Ch 6: Retriving the Mother Key- Part 3

Nova moved through the outer rings of Clavacis, cradling Anna's limp body in his arms. 

The desert behind them had vanished beneath layers of haze and smoke-belching exhaust towers. 

Here, closer to the heart of the city, everything shifted—metal gave way to stonework facades mimicking forgotten civilizations, and golden arches framed corridors filled with robed citizens and guards.

He stayed to the shadows.

Cloaking himself with fine threads of aether, he blurred his presence from the passersby. 

Most people wouldn't look his way, and those who did would forget him seconds later. The trick wouldn't hold under scrutiny, but it was enough for now.

[Clavacis's frequency is disrupting long-range link. Signal quality has dropped to 32%. I won't be able to provide you consistent support beyond this point.] 

Nyx's voice filtered through his earpiece, fainter than usual. 

"Cut the connection. No use draining aether on your end."

Nova replied. 

[Understood. One last directive—there's a free-amenity site near the eastern plaza. An oasis structure. Water available.]

"Got it."

[Stay sharp.]

And with that, her voice vanished into static.

Nova adjusted his hold on Anna and changed direction, moving through one of the maintenance alleys toward the plaza's edge. 

The streets grew more crowded as he approached the oasis—more people, more eyes. His cloak held, but every step stretched the limits of his concentration.

The plaza bloomed suddenly into view: a simulated garden built into stone terraces, decorated with towering palms and sunstones that cast artificial warmth. 

In the center stood a shallow, spring-fed pool, framed with smooth rock, where citizens washed their hands or filled canisters. 

Guards loitered at its edge, watching idly as children splashed their feet in the shallows.

Nova ducked behind one of the old statues near the corner and crouched low.

He gathered water in a stolen cup, then returned to Anna. She hadn't stirred.

Her breathing was shallow. The heat had leeched the last of her strength. He tried pouring water at the edge of her lips, but it only slid down the side of her mouth.

She wouldn't respond like this.

Time wasting was risk. So he leaned in.

He took a mouthful of the cool water, then gently parted her lips with his own. 

His tongue pressed past her teeth, forcing a stream of water into her throat. With his free hand, he rubbed at the base of her neck, stimulating her reflexes.

She twitched. Then coughed.

Nova leaned back just as she jolted, water spraying from her lips as she came to, breath catching with each gasp.

She blinked rapidly, dazed. Her eyes flicked from the sky above to the stone floor beneath her, then finally to him.

And then she saw the water.

Scrambling forward, she gripped the edge of the cup with unsteady fingers and drank—desperate, furious gulps. Drops ran down her chin, but she didn't stop until it was empty.

Only then did she finally let out a breath and turn her attention to Nova.

"You saved me. I made a promise. I'll keep it." 

She rasped. Her voice cracked, but her words held weight. 

Nova watched her calmly. 

"You don't need to rush anything. You're barely standing."

She shook her head. 

"That's not the point. You pulled me from the desert. You gave me water. That's life. I said I'd offer loyalty—and I meant it."

He didn't argue.

Instead, he extended his hand toward her, palm open, and let the threads of aether weave into form—delicate, silver strands swirling upward, waiting to be anchored by a bond.

Anna's eyes flickered with something unreadable. Not fear. Something more bitter.

"Not even gonna let me back out, huh?" 

She asked, almost laughing.

Nova tilted his head. 

"You were the one who made the offer."

"I know. And I don't regret it." 

She said. 

She reached up, placed her fingers into his open palm.

"If this ends in my death, then so be it."

She said, eyes locked on his, 

Aether surged between them—silent, binding, and irrevocable.

The contract was sealed.

Nova glanced at Anna, who was leaning against the wall with a nearly-empty flask in her hand. Her breath was steadier now. Her posture less shaky.

"Can you walk?" 

He asked without turning his head.

"I can get on my feet. Don't expect me to sprint yet." 

She replied, pushing off the wall. Her steps were heavy, but controlled. 

"I won't." 

Nova said flatly, already moving.

She followed him through the narrow stone alley, weaving past decorative pillars and shadowed corners where Clavacis's guards rarely looked. 

The deeper they went, the quieter it became.

Anna's voice broke the silence. 

"I was one of the war slaves… taken from the Outer Belt during the last frontier purge. Before that—well, I mattered. Council seat. Local militia. Doesn't mean much now."

Nova didn't even glance her way.

She gave a dry laugh. 

"Not interested, huh?"

He finally looked back, eyes calm and unreadable. 

"It doesn't matter who you used to be."

Her brows lifted slightly.

"You're my subordinate now. That's all I need to know."

Anna opened her mouth as if to argue, but thought better of it. She lowered her head slightly and kept pace behind him.

"So where are we going?" 

She asked instead.

Nova stopped at a junction between two old stone passages, checking a small pulse of aether in his palm. 

"I'm tracking a signature. One specific aether frequency. Something taken from me is still on this ship."

He said. 

"You can… track aether?"

She asked, blinking.

Nova raised an eyebrow.

"You sound surprised."

"Well, yeah. Most humanoids can't even see aether, let alone manipulate it. It's not like mana—you need a constructed core or ancestral blessing. And you don't exactly look like someone gifted by the upper pantheon."

Nova turned to her, tone even.

"Don't believe everything you see."

Before she could respond, he pressed his palm against the stone wall. 

The faint impression of an etched circle glowed under his touch—one even Anna hadn't noticed. 

A click echoed from behind the bricks, and a small door swung open, revealing a dark corridor carved into the inner layers of the city.

Without hesitation, Nova stepped inside.

Anna stared after him for a beat, then followed into the shadow.

The hidden corridor closed behind them with a low hiss, sealing off the light and sound of the city above. 

Inside, the air was cooler—damp with condensation, thick with the smell of rust and time. Aether currents pulsed faintly through the walls, like veins carrying invisible blood.

Anna walked a few steps behind Nova, eyes adjusting to the dim, shifting glow ahead.

"So what exactly was taken from you?" 

She asked, voice low.

Nova didn't slow. "Something that doesn't belong to them."

"That's not an answer."

"Good."

He replied.

Anna frowned, but let it drop. She wasn't sure if he was being secretive or simply didn't care enough to explain. Maybe both.

They moved in silence for a while, the sound of their boots echoing softly in the narrow tunnel. 

The deeper they went, the more intricate the walls became—runes etched into stone, aether circuitry woven like buried threads beneath the surface.

"This tunnel wasn't built by Clavacis. It's older. 

Anna murmured. 

Nova gave a short nod. 

"Most things of value are."

Something about the way he moved—calm, deliberate, like he'd walked paths like this a thousand times—sent a chill down her spine.

She followed anyway.