Chapter 2: Sparks in the Dark

Alaric closed the door behind him and leaned on it for a second. The wooden surface was cold against his back. He looked around the room. It was quiet. Still.

The old lantern on the desk flickered weakly, casting shaky shadows across the walls.

He walked over, pulled the chair out, and sat down.

His thoughts were sharp now. No distractions. No questions.

Just one goal.

"I need her back," he whispered. "And I'm going to make her."

He opened the System.

[System Interface Opened]

Accessing Available Functions…

He tapped the air.

"Open the Blueprint Shop."

[Opening Blueprint Shop…]

Access: Locked

Currency Required: System Tokens – [0/?]

Authority Level: Too Low

Unlock Requirements: Unknown

"Tch," Alaric clicked his tongue. "Still useless."

He stared at the floating menu. Every tab he touched just showed more locked options. System Tokens? Authority Levels? None of it made sense yet. No way to force it open either.

He slumped back in his chair, eyes still on the glowing panel in front of him.

"So the only way is to make it myself…"

His eyes narrowed.

Fine. If this world won't give me blueprints, I'll create them.

He stood.

Then raised his hand toward the open air.

"System," he said clearly, "activate the Crafting Terminal."

[Crafting Terminal – Activated]

[Mana Sync: Stable]

[Manual Design Mode: Enabled]

The change was instant.

The room lit up with soft blue lines—grids stretching over every surface. The air shimmered. His desk was now a blueprint grid. The chair, the floor, even the lantern—outlined in glowing light.

But he wasn't focused on any of those things.

In the center of the room, a wide blank space appeared. It looked like an empty cube of light, waiting to be drawn on.

Alaric stepped toward it and stared at the void.

"…Alright," he said under his breath. "Let's do this."

He reached inside himself—toward the warm, strange energy at his core.

Mana.

It responded to his will.

He felt it move through his arms, his fingers, until a glowing line of light appeared at his fingertips.

He took a deep breath.

Then, slowly, carefully, he began to draw.

The first line stretched across the air. Straight. Smooth.

Then another. Then a curve. A circle.

Bit by bit, shapes began to form.

The head. The shoulders. A faint outline of armor plating.

"Start from the top," he muttered. "Sensor module goes here… narrow optics array. Keep the weight down."

He moved around the grid, tracing more lines in the air.

The upper body took form.

Then the arms.

He added the stabilizer joints at the elbows and knees, then paused to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

The glowing lines stayed in place, floating like a three-dimensional sketch.

The System buzzed quietly.

[Blueprint: Aegis-09]

Frame Progress: 12%

Mana Consumption: Active

Stability: Acceptable

Alaric kept going.

"Reinforce the chest plate," he said aloud. "Mana intake node goes right above the sternum. Small, efficient."

He designed the legs next—adding curved plating, balance modules, and toe sensors for uneven terrain.

As he worked, the room around him faded. He didn't notice the wind tapping against the window. Didn't hear the soft creaks of the old house.

All he saw was the lines.

The form.

Her form.

Aegis-09.

In his old world, she had been his greatest creation. Not just a machine. Not just a protector.

She was… something more.

Something that felt alive.

He remembered the way her voice sounded—calm, smooth, always asking if he'd slept or eaten.

He remembered the way she'd move—graceful, almost human, but with perfect balance and control.

He remembered her last words—

No. He pushed the thought aside.

This was a new world. A new body. But he would bring her back here.

He worked faster.

Added the internal structure. Stabilizer rods. Compact mana conduits in place of old-world wires.

"Use dual-circuit layouts," he said. "Split the flow—left and right control banks."

His mana pulsed harder now. It flowed fast, almost wild, through his fingers.

Each motion burned more than the last.

But he didn't stop.

He couldn't.

[Mana Warning: Levels Dropping]

[Fatigue Level: Rising]

[Recommended Action: Pause Work]

"Not yet," he whispered. "I'm close."

He was sweating now. His shirt stuck to his back. His legs ached. His head pounded.

But his eyes stayed locked on the design.

"Insert the AI housing at the neck socket," he muttered. "Shielded core, just like the original."

He added finer details—joint insulators, chest armor ribs, a thin antenna on the back of the neck.

Every part had a reason.

Every piece had purpose.

[Blueprint: 86%]

Almost… there…

The last piece was the power control module—a compact design just above the hip line. In his world, it was where the backup battery sat. Here, it would serve as a mana channeling node.

"Done…"

He traced one final ring around the chest, locking in the core housing.

As soon as his finger completed the loop—

The entire frame glowed bright blue.

[Blueprint Complete – Project Aegis-09]

Status: Saved

Frame Integrity: 100%

Mana Link: Compatible

Materials: Not Acquired

Build Status: Standby

Alaric stumbled back, blinking hard.

The blueprint floated in the air, perfect and complete. A full 3D model of her—ready to be built.

He stared at it for a long moment, breathing heavily.

"…I did it," he whispered.

Then his legs gave out.

He hit the floor hard, but he didn't feel it.

His vision blurred.

The last thing he saw was the glowing outline of Aegis-09 floating above him.

And the words on the System.

[Mana Depleted – User Status: Unconscious]

[Auto-Saving Project: Aegis-09]

Then everything went black.

"…Alaric?"

A soft voice pulled him back.

"Alaric, can you hear me?"

His eyelids were heavy. His body felt like it weighed a hundred kilos. He tried to move, but even that felt distant—like his limbs weren't listening.

Another voice came. This one deeper.

"He's breathing. That's good."

The warmth of a small hand grabbed his fingers.

"Big brother… wake up... please..."

Liora…?

Slowly, Alaric opened his eyes.

The ceiling above him came into focus. He blinked, confused.

