His eyes were open, and so was his heart; a surreal experience like never before. The world around him felt different, from its earth to its air, and the moisture in the atmosphere.
Adam had trouble with expectations; he ran from them all his life. He liked to take things at his own pace. Then the apocalypse happened, and he came to learn one important fact: no matter what the others say or do, his independent choices led to his survival and the current situation where he is now thriving in a base filled with military might that is warding off winter, whereas the rest of the world is dying in the blizzard.
It gave him confidence, it gave him purpose, and it gave him character.
The buzz around him never stopped: Solana was trying to separate him from the Esper puppet, Megan was trying to talk him into changing this plan, and Captain Creed was reminding them both that any abrupt intervention in any sort of mental link could lead to catastrophe.
Their voices clouded Adam's thoughts, and with a commanding voice that he wasn't even aware he had, Adam spoke one word.
"Enough!"
≪ Your [Charisma] has improved! (VII → VIII) ≫
His presence filled the room in an instant, demonstrating that the man who could summon an army from resin and plastic possessed different aspects of might within him, enough to make the immortal paladin, the zealous nun, and the concerned soldiers all stand their ground with a single command.
They may have power, but he's in charge; he always has been.
All eyes turned to him as he was immediately hugged by Megan, who then looked into his face.
"Are you alright? What happened just now? The puppet touched you and screamed and…"
As she was about to lay out her concerns to him, he aimed his hand towards the Esper puppet and, with a snap of his fingers, immediately called it back to his hand, turning it from a puppet to a miniature. This was a new trick that surprised everyone in the room, but as for Adam, he was already having his own fill of surprises; he almost grew numb, until…
≪ System Alert! ≫
≪ The [Puppeteer Rune] is exhibiting signs of growth. With your major contribution, your conceptualization will be reflected in its further growth. Use wisdom as you guide this child into adolescence. ≫
"You've got to be kidding me!"
Even the System wasn't holding its punches, delivering a message similar to the Force Rune Adam had just met.
Wait!
Adam thought about the message and the aspects of the System in and of itself, now realizing what the tree meant.
The tree is the System; the Elder Runes are part of it. The System is all their voices combined, like the Sage skill, but on super steroids. The first Sage started chirping a flow of intense realizations.
Every kind of Rune, especially the Eldest Six—Mind, Fate, Power, Force, Essence, Bending—all show traces in the grand mechanics of the System. Mind is the mainframe, Fate is the guiding software, Power is the amplifier that gives new experience points, Force is the link that reaches all, Essence is the transmuter of energy, and Bending is the control over every aspect. The second Sage joined in happily.
≪ Your [Sage] has improved! (II → III) ≫
And this was when a wild third Sage joined the party.
Oh! Hey, guys. Since we are on the point of the System, I'm just saying that the Elder Six Runes are exactly what you expect from the Runes of Magic Casting, as we classified them. This is great, right? With our Puppets proving that they can bear runes for themselves and then be commanded directly by the Puppeteer Rune, we can basically become the Avatar of all Runes! The third Sage said, beaming with excitement.
"Fuck!" Adam exclaimed outwardly. "And now the Sage levels up."
Adam immediately shooed the extra mind that popped up in his brain into the subconscious along with the others and told them to keep quiet, before finally calming himself.
"I am fine," he answered Megan's question, and felt his heart beating more calmly now that he saw Megan's face. "As long as you're with me, I'll take on the whole world."
In a sudden rush of emotion, Adam leaned on Megan and hugged her, his feelings still conflicted about everything he had just gone through.
On the other hand, Megan kept him close and comforted him with a lighthearted chuckle:
"You don't have to take on the whole world, you know. We're trying to save it here."
"Right!" Adam agreed, before letting go of her after some time. "I don't think it's as simple as killing monsters and saving lives anymore." He then proceeded to take a couple of steps away from her and exhaled a frustrated sigh. "The world just got a whole lot bigger."
"You're saying?" She turned to him.
"Something is coming," Adam said, disregarding the craziness he was about to utter, just in time as Elena, Kave, and the rest of the crew showed up. "The Rune spoke with me, and it told me things that you will find most difficult to believe. But most critical of all was the existence of a world far greater than what we know. The rest of the universe has reached out to this world, and now, it's time for us to reach back."
