The TradeNet rippled with rare pulses of activity.
Every trader—new or legendary—was converging. It was the Nexus Point, a once-in-a-cycle convergence where fractured dimensions aligned just enough to allow trade between normally incompatible realms.
The invitation came as a golden data bloom in Kai's panel:
[You are invited to the Nexus Point – Restricted Entry for Traders Rank 3+]Duration: 48 Galactic HoursLocation: Cross-Realm Bazaar – Drift Sector BetaEntry Fee: 250 Credits or Nexus Reputation TokenAttunement Required: Anchor-Stabilized Ship Core
Kai's ship, the Silent Margin, trembled in anticipation. She wasn't built for the multiverse, not yet, but the dimensional stabilizer he'd recently acquired might just be the edge he needed.
The Upgrade
Back in his vault, Kai placed the fragmented Dimensional Stabilizer Core into his trade assembler and fed it energy from the micro-reactor he'd bought and bartered from a Vorn engineer.
The core shimmered erratically, then stabilized.
Dimensional Stabilizer Core (Upgraded)Status: FunctionalDescription: Grants access to Nexus-limited spaces and dimensional trade zones.Side Effect: May draw attention from high-tier entities.
He felt it—the subtle shift as his ship synced with the broader universe.
With a surge of confidence, he activated his route beacon and leapt to Drift Sector Beta.
The Cross-Realm Bazaar
Kai gasped.
A floating island, stitched together from the remnants of hundreds of realms, orbited a dying star. No laws governed it—only contracts.
He docked behind a crystalline cruiser flying the banner of the Seven-Eyed Consortium, then stepped into the Bazaar.
Smells of alien spices, the hiss of portal flames, the flicker of cybernetic auctioneers—it was chaos refined by tradition.
He passed booths trading:
Singing weapons from emotion-powered realities
A memory bottled in a time-locked gem
Seeds from worlds destroyed by their own greed
Kai didn't rush.
Instead, he followed Zael's journal to a faded merchant shrine nestled in an alley of forgotten things.
Legacy Awakened
The shrine's merchant, a blind, stone-skinned entity, whispered in Kai's mind.
"You bear Zael's path. Trade is not profit. Trade is exchange. You give... or you are consumed."
It offered him a deal:
Legacy Perk Unlocked: Echo of EquilibriumFor every trade that benefits the buyer more than yourself, gain [Trade Karma].Trade Karma can be exchanged later for cosmic-level access and favors.
Kai blinked. It wasn't raw power. It was credibility—the kind only Sovereigns once wielded.
His First Nexus Trade
A desperate trader approached—a young woman from the shadow realm Dharuun, trying to sell off her father's dying transport node.
The node was worthless to most.
To Kai? It was a relic that could be stripped for quantum bones, which the Garnet Builders prized.
They agreed on a modest trade: 300 CU for the node, which most considered junk.
He turned around and sold its core to the Builders for 1,100 CU.
She thanked him with tears in her eyes. He smiled back—but he also earned +1 Trade Karma.
Building Reputation
By the end of his first Nexus day, Kai had:
Sold outdated solar converters to a medieval mage realm
Bought rare crystal symbiotes from a decay world
Traded emotional dust from grieving souls for starlight-ink used in legal contracts
Each trade nudged his standing higher.
Status Update
Trader Rank: 4.2CU Balance: 2,050Credits: 380Reputation: Nexus Minor Circle (+6), Pale Listener Fringe (+3)Titles: Void-Buyer, Nexus InitiateLegacy Perk: Echo of Equilibrium (1 Trade Karma)Sovereign Path Progress: 55%Assets:
Trade Karma (1)
Dimensional Stabilizer Core
TradeMap Expansion Token
Crystal Symbiote Samples (x3)
As the Nexus winds swirled around him, Kai stood still.
For the first time, he wasn't just surviving.
He was playing the game. And soon, he'd be the one rewriting its rules.