. A folded jacket with a torn sleeve lay on a chair in the corner. Johnny sat on the edge of the bed, legs spread apart, hands clasped tightly. His face was calm, but his fingers twitched like he was expecting something… heavy.
James sat cross-legged on the floor, right next to the bed. He was sharpening a blade quietly, but his eyes kept flicking up toward Daniel. Beside Johnny, Cassy leaned back on the bed, hands behind her head, eyes fixed on the ceiling like she was trying to count stars through it. Her boots were still dusty she hadn't even taken them off.
Daniel stood across the room, back to the door, arms crossed, a shadow stretching under him from the glow. He wasn't just thinking he was calculating. Behind him, the holographic core hovered over the table, humming like it had secrets to tell.
Johnny (low voice, to James): "Bro, there's definitely something off. Did you catch Daniel's face just now?"
James: "Yeah... when he gets that look, it's either someone's about to get wrecked or something serious is coming."
Cassy (excited): "No way, he's gonna drop some secret tech, right? Bet it glows or something cool."
Daniel (firm): "Enough talk. Listen up."
(Johnny, James, and Cassy fall silent. Daniel places the holographic core on the table. It flickers, then glows blue.)
Daniel: "You've trained hard. Fought harder. Now it's time to see what real power feels like."
Johnny (smirks): "Real power? You mean like some cheat code?"
Daniel (half-smile): "Not a cheat. More like a partner. An upgrade. The next step."
James (rolling eyes): "Cut the sci-fi talk and just tell us what it is."
Daniel (taps core, hologram of calm girl appears): "Meet her."
Johnny (leans back, surprised): "Whoa. That's basically a full person made of light."
Cassy (amazed): "She's gorgeous! And sparkling!"
James: "What is she? A robot? A ghost?"
Daniel: "Her name is Taura. She's my AURA."
Johnny: "Your what now?"
Daniel: "AURA. Adaptive Universal Real-time Assistant. I got mine when I was five. Only Gladears get these. Real ones. You all will get this on NYZOKE planet"
James (confused): "Wait, we're Gladears too. Where's ours?"
Daniel (deadpan): "Not ready. Not recognized yet."
Cassy (soft): "So… what exactly does she do?"
Daniel (gestures to Taura, who nods): "She sees everything I see. Hears everything I hear. Remembers what I forget. Calculates what I miss. She's my partner in battle, strategist, alert system, archive."
Johnny (sarcastic): "So basically a walking, talking diary?"
Taura (turns to Johnny, calm voice): "If I were a diary, I'd start by noting you dodge left 82% of the time, leave your right side open, and tense up before every close hit."
Johnny (taken aback): "Okay… sassy diary, got it."
James (laughs): "I already like her."
Daniel: "Taura isn't just software. She's an extension of my mind faster, smarter, always alert."
Cassy (curious): "How does she look so human then?"
Daniel: "Custom interface. Gender, appearance, personality all user-chosen. I picked Taura. Keeps me grounded."
Taura: "I adapt to Daniel's needs. Form, tone, logic all to make him better. And I prefer this braid. It's practical."
James (staring): "So if we got one, what would it do in a fight?"
Daniel: "Tracks power signals. Predicts enemy moves from stance, aura, even weight shifts. Suggests counters in real time directly to my mind."
Johnny: "Wait, like she talks inside your head?"
Daniel: "Exactly. Thought-to-thought link. No delay, no distractions. I think 'Status?' — she shows XP, rank, weak points. I think 'Spawn' she appears."
Cassy (amazed): "That's next-level tech."
James: "Bro, you're basically a cyborg."
Johnny: "You mentioned 'Stage Progression'? You can see that too?"
Daniel (Taura raises hand, interface appears): "STAGE: 5 | EXP: 47,920 / 50,000 | Rank: A-Class | Ability: 86/100"
Daniel: "Live stats. I know how far I am from next level. What I need to improve. Where I'm falling behind."
Taura: "For example Daniel's reaction speed is 87%, but strategic adaptability dropped 6% last week."
Johnny (teasing Daniel): "She just roasted your strategy."
Daniel: "I don't mind. That's why she's here to catch what I miss."
James: "She records everything?"
Daniel: "Every fight, every conversation, every feeling. If I forget she remembers."
