Global Awakening: Apocalypse Ender's Chronicle

Merlin slowly approached the strange vessel, his curiosity gradually overcoming the caution that had kept him alive for so many years.

He circled around the enormous disk several times, carefully examining its smooth metallic surface. There were no visible doors, windows, or control panels anywhere on its body...

Even the underside appeared almost completely seamless, as though the entire vessel had been constructed from a single piece of metal.

”It doesn’t have any obvious controls.”

Merlin placed his palm against the hull.

The moment his skin touched the metal, the entire chamber suddenly trembled.

Whum!

A faint blue light appeared beneath his hand and rapidly spread across the surface of the vessel. Within seconds, countless lines of light traveled across the disk-shaped hull, forming complicated patterns that Merlin couldn’t recognize.

His expression immediately became serious.

”What in the world is happening?”

Merlin instinctively raised his staff, prepared to defend himself, but the energy surrounding him didn’t contain any hostility.

Instead, a strange force suddenly descended from the center of the vessel and enveloped his body.

He felt something enter his mind.

It wasn’t spiritual energy, nor was it any form of magic he had encountered before.

It was information.

For an instant, Merlin’s mind was flooded with images of distant stars, strange planets, enormous celestial structures, and worlds that he had never even imagined existed.

He saw countless coordinates and unfamiliar symbols, followed by information about the vessel itself.

The amount of knowledge was so overwhelming that Merlin almost staggered backward.

”What...”

He quickly withdrew his hand, but the connection didn’t disappear.

A mechanical voice suddenly echoed throughout the chamber.

[ Biological lifeform detected. ]

Merlin paused as he was surprised by the mysterious voice.

[ Neural compatibility confirmed. ]

[ Previous command authority unavailable. ]

[ Searching for replacement authority. ]

Merlin’s eyes narrowed.

”Replacement authority?”

The machine didn’t answer his question.

Instead, another series of mechanical announcements followed.

[ No authorized administrator detected. ]

[ Initiating provisional command transfer. ]

Merlin was completely stunned as he was unsure whether to stay or escape now.

A faint blue symbol suddenly appeared on the back of his hand.

At the same time, he felt an unfamiliar connection forming between himself and the enormous vessel. It was almost as though another part of his consciousness had suddenly been connected to the ship.

Merlin could sense its internal structure.

”This is interesting...”

He could feel the enormous energy core buried deep within its body... the systems responsible for propulsion, the defensive mechanisms surrounding the vessel, and countless other functions that he couldn’t fully understand yet.

More importantly, he could control them.

Merlin stared at his hand for several seconds before slowly looking back at the vessel.

”You gave me authority?”

There was no verbal response.

The blue symbol on his hand simply pulsed once...

Merlin’s expression gradually changed into disbelief.

He had spent his entire life studying magic, yet this single vessel contained technology that completely surpassed his understanding of conventional spellcraft.

He hesitated for a moment before giving his first command.

”Activate the main systems.”

The response came fast...

The rings surrounding the disk began rotating, and brilliant blue lights illuminated the entire chamber. Deep within the vessel, something enormous began to awaken.

The floor beneath Merlin’s feet trembled as the ship’s systems came online one after another.

Merlin couldn’t help but smile.

”So this is what Shane came here to investigate...”

He suddenly stopped, and a different thought occurred to him.

”No.”

A faint smile appeared on his face.

”Shane hasn’t found this yet.”

Just like that, Merlin realized that he had discovered something that even Shane might not know about.

He turned toward the massive disk-shaped vessel...

”Now, let’s see what you can really do.”

***

In the meantime, by this point, Shane had already searched most of the accessible sections of the First Citadel except from the area that Merlin had gone into.

They had discovered the laboratory where Sylas and Sandara had been transformed into Bloodforged Automatons, recovered both of them, and gathered enough information about the facility’s technology to understand that continuing to explore blindly would be inefficient.

There were still a few unexplored areas scattered throughout the enormous Floating Island, but Shane had no intention of spending days breaking through every corridor and chamber himself.

Instead, he thought of someone who could search the island far more efficiently.

”Fiona.”

Shane immediately opened his System Interface and sent her a message.

[ Shane: Fiona, I need a favor. ]

The response came surprisingly quickly.

[ Fiona: What kind of favor? ]

Shane briefly explained the situation, telling her about the enormous Floating Island and the countless hidden structures belonging to the First Citadel. He also asked her to have her rats spread throughout the island and search every accessible area for anything unusual, especially hidden entrances, laboratories, terminals, or anything related to the Anima Civilization.

There was a short pause.

Then Fiona replied.

[ Fiona: So you want my rats to search the entire island? ]

[Shane: Yes, please... ]

[ Fiona: Fine. ]

[ Fiona: But I want something in exchange. ]

Shane couldn’t help but smile as he expected as much...

[ Shane: What do you want? ]

Fiona’s answer came almost immediately.

[ Fiona: A Mech Frame. I know I requested my personalized Warden Units before. But now, I want my own Mech Frame. Even if not the same size as the Aegis ones. ]

Shane stared at the message for several seconds before laughing.

”Of course.”

Considering Fiona’s personality, he probably should have expected something like this.

[ Shane: You want your own Mech Frame? ]

[ Fiona: Yes. Everyone else gets to use those giant machines, so why should I be left out? My rats can search the entire island, and you give me one. ]

Shane shook his head with amusement.

He couldn’t exactly blame her.

The Mech Frames had already demonstrated their value for a long time and giving Fiona one would also allow her to directly participate in future battles instead of relying entirely on her rats.

[ Shane: Deal. ]

[Fiona: Really?]

[ Shane: I’ll arrange one for you soon. Just make sure your pets will search every corner of the island. ]

A moment later, Fiona sent another message.

[ Fiona: It’s a promise! I’ll start immediately. ]

Shane put away his System Interface as he saw the reply.

”That should make things much easier.”

With Fiona’s rats searching the Floating Island, there was no reason for his team to continue wasting time combing through every hidden corridor themselves.

They had already obtained what they needed from the First Citadel for now.

More importantly, Sylas and Sandara were safe, even if their memories remained lost.

For now, they would just ensure that not a single machine would get out of this Citadel.

Shane then looked toward the enormous chamber one last time.

There were undoubtedly countless secrets still buried beneath the Floating Island.

But they would have plenty of time to uncover them.

For now, it was time to leave.

”Let’s go back to the Mist Shelter.”