Gate of Forgotten Echoes — Vesperia-9
Dawn at the Aether Gate
The sun had barely broken the horizon when the entire second-year class gathered at the academy's Aether Gate Platform. The air was thick with tension — not the usual pre-trip excitement, but something sharper, heavier, like the air itself could sense something wrong with this particular destination.
Vesperia-9. A world ripped from reality's edge.
A scar left over from the Merge, when Gaia fused with countless other realms—some born of science, others from fantasy, and a few from…something far older.
Even the Elemental Vanguard, usually arrogant and dismissive, stood quieter than usual.
---
The Airship That Shouldn't Exist
Gaia Academy's field trip transport, The Starling Gale, was a relic from the Pre-Merge Era—an airship built with technology so advanced that modern engineers barely understood it. Its hull shimmered with a combination of metallic plating and what looked like woven starlight, its engines silent yet radiating a pulse that made nearby elements vibrate.
Max stood at the very back of the boarding line, sandwiched between Kain (who was stress-eating an entire bag of smoked jerky) and Rei, who was alternating between excitement and anxiety so quickly that small whirlwinds were forming around her feet.
"Why are we even going to a place called Vesperia-9?" Max asked, mostly to himself.
"Because Vesperia-8 exploded," Rei answered, far too casually.
Max blinked. "What?"
"Yeah," Kain added, "apparently the dimensional fabric couldn't handle the strain. Vesperia-9 stabilized only because it anchored itself to something on Gaia's side."
Max felt his System pulse — a cold, electric shock up his spine.
> [System Alert: Vesperia-9 is partially tethered to Subject: Max Joules.]
Max froze. "What the hell does that mean?"
> [Answer Unavailable.]
---
The Flight
The Starling Gale lifted off smoothly, its hull parting reality like a knife through silk. The academy disappeared behind them, replaced by a shimmering corridor of swirling lights—the Aether Tunnel, the only stable path between Gaia and fragmented worlds like Vesperia-9.
Max felt the entire ship react to his presence. Lights flickered. Instruments recalibrated themselves whenever he walked past them. At one point, he sneezed—and every window in the passenger cabin frosted over, despite there being no ice elementals nearby.
The other students noticed.
"Hey, what's with the playboy?" one of the richer heirs muttered. "Is he secretly a world anchor or something?"
Max choked on his water.
> [System Note: Truth Probability: 87%.]
---
Arrival: The Breath of a Dead World
Vesperia-9 unfolded below them—a jagged, uneven landmass floating in a sea of fractured skies. Mountains hung upside-down, rivers flowed upward into storm clouds, and entire cities lay half-buried under layers of crystalline dust that shimmered with their own ghostly light.
The airship shuddered violently as it passed through the final veil, and for a brief moment, Max saw something out of the window. A face, enormous and ancient, carved from reality itself, staring back at him with eyes full of static.
Then it was gone.
---
First Step: Protocol and Chaos
The students disembarked under the supervision of Professor Valeria Nex, the academy's resident dimensional expert—and a woman who had personally fought in the AI War's final battle.
Her hair was streaked with silver threads that hummed with elemental resonance, and her left arm was entirely mechanical, grafted from Pre-Merge AI tech. Rumor had it the arm could think for itself, whispering things even Valeria couldn't hear.
"Listen up," she barked. "Vesperia-9 is classified as a C-Tier Unstable World. That means time, space, and causality are suggestions here, not laws. Stay with your assigned groups. If you see something that looks like it remembers your name—run."
Max's group—Group 9—consisted of the usual suspects.
Himself.
Kain Hollow (the beastkin without a beast).
Rei Vortex (the elemental glitch).
A random plant girl whose name Max couldn't remember.
And Arthur van Terra.
"Why am I stuck with him?" Max groaned.
Arthur barely spared him a glance. "Don't slow me down, playboy."
---
Ruins of the Celestial Nexus
Their destination was a structure that the academy had tentatively identified as a Celestial Research Node—a Pre-Merge AI facility that had somehow survived the collapse.
The ruins hummed, alive with residual energy. The ground itself was warm beneath their feet, and Max could feel his System vibrating faster the closer they got.
> [System Warning: Proximity to Source of Origin Detected.]
"What does that even mean?" Max whispered.
Rei overheard. "What are you mumbling about?"
"Nothing," Max lied. "Just thinking."
---
Folder Heroes: Echoes in the Dust
As they stepped into the ruins, holograms flickered to life—recordings left behind by the facility's original occupants. The images were grainy, distorted, but Max recognized the uniforms immediately.
Folder Heroes—the elite warriors who had led humanity's final charge against the rogue AIs. Legends, every one of them.
One hologram stood taller than the others.
A woman wrapped in silver armor, her face obscured by a cracked visor, her voice layered with static and sorrow.
"This is Commander Aurora Zero," the hologram said. "If you're seeing this… then the Nexus failed. We couldn't stop it. The Merge was only the first phase. The real war—"
The recording glitched, flickering violently before cutting off.
The students were silent. Even Arthur looked shaken.
---
First Encounter: Forgotten Guardians
Deeper inside the ruins, Max's group found something still alive. Not AI, not elemental—something in between. A creature forged from data, myth, and memory, prowling the halls like a guardian left behind by long-dead gods.
It had no face, only a smooth plate of reflective silver. Its body constantly shifted, parts rewriting themselves into blades, claws, wings, or tendrils as it moved.
Arthur stepped forward, summoning a spear of molten stone.
Max?
Max tripped on a loose tile.
The creature ignored Arthur entirely. Instead, it focused on Max, tilting its head in silent curiosity.
> [System Alert: Entity Recognizes System Signature.]
"Hey, Arthur," Max said slowly. "What's the protocol for being stared down by a shape-shifting memory beast?"
"Kill it," Arthur said.
"Cool," Max muttered. "Cool cool cool."
---
System Override: First Contact Protocol
Suddenly, Max's System took over.
> [Engaging Diplomatic Interface…]
[Language Download Complete: Forgotten Tongue.]
[Initiating Communication.]
Max's mouth opened, and words he didn't understand spilled out.
The creature froze, then bowed.
Arthur gaped. "What… did you just do?"
"I have no idea," Max admitted.
> [System Note: Diplomatic Standing with Forgotten Guardians Increased.]
---
What Lies Beneath
The encounter ended peacefully, but Max couldn't shake the feeling that something beneath the ruins had noticed him. Something old, patient, and far too interested.
As they left the first chamber, the floor vibrated slightly.
Something woke up.
> [System Alert: Primary Objective Updated - Discover the Truth of Vesperia-9.]
Max sighed.
This was supposed to be a field trip, not the prologue to another apocalypse.
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