Alpha_Ruby

The air inside the High Sanctum of Eldrion crackled with magic.

Twelve archmages stood in a perfect circle, their robes embroidered with silver sigils, surrounding a glowing arcane glyph carved into the stone floor. The chanting was steady, like a rhythmic heartbeat of power pulsing through the chamber. Onlookers watched from behind crystalline barriers—nobles, generals, priests—all with the same hope in their eyes.

Their kingdom was on the brink of collapse. Demons surged from rifts in the east. The Spellknight legions were spread thin, and the Mageocracy’s rule faced uprisings from those who feared magic had grown too arrogant. Only one gambit remained:
Summon a Hero.

"Phase shift complete. Leyline convergence holding," said Archmage Varyn, voice brittle with age but strong with command. "Proceed to dimensional binding."

A younger mage in the circle nodded and touched the inner ring. A blue fire surged up from the glyph, forming a spiraling cone of mana that reached toward the domed ceiling.

From within the swirl, reality twisted.
A flash of silver. A burst of static.
And then—something went wrong.
The light turned red. The circle sparked. Screams echoed. A wave of unstable mana rippled outward like a blast wave, shattering part of the crystalline shield. Varyn’s wards held, but barely.

The cone collapsed inward—and dumped a figure onto the floor, smoking slightly.
Everything went still.
The figure groaned.
He was... different.
No armor. No sword. No magic aura.

Just a young man with short black hair, a battered hoodie, and jeans with burnt seams. He sat up groggily, coughing.
"Ugh... where... the hell am I?" he muttered.
One of the mages gasped. "That... that isn’t the Chosen Hero."
"No divine sigil. No blessing of the Light. No affinity to the Leylines."
"But... he was pulled through the Summoning Gate. That’s impossible."
Archmage Varyn narrowed his eyes. "Not impossible. Catastrophic."

The young man looked up, blinking in confusion. His name was Aiden Knox, a technologist from a world without magic.

And as the mages argued, Aiden’s vision blurred—flashing briefly with blue circuitry across his retinas.
A sound echoed in his ears, one that no one else heard:

[SYSTEM BOOTING…]
CHRONOFORGE INTERFACE v1.0
USER DETECTED: AIDEN KNOX
WORLD PROFILE INCOMPATIBLE. INITIALIZING INTEGRATION LAYER…
WELCOME, ENGINEER.

His eyes widened.
"What the hell... was that voice?"

No one answered him. The mages were already backing away.

To them, he was a mistake. A failure.
But to the world of Eltarion, this so-called error was about to become its most dangerous engineer

Chronoforge : The Engineer of Realms

The rusted bulkhead groaned as Kaela's sigils worked to undo its ancient seal. Magic clashed against old-world mechanics in a silent battle of will and entropy. When the final lock clicked free, the door shuddered open with a long exhale of stale air and dust.

Aiden stepped in first, weapon primed, HUD glowing with fresh warnings.

[Warning: Radiation Spikes Detected – Magical Containment Required]

[Environmental Status: Degraded – Proceed with Caution]

Below, the stairwell descended into darkness. No lights, no hum of machinery—only the weight of silence. The group descended, Kaela's orb of light bobbing above her shoulder and casting dancing shadows across the cracked walls.

"We're going underground, aren't we?" Brant said, voice low. "Why is it always underground?"

"Because that's where people bury what they fear," Kaela answered.

Halfway down, Aiden's system flared to life.

[Fragmented Signal Source: Detected Nearby]

[Potential System Upgrade – Origin: Layered Nexus Core]

A tunnel branched from the staircase, revealing a massive chamber. The ceiling was a dome of semi-translucent crystal interwoven with vein-like conduits. Strange flora had begun to reclaim the structure—bioluminescent moss clung to support struts, and pale vines writhed like they were alive.

In the center stood a cylindrical pillar—half-machine, half-organic. Arcane runes shimmered across its shell.

[Status: Dormant | Energy Level: 14%]

[Interaction Available: Arcane-Tech Synchronization]

Kaela examined the runes. "This is old… pre-Exodus era. If your system can sync with this, Aiden, you might gain access to the relay's inner protocols."

Aiden nodded. He stepped forward and placed his hand on the pillar.

[WARNING: Partial Interface – Incomplete Protocols Detected]

[Skill Fragment Acquired: Arcano-Technical Integration Lv.1]

[Blueprint Obtained: Mana Infuser Unit]

A jolt of force threw him backward as a shockwave pulsed from the core. The chamber lit up, glyphs igniting across the walls.

"What did you do?!" Brant shouted.

But before anyone could answer, the floor trembled. The walls split open to reveal dormant constructs—metal guardians slumbering in pods.

[Status: Unidentified Intruders Present – Initiating Defense Protocol]

Aiden groaned, pushing himself to his feet. "Guess we woke up the neighbors."

Kaela drew her staff, runes glowing bright. Brant cracked his knuckles.

From the pods, golem-like machines emerged, powered by a blend of gears and magic cores. Their eyes glowed red.

"Defensive perimeter!" Aiden commanded, HUD tracking multiple threats.

The battle erupted. Kaela launched piercing bolts of arcane fire, while Brant used brute force to crack construct plating. Aiden deployed one of his new Mana Infuser Units mid-battle, channeling his system's energy into enhanced projectile pulses.

The constructs adapted quickly, their cores shifting frequency. But Aiden's new skill allowed him to analyze their patterns, giving the team the edge.

Finally, the last guardian fell, its chassis exploding in a shower of sparks.

[Proto-Nexus Core: Defense Sequence Terminated]

[System Directive Updated – New Mission Unlocked: Seek the Forbidden Layer Core]

Breathing heavily, Aiden looked up at the glowing runes.

"This place... it's just the beginning."

Kaela stepped beside him. "The Core recognized you. That means something."

Brant sighed, wiping grime from his brow. "Let's just hope it's not something that gets us killed."

The core hummed softly, like a heart beginning to beat again after centuries of silence.

Chapter 7 - Descent into the core