Taura: "Including that time Daniel punched a mirror thinking it was an enemy." (serene smile)
Johnny (laughs): "No way! Serious Daniel punched glass?"
Daniel (flat): "That file is deleted."
Cassy: "So she's been with you since you were five? Seen you grow?"
Daniel: "Every fall, every rise, every scream. She's more than assistant. She's memory, strategy, silence when everything's loud."
James (respectful): "That's deep."
Daniel (glances at the team): "Since you're catching up now... let's talk stages. Real power isn't about flash it's about how far you're willing to push."
Johnny (raises brow): "Stages? Like levels or something?"
Daniel (nods): "Exactly. Your Feracluster has 10 stages. Each one pushes your body and mind closer to its edge."
Cassy (leans in): "Edge like... dangerous edge?"
Daniel: "Edge like... life and death. Let me break it down."
Taura (projects a tiered hologram of 10 ascending steps): "Feracluster Combat Stage Progression. Beginning transmission."
Daniel: "Stage One. It's the base form. Powers activate, but it's basic enough to survive, not win."
Johnny: "So like... the tutorial mode."
James: "That explains why I feel like crap when I'm only tapping in slightly."
Daniel: "Stage Two. You hit 25% of your potential. You get your weapon. Armor aligns with your abilities. Your energy flow stabilizes."
Cassy (grinning): "So that's when it starts getting fun."
Daniel: "Stage Three. 40% unlocked. Faster reflexes. Powers feel more natural. You begin to understand your core affinity."
Johnny: "Affinity? Like elements?"
Daniel: "Exactly. Fire, water, rock, air or rarer ones. But that's tied to your Feracluster's nature."
Taura: "Johnny's element is still undetermined. Estimated outcome: Epic"
Johnny (mock gasp): "I am Epic ?."
Daniel (dry): "Yeah, You and James. Moving on Stage Four. 50% unlocked. This is your halfway point. You earn your first Companion."
James: "Companion? Like a battle pet?"
Daniel: "Exactly. Some get wolves. Some dragons. Some... stranger things. They reflect your soul."
Cassy (eyes wide): "I better get something fluffy but deadly."
Daniel (smirks): "Stage Five is about sync. Your control over power refines. Companion bonds deepen. Fights become smoother."
Johnny: "Is this where people usually stop?"
Daniel: "Most can't go beyond Stage Six. That's where your Companion hits 70% of its potential. Your speed spikes. Movements blur."
Taura: "Heart rate spikes. Muscular strain becomes exponential. Brain must process faster or body fails."
James: "So if your mind isn't sharp you're basically dead?"
Daniel (nods): "Stage Seven. 55% of your full power. Your physical strength peaks. Speed becomes near-inhuman. Companion reaches full form."
Cassy: "And Stage Eight? You called it the peak, right?"
Daniel: "Stage Eight is where you become a monster. 75% unlocked. Everything you can do — you do at your best. But the strain..."
Taura: "Probability of permanent damage: 39% if improperly managed."
Johnny: "So that's the golden level. One wrong move and you're out."
Daniel: "Stage Nine is something else. Power becomes unstable. You start bending reality even the rules holding your body together."
James: "Wait... reality?"
Daniel: "You phase through attacks. Break time limits. Disobey gravity. But the cost you die. Always."
Johnny: "So it's like borrowing from death to fight."
Daniel: "Exactly. And if you're desperate Stage Ten. Prime Mode. One final blast. You die, but before that, everything around you... dies first."
Taura (calmly): "Recommended only when all outcomes have failed."
Cassy (staring at the holo): "That's brutal. You're telling me we're fighting with something that kills us the moment we overstep."
Daniel: "Which is why Feraclusters are feared. They're powerful but they take everything."
Johnny: "And Epics? They use the same system?"
Daniel (nods): "Similar but evolved. They have 15 stages."
James: "Fifteen? So they can push beyond Prime Mode?"
Daniel: "Yeah. Stage Ten of Epic equals Prime of Feracluster. But Epics don't die there. Their bodies hold it."
Taura: "Epic physiology resists system collapse."
Johnny: "So we're like tanks... that get stronger the more they break."
Daniel: "Stage Eleven to Fifteen that's not even battle anymore. That's annihilation."
Cassy: "Then how do we even fight them?"
