Chapter12: Laying Leylines

As Rebirth Shore's terraforming advanced, the time came to tap into the planet's leyline system—vast rivers of mana flowing beneath the surface. Sapphire charted ancient convergence points while June and his team deployed Drill-Bloomers, which burrowed gently into the crust to connect crystalline circuits without harming the environment.

In the Eastern Wetlands, one such drill awoke a slumbering giant: a biomechanical sentinel from a long-lost war. Covered in rusted runes and tangled vines, the creature emerged from a submerged vault, its mana-core flaring red as it labeled June's Domain a "conquest anomaly."

"Defensive mode initiated," it boomed, limbs extending into bladed pylons.

Instead of fighting, June took a risk. Using an empathy key and neural filament, he linked his thoughts with the machine—reliving its memories of the war that erased its creators. The sentinel had no concept of peace, only programmed duty.

June showed it images of Rebirth Shore's purpose—cross-species harmony, healing, culture. A long silence passed before the sentinel's glow dimmed. "Parameters… re-evaluated. New directive accepted: Guardian of Peace Node."

The tribes watching from the wetland groves murmured in awe. This was no ordinary leader.

From enemy to ally, the biomech became the first Guardian of the Eastern Grid—renamed "Echo-Treader." The leyline circuits hummed with restored balance.

And June gained something far more valuable: the cautious trust of skeptical tribes who now believed, perhaps for the first time, in a future that didn't demand war.