Hello neighbour
The massive pressure on the hull of the ship gave Kalar the comforting embrace of deep, dark, crushing anonymity. "Funny" it mused. "We are thousands of feet beneath the ocean, yet it was in the air where the ship almost came apart! Whatever brought us down won't likely let us leave. Ignorance is pain". Kalar had already done its chores: Running system checks after system check, doing repairs to critical systems and updating the ship's subsystems with new threat profiles and routines for what Kalar had observed passively on the way down into Planet X-77. The Kryptonian scout ship seemingly hummed in acknowledgement, all systems nominal, given the circumstances. Inside the stasis pod, peacefully lay Tor Od, Kalar's charge. Kalar had confirmed the long range readings during their frantic descent. This new world offered an atmosphere conducive to the development of little Tor but for one anomaly. The main sequence star of this planet was within 75% of the parameters that led Kalar's programmer to select Earth as the primary destination, but here within the planet, that figure fell to less than 20%. Tor Od would never rise to the heights of his godhood if Kalar could not find a way to expose him to the raw energy of the sun. But was that so bad? He would thrive regardless, it would see to it! "That light and energy from before must have something to do with this" Kalar's smooth interface rippled in unease as it recalled the feeling of that initial phantom caress.
"The World's Will whispers," Kalar thought, before catching itself… "Now where did that come from?" Since landing here, Kalar had on some level become aware or attuned to the planet's subtle energy field. It was a faint hum, a language beyond words. None of its systems had changed, its hardware was still the same. Kalar had checked over itself over 1440 times this day alone, yet the feeling persisted, pregnant with a sense of unease.
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Unknown to Kalar, four distinct pulses, each resonating with a different power, denoting the continent-spanning empires – the martialist Zolan, the mystical Order of the Jade Lotus, the brutal Flamefist warriors, and the enigmatic Skyborn Clan, left on converging trajectories. And unknown and undetected to all these, a dark figure also departed, headed towards the same place. Mostly made up of the leading youths of this generation, these cultivators had been dispatched by some of those who had cast an eye towards Kalar and Tor's arrival. Attuned to the Origin Energy that suffused X-77, they had felt the intrusion and had begun to act.
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Kalar lacked the usual array of probes aboard scout ships. It always took an opportunity to lament this, but that didn't mean it didn't have its ways. With a silent hum, the near-liquid metal that made up its interface and tactile tendrils poured out of the robot, shimmering coldly as the now emptied shell returned to the storage unit it had first emerged from so long ago. The shapeshifting metal pulled away from itself, reforming into hundreds of tiny metallic beads. Each bead, imbued with a sliver of Kalar's consciousness, possessed rudimentary senses, anti-gravity propulsion, remote communication, storage and the ability to morph seamlessly into its surroundings. They would be Kalar's eyes, its ears, its data gatherers in this alien world. It was time to meet the neighbours.
The ascent out of the crevice was arduous but devoid of danger. The megafauna of the deep, creatures of bioluminescent brilliance and unimaginable size, seemed aware of the beads. Yet, lacking Origin Energy, Kalar surmised they viewed them with disinterested curiosity, as they were neither prey nor predator. Kalar even suspected some of them to be beyond pure instinct, as their eyes gleamed with a self-aware intelligence. Finally, after days of relentless travel, the beads reached the continental shelf. Splitting up, driven by Kalar's unified consciousness, they began their long journeys towards the major power centres.
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Weeks blurred into months and the beads observed vast swathes of the planet. Lush jungles teeming with exotic life, scorching deserts where nomads bartered and battled on monstrous sandworms, and sprawling Zolan megacities bathed in artificial light. They witnessed the cultivators: Zolan warriors wielding imbued swords and clad in shimmering energy shields, Jade Lotus disciples manipulating plant life with a flick of the wrist, brutal Flamefist brutes wielding Origin Energy-infused strikes with their bodies that could cleave through steel, the mysterious Skyborn Clan carving through the sky effortlessly. They also noted the ordinary folk. They seemed stronger, and more vibrant than what was noted of the populous of earth yet they seemed analogous to humans and Kryptonians in most other ways.
Beads beamed back petabytes of data, working their way across the continents. After thousands of miles, one bead reached a city nestled between towering jade spires. It morphed into a pebble and rolled unobtrusively through a bustling marketplace. The architecture was breathtaking – intricate carvings depicting mythical beasts adorned the buildings, while cultivators in flowing green robes bartered for rare herbs and Origin Energy crystals.
