The Second Seed – Echoes of the White Racket
The sterile hum of the medical wing was the loudest thing in Raghav's world.
He lay still on a cold slab of reinforced relic glass, eyes staring at the ceiling. The battle with Kaveen had ended two days ago, but the bruises still glowed faintly, pulsing like coals beneath his skin.
His ribs hurt.
His pride hurt more.
But the Devourer… was quiet.
No hunger. No whispers. No seductive push for more.
Just silence.
And that terrified him.
A soft knock broke the air. Mira stepped into the room, holding a sealed scrollcase etched with layered runes.
"From the Archives. Delivered through encrypted glyphline. No known sender."
Raghav sat up slowly, bones protesting. His fingers traced the scroll's locking sigil, and it shimmered open—projecting a flickering image into the air.
A dossier.
> [PROJECT LUX: RELIC CLASSIFIED AS "WHITE RACKET"]
Origin: Unknown.
Function: Purification. Rejection of parasitic relic bonds.
Status: Dormant.
Location: Facility 7-B – Outer Ring, Depth Zone 12.
Risk Level: Extreme.
Access: Denied.
Raghav's eyes narrowed.
Purification?
This was the opposite of the Devourer. Not consumption—but cleansing. A relic that rejected corrupted power.
He looked at Mira. "How long has this been buried?"
She hesitated. "It was sealed before we were even recruits. A 'failed relic harmonization' trial. No survivors. Rumor was… it didn't just purify relics. It erased them."
That night, Raghav stood alone under the fractured moons of the Outer Ring.
His wounds were fresh, but something in him buzzed with purpose.
The Devourer pulsed softly from its sealed form on his back. Still silent. Still watching.
> "Another relic," he whispered. "Not one to devour, but to understand."
No one followed him as he stepped into the abandoned train capsule leading to Depth Zone 12. The doors hissed shut behind him.
Destination: Facility 7-B.
Elsewhere…
A man in black robes sat before a chessboard with no pieces—only relic shards. The Judge of Silence.
Another figure, hooded and blindfolded, spoke.
> "He's heading to 7-B."
The Judge nodded. "Good. Let him seek the other side."
> "And if the White Racket chooses him?"
"Then the game truly begins."
The Judge leaned forward.
> "Devourer. Purifier. The child walks between gods."
Facility 7-B – Arrival
The door creaked open into darkness. Moss, wires, shattered rune circuits.
Everything smelled of ozone and dust. Relic stabilizers sparked and died overhead.
But the moment Raghav stepped into the main chamber…
…he felt it.
A presence.
Not hungry.
Not violent.
Just… disappointed.
A voice—soft, sexless—rippled through the facility.
> "You bring the Devourer here. Why?"
Raghav didn't flinch. "Because I need to understand. What it is. What I could become."
A soft pulse moved through the walls. Lights blinked on—briefly—revealing a massive sealed chamber in the center, suspended in liquid stasis.
Inside: a sleek white racket. Not glowing. Not cursed. Just… still.
Calm.
Waiting.
The voice returned.
> "To approach the Second Seed… you must first be cleansed."
The walls began to shift. The floor rumbled.
Raghav's trial had already begun.
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