The Last Silver

The fleet had been traveling for three days when Asha finally cornered Dinraal.

Literally.

He had just stepped out of the command conference when Asha stepped into the corridor, holding a tablet in one hand and wearing the expression he had learned to fear.

"Dinraal."

He stopped.

"Yes?"

"We need to talk."

Dinraal glanced toward Isolde.

She was standing several meters away, already smiling.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

Asha ignored him.

"We need to test the armor."

Dinraal stared at her.

"The armor?"

"Yes."

"It already works."

"I know."

"It destroyed thousands of Ashen."

"I know."

"It saved the fleet."

"I know."

Dinraal frowned.

"Then what's the problem?"

Asha held up the tablet.

"We don't know what it can actually do."

Isolde walked over.

"That's a problem?"

Asha nodded.

"An enormous one."

She looked between them.

"We have no idea where its limits are."

Dinraal considered that.

"Maybe it doesn't have any."

Asha smiled.

"That's exactly what I want to find out."

The fleet had established a temporary testing vessel.

It was enormous.

Originally designed as an industrial construction ship, it had been converted into a mobile laboratory.

Its interior contained reinforced testing chambers, gravity generators, energy measurement systems, dimensional sensors, and enough spare equipment to conduct experiments on nearly anything they could imagine.

Aurelius had approved the testing.

His only condition had been simple.

"Don't destroy the ship."

Asha had promised.

"Probably."

Aurelius had stared at her.

"Definitely."

"Definitely."

Now Dinraal and Isolde stood inside the largest testing chamber.

A transparent observation wall separated them from Asha, Eve, Arcturus, Tiamat, Rhiannon, Aurelius, Gilgamesh, Alexander, Julius, Cleopatra, Johanna, and Aramaeis.

The First Weapon sat on the floor beside the observation window.

It had apparently decided that scientific experimentation was worth supervising.

Asha activated the recording system.

"Experiment One. Establishing baseline physical attributes without Silver armor."

Dinraal sighed.

"Why do I feel like I'm about to be humiliated?"

Isolde laughed.

"Because you're about to be measured."

"I already know I'm strong."

"That's what people say before the numbers prove otherwise."

Dinraal looked offended.

"Whose side are you on?"

"Science."

Asha smiled.

"Exactly."

Baseline Testing

The first test was strength.

A hydraulic strength platform was rolled into the chamber.

Dinraal placed both hands against it.

Asha explained.

"This machine measures force output across multiple scales."

Dinraal pushed.

The machine groaned.

The number climbed.

1,000 kilograms.

2,000.

3,000.

Dinraal kept pushing.

5,000.

7,500.

10,000.

The machine began shaking.

Asha's eyebrows rose.

"Keep going."

Dinraal grunted.

12,000 kilograms.

Then the platform's safety system activated.

"Maximum baseline reading reached."

Dinraal stepped away.

"What?"

Asha stared at the display.

"We need a larger machine."

Gilgamesh laughed from the observation area.

"That's your baseline?"

Dinraal shrugged.

"Apparently."

Isolde stepped forward.

"Move."

Dinraal looked at her.

"You're going to do better?"

"Maybe."

She placed her hands against the platform.

She pushed.

The machine climbed.

2,000.

4,000.

6,000.

8,000.

10,000.

11,500.

She stopped.

Asha looked at the numbers.

"Interesting."

Dinraal grinned.

"See?"

Isolde glared at him.

"Don't."

"What?"

"You know what."

He laughed.

Asha recorded the result.

"Baseline strength established."

They continued.

Reaction time.

Running speed.

Jumping force.

Durability.

Grip strength.

Lifting capacity.

Balance.

Coordination.

Energy output.

The results were extraordinary even without the armor.

Dinraal's physical abilities were far beyond normal human standards, enhanced by his draconic heritage and the Silver.

Isolde was similarly powerful, though her strengths differed.

Dinraal possessed greater raw physical strength.

Isolde demonstrated faster reactions and greater precision.

Asha recorded everything.

"Now we have a baseline."

Dinraal looked down at the Gauntlet resting on his right hand.

"Finally."

Activation

"Put the armor on," Asha said.

Dinraal and Isolde exchanged a glance.

They didn't need to physically activate it.

They simply thought about it.

Silver light exploded around them.

Dinraal's armor formed instantly.

Isolde's followed.

The observation room became silent.

Even after seeing it several times, the armor was difficult to comprehend.

It wasn't merely equipment.

It looked alive.

The surface shifted constantly.

Metal became crystal.

Crystal became light.

Light became something resembling liquid silver.

