"The message talks about a lost connection," I explain, keeping Kraken resting across my legs. "The system wants to know whether it should try to restore it."
Zhang Xi leans in to look at the dead runes at the base of the blade. Curiosity has replaced part of the usual serenity in her face.
"A connection with the sword itself?"
"Probably. But it didn’t specify. It only detected something and offered the option."
I select YES.
A bar appears in front of my eyes.
[Restoring Connection...]
[Locating Linked Core...]
The fill advances slowly. The runes near the guard light one after another, and the eye engraved on the pommel takes on a bluish glow. Kraken presses the grip against my palm and pulls my arm a few centimeters to the side, almost pointing a direction.
The bar stops before the halfway mark.
[Connection Failed.]
Zhang Xi watches the glow fade from the blade. "It reacted the instant the process began. Maybe it knows what the system is looking for."
"If it does, it hasn’t found a useful way to tell me yet."
The option returns.
[Would you like to try again?]
I accept again. This time the bar goes a little further before it fails. Kraken vibrates in my hand, and the pommel tilts in the same direction as before.
I try a third time.
The glow runs almost half the blade, turns unstable, and dies.
[Connection Failed.]
Zhang Xi is no longer watching this out of mere curiosity. There’s a quiet unease in the way she keeps her hands joined in front of the tunic. "What shows up for you when it fails?"
"Only that the connection wasn’t completed. No cause, no destination."
The prompt returns to my HUD. I try once more, with no result, then select NO.
The System takes a few seconds to answer.
[Remote Core Out of Range.][Pair Both Cores to Restore Connection.]
I read the two lines carefully.
"Now it explained. There’s a remote core out of range. To restore the connection, I have to pair the two."
Zhang Xi turns her eyes back to the sword. "So Kraken is linked to somewhere distant."
I spin the grip and study the eye engraved on the pommel. The light is gone, but the blade shifts faintly against my hand.
"Or to something else."
She doesn’t argue.
I could spend the rest of the night trying to interpret those words, but I have no map, reference, or hint of what the second core would be. There’s a battle tomorrow, and I already have enough problems that know exactly where to find me.
I put Kraken in my inventory and stand. "Not worth pushing this now. I need rest before Rahul finds a way to profit off my lack of sleep."
Zhang Xi rises too. "I was already leaving. Try to sleep without turning another ancient Relic into a new problem."
"No promises."
Her smile shows for an instant.
We walk together to the Academy’s main corridor. Zhang Xi heads out through the gates toward Bear Pelt, and I go back to my room. Nobody would dare bother me; it would risk offending Rahul Sharma.
I sleep better than I expected, though the eye on Kraken’s pommel still surfaces whenever sleep turns light. Old things cost me rest.
The next morning, I wake before the Academy’s first call. I shower, check the gear, and open a private comm.
[Rhayne Vesper — Private Comm]
She answers after a few seconds. "Dryden? Did something happen?"
"Meet me on Silver Star Street. I need to buy a few things for the battle."
"Now?"
"Before the market fills up and our fight starts."
She lets out a short breath on the other end. "Fine. Give me a few minutes."
Silver Star Street sat a few districts from the Academy and hosted one of the largest open markets in Azure Prime. When I arrive, sellers already fill both sides of the avenue with stalls of consumables, tools, cloth, Relic parts, and prepared food. The smell of oil, heated metal, and spices mixes under the aquatic sky.
Rhayne shows up a few minutes later.
She looks rested. Her hair is tied back with more care than usual, and there’s a lightness in her steps that clashes with the cautious expression she usually carries through the streets.
"You look strangely happy this morning," I say as she approaches.
Rhayne tries to hide the smile but doesn’t try very hard. "I had a good night. Is that a problem?"
’Veric?’
I keep the question inside my head. "None. I just expected you to show up complaining that I called so early."
"I thought about complaining. But you said we were buying things for the battle."
The happiness in her face shifts. The memory that’s followed her since she arrived gives way to a more immediate excitement, easier to recognize.
"Then let’s start with smoke," I say.
I take her to a stall of military consumables and buy six impact bombs. Small enough to fit on a belt, they produce a dense smoke with no OXI signature. Inside the Oathring, that would let us break visual reads without announcing to the enemy where a skill went off.
Rhayne spins one of the bombs between her fingers. "You’re planning to cover the whole arena?"
"Only the parts that matter. Too much smoke would get in the way of our own chained attack."
Then we move to another stall. I buy four accelerated healing potions, two neutralizers for debilitating effects, and a set of quick-access clips. Inventory is useful, but opening a screen while someone tries to punch through your chest is still a bad idea.
I pay for everything with guild credits, setting the bookkeeping aside to enjoy the moment with Rhayne.
She distributes the vials across her belt and the sides of her outfit. "I imagine this isn’t all. You wouldn’t have called me just to carry potions."
"You’ll be our support. But there’s one more thing. It isn’t at the stalls."
I cross the market without explaining. Rhayne follows me past sellers, warehouses, and workshops until the tents give way to old shops wedged between narrow buildings.
I stop in front of a plain storefront. The wooden sign is faded, and the dark glass hides almost all of the interior.
Rhayne studies the entrance. "This looks closed."
"It isn’t."
I knew this shop from my past life. It took me months to find it through rumors, and longer to learn that the owner kept the best accessories away from the windows facing the street.
I push the door open. A small bell announces us.
The inside is much larger than the storefront suggests. Glass cases line the walls, organized by Rank, affinity, and type of bond. Earrings, necklaces, rings, and bracelets rest on dark cloth. Some stones hold their own light; others hide runes along their edges or change color as someone approaches.
Rhayne stops near the entrance. "All of this is equipment? It looks like a jewelry shop."
"Almost all of it. Some pieces are just expensive, exactly like jewelry."
She moves toward the first case, trying to study the plaques and the engraved effects, but her eyes keep drifting to the details of the pieces. She passes a necklace of fine crystals, then a set of five rings linked by delicate chains.
The fascination on her face is hard to hide.
Rhayne learned early to appraise weapons, monsters, and people. Even so, she’s still a girl in front of a room full of beautiful things that could also keep her alive.
I walk to the case at the back.
The pair I was looking for stays in the same spot as last time. I decide to change who the gift is for.
They’re two earrings shaped like elongated drops, made of deep violet crystal. Small points of light move inside the stones, slow, like stars seen under dark water. The silver around them is thin and discreet, leaving the shine free.
I point at the case.
Rhayne follows my gesture and goes still.
Her eyes fill before she can control the reaction. She turns her face away for an instant, breathes, and looks back at the earrings.
"Are these the ones you want me to wear?"
The question tried to sound practical. It didn’t manage.
I keep my eyes on the two violet drops. I wanted to talk about the tactical properties of the equipment, but for some reason, I couldn’t.
"They... match your eyes."
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