Chapter 353
Lab 7 was on the 52nd floor of Glory's Bazaar.
After getting lost again for at least 15 minutes, even with Presence Between constantly scouring, Gale finally managed to find the hallway he was looking for. It was definitely not because of the pizza and cake by the kitchen that he got lost.
The smooth floor and fluorescent lights brought him back nostalgia of the last time he was here. He was about to take the shard for Mia but decided not to. Now he was returning 96 shards of them to this place.
Erin said to place it at her desk where Ollie's backup office used to be. The place where he pinned his friend to the lockers. Gale still felt sorry about that, but he brought a pizza box with him that was totally not from the kitchen he just came from.
Arriving at the end of the corridor, Gale found the room labelled 'Oliver Glory's Office' that had been crossed out with a thick black marker. A lined paper note was taped over the centre of the door that read 'Grand Researcher Erin Weber's Office' in rushed writing. Probably Sarah Chen's doing.
The door was already open, and Gale poked his head inside.
Erin sat at Ollie's desk that was placed against the wall. Although 'sat' was the word he thought of, she was technically floating on the chair just a couple of centimetres off. Ollie stood beside her, watching the monitor scroll as she had modified the mouse to allow interfacing with her control module.
"...the structures of the Cryil's crystals don't make sense," Ollie was saying. "Why does it always crystallize into horn shapes? I get that it's supposed to be the pressure release point, but how does the Origin know to go there?"
"The reason why it crystallizes as horns is because the pathways all converge at that point," Erin said. "Dust corruption is merely the inefficient pathway creation of Origin in the body. The substance seeks an exit point, and the cranial region provides the path of least resistance. Encoding is the act of applying the biological blueprint to the trapped Origin within the body."
"Where are we going to hide it then? Put all that pressure to the butt?"
"A logical conclusion."
"No, that sounds too stupid. What if it messes with the digestive system..." Ollie muttered.
"You may choose where to put the pressure release valve. I do not understand the meaning of needing to hide the Origin's glory from the public."
"The public is going to start asking questions, and questions are always bad." Ollie rubbed his temples, slowly turning around until he caught Gale by the door. "Gale! What are you here for?"
"Dropping off the payload the Grand Researcher needs," Gale growled, then turned his voice back to normal. "Just some stuff she asked for anyways."
Opening the door, he found the 96 Origin Shards within his space storage. Gale walked to the desk and then materialized 96 of the Origin Shards, still in a clump, onto Ollie's former desk that was now owned by Erin.
"What the fuck is this?!" Ollie stepped back from the pile.
"Origin Shards, got them from a snow world rift and even got bubble tea there."
"I know what they are, but how'd you get so much?"
"Enough with the meaningless questions," Erin said. "These will be used as substrate for artificed linings on the Synthesis Facility. Due to the lack of quality material available on Earth and its surrounding rifts, Origin Shards are currently the most viable option."
Ollie crouched down, picking up one of the shards and turning it over in his hands. "Are there other materials that can act as a substrate instead? Aren't these things super priceless? Like Awakened to Attuned in 2 minutes kinda priceless."
"There are multiple materials available," Erin said. "Tri-Cin metal, found in Quadrant 142, sub-section R1049 of Aurumn's Paradise Great Wall. There is also Pure Yin metal, found in Quadrant 74, sub-section AL-R144 of the Dark Cev Filament."
"And where exactly are Quadrant 142 and Quadrant 74?"
"Approximately 14 billion light years away from Earth."
"Ok, ok." Ollie set the shard back down. "I guess those are out of reach."
"Correct. The Origin Shards must be sacrificed to create the initial machines and facilities we need. There is no alternative available within accessible range."
Gale didn't understand how long it would take to reach 14 billion light years, but 14 billion was a big number. If he asked Erin how long it would take, he would most likely just get '14 billion years' as the answer, which he thinks didn't technically mean anything.
Then again... she talked about materials. He did swipe a gear off the Architect's tomb in that first mission he did.
"Psst, Erin. Can this be used?" Gale materialized 'Perfect Flawless Amazing Indestructible Gear'.
In an instant, the gear flew out of Gale's hand, pulled by Erin's telekinesis. She caught it in front of her face, her blank eyes suddenly very focused.
"Where did you get this?"
"Asain's room. Back in the tomb, on my first mission."
Erin turned the gear over in her telekinetic grip, examining every nook and corner of the object. A magic circle appeared in front of her eyes, rotating like a lens.
Ollie leaned in to examine the gear with her. "What is it?"
"Pure Yin metal," Erin said. "A metal that absorbs heat with a bottomless appetite. It cannot be forged through conventional means. To forge Pure Yin metal, the resource of Space must be used to bend the metal to the desired shape."
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Gale and Ollie looked at each other.
Wasn't that the metal she said was billions of light years away? He just took it out of curiosity because it sounded like a stupid name for a gear that Asain made. It also sounded like what Vianne would call her creations, just like the shop...
"This single gear can become the main logical core of the synthesis facility," Erin continued. "A much better application than an Origin Shard. It will handle heat dissipation far more efficiently, eliminating the need for external cooling systems."
She set the gear down on her desk.
"Due to this material, the construction time of the synthesis facility will be decreased significantly. We should complete the facility, along with the RAS and encoder, by October 10th. All because of this single piece of metal."
"So smart..." Gale clapped. That was about 3 months away. The expectation was that it would take at least half a year or a year's time before the completion of all three systems, according to rumours that went around the kitchen.
"Your praise is noted," Erin said. "However, you are merely stating the obvious. Therefore, the praise is dismissed."
Gale chuckled. That was totally an Erin response.
