The heavy reinforced doors hissed open with a pressurized sigh, admitting Seth into the vast, humming heart of his primary engineering sanctum. Dim amber emergency lighting gradually brightened to a cool, sterile blue-white as motion sensors detected his presence. The air here was noticeably warmer than the devastated fifth floor, carrying the faint metallic tang of ozone, machine lubricant, and the ever-present undertone of charged mana crystals.
In his right hand, he carried the rectangular dimensional storage artifact. Its dark metallic body gleamed under the workshop lights, ornate gold and brass trimmings catching every reflection. The surface was etched with intricate mechanical components, interlocking dials, recessed gears, and a prominent lever mechanism that begged to be understood.
Two sleek cybernetic drones hovered silently at his flanks, their polished surfaces mirroring the workshop's organized chaos of workbenches, half-assembled constructs, and towering server racks pulsing with data.
Seth stopped roughly five meters inside the entrance, turning the artifact slowly in his hands. His metallic blindfold gleamed as it fed him layered visual and spectral data from the drones.
"Ahhhh," he drew the word out in a low, contemplative tone, "this thing is not budging." His gloved fingers traced the interlock dials with precise pressure, feeling for any give in the ancient mechanism. "Could it be busted? No… something this clean, this well-preserved, can't be defective. What's the point of bringing it back if it's just a fancy paperweight?"
He stood motionless for a long moment, the workshop's ambient hum the only sound accompanying his thoughts. The drones maintained perfect formation, bathing the artifact in soft scanning beams that painted invisible layers of information directly onto his neural interface.
It could be voice-activated, he considered.
"Open," Seth commanded clearly.
Nothing.
"I, Seth, command you to open!" he tried again, putting more authority into his voice.
Still nothing.
Seth smirked beneath the blindfold. "That was dumb even for me."
He set the artifact down carefully on a nearby reinforced workbench, then picked it up again, turning it over. Time to try something with more finesse.
Concentrating, Seth reached out with his mind the same way he had bonded with the Evo-suit during its integration phase. He visualized threads of his consciousness extending toward the artifact, seeking any dormant magical or spatial resonance within it.
Suddenly, a sharp rip tore through the air.
A jagged, circular portable hole, perfectly black, edged with shimmering violet distortion, snapped open directly above the left-side drone. Before Seth could react, the drone was violently sucked inward with a metallic screech. Its signal cut off instantly.
Seth whipped his head toward the vanishing point. "Well… well. Would you look at that."
The hole winked shut as quickly as it had appeared, leaving only faint ripples in the air.
He extended the artifact forward again with his right hand, focusing his will more deliberately this time. Another portal tore open in the same spot. The missing drone dropped out immediately, tumbling through the air. Before it could crash into the floor, its propulsion systems reignited, and it stabilized with a smooth hover. The drone re-linked to the main system with a series of rapid confirmation pings.
"So that's how you work," Seth murmured, a thrill of discovery coloring his voice. He viewed the entire sequence through the second drone's feed, analyzing every microsecond of spatial distortion.
He held the artifact upright in his open palm, feeling its subtle weight and latent power. "Aid," he called out.
"Yes?" the AI responded promptly.
"Prepare the dissection procedures."
"Affirmative."
The right-side drone extended a mechanical arm, gently lifting the artifact from Seth's hand. It glided smoothly toward the center of the massive chamber. As it moved, the floor responded.
Heavy steel plates groaned and slid apart with deep mechanical grinding. From the dark depths below, the Spatial Dissection Cradle ascended on three massive telescopic pillars. The pillars locked into position, forming a perfect triangular cage around the hovering drone and the artifact. Multiple robotic armatures clicked into place with clinical precision, generating a shimmering multi-layered energy shield around the target. Precision lasers whined to life, their ruby targeting beams dancing across the artifact's seams, ready to peel back layers of reality itself.
Seth walked over to the elevated control platform, settling into the reinforced command seat. The moment he leaned back, the system sprang to life. Holographic interfaces materialized around him, and his metallic blindfold synchronized fully with the cradle's sensors, flooding his mind with ultra-detailed spatial readings, mana density maps, and structural analyses.
He watched the data streams intently. The lasers began to warm up, their power levels climbing.
Then Seth paused the entire sequence with a sharp mental command.
