The halls of Cintekis, once a symbol of Norgalia's progress and knowledge, now seemed like the skeleton of a dormant mind. Collapsed laboratories, dust-covered servers, and shattered display cases that had once guarded the country's most ambitious inventions lay forgotten among weeds and rust. Every corner seemed to whisper stories of ambition and failure, of forgotten geniuses and secrets that should never have been revealed.
Pablo walked firmly among the rubble and the remains of abandoned experiments. With each step, the crystals on the floor cracked beneath his boots. The walls, covered with graffiti left by former scientists and forgotten notes, seemed to stare at him in silent reproach. At his side was Aresh, a renegade scientist of the previous regime, who had worked in secret for years to preserve part of the knowledge that had not been destroyed by the Republic.
"This was the Central Laboratory of Advanced Energy," said Aresh, observing the towers that barely held their own shadows. "Here, the first plasma batteries to power the capital were designed. Now, not even a spark remains."
Pablo stopped before a collapsed table where lay the remains of a capsule: the prototype of the "eternal node," an energy source capable of sustaining a city for centuries. The project had been banned by the pillars, who considered it a threat to their control over the states.
"We need this," Pablo said, brushing the metallic remains with a mix of respect and determination. "Cintekis must awaken. We cannot rebuild Norgalia without its science."
Aresh nodded, her eyes shining with both nostalgia and fear.
"If we manage to bring it back online, it will be like giving life to the city for the first time since the fall. But it won't be easy. The systems were designed to shut down in case of danger. Many failed attempts killed those who tried to activate them before."
Pablo turned to look at the young engineers who accompanied him, among them Keon, a curious technician who seemed to absorb every word with a hunger for knowledge.
"We are not those who failed before," he said firmly. "This time will be different."
⸻
For weeks, Aresh and her team meticulously restored each section of the Central Laboratory. They uncovered old screens, corroded cables, and plans torn by time. Each day they recovered something new: designs for armor, innovations in hydroponic farming, even forbidden medical records detailing forgotten experiments. Pablo observed each finding with fascination and caution. He knew that every discovery had the power to reshape the reconstruction of the kingdom.
One day, while inspecting a terminal beneath a black Vidrium panel, Keon opened an encrypted folder that did not appear in any record.
"What is this?" Pablo asked, leaning in to see the documents projected on the screen.
"They're not designs," Keon said, eyes wide. "They're records of human experiments."
Silence fell over the group like a heavy cloak. Pablo took a deep breath, his heart quickening at the gravity of what he saw.
The documents described a project called VITALIS. According to the records, during the final years of the monarchy, Marcus, one of the pillars, had convinced King Draven II to allow experiments with "essences of immortality," using low-status citizens as test subjects. The goal: to create a perfect race that could sustain the kingdom forever… and control its decisions.
"This is… monstrous," Pablo muttered, stepping back from the table. "Did my family know about this?"
"Not directly," Aresh replied with a sigh. "But the pillars had unlimited access. No one supervised them. No one could."
⸻
That night, as the wind lashed the towers of Cintekis and the sky turned a spectral red from the reflection of laboratories burning in other parts of the country, something happened. The main generator turned on by itself. A surge ran through the ceilings of the facility, and the lights began to flicker. A robotic voice, distorted by decades of abandonment, echoed from the loudspeakers.
"Scientific unit activated. Restoring observation protocol."
"Shut it down!" Aresh shouted, rushing toward the main console. "That's not an autonomous system, it's a surveillance intelligence!"
Too late. Deep in the underground, a capsule vibrated and a figure began to stir. It was something unknown, something powerful, still alive, trapped in a capsule for decades. Its eyes opened, glowing with a cold, calculating light.
"It can't be…" Keon whispered, stepping back. "What the hell was that?"
⸻
Pablo ordered the chamber sealed and all secondary power sources cut off. Aresh installed automated defenses that activated containment fields around the capsule. No one spoke as they left the building, each step echoing in the empty halls with tension and fear.
"This changes everything," Pablo said, staring at the monitor screen. "We don't just need to reactivate science… we must prepare for what may awaken."
⸻
In the days that followed, Cintekis began to revive. Towers of luminous energy rose into the sky like spears of hope. The first scientific schools reopened their doors, and new laboratories were blessed with ancient discoveries recovered. Groups of young people, some descendants of forgotten scientists, began to work with enthusiasm, learning from the old archives and rediscovering secrets that had remained sealed for generations.
From the main tower, Pablo did not celebrate. He watched the capsule on the monitor, asleep, breathing, waiting. He knew they could not trust the pillars, and that any mistake could destroy the reconstruction before it even began.
⸻
That night, walking through the restored corridors of Cintekis, Pablo and Aresh found a forgotten prototype room. Inside, dark holograms displayed devices capable of purifying the water of all states in minutes, transportation systems able to travel through underground routes, and renewable energies surpassing any modern standard.
"If we use this," Pablo said, touching a hologram that showed a train suspended in the air, "we could reconnect the isolated states in weeks, not months."
"And prevent the pillars from interfering," Aresh added, looking at him intently. "If they are still alive."
The silence that followed was heavy but charged with determination. Pablo understood that restoring the kingdom was not just about rebuilding structures or turning on lights, but about confronting the ghosts of the past, the corruption and secrets that had plunged Norgalia into oblivion.
⸻
In the weeks that followed, Pablo and the scientists conducted experiments to reactivate energy nodes, purify resources, and rebuild vital systems. The engineers worked day and night, exchanging ancient knowledge with improvised new techniques. Each success brought hope, each failure, fear. But Pablo never lost his composure, and his presence instilled courage in the team.
One afternoon, while inspecting a test energy module, Aresh approached Pablo with an urgent report.
"The sensors detected abnormal activity in the capsule. It's not just that creature—there are traces of something else, a surveillance pattern we don't recognize."
"What kind of pattern?" Pablo asked, frowning.
"As if someone had placed invisible cameras, or tiny drones within the underground," Aresh replied. "It's as if they had been waiting for us to appear."
Pablo closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"Then we are not only rebuilding science… we are awakening vigilance. We must move quickly, and carefully."
⸻
Months passed, and Cintekis was transformed. Its streets and towers shone with lights reflecting the rebirth of knowledge. The city, once dead, now vibrated with the hum of 3D printers, holograms, laboratories, and academic debates. Citizens began to return, drawn by the promise of learning and reconstruction.
But Pablo never lost sight of the capsule in the underground, where that being still breathed, dormant and dangerous. He knew its return could be the greatest challenge to the restoration of Norgalia, and that every scientific discovery had to be handled with cunning, strategy, and caution.