"October 10..." Ollie muttered. "Why is are you in such a rush anyway? We have time. The research isn't going anywhere. Money's still coming in."
"The question serves no meaning," Erin said. "We must construct it to fight the oncoming threats. Year over year, rift openings increase by 9%. The trend will continue until the main threat is culled."
"But there's more to this than just that, isn't there? You have a stake in this fight. We can't just rush to build the facility. We have to do it right."
"It is true the building cannot be rushed, however, the schematics provide full fallbacks for any errors that may occur," Erin said. "Haste is of the essence when dealing with the oncoming threat."
"Are we running out of time or something?" Ollie asked. "What is this fight to you, Erin? You've been pushing this project harder than anyone. Harder than me." He turned to Gale. "And you know what I mean."
For 10 exact seconds, Erin didn't speak. Ollie's eyes turned back to her and they just stared at each other. It wasn't a heated argument or anything that Gale could feel, but certainly, Ollie looked like he wanted to know more about the 'why' rather than just the 'how'.
One way or another, the vacation did good things for Ollie.
"The Tide has taken many things away from the living beings that the Four Ancients have nurtured," Erin finally said.
"Stop using excuses." Ollie cut in. "What did you lose in all of this? Not the universe. Not the 'living beings'. What did you lose?"
"My family and my home," Erin said. "Our kind runs from threats that seek to hunt us. Forced half of us to dissent against our duty and obligation, unable to reveal ourselves without risk from the stars that watch above."
Gale slowly nodded... the watching stars? That sounded too much like what was in the Ann Estate library.
"The Rift Aperture System will allow me to train Gale much faster," Erin continued. "By choosing optimal locations for his growth, his development and combat growth will be accelerated. He carries the prototype within him, the key to pushing back the tide."
Ollie stepped back, glancing at both of them. "What are you two?"
"We are a race called the Dainv," Erin said. "Our kind hails from the Four Ancient Ones: Aurumn, Asain, Vianne, and Cev. I am of Vianne's lineage. Gale is of Cev's lineage--the last of his kind."
Wait, was Erin supposed to just say that out loud? Gale gulped. Wasn't that supposed to be kept a secret or something? But if its her choice as the adult, it should be fine. Most definitely.
"The Dainv's duty is to protect the universe against foreign invaders that attempt to annex our space," Erin continued. "The tide is but one of many threats, currently, it is the main one of this era, known as the Collapse Era."
"Collapse Era? That was in the Architect's Tomb..." Ollie muttered. "So you're all part of this cosmic conflict or something?"
"I guess?" Gale shrugged. "I'm still human, though, mostly. Erin is too—"
"I am a Dainv," Erin said.
"Sure you are. And human too. You like eating human food. For science," Gale said, then looked down at his fiddling fingers. "I actually didn't know any of this until I got transported to the Eclipsed. I just thought my parents were a little weird for teaching me how to survive in the woods."
"Huh, how fitting," Ollie said. "Surviving in the dark forest of the universe."
"The universe has a dark forest?" Gale asked.
"Never mind." Ollie face palmed. "Can you at least fill me in on the deets? I wanna know everything if I'm going to be part of this cosmic war."
"You're ok with us being Dainv?" Gale asked.
"Sure, why not," Ollie said. "I got isekai'd into Earth. Weirder shit happened than this, like vampires."
"Vampires are real?"
"Not the same as TV but yeah, they do exist," Ollie said, moving towards the door. "I'll grab snacks."
"Wait!" Gale materialized the pizza box. "I have pizza already. And as sorry for hurting you on that locker."
"Apology accepted." Ollie set down the pizza by Erin's desk and opened it. He took a slice and took a bite. "I'm in this for the long run. If we're going to battle it out against these cosmic fuckers, then at least fill me in so I know what I'm fighting for."
He swallowed, his jaw tightening.
"You know. Unlike last time when I just chased ghosts."
"I thought you'd be more shocked that we're not human," Gale said.
"Already thought about that, actually," Ollie said. "It's just not possible when you killed that Attuned back in the Eclipsed as an Awakened. Annett also said the same thing."
"You still talk to Annett?"
"From time to time. She's, uh..." Ollie looked for a word. "Fun to talk to."
"What do you mean, fun?"
"Just... fun," Ollie said. "She made me start playing a game called Valour Heroes. It's an FPS game."
"No way, the twins have been telling me to play that too," Gale said. "What's your username?"
"Children, if you've gathered your snacks, I shall start my lecture." Erin floated up from her seat. The whiteboard by the side telekinetically moved closer to them along with a dry marker to her hand. "Be prepared. The lecture will begin at the start of the 86 Families Era, approximately 7 billion years ago."
Gale sat down on the floor. It was hard, hearty, and too smooth for his liking, but it would have to do.
"You want a seat?" Ollie asked.
"I'm good. The hard surface is comfy," Gale said.
Thus, Erin began her 4 hour lecture from the 86 Families Era, Eruminv Era, Asainv Era, Urumfmin Era, then Collapse Era. Most of which went in one ear and through the other for Gale. The only Era that he liked listening to was the Asainv Era, as it was the rise of the Asain Dainvs that Erin clearly had strong feelings for.
It reminded him of the many books he read in the orphanage. To him, it sounded like a fantasy story, but instead of elves, tree ents, dwaves, and white mages, it was about their own race. Each bloodline would be good at one thing, but it wasn't biologically defined. Each Dainv that Erin talked about had wildly varying personalities; it's just that some would have a stronger fixation than others, like Master Rashio who was a culinary connaisseur.
Glancing to the side, he saw Ollie's face completely engrossed in Erin's lecture. He was starting to feel like the same guy Gale met from the Eclipsed.
Welcome back, Ollie.