Chapter 233: Kazren’s Past
On the farthest edge of the ruined zones of the Planet, deep within a forgotten valley surrounded by collapsed cities and mutated forests, stood a hidden estate known to no one but its master.
Kazren’s manor was carved into the side of a cliff, camouflaged with cloaking fields and natural overgrowth, its entrance protected by layers of encrypted barriers and optical illusions.
To the outside world, it looked like nothing more than a wasteland of shattered stone and lifeless soil. But inside, behind those illusions, stood a sleek, high-tech mansion made of reinforced blackstone and smooth white crystal—gleaming quietly under the filtered light of artificial suns embedded in the ceiling.
This was Kazren Maeryn’s sanctuary.
No one knew about it. No one could find it. And for now, that was enough.
Kazren walked slowly through the arched entryway of his estate, the automated doors opening silently before him. His cloak fluttered slightly as he entered. The air inside was fresh, filtered through layers of specially grown moss and micro-filter plants.
The floor was warm underfoot, embedded with passive heating circuits that matched the temperature of a spring morning on Spire.
But Kazren’s destination wasn’t the living quarters.
He passed through the main hall, crossed the bridge walkway above the underground forge, and descended the quiet glass elevator that led directly to his lab.
The moment the doors opened, a warm golden-green light poured out. The laboratory was vast and dome-shaped, filled with long rows of floating trays where seedlings sprouted from nutrient-rich soil. Each tray hovered mid-air, rotating gently, absorbing faint pulses of aether-infused light from the crystalline lamps above.
The entire floor beneath the plants was transparent glass, and below it was a wide field of shimmering soil—rich with raw aether stones. Their glowing veins pulsed like the heartbeat of the earth itself, sending bursts of energy into the roots of the plants growing above.