Asha stared.

"Begin."

Dinraal stepped toward the strength platform.

He placed one hand against it.

"Ready?"

Asha nodded.

"Push."

Dinraal pushed.

The machine immediately screamed.

10,000 kilograms.

50,000.

100,000.

The number continued climbing.

250,000.

500,000.

The hydraulic system began overheating.

Asha shouted.

"Stop!"

Dinraal stopped.

The platform was glowing red.

Arcturus stared.

"How much?"

Asha checked the reading.

"Five hundred and eighty thousand kilograms."

Gilgamesh laughed.

"That's almost six hundred metric tons."

Dinraal looked at his hand.

"I wasn't even trying."

Asha stared at him.

"That was the problem."

She looked toward the technicians.

"Replace the platform."

The second machine was substantially larger.

It had been designed to test industrial machinery.

Dinraal pushed again.

The number climbed.

One million kilograms.

Two million.

Five million.

Ten million.

The entire chamber shook.

Asha stared at the readings.

"Stop!"

Dinraal released.

The machine's entire frame had bent.

Arcturus stared.

"How much?"

Asha looked stunned.

"Twenty-two million kilograms."

Isolde walked over.

"Let me try."

Dinraal stepped aside.

She placed her hand against the platform.

She pushed.

The number climbed.

Five million.

Eight million.

Ten million.

Then—

twenty million.

The machine shut down.

Silence.

Dinraal looked at her.

"You almost had me."

Isolde smiled.

"I stopped to preserve your pride."

Asha stared.

"That's twenty thousand metric tons."

Gilgamesh whistled.

"That's a lot of house."

Julius looked at the damaged machine.

"How much was she actually exerting?"

Asha shook her head.

"We don't know."

"Because the machine failed?"

"Because the armor stopped recording conventional force."

Dinraal frowned.

"What does that mean?"

Asha pointed toward the display.

"The armor wasn't simply increasing your strength."

She looked toward Isolde.

"It was changing how force itself was being applied."

Isolde raised an eyebrow.

"So the number isn't our actual strength."

"Correct."

Dinraal looked at his gauntlet.

"Then what is?"

Asha smiled.

"That's what we're going to find out."

Durability

The next experiment was considerably more dangerous.

Dinraal and Isolde stood inside a reinforced chamber.

A massive energy cannon aimed at them.

Aurelius looked at Asha.

"Are you certain?"

"Yes."

"How certain?"

"Very."

Aurelius sighed.

"That isn't reassuring."

Asha activated the weapon.

The cannon fired.

A beam struck Dinraal.

The chamber shook.

Smoke filled the room.

When it cleared—

Dinraal stood exactly where he had been.

Not a scratch.

He looked toward Asha.

"Was that supposed to hurt?"

Asha stared at the readings.

"Apparently not."

The cannon increased power.

Again.

And again.

And again.

The beam eventually reached a level capable of destroying armored warships.

Dinraal remained standing.

Then Asha looked toward Isolde.

"Your turn."

Isolde stood in the firing zone.

The cannon fired.

The result was identical.

Nothing.

Isolde smiled.

"That all?"

Dinraal laughed.

Asha frowned.

"Let's increase it."

The cannon reached maximum output.

The beam struck Isolde.

Her armor changed.

The energy was absorbed.

The silver surface brightened.

Then the armor redirected the energy into the floor.

The reinforced platform beneath Isolde cracked.

Asha's eyes widened.

"It absorbed the attack."

Isolde looked down.

"Apparently."

Dinraal stepped forward.

"Can it absorb anything?"

Asha shook her head.

"We don't know."

"Test it."

Asha stared.

"That's exactly what we're doing."

Malleability

This test produced even stranger results.

Asha asked Dinraal to think of different weapons.

He thought about a sword.

One appeared.

Then a spear.

Then an axe.

Then a hammer.

Then a bow.

Then a firearm.

Then a cannon.

Then two cannons.

Then dozens.

Then hundreds.

The armor adapted instantly.

Asha recorded everything.

"Can you make something that isn't a weapon?"

Dinraal concentrated.

The armor changed.

His wings became larger.

Then smaller.

Then disappeared.

A cloak formed around him.

Then a shield.

Then a set of tools.

Then a medical kit.

Then a communication device.

Asha stared.

"Can it replicate technology?"

Dinraal looked at the object.

"It appears so."

"Can it make something you've never seen?"

He thought.

A completely unfamiliar device appeared.

Asha scanned it.

Her expression changed.

"I don't recognize that."

"Neither do I."

She scanned it again.

"It's functioning."

"How?"

