161 A BRAVE NEW WORLD
The next day, Kalmer called him back to the lab. Rows of glowing chips floated in a containment field.
"I've integrated Echo protocols into every fusion skill you've used before," Kalmer explained. "Once injected, they'll help your body synchronize with the new echo functions."
"Perfect. Do it," Damen said, climbing into the treatment tank.
The chips dissolved into his bloodstream like drops of light. His body trembled as his cores aligned to the new instructions.
When he finally stepped out, steam rising off his skin, he flexed his arm. "Is that it?"
Kalmer handed him a data slate. "Two new functions: Echo Out and Echo In. Echo Out releases your meta attacks in expanding waves—perfect for crowd control. Echo In, however, repeats the same meta strike at a single point—ideal for crushing bosses."
Damen smiled, his eyes sharp with satisfaction. "That's exactly what I needed."
-----
The business trip ended earlier than expected.
With the shipment delivered and the engineers at Fortress Myrone now handling the assembly of the meta-artillery, Damen and Liorea had little reason to stay.
They returned to Melrose City and went straight to Zairgid's office.
Zairgid's eyes widened as Liorea began unloading crates of meta artifacts. The faint shimmer of energy from the alien parts filled the room with a soft hum.
"By the gods," Zairgid said, "that's a year's worth of meta artifacts. How did you even get all this? What did you trade with Lord Nicaesa… your soul?"
Damen waved him off. "Don't worry about that. The question is…can you sell them all?"
Zairgid rubbed his chin. "Our Aukouma auction house here can take maybe a third of these. The rest… we'd have to store them. We're already squeezing the local families dry by selling at premium prices. A surge in supply would force price down."
"Then we wait," Damen said. "No reason to sell cheap. Let the demand build up."
Zairgid's eyes suddenly lit up. "Wait, what about Silver City? The Aukouma family runs an auction branch there. I can make the arrangements to move the rest."
Damen nodded thoughtfully. "That's actually perfect. I've been planning to visit Silver City anyway. Melrose doesn't have any proper academies or research institutes. I want to check them out."
Zairgid raised a brow. "You? Going back to school? What about GenSyn?"
Damen smirked. "We're still young, Zairgid. Education is an investment into the future. Besides…" He grinned, "I heard the girls in Silver City's colleges are a lot more… exciting than the ones back here."
That got Zairgid laughing. "Buddy, you're absolutely right. The maidens of higher education await!"
Damen clapped him on the shoulder. "Then it's settled. Pack your bags—Silver City, we go."
-----
There were no highways leading out of Melrose City.
Few people ever drove beyond its limits. For most of their lives, citizens remained within the city walls. The only routes out were by air—or by the city's lone train line.
Damen and his friends arrived at the old but ornate train station. Its high ceiling was lined with statues and carvings depicting the wars that followed Armageddon.
They paused to take in the sight, awed by the relic of a world that had nearly ended.
"This is the first time I've been to the train station," Zairgid said.
"Really? How did you travel the world then?" Kail asked.
"By air, of course. My family owns a private aircraft," Zairgid replied. "But I couldn't get one on short notice. The train's faster this time."
"It's fine," Liorea said. "I've never been on a train before. This feels… exciting."
Before long, their train arrived. It glided out of the station and into a long, dark tunnel. Minutes passed before a pale light appeared ahead.
"We're finally out of the city," Zairgid said with relief.
But they weren't outside.
The light revealed not open skies but a shimmering corridor—a transparent tunnel of force field encasing the tracks.
"Why is there a barrier around the whole route?" Damen asked.
"There's much you don't know about the world outside, people don't talk about it much…it's not relevant to their lives," Zairgid murmured.
They turned and looked back.
Melrose City shimmered behind them—a metropolis enclosed within a vast, glowing dome.
"I've never seen that dome before," Damen said quietly.
"That's because you've never stepped outside," Zairgid replied. "We live peacefully in the city only because that dome protects us—from what's out there."
Kail frowned. "What's so dangerous outside?"
"After Armageddon, everything fell apart," Zairgid explained. "Wars, radiation, collapse. The land was poisoned. Some of it still is. And the wildlife… changed. Meta awakenings and radiation twisted them into things far stronger and far more dangerous than before. The governments built domed cities as safe zones. Inside, life could go on. Outside…"
He paused, watching the distorted wilderness blur past beyond the barrier.
"…outside is what's left of the old world."
----
After an hour's ride, the train slowed to a halt. A soft chime rang through the cabins, followed by a voice from the speakers:
"Dear passengers, our train will stop at Station Forty-Four for a scheduled maintenance break. You may exit and explore the farm and its attractions during this time."
Curious, they stepped off the train.
The farm was encased within its own smaller dome of shimmering light like an enormous greenhouse.
Fields of green stretched as far as the eye could see. Drones drifted silently overhead, spraying mist across rows of crops, while android workers tended to the soil with mechanical precision.
"These farms are so vast and beautiful," Liorea said, spinning slowly as she took in the view.
"I've never seen fields this wide," Kail admitted. "In fact, I've never seen a real farm before—not inside Melrose City."
"That's not surprising," Zairgid replied. "Melrose is mining cum industrial hub. There's no space for agriculture inside. The farms are all out here, along the rail lines. The trains collect the produce and send them back to the cities."
Liorea's eyes sparkled. "Let's go pick some fruits."
"Are you sure?" Kail asked, hesitant. "Wouldn't they catch us for stealing?"
Liorea grinned. "Why worry? There are only drones here. Just tell them to give us their strawberries."
"Yeah…you're right", he replied.
Before anyone could stop her, she tugged Kail along toward the fields. The two vanished among rows of glowing crops, laughing like children discovering sunlight for the first time.
Damen remained by the fence, watching them. He found himself oddly quiet, his mind processing everything he'd seen on this journey.
The world was far more complex than he had ever imagined.
In school, no one taught them about life beyond the dome.
Nobody left the city, and nobody questioned what lay outside. For most of their lives, they had lived in a bubble—content, protected, and blind.
But out here, beyond Melrose's shining dome, the world was alive and …. Deadly.
Suddenly, a thunderous impact shook the ground. The air shimmered as ripples raced across the dome overhead.
A deafening alarm blared through the farm.
Red warning lights pulsed across the fields as the drones froze midair, then switched to defense mode—rotors spinning, sensors flaring crimson.
"What the hell is happening?" Zairgid shouted, shielding his face from the wind.
The ground trembled again.
Beyond the dome's translucent barrier, dark shapes moved—massive and distorted, circling like predators.
Damen's expression hardened. "Brace yourself."