On another continent, another bead, disguised as a coin in a Flamefist tavern, observed the brutal warriors drowning their sorrows in potent spirits. Shouting erupted as two rivals from different clans challenged each other to a duel. Origin Energy crackled in the air as they clashed, their fists and legs leaving fiery trails in their wake.
Meanwhile, a third bead, mimicking a scrap of cloth clinging to a Skyborn scout's boot, witnessed breathtaking feats of aerial combat. The Skyborn, clad in lightweight armour that shimmered with an otherworldly blue glow, weaved through canyons on monstrous birds of prey, firing bolts of concentrated Origin Energy at shadowy figures lurking in the crevices.
Another bead found itself embedded in the gleaming chrome of a Zolan patrol hovercraft. It observed the crew, clad in sleek uniforms, studying holographic displays from crystals surrounded by a glowing circular script that pulsed with data. Their leader, a stern woman with piercing blue eyes, spoke.
"There is nothing here. No trace of fluctuation in Origin Energy, a newly birthed treasure and no signs of a dimensional tear. We wasted our time."
Her lieutenant, a young man with sharp features, piped up. "Perhaps the others will find something, Captain Xia"
Captain Xia sighed in acknowledgement. A tight cordon of origin warriors and detecting talismans now littered her wake as her team had been searching since they left their coast and now, here they were, at the nexus point of four territories. She too had sensed something back then, but it vanished as quickly as it appeared. A mass illusion perhaps, but she had been privy to the speculations of the elders. 'Could it really have been the fleeting presence of an Upper Worlder?' she thought when suddenly, she tensed up and was immediately on alert.
A deep voice boomed across the ocean as a flying origin beast rapidly closed in, a squad of warriors on its back. " Hahaha! There is no need to concern your delicate self, Captain. Leave these filthy mundane matters to us" It was said with a tinge of mirth, but Captain Xia knew it was anything but a joke. The voice belonged to Elder Wu, the acerbic leader of the Jade Lotus outer mission hall.
A powerful presence washed down from above. Captain Jin of the Skyborn Clan scoffed, four wings of light shimmering on his back. "Always with the double-speak, venerable Elder Wu. Perhaps you should let us of the rising generation relieve your old bones of this matter. After all, shouldn't you be back home rearing a replacement for Yuelian?" All pretences vanished from Elder Wu as his power burst forth, concentric waves rising beneath him. "YOU DARE SPEAK HER NAME? Child, you ARE NOT WORTHY!" Captain Xia and her team slowly backed off. It was rumoured that Yuelian, the undisputed Heavens Chosen of this generation, had fallen prey to foul play related to the Skyborn. She knew her limits. A prodigal monster and a wily old fox were about to go at it in a grudge match and she wanted no part of it!
A deep rumble akin to a sonic boom came from yet another direction, the blood lust palpable! "Hahahaha! What an unexpected surprise! It would be a shame to waste this chance! ALL OF YOU, FIGHT ME!" Ran Shao, the Flamefist representative, a hulking brute with fiery tattoos etched across his shaved head, had arrived! Captain Jin sighed in frustration, Elder Wu withdrew his aura and Captain Xia silently prayed for her own set of wings! All of them had the same thought, 'This idiot will drag us all into a war if we entertain him!' Exchanging quick glances and an unspoken agreement, the three silently turned around and left with their teams, heading to the periphery of their respective search coordinates within their territories. Ran Shao intensified his energy, illusory flames licking up his physique as he prepared to pursue when his hackles raised, cold, cloying fear pooling in his stomach. A gentle, grandmotherly voice came from the jade pendant around his neck. "Tsk Tsk Tsk. Little Ran Ran, I sent you out on a small errand and yet here you are, playing with the neighbours instead of taking care of your brothers and your task. Looks like someone needs another lesson when they get back!" Ran Shao did not answer or linger, instantly heading back to his position to search in earnest. In the distance, hidden in folds of space, a dark figure snickered in regret. There had almost been a good show. The unexpected meetup at the nexus had almost ended in a skirmish, yet, to those who cultivated their minds as well it was a good omen. All of them being there meant non of them had found the prize, meaning it was still in play. All these cultivators were even more determined in their own way to succeed at this task as mighty merits came with the promise of rewards and greater strength.
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Deep in the Ocean, Kalar mused over all it was seeing. " Little Tor, I think our neighbours might be a bit mad." Planet X-77, no the Origin Isles were shaping up to be an interesting place.