"I don't know."

Dinraal looked at Isolde.

"Your turn."

She thought about a dress.

Her armor transformed.

A beautiful silver dress formed around her.

Rhiannon laughed from the observation room.

"Well, at least it has fashion sense."

Isolde smiled.

She changed the dress into armor again.

Then into a cloak.

Then into wings.

Then into a massive set of mechanical-looking appendages.

Then back into her normal armor.

Asha recorded everything.

"There's no apparent limit to physical configuration."

Dinraal raised an eyebrow.

"What about size?"

He concentrated.

His armor expanded.

Ten feet.

Twenty.

Thirty.

Then forty.

His body became enormous.

The chamber sensors began warning them.

"Stop," Asha said.

Dinraal returned to normal.

"Why?"

"Because the chamber isn't large enough."

Dinraal smiled.

"Good to know."

Environmental Adaptation

The next experiment involved vacuum.

The chamber was emptied of air.

Dinraal stood in open space.

He didn't breathe.

Asha watched his vitals.

Normal.

Then the temperature dropped.

The armor adapted.

Extreme heat followed.

The armor adapted.

Radiation.

Adapted.

High pressure.

Adapted.

Low pressure.

Adapted.

Water.

The armor transformed into a sleek aquatic form.

Dinraal moved through the water as though born for it.

Isolde tried the same.

Her armor created propulsion fins.

Then wings.

Then jets.

Then something neither of them could identify.

Asha stared at the readings.

"Does the armor understand the environment?"

Dinraal answered.

"It seems to."

"Or does it understand us?"

Isolde looked thoughtful.

"Maybe both."

Energy

The final major test involved energy production.

Dinraal stood at the center of the chamber.

Asha asked him to generate as much Silver energy as he could.

He did.

A small glow became a sphere.

The sphere became a beam.

The beam became a massive column of light.

The sensors began screaming.

Asha looked at the readings.

"Stop!"

Dinraal immediately stopped.

The chamber was glowing.

Asha stared at the numbers.

"That output exceeded anything our sensors are designed to measure."

Dinraal looked surprised.

"How much?"

"We don't know."

"Then build better sensors."

Asha smiled.

"That's the plan."

Isolde stepped forward.

"I want to try."

Dinraal moved aside.

Isolde raised her hands.

Silver energy gathered.

At first, it looked similar to Dinraal's.

Then it changed.

The energy became incredibly dense.

A tiny sphere appeared between her palms.

Asha stared at it.

"Don't release that."

Isolde stopped.

"Why?"

"Because the density is increasing."

"How much?"

Asha looked at the readings.

"Enough."

Isolde slowly dismissed it.

The sphere vanished.

Everyone breathed again.

Aurelius looked at Asha.

"Have we learned anything useful?"

Asha nodded.

"Yes."

She looked toward Dinraal and Isolde.

"We've learned that we have absolutely no idea what their upper limits are."

Dinraal laughed.

"That's not very scientific."

"It's extremely scientific."

Gilgamesh folded his arms.

"So what's the conclusion?"

Asha looked at the two Silver wielders.

"The armor isn't a weapon."

She paused.

"It's an interface."

Dinraal frowned.

"Interface?"

"It doesn't simply provide power."

She pointed toward the two.

"It interprets intent."

Isolde nodded.

"So if we imagine something..."

"The armor tries to make it possible," Asha said.

Tiamat looked thoughtful.

"Then the true limit isn't the armor."

Everyone looked at her.

Tiamat looked at Dinraal and Isolde.

"It's them."

Silence filled the room.

Dinraal looked at Isolde.

She looked back.

Aurelius finally spoke.

"Then we have one final experiment."

Asha turned.

"What?"

Aurelius looked at the two Silver wielders.

"Find out what happens when they use the armor together."

Dinraal smiled.

"Now that sounds interesting."

Isolde took his hand.

"Very."

The two stood together.

Their crowns began glowing.

The bracelets on Isolde's wrists answered.

Dinraal's gauntlet illuminated.

Silver energy moved between them.

The armor began reacting.

The entire testing facility trembled.

Asha's eyes widened.

"Wait."

Dinraal looked at her.

"What?"

"Don't do anything yet."

The sensors continued climbing.

The Silver wasn't merely responding to Dinraal and Isolde.

It was responding to their bond.

Asha stared at the readings.

"Oh."

Dinraal smiled.

"What's wrong?"

Asha looked toward Aurelius.

"I think we've been testing them wrong."

She looked back at Dinraal and Isolde.

“We haven't even begun testing what they can do together. The energy spike is enormous."

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