Chapter 33: The Final Destination
The Rig ascended from the sapphire depths of the crevice like a bubble rising through oil. Inside, the only sound was the rhythmic, nervous tapping of Silas's fingers against his wooden staff. In the center of the loading bay, the Zero-Point Package sat on a steel prep table, its blue chains pulsing in time with Xavier's own heartbeat.
"Aurelius," Xavier said, his voice raspy. "Scan it one more time."
The golden eye hovered inches from the box. "The internal density is non-Euclidean, Xavier. It contains more space than it occupies. It isn't just a package; it's a localized collapse of the Slip."
Xavier didn't hesitate. He ignited the Exhaust Saber, the blade humming with a refined, high-pitched whistle. With a precise flick, he severed the blue chains.
The box didn't break; it unfolded.
The metal sides peeled back like origami, dissolving into light. Suddenly, the warehouse walls vanished—or rather, they were overlaid with a projection of the cosmos. A 4D star map bloomed across the ceiling, showing shimmering silver ley lines that connected every dungeon gate on the planet.
At the very center of the map, far beyond the reach of any human-charted territory, a single gold dot pulsed.
"The Nexus of Nowhere," Aurelius whispered. "The origin point of the Great System. Xavier... your father wasn't just delivering goods. He was keeping the 'Void Freight'—the corruption that consumes worlds—from using these ley lines to bypass our reality."
As Xavier reached out to touch the pulsing gold dot, the map surged into his fingertips.
[System Evolution Triggered!]
[Merging: Kinetic Battery + Engine Sync]
[New Archetype Unlocked: Spatial Courier]
Xavier's vision went white. He felt his internal engine shatter and reform. The blue steam that usually vented from his shoulders turned into a shimmering, starlight silver. He wasn't just a machine of heat and pressure anymore; he was a bridge between dimensions.
"Xavier! We have company!" Serena's voice shattered his trance.
The Rig broke the surface of the glacier, but the sun was gone. Hovering above them were three massive, obsidian-plated airships. They were jagged and cruel, draped in the same flickering purple shadow that had empowered Vane.
"Void Logistics," Silas hissed. "They tracked the Zero-Point opening!"
The lead airship fired. Three massive harpoon tethers, glowing with dark mana, slammed into the warehouse's brick exterior. The cables tautened instantly, the Void ships' engines roaring as they attempted to drag the Rig toward a swirling black rift opening in the sky.
"They're trying to haul us into the Void!" Serena shouted, her hands flying over the defense console. "The harpoons are anchored to our soul-frame! We can't shake them!"
Xavier stepped into the pilot's cradle, his eyes glowing with silver light. "Oh, we're shaking them. Aurelius, sync the Spatial Gearbox. We're going to show them how an Irregular drifts."
Xavier didn't floor the throttle. He pulsed it.
[Skill: Rig Warp Activated]
The warehouse didn't move forward—it blinked. One moment it was being dragged toward the rift; the next, it vanished in a flash of silver light, reappearing five hundred meters to the left. The harpoon cables, still attached to the space where the warehouse had been, snapped violently, the recoil sending the lead Void ship spiraling into its neighbor.
"What was that?!" Silas yelled, clutching a support pillar.
"A micro-jump," Xavier gritted his teeth, the strain of the spatial shift localized in his chest. "Serena, fire!"
"Warp-encoded packages, coming right up!"
Serena slammed the launch button. The pneumatic tubes didn't fire traditional canisters; they launched projectiles that flickered in and out of existence. They bypassed the Void ships' dark-matter shields entirely, manifesting inside the enemy hull before detonating in a shower of purified mana.
BOOM. BOOM.
Two of the airships erupted in white fire, their shadow-rigging collapsing.
"Aurelius, find the ley line to the Nexus," Xavier commanded, his hands glowing as he gripped the steering interface. "We're leaving the planet."
"Calculating... Jump point located!"
The Rig tilted upward, its hydraulic legs retracting as the Aurelius Drive reached 100%. The warehouse didn't fly into the sky; it tore a hole in it.
As they vanished into the spatial fold, a final notification appeared on the main screen. It wasn't the usual red or blue. It was gold, written in a language that felt like it was being carved into Xavier's mind.
[DIRECT COMMISSION: THE CREATOR]
[Priority: Omega]
[Task: Deliver the Zero-Point Core to the Heart of the Nexus.]
[Note: The Customer is waiting. Don't be late.]
Xavier looked at the silver exhaust venting from his hands. "Well, Serena," he said, a sharp, dangerous grin spreading across his face. "Looks like we just got the biggest client in the universe. I hope they tip in reality-shaping gems."