He wasn't on the floor anymore. He was on the bed.

Seraphina, his mother, leaned over him. Her long silver hair draped over one shoulder. Her hand was resting gently on his chest.

"Alaric," she said again, this time smiling with relief. "You're awake."

Liora peeked from the side of the bed, her big blue eyes wide with worry. "You scared me…"

Cedric stood behind them, arms crossed, his face stern—but there was something softer in his eyes. He didn't speak right away.

Alaric groaned and slowly sat up.

"What happened...?"

"You passed out," Seraphina said. "We heard a loud sound upstairs and found you on the floor. You were burning up. Your mana was completely drained."

"Mana?" he muttered. Then he remembered.

Aegis.

He looked around.

His room had been cleaned up a little. The floating lines from the terminal were gone. The air was still.

"I'm okay," he said. "Just... tired."

"You've been asleep since early morning," Seraphina said. "It's already afternoon."

"I... I must've overdone it." Alaric rubbed his forehead.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Cedric asked.

"I'll be fine," Alaric said. "Really. I just need to drink something and rest a little more."

Seraphina reached over and handed him a glass of water. He drank it slowly, grateful for the silence that followed.

Once the haze in his head cleared, he opened the System quietly.

[Inventory – Open]

Item 1: [Aegis-09 Blueprint]

Description: Complete frame design for a humanoid construct

Status: Ready for Material Integration

It saved. It's here.

A wave of relief passed over him.

"System," he whispered, "store current condition. Status check."

[Condition: Light Mana Fatigue]

[Mana Core: 8% – Recovery in Progress]

He looked up at his parents.

"Mom. Dad. I need your help."

Seraphina and Cedric exchanged a glance.

"With what exactly?" Cedric asked cautiously.

Alaric sat up straighter and looked them both in the eye.

"I'm building something," he said. "It's important. And I need materials."

Cedric raised an eyebrow. "Materials?"

"Anything made of mana-conductive metal," Alaric said. "Enchanted steel. Alloyed parts. Even broken tools. Do we have anything like that in the house?"

Seraphina looked thoughtful. "We've sold most of what we had… but…"

"But?" Alaric leaned forward.

"There's the old armor," Cedric said slowly.

"The one in the storage?" Seraphina added. "Your grandfather's."

"It's enchanted," Cedric nodded. "Hasn't been used in years."

Alaric's heart jumped.

"Can I see it?"

Cedric didn't answer right away.

Liora piped up, "It's in the attic! I saw it once!"

"Can I use it?" Alaric asked.

Cedric's eyes narrowed. "It's a family heirloom. Why do you need it?"

"I can extract rare metals from it," Alaric said. "I'm building a guardian. Something that can protect us. Something powerful."

Seraphina looked surprised. "You can do that?"

"Yes," he said, confident. "But only if I have the right materials. That armor—it could be the key."

Cedric looked at him quietly for a moment.

Then he sighed.

"I'll bring it down."

The armor was heavier than it looked.

Cedric placed it on the floor in the middle of the room with a solid clunk. Dust flew everywhere as the old plates of steel settled.

Alaric stood and looked at it carefully. The chest piece had deep scratches. The shoulder guards were cracked in places. But he could see the faint runes still carved into the metal. There was energy in it. Old, but still alive.

"This'll work," he whispered.

"You're sure?" Seraphina asked.

"Yes."

Cedric nodded. "Then it's yours."

Alaric smiled.

"Thank you. I'll make it count."

Later that evening, once they left the room to give him space, Alaric returned to his desk. He opened the System again.

"System. Activate Crafting Terminal."

[Crafting Terminal – Online]

[Material Processing Mode Enabled]

Mana Sync: Stable

The armor floated off the ground, rising into the air as the System locked onto it. The pieces slowly separated—helmet, chestplate, gauntlets, boots. Glowing symbols surrounded each one.

"Begin extraction," Alaric said.

[Starting Material Extraction…]

Target: Valtair Enchanted Armor

Processing Mana Flow…

Extracting Core Alloys…

Stripping Corrupted Layers…

Purifying Mana Conduits…

The armor began to glow. Small particles broke off and spun into glowing shards. Lines of light traced through the room, gathering into floating blocks of raw metal and condensed mana crystal.

Alaric watched, eyes wide.

It's working.

The gauntlets crumbled first, releasing tiny fragments of refined orichalcum. The chestplate followed, giving off thicker slabs of mana-forged steel.

Piece by piece, the old armor vanished—replaced by floating blocks of purified material.

[Extraction Complete]

Materials Gained:

– Mana-Forged Steel x3

– Orichalcum Shard x5

– Rune Core Fragment x2

– Enchanted Thread (Minor) x1

Alaric let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

He opened his Inventory.

[Inventory]

Item 1: [Aegis-09 Blueprint]

Item 2: [Mana-Forged Steel x3]

Item 3: [Orichalcum Shard x5]

Item 4: [Rune Core Fragment x2]

Item 5: [Enchanted Thread x1]

He stared at the screen.

I have the blueprint.

I have the materials.

He stepped back and looked around his room. It was quiet again. The walls were warm in the light of the terminal. Everything felt still.

Alaric's fingers trembled slightly—not from fear, but anticipation.

"…It's time."

He raised his hand, and the floating materials shimmered in front of him.

"System," he said quietly. "Prepare to combine materials with the blueprint."

The room lit up with dozens of lines and formulas. Grids appeared again. The shape of Aegis-09 floated above the floor, a skeleton of light.

But before he could move—

[System: Final Confirmation Required]

Proceed with Construct Assembly?

Warning: First-time activation may trigger large mana surge.

Alaric didn't press anything yet.

He stared at the blueprint.

Then at the materials.

His pulse quickened.

This is it.

No turning back now.