The silence in the main research lab of Solendel... was not a peaceful quiet, but a crushing one... as if a vacuum had absorbed all echoes, leaving only the low-frequency hum of a distant bioreactor, like the breathing of a slumbering giant.
At the center of the room... bathed in the soft blue light of an energy field... the carcass of the "Ferrocarne" lay motionless on an analysis platform. It didn't look like the remains of a living creature... but a horrifying sculpture forged from nightmares, metal, and pain. The blue light washed over its twisted, crystalline body... casting flickering shadows across the walls... as if even in death... it still breathed.
Karess stood with his arms crossed, the light from a control panel reflecting off his metal mask... The eyes beneath it held no fear... but the insatiable curiosity of a scientist who had just discovered a deadly new toy. "This isn't just some mutated monster..." he spoke, breaking the uncomfortable silence. "...This is a whole new anomaly we can learn from."
"That's enough, Karess. Don't go getting any crazy ideas," Zaria warned, her voice sharp. She didn't take her eyes off the hologram displaying the creature's internal structure. "Let's just do the most detailed scan we can first... Sora... could you assist?"
"Acknowledged... Commencing deep analysis now," the cool, perfect voice of Sora sounded in everyone's consciousness. A faint, rainbow-colored laser beam... swept across the lifeless body... constructing a complex three-dimensional diagram in the air.
"Biological pattern... a fusion of multiple subterranean species... mole... crab... scorpion... and spider... confirmed, consistent with the initial report from S-81 and Ms. Ava," Sora reported as the hologram deconstructed the creature's anatomy... a main body with a crab-like carapace... two massive pincers used for digging... a head resembling a mole's but modified into something like a mechanical drill... and a sharp, venomous scorpion's tail... It was a picture of evolution twisted to its absolute extreme.
"But... there is one thing that is different... from the initial analysis."
Sora's tone shifted slightly... there was something akin to "surprise" in it.
"I have detected a foreign object... embedded at the core of its biomass... It contains fragments similar to the runic language we use... but its pattern... is far more complex and ancient."
Sora marked the spot with a red light... before projecting a magnified hologram of the object in the air.
It was a plate of matte black metal... that seemed to absorb all light... On its surface... were familiar runic characters... but they were inscribed in overlapping layers, forming something like a complex "sentence" or "incantation"... as if someone had tried to write a "language" on top of the "symbols."
Zen walked closer... his eyes reflecting the ancient script. "This is..." he reached out... touching the cool hologram. "It's like a rune... but also not... Can runes be combined like this to form words? No... it's more than that... It's like a 'language'... written over the runes... What is this?" The energy radiating from the simulation... it felt both familiar and alien... similar to the power of ᛃ (Jera), which meant cycle... ᛞ (Dagaz), which meant awakening... and ᚲ (Kaunan), which meant torch... but all of them were fused into a new meaning he could not comprehend.
"According to ancient discoveries... from before we began our migration and colonization of the stars," Sora interjected, "runes were once used as a 'language'... inscribed in long sentences on objects... similar to casting spells in mythology... but that technology and understanding have been lost... Today... we only know and use 24 runes... plus one... which you created." Sora turned the hologram towards Zen. "What we are using now... compared to this... might just be a 'fragment' of the true language."
"Wait a minute..." Zaria frowned. "If you're saying this is from the 'pre-migration' era... that's thousands of years before our space age... There was no interstellar travel back then... How did a rune this ancient appear on planet CKD-142?"
Silence fell once again... heavier than before... before Sora broke it with the next piece of data.
"Based on carbon dating... and the rate of runic energy decay... this 'Ferrocarne' specimen... is approximately... eighty-four thousand, nine hundred and twenty-four years old."
"No way!!!" Karess and the other researchers exclaimed in unison.
Dr. Enzo... the calmest head of the medical team... even stepped forward. "Sora... are you sure about that scan? Biologically speaking... it's impossible for a creature this complex to have lived that long... The cells must have undergone some degradation!"
"Actually, there's something similar in our era," Lina... the young biology researcher with a thirst for knowledge... spoke up. All eyes turned to her. "Turritopsis dohrnii... anyone?" Everyone just stared at each other blankly. Lina sighed. "Ugh... the immortal jellyfish, people... the immortal jellyfish."
"Ooooh," a collective sound of understanding went through the room.
Dr. Ira... the neuroscience expert... countered, "You're saying it might be similar to that... but a jellyfish barely has a brain... This thing... it has instincts... a brain... there." She pointed at its head. "In that case... what Enzo said is right... it should have degenerated over time!"
The debate was about to begin... but then... Karess said one sentence... that made everyone in the room freeze.
"Uh... everyone... are we really going to argue about the laws of biology and possibility... when all of us have become superheroes like in the manga we read as kids?"
Silence fell over the room again... but this time... it was a silence born of being utterly speechless. "...Well... true," Dr. Enzo muttered. "We can skip that... Let's move on to something else."
Zen gave a dry smile before turning to Sora. "Sora... you'll need to send a team to scan that entire planet... find out its age... and search for any fragments or civilizations similar to this." He pointed to the ancient script hologram. "That's right," Zaria agreed. "We have to do that... We need more data."
"Agreed," Zen concluded. "Everyone... go ahead and research this creature... in your own fields of expertise... If there are any updates... we'll meet again."
The team began to disperse... the sound of chatter returned... the tense atmosphere started to ease... And in that very instant...
"Eh?"
Zen let out a soft sound... before his hand shot up to his temple... the world before him spun... In his head... there were no voices... but the sound of a disconnected radio wave... a static hiss... so sharp it cut deep into his auditory nerves...
SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH—
"Zen!"
Zaria saw something was wrong... Zen's body was about to collapse... She quickly reached out her hand... a golden ring of light appeared at her wrist... before particles of light formed a soft "bed"... catching the leader of Solendel just in time... before his head could hit the metal floor.
"Zen! What's wrong! Zen!"
Everyone rushed over... their calls a chaotic mess... But for Zen... those voices... had already faded away...