The gauntlet had always been warm.
Not burning, not pulsing — just alive, like it was breathing faintly beneath Ken's skin.
His great-grandfather had worn it once, or so the family said. Then his grandfather sealed it in a glass case and told everyone to forget. "A relic," they called it. "A fragment from an age that never existed."
Now it sat on Ken's dorm desk at Aetherion Academy, catching stray light from the holo-screens around him — a gleam of gold and red amid the sterile blues of the campus night. Outside, stormclouds rippled with electric veins.
It was the third week of classes, and Ken Asakura already felt the weight of every expectation pressing down. Physics assignments, combat drills, code design. Taro kept joking that "college life" meant surviving caffeine, not cosmic destiny.
Then, the storm hit.
Lightning danced across the Academy spires like veins in glass. The digital panels flickered, then bled static. A voice — no, a resonance — whispered through the floor, the walls, the pulse of Ken's heartbeat.
"Heir of the Vigilant Line… your time has come."
Ken turned. The gauntlet wasn't on the desk anymore.
It hovered in the air, spinning slowly, shards of red light orbiting it like planetary rings.
"Taro?" Ken called out, half-expecting his friend to barge in with a bad joke. No answer. The storm outside bent inward, lightning flashing in silence.
The gauntlet snapped forward — and clamped onto his arm.
Pain, light, sound — all collapsed into one brilliant rupture. The world fell away, replaced by a vast expanse of broken constellations and golden circuitry stretching into infinity. A figure loomed there — humanoid, but vast beyond sense. Fragments of armor. Wings of shifting crystal.
"The Aether Nexus remembers its Warden."
Ken's breath hitched. "Who are you?"
"One who once stood where you stand. The Order has fallen. The balance fractures. Take up the Lock, child of man, before the Rift consumes all worlds."
The vision shattered.
Ken woke on the floor, the gauntlet fused to his arm, lines of golden energy crawling up his veins. The storm outside had vanished — replaced by stillness. The holo-screens flickered back online, displaying a symbol he'd never seen before:
A dragon encircling a ring of six stars.
By morning, he couldn't take it off.
Taro gawked when he saw it. "Bro… you've gone full cyber-mystic!"
"I didn't put it on," Ken muttered. "It put me on."
Before they could argue, the academy alarms screamed — deep, guttural tones that shook the floor. Students ran for shelter as cracks of purple energy tore through the air outside the glass corridors.
Something emerged from those cracks.
A beast — metallic flesh, molten eyes, a shape that looked like it was trying to decide if it was alive or not. A Rift Aberrant.
Ken didn't think. The gauntlet glowed. Four cards materialized around him, spinning like mirrors of light. A small crystal orb appeared in his palm.
He heard it again — that same whisper:
"Reality—Rewrite."
Instinct took over. "AETHERLOCK ENGAGE!"
Light exploded. Armor formed. Red and white plates assembled around him, sealing into place with a flash of gold. A crimson visor locked over his face.
Ken stood reborn. The Red Aether Ranger.
He moved on instinct. The gauntlet hummed, cards flashing random sigils. Super Strength. Fire Manipulation. Teleportation. Power rushed through him like a second heartbeat.
He vanished in a flash — reappeared mid-air — slammed his palm into the Aberrant's chest. Flames surged from his gauntlet, forming into a blazing blade that cleaved through its body. The creature screamed, its form fracturing into shards of dark Aether.
When it died, the storm came again — but this time, the lightning formed a circle.
Ken was lifted off his feet, light swallowing him whole.
He landed somewhere underground — a massive chamber filled with golden circuitry and glowing pillars.
Before him floated a tall, armored figure — half energy, half human — and beside her, a hovering metallic orb with glowing blue eyes.
"Welcome, Ranger," the figure said, voice firm yet warm. "I am Commander Lysara Shaw-Drake, and this is Korrin. You've just awakened something the universe hasn't seen in centuries."
Ken stared, still catching his breath. "What… what just happened?"
Lysara smiled faintly. "You've taken the first step toward becoming an Aetherlock Ranger."
The orb bobbed excitedly. "Oh, this is going to be fun! Just wait until the others show up — oh, yes, there will be others."
Ken frowned. "Others?"
The Commander turned toward a holographic map — five pulsing lights scattered across the planet.
"Five others, to be precise. Each linked by the Aether Line. Each destined to stand beside you."
And somewhere in the darkness beyond, another presence stirred — ancient, broken, and patient.
"A new Vigilant rises? Then let them try to stop me."
Lightning flickered through the abyss as Lord Zaikar opened his eyes.
Prologue: "Awakening of the Aetherlock"
(Written in the tone blend of Shadow Slave's gritty introspection, The Primal Hunter's wonder, Lord of Mysteries' mystery, Percy Jackson's character voice, and Malazan's epic gravitas.)