Daniel: "With strategy, unity and unlocking your own stages fast. You don't need to beat them alone. You need to out-think them."
James: "So technically, a Stage Eight Feracluster could beat an Epic in Stage Nine... if they plan right?"
Daniel: "Exactly. If they strike first, use terrain, work with a team. It's all about choices."
Johnny (slowly): "So pushing stages isn't just about more power it's about timing it right."
Taura: "Optimal stage activation requires context-based prediction. Panic leads to failure."
Cassy: "And I thought high school exams were stressful."
James (grins): "Welcome to the real test."
Daniel: "You're not students anymore. You're soldiers in a cosmic war. Your decisions your stages will decide worlds."
Johnny (quietly): "No pressure, huh."
Daniel (steps back, serious): "Pressure is good. Just don't break under it. Because from now on your next fight could need Stage Four. Or Eight. Or more."
Cassy (determined): "Then we better train like we've already died once."
Taura: "That's an acceptable mindset."
James: "Alright then. Let's hit those stages like it's do or die."
Johnny: "Because it actually is."
(They all stare at the glowing core again. The stages shimmer like stars distant, dangerous, but calling.)
Daniel (voice calm, but deep): "Every fall, every rise, every scream. She's more than assistant. She's memory, strategy, silence when everything's loud."
(A brief silence falls over the room.)
Johnny (softly): "That's... heavy."
Daniel: "It needs to be. Because the moment you step beyond Stage 6, things stop being about winning. It becomes about surviving."
Cassy (quiet): "And after Stage 9... it's not even survival anymore, is it?"
Daniel (nods): "No. It's sacrifice."
(The group goes silent again. The flicker of Taura's hologram hums faintly in the background. A low, ambient tone plays.)
[Scene Transition: Inside the Docking Bay dim lights, soft clanks, the cold hum of engines being rewired.]
(Cassy is seen folding combat suits, securing medpacks, and placing neatly packed kits into containment boxes. Her face is still, but focused. Meanwhile, Johnny and James are under the ship's belly, tightening fusion bolts and calibrating kinetic dampeners. Sparks flicker as Daniel stands back, eyes closed, speaking softly not to the group, but almost like a memory.)
Daniel (V.O.): "They always ask, 'Why fight if you know the end might be death?'... But death isn't what we fear. It's dying before we've done something that mattered. Before we've protected those who still dream."
(Cassy ties a final strap on the box, pauses, and stares at her gloves. They're torn slightly a mark from the last battle. She doesn't change them.)
(Johnny finishes the last connection under the engine. He sits up, wipes sweat from his brow, glances at James who gives him a nod. No words needed.)
Daniel (V.O.): "Every bolt, every weapon, every inch of steel you reinforce it's a promise. That if we fall… it won't be because we weren't ready."
(James closes the panel. Cassy places the last kit in the armory, locks it. Then, without a word, joins the others. They all stand in front of the ship now, eyes resting on the beast of metal they've rebuilt not for escape, but for return.)
Daniel (quietly, aloud this time): "We don't build for war. We build for the moments after. When silence follows. When names become echoes. And only stories remain."
Taura (softly, almost like a whisper): "It's time."
(Each of them stands in front of the ship now still. No speeches. No goodbyes. Just the calm before the storm.)
Daniel (V.O.): "The stages… they're not just power tiers. They're thresholds. Each one forces you to leave something behind. Fear. Doubt. Sometimes... even parts of yourself."
(Cassy tightens the strap of her blade. Daniel loads the final sequence into the ship's core.)
Daniel (V.O.): "But we move forward anyway. Not because we have nothing to lose… but because we've already lost too much."
(The ship rumbles to life sleek, powerful, and silent like a beast breathing in the dark.)
Daniel (to the group, finally): "No more training. No more simulations. This is it. If we fall, we fall as Gladears. Together."
Johnny (low voice): "Let's finish what we started."
James: "No retreat. No rewind. Just forward."
Cassy (half-smiling): "Then let's make the universe remember who we were."
(As they walk toward the open ramp of the ship, Daniel's voice echoes one last time quiet, steady, like a final whisper stitched to the wind.)
Daniel (V.O.): "Somewhere between fear and fury, we found purpose. And that... was stronger than any stage."
To be continued...