He then stepped onto a part of the furnace compartments and stood on top of it, addressing his people the way a leader should.
"Those of you who are from another universe, this must be another Tuesday. Those of us who are natives, welcome to the new world. We just got introduced to our neighbors, and we lost 19 out of every 20 of us. As far as statistics go, we aren't even holding the short end of the stick; we were whacked with it to death."
He saw the expressions of torturous understanding on the other dozen Earthlings who joined them in the furnace, and they shared a moment of grief, a lamentation for a world no more.
"Brothers and sisters, your tenacity is commendable, and your spirit is unbreakable. Monsters are trying to inherit this world, but we still endure even on the fringe of ruins. We shall crawl back, and we shall take our world, every inch of it. We'll purify it with blood if we have to, ours and theirs. And if we are strong enough, and when we are strong enough, we'll take to the Rifts, we'll go to the other side, and we'll cut a bloody swath in the homes of every xenos filth."
He said with power and hate, hitting his chest with his fist, leaking a kind of emotion he never knew he could muster this freely.
"Out there, beyond these gates, there is a world in the shape of a tree, one where the Runes dwell, powers potent enough for thoughts and reality to mix together. One where they, who should be as powerful as Gods, giving others the System and magic, are falling prey to Dragons and Gobzkin, and aren't even able to fend off their young. We thought the System a gift from the Almighty, but it was a plea for help. The savior needs saving, the wolves are literally at the door, the victim must rise, and fate must bend."
Finally, he felt calm as he let out a fraction of what he found out from a lengthy conversation with the living rune. He, too, needed some venting, but even as he only let out a fraction of what he learned, he realized that the Rune he met must have barely told him a fraction as well, just the same as him, a helpless soul looking for an outlet.
Adam forced his voice to be calmer, his eyes to be more composed, and his word choice to strike deeper.
"Brothers and sisters, this is a day that you must not forget, one that is just as critical as the day our ancestors discovered fire. Carve it into your memories, for today we muster the great power of not simply fire, but the very sun itself, pure and holy."
He then jumped down and walked towards the center of the Holy Furnace, unhindered and unbothered. There was the central pillar that contained the Atenite Cradle; in its heart lay the Solstone. Energy-conductive fibers reached down to the Central Furnace and then went up to the Sun Disk.
Once activated, this whole construct will emit the power of the sun itself, enough to burn anything alive or dead a thousand times over into indestructible powder, Solymer ash.
But despite all that, everyone remained still, waiting for the ushering of the new age. At the forefront were Adam, Creed, Megan, Elena, Kave, Solana, and their core personnel and guards. At the back, there were other Wartopians and Earthlings, all the camp now drawn to the great event ensuing, mostly murmuring about the announcement Adam just made, unaware of the fact that Adam had subtly recalled his Esper puppet back into full form.
"Lord Paladin!" From the front, Adam called Creed, who walked closer to him. This was a sign of acknowledgment to the growing Commander, whose presence could no longer be ignored. "This will be shocking to you, more than it was shocking to me, but once the stone ignites, your voice will be the only thing that will keep their faith strong."
Captain Creed grew confused all of a sudden, but something within him suddenly awakened to a hunch he was privy to, but didn't think would be true.
He stood there, the gears of his mind grinding, as he thought of every possible scenario Adam could be talking about. Even the Paladin couldn't have asked for more, as Adam was now standing with his Esper puppet close enough to the pillar. It felt difficult to look at, with the hatch to the Atenite Cradle opening and the puppet walking two steps towards it.
Adam stood behind his puppet and, with his hand, gripped its head and channeled all his power through, reaching into the Rune once again. No attunement needed, and even after passing the spiral of energies, Adam was in full control.
He simply grabbed the power he was looking for, and with his other hand, the physical one, he took out an old vintage lighter that had been salvaged a few weeks back, saved from Solana's purge of wicked sources of fossil fuels. With a flick, a steady tongue of flame came out after a spark.
Next, it was the Esper's turn. Adam was practically behind its wheel as it reached a hand for the flame atop the lighter. With strange, controlled movements, the Esper puppet began to pull the flame, which suddenly elongated under its command. Then, like a whip, the fire moved and struck the brilliantly glowing Solstone within the Atenite Cradle.
Ding!