~ Approx. 900 words ~
The gauntlet had always been warm.
Not burning, not pulsing — just alive, like it was breathing faintly beneath Ken's skin.
His great-grandfather had worn it once, or so the family said. Then his grandfather sealed it in a glass case and told everyone to forget. "A relic," they called it. "A fragment from an age that never existed."
Now it sat on Ken's dorm desk at Aetherion Academy, catching stray light from the holo-screens around him — a gleam of gold and red amid the sterile blues of the campus night. Outside, stormclouds rippled with electric veins.
It was the third week of classes, and Ken Asakura already felt the weight of every expectation pressing down. Physics assignments, combat drills, code design. Taro kept joking that "college life" meant surviving caffeine, not cosmic destiny.
Then, the storm hit.
Lightning danced across the Academy spires like veins in glass. The digital panels flickered, then bled static. A voice — no, a resonance — whispered through the floor, the walls, the pulse of Ken's heartbeat.
"Heir of the Vigilant Line… your time has come."
Ken turned. The gauntlet wasn't on the desk anymore.
It hovered in the air, spinning slowly, shards of red light orbiting it like planetary rings.
"Taro?" Ken called out, half-expecting his friend to barge in with a bad joke. No answer. The storm outside bent inward, lightning flashing in silence.
The gauntlet snapped forward — and clamped onto his arm.
Pain, light, sound — all collapsed into one brilliant rupture. The world fell away, replaced by a vast expanse of broken constellations and golden circuitry stretching into infinity. A figure loomed there — humanoid, but vast beyond sense. Fragments of armor. Wings of shifting crystal.
"The Aether Nexus remembers its Warden."
Ken's breath hitched. "Who are you?"
"One who once stood where you stand. The Order has fallen. The balance fractures. Take up the Lock, child of man, before the Rift consumes all worlds."
The vision shattered.
Ken woke on the floor, the gauntlet fused to his arm, lines of golden energy crawling up his veins. The storm outside had vanished — replaced by stillness. The holo-screens flickered back online, displaying a symbol he'd never seen before:
A dragon encircling a ring of six stars.
By morning, he couldn't take it off.
Taro gawked when he saw it. "Bro… you've gone full cyber-mystic!"
"I didn't put it on," Ken muttered. "It put me on."
Before they could argue, the academy alarms screamed — deep, guttural tones that shook the floor. Students ran for shelter as cracks of purple energy tore through the air outside the glass corridors.
Something emerged from those cracks.
A beast — metallic flesh, molten eyes, a shape that looked like it was trying to decide if it was alive or not. A Rift Aberrant.
Ken didn't think. The gauntlet glowed. Four cards materialized around him, spinning like mirrors of light. A small crystal orb appeared in his palm.
He heard it again — that same whisper:
"Reality—Rewrite."
Instinct took over. "AETHERLOCK ENGAGE!"
Light exploded. Armor formed. Red and white plates assembled around him, sealing into place with a flash of gold. A crimson visor locked over his face.
Ken stood reborn. The Red Aether Ranger.
He moved on instinct. The gauntlet hummed, cards flashing random sigils. Super Strength. Fire Manipulation. Teleportation. Power rushed through him like a second heartbeat.
He vanished in a flash — reappeared mid-air — slammed his palm into the Aberrant's chest. Flames surged from his gauntlet, forming into a blazing blade that cleaved through its body. The creature screamed, its form fracturing into shards of dark Aether.
When it died, the storm came again — but this time, the lightning formed a circle.
Ken was lifted off his feet, light swallowing him whole.
He landed somewhere underground — a massive chamber filled with golden circuitry and glowing pillars.
Before him floated a tall, armored figure — half energy, half human — and beside her, a hovering metallic orb with glowing blue eyes.
"Welcome, Ranger," the figure said, voice firm yet warm. "I am Commander Lysara Shaw-Drake, and this is Korrin. You've just awakened something the universe hasn't seen in centuries."
Ken stared, still catching his breath. "What… what just happened?"
Lysara smiled faintly. "You've taken the first step toward becoming an Aetherlock Ranger."
The orb bobbed excitedly. "Oh, this is going to be fun! Just wait until the others show up — oh, yes, there will be others."
Ken frowned. "Others?"
The Commander turned toward a holographic map — five pulsing lights scattered across the planet.
"Five others, to be precise. Each linked by the Aether Line. Each destined to stand beside you."
And somewhere in the darkness beyond, another presence stirred — ancient, broken, and patient.
"A new Vigilant rises? Then let them try to stop me."
Lightning flickered through the abyss as Lord Zaikar opened his eyes.