The event of the Stone Wanderer's landing had plunged the A.G.R.A. Sector into an unprecedented atmosphere of chaos and excitement. The immense energy harvested caused every system on the Trash-Dragon to operate at full capacity; lights blazed brilliantly, the air became unusually fresh. But that peace did not last.
Just as the crowd's cheers hadn't yet died down, a strange phenomenon occurred. The space above the Stone Wanderer suddenly warped in a completely different way—not a chaotic tearing, but an orderly folding, like paper being folded into origami.
From within that fold in space-time, a colossal Archetype Body gradually emerged.
It was a massive energy construct, at least fifty meters tall, taking the shape of a carver with unbelievably perfect proportions. Its body was composed of countless, intensely bright golden lines of light, constantly shifting and rearranging; each line was a mathematical equation or an ancient geometric symbol. This wasn't a living entity, but a tool, a mobile forge.
Inside the chest of this Archetype Body, a humanoid figure appeared: a Versatile Carver wearing simple silver-gray attire, his face obscured by a veil of energy mist. In his hands, a hammer and a measuring tool made of pure light shimmered.
"A Carver! A real Carver!" someone in the crowd shouted, their voice full of awe and curiosity.
The Carver ignored the crowd. His entire focus was on the Stone Wanderer. The giant Archetype Body lightly raised an energy hand. Immediately, the seething silver lava rivers on the Stone Wanderer calmed, the crystal forests stopped growing. A zone of total silence, completely isolated, was created around the mountain.
Then the Carver began to work.
He didn't carve brutally. His Archetype Body enveloped the Stone Wanderer. Giant fingers of energy lightly touched the rock surface, and at the points of contact, the stone didn't shatter but rearranged itself. Cracks sealed, the toxic amethyst energy leaks were sucked back in and sealed by intricate patterns. Every line he carved wasn't for decoration, but to redefine the internal structure of the rock, transforming chaos into order, danger into stability.
"He's... reprogramming it," Ember uttered, astonished. She could feel the change in the very fabric of reality around the Stone Wanderer.
Teron, freshly rebooted, immediately directed his sensors towards the Carver. His face screen flickered incessantly.
analyzing... ERROR. archetype_body_energy_signature:_incompatible_with_local_physics.
analyzing_sculpture_patterns... COMPILING... Patterns_match_reality_stabilization_scripts._Efficiency:_99.999%.
conclusion:_target_is_rewriting_local_reality._advised:_do_not_interfere.
"He's rewriting the laws of physics around the mountain," Ember whispered, reading the text on Teron's face.
Celeste was silent, staring intently at the Archetype Body. "Sister Ember... that big machine... it's singing," she said, her voice full of confusion. "A very old, very orderly song. But the 'rock friend'... it's sad. It lost its freedom."
The Carver's work ended quickly. Within mere minutes, the Stone Wanderer was completely immobile, transformed into a magnificent, perfect, and safe structure. All energy leaks had ceased. The Carver, along with his Archetype Body, shrank and vanished into the fold in space-time, without a single word, leaving the stunned crowd in silence.
But the quiet did not return. The A.G.R.A. warning system sounded again, this time with a sharp, urgent alarm.
ATTENTION. MULTIPLE HIGH-ENERGY SIGNATURES DETECTED ON APPROACH TRAJECTORY.
ESTIMATED ARRIVAL: 48 HOURS.
ENTITY DESIGNATION: "THE LIVING TEMPEST" - ENERGY LEVEL: CATASTROPHIC.
ENTITY DESIGNATION: "THE WORLD-ROOT SPORE" - ENERGY LEVEL: PLANETARY.
ENTITY DESIGNATION: "THE OBSERVER OF SILENT EONS" - ENERGY LEVEL: UNMEASURABLE.
The names and energy levels displayed caused the crowd to fall completely silent. The incoming "guests" were exponentially more terrifying. The Garbage-Dragon, with its A.G.R.A., was about to become the epicenter of a cosmic storm.
"Then," Teron beeped again, his screen displaying one final line of text, crimson red and trembling.
INCOMING_PRIORITY_ALERT. PREDICTED_ARRIVAL: 24_HOURS.
ENTITY DESIGNATION: "GRAND MASTER CARVER - KAEL'THAN"
AFFILIATION: THE ARTISAN GUILD OF REALITY.
THREAT LEVEL: COSMIC.
OBJECTIVE: UNKNOWN. SYSTEM_ADVISORY: TOTAL_EVACUATION_RECOMMENDED.
"Grand Master Carver..." Ember repeated, her voice dry. This was no longer just a "guest" or a natural disaster. This was an intelligent entity, part of an organization, with a power level ranked "Cosmic". Even the system recommended total evacuation.
Ember's gaze hardened. She looked towards A.G.R.A., where the giant machines were beginning to slowly rotate again, preparing for the imminent landings. Then she looked at Teron, still weak, and Celeste, with her worried innocence.
"There's nowhere to run," Ember said, her voice heavy but resolute. "The Iron Dragonfly isn't powerful enough to take us out of the impact zone. And Gulp... can't swallow a universe."
She took a deep breath.
"We stay. And we prepare. Not to welcome them, but to try... to survive."
The shadows of the approaching entities loomed over the Trash-Dragon. And the largest shadow, named Kael'than, the Grand Master Carver, was hurtling towards them at a terrifying speed, carrying a mysterious purpose that could determine the fate of all.
The Essence hunt was over. A completely different battle, a confrontation with powers that reshape reality, was about to begin.