It rang, as if struck by a hammer, and heat erupted.
"By Sol! It is working!" Solana, whose faith in the process was already so little, cast aside her cynicism and fell to her knees. "Pray with me, brothers and sisters, for the blessings of the world. May this planet be saved and purified. Ave Sacrum Systema Solis! Ave Imperator!"
All Wartopians fell to their knees, Creed included. The Earthlings lagged behind; some followed, especially Kave, who had long since embraced the Solar Dogma. Other Earthlings, who were Christians, made the sign of the cross and joined hands in prayer, while Brains (Qasim) and one other recruit stepped away and faced the qibla (Mecca's direction).
The prayer was a desperate call, a plea for the heavens to listen, to save this world, and to avert the grim fate that had befallen it.
To those who prayed, the answer came neither too late nor too soon. It came just in time as the hearts and souls of everyone pleaded for a miracle.
It came in bright white light, a flame with gentle heat, a power that broke the chill in the air and expelled the cold. The next thing everyone saw was the brightness of pure light overflowing through the Holy Furnace, filling the world with light and grace.
As the veins carried light and heat down to the furnace, it rumbled not with a mechanical roar, but with a deep hum, one that sent power up through its outer veins as they started to travel towards the Sun Disk. Soon, light and fire would make the wondrous testament of the new era, the Holy Furnace, a monolith that would herald the Solar Age on Earth.
The Earthlings exclaimed all words of shock as the flame that erupted above the Sun Disk started to emit heat that melted away the snow all over the hill, and slowly the factories all around the base started roaring with mechanical movement as the machines were finally powered by the effect of eight Solar Plants, buffed by the holy light.
Down at the civilian base, the Senator and Bailiff of the town, who had been sworn into his office by Adam just a couple of hours ago, were organizing his documents as a brilliant light came from the window right next to him. In the same room, Professor Anthony Hendrick appeared taken with frustration, as it seemed he had just had an argument with Senator Carter, but he also responded to the light the same way the Senator did, all wide-eyed and mouth agape.
"What on Earth?!" The Professor approached the window and asked, "Is this some experiment going wrong?"
The Senator walked right next to him, his old, wrinkled face and white beard trembling for a second as he became lost for words. He then felt the warmth coming from that white light, and as it settled, he could only mutter:
"Burning just as bright, Adam Clay."
The Professor turned to him with a frown, but the latter only tightened his grip on the window's railing. As he turned to the Professor, their conversation was merely beginning now that things were progressing this way.
Back in the Furnace, while the Earthlings were starting to celebrate, the Wartopians had different expressions. These started with shock and fright, then settled with questioning. Some even showed anger, as in the case of Flint the Fanatic, but it was Solana and Creed who watched with clear concern.
"This is… wrong!" Solana spoke, her eyes narrowed as she watched the bright light. "This isn't nearly as strong as it should be… and the light… Sol Imperius' blessings only come from his golden light."
She then stepped towards Adam, who was almost drained from the toll of the effort he had just exerted, and spoke to him:
"Brother-Commander! This rite of ignition was performed under unorthodox parameters. The Furnace… it is flawed." Her voice carried a hint of clear anger. "This is clear heretechia!"
"Yes," Adam replied, his voice shaken. "But it is not for the Esper's use, sister."
He stood straight and walked towards the Atenite Cradle that was emitting powerful heat, then reached his hand through its hatch and proceeded with an attempt to touch the stone.
"NO!"
Solana and the nearest few Troopers all went into panic mode, running towards Adam and pulling his hand away from the cradle, even dragging him away. If he had touched the Atenite Solstone, even in its dormant state, let alone when activated, his mortal shell would have burnt a thousand times over.
"Are you mad?" Solana roared, but past her, another figure walked towards the Cradle, one that was already there, reaching in towards the Stone.
They all turned as the power that would have burnt any human on mere touch, save for Saints and Sunforged, simply brushed the skin of the young man, with no apparent harm whatsoever. Rather, it gave his skin a healthy sheen and lively hue.
Kave turned to them, an expression of temporary sanity possessed his face, but the words he uttered proved him madder than a hatter:
"This is not what you think it is." He said, and a crazed smile formed over his face, but his voice was low enough not to cause an even greater uproar, "The system is calling it a Seed of Light!"
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