No. This isn't right.
His intuition honed through countless dangerous experiments was screaming at him. Forcing the artifact open this aggressively carried too many unknowns.
He leaned forward, elbows on the console, and began listing the risks aloud, half for his own clarity and half for Aid to record.
"Forcing this open could lead to several catastrophic outcomes. Dimensional Implosion: the internal space collapses, creating a powerful vacuum that sucks in everything nearby air, objects, possibly me, before snapping shut once pressure equalizes."
He continued ticking them off on his fingers.
"Explosive Release: if the pocket dimension is under massive stored pressure with zero items inside, the sudden breach could cause a violent energy burst, destroying everything in the vicinity."
"Exposed Core: there might be a physical power source inside a dense rune stone or similar. If I can extract it safely, I could repurpose it directly toward my goal."
Seth tilted his head, considering the worst-case scenarios.
"Or the Silent Fade. The doorway simply vanishes. The internal space detaches from our reality forever, leaving me with nothing but an empty, mundane box."
He exhaled slowly. The probability of losing everything and potentially damaging the workshop or himself—was unacceptably high.
"No," he decided. "We're doing this smarter. Aid, deploy the Extractor."
"Understood."
From the rear wall of the chamber, a new behemoth rolled forward on heavy iron tracks. The Extraction Engine was a monstrous fusion of industrial mecha and arcane engineering, a towering construct of dark steel plating, reinforced with glowing magical spires that pulsed with contained power. Hydraulic pumps whirred, and runes etched across its surface flared to life in perfect synchronization.
A set of articulated mechanical tendrils extended from the machine's core. Each arm ended in a hollow crystal spike humming with ancient mana harmonics. The tendrils moved with surgical grace, guiding the glowing needles toward the artifact's microscopic seams.
The moment the spikes pierced the inner void, the Extractor roared to life.
Blinding white energy erupted from the dimensional storage artifact, surging violently up through the transparent glass tubes embedded in the machine's spires. The workshop's main lights flickered and dimmed under the sudden power draw. The air thickened with the sharp scent of ozone and raw mana waves, making the atmosphere feel electrically alive.
The glass tubes vibrated intensely as the torrent of dimensional energy poured through them. Rather than allowing the power to build dangerously, the Extractor's automated routing system engaged. Heavy copper cables, wrapped in glowing runic bands, ignited like neon veins along the machine's chassis. The stolen energy raced downward, channeling with controlled fury toward the far corner of the rig.
There, clamped securely in a heavy mechanical vice, rested a dull, gray rune core, previously inert and lifeless.
The moment the dimensional energy slammed into it, the transformation was instantaneous and breathtaking.
The dead stone sparked violently to life. It drank the power like a parched desert absorbing rain. Complex magical symbols carved deep into its surface blazed with blinding violet light. The metal housing around the core hissed loudly, expelling thick clouds of cooling steam as the crystal visibly swelled, growing denser and more radiant with every passing second. The entire Extractor trembled under the strain of transferring the full essence of an entire pocket dimension.
Seth smiled, listening to the mesmerizing process unfold. "That's how it's supposed to be. This should be quick. Aid?"
"Yes!"
"What is the percentage rate before completion?" he asked, turns to the holographic progress display.
"Current extraction progress: 0.10%. Rising… 1.0%… 1.2%… 1.4%…"
Seth's expression dulled instantly. He leaned back in the command seat, rubbing the bridge of his blindfold.
"That's not fast at all. This is really annoying. And here I thought this would be straightforward." He let out a long, weary sigh. "Guess spatial traits are as heavy as Vaelrix's bio-chassis."
He stood up from the control platform, stretching his arms. The Extractor continued its steady, powerful work behind him, lights flashing and steam venting in rhythmic cycles.
"I should probably get myself busy instead of waiting on loading bars. Guess I'm heading to the forge chamber to complete those armor pieces."
Seth turned and walked toward the exit. The workshop doors slid open smoothly at his approach.
"Aid, notify me the moment the transmission is complete."
"Understood!"
Seth stepped out into the corridor, the doors sealing behind him with a solid thud. A predatory grin spread across his face as he headed down the hallway toward the forge chamber.
"Hey, Vaelrix bio-chassis… here I come."