The heavy titanium doors of the Iron Vault stood between Chronos and his destiny. Beyond these doors lay the fragments of the Blue Rock—the fuel he needed to turn his empty Void into a living world.
[Warning! A-Rank Searcher 'Hunter K' has entered the sewer perimeter.] [Time to Interception: 4 Minutes.]
"We don't have time to hack the door," Chronos muttered. His eyes scanned the wall, seeing the microscopic fissures in the concrete through his [Architect's Eye].
"Elara, get behind me. This is going to get messy."
[Creation Menu: Atmospheric Gases & Basic Vegetation] [Synthesizing: 'Primordial Creeping Vines'.] [Cost: 80 Mana + 200 Metal Essence.]
Inside the Void, the "Ancient Gear" he had salvaged from the Chimera began to spin, acting as a catalyst. Instead of just rocks and gas, the Void birthed its first green life. Thick, thorny vines, pulsing with a hungry emerald light, erupted from the black floor of his dimension.
"Release," Chronos commanded, slamming his palm against the titanium door.
[Skill Activated: Dimensional Outbreak.]
Usually, the Void stayed hidden. But at Level 5, Chronos could force a "leak."
From the seams of the door, tiny green sprouts appeared. In seconds, they grew into thick, muscular trunks of wood. The "Primordial Vines" didn't care about the strength of titanium; they grew into the lock mechanisms, expanding with the force of hydraulic presses.
CREAK. SNAP.
The massive door was literally pushed off its hinges by the sheer force of the rapid plant growth.
"What... what kind of power is this?" Elara whispered, staring at the jungle now growing in the middle of a high-tech hallway. "This isn't Elemental wood magic. It feels... alive."
"It's the first breath of my world," Chronos said, stepping through the foliage.
The interior of the Vault was a white, sterile room filled with glass pedestals. On each pedestal sat a shard of the Blue Rock, glowing with that familiar indigo light. There were dozens of them.
[Alert! 'Blue Rock' detection confirmed.] [Total Essence available for Harvest: 4,500 Units.]
"Harvest everything!" Chronos didn't touch them. He simply opened the "Maw" of the Void in the center of the room. A localized gravity well formed, and the fragments flew off their pedestals, disappearing into his chest.
[Harvesting... 10%... 40%... 90%...]
"Stop right there, boy."
The voice was like cold steel. At the far end of the vault, a man stood draped in a long, grey duster. He carried a recurve bow made of bone, and his eyes were covered by a tactical visor.
[Target Identified: Hunter K (Rank-A Searcher).] [Danger Level: Fatal.]
"An orphan from the Rust District with a 'Zero-Star' rating causing a Rank-S security breach?" Hunter K pulled an arrow from his quiver. "The Director is going to want to dissect your brain."
"He can try," Chronos said, his hand hovering over the last, largest fragment.
"You're fast, but my arrows track the soul," Hunter K said, drawing his bow. The mana around the arrow began to scream, distorting the air. "Don't move, and you might live through the interrogation."
Chronos looked at the System screen.
[Harvest Complete!] [Mana Essence: 5,000/5,000 (MAX)] [Requirements for 'Tier 1: Biological Life' met!] [Would you like to initiate 'World Evolution' now?]
"Hunter," Chronos said, a cold smile touching his lips as the largest fragment vanished into his palm. "You're a Searcher, right? Tell me... have you ever searched for a God?"
"Initiate Evolution," Chronos commanded.
[Evolution Sequence: START.] [The First Void is expanding...] [The Molten Core is cooling...] [Generating: The First Lifeform.]
Hunter K fired. The arrow blurred, a streak of white light aimed directly at Chronos's heart.
But the arrow never hit. Five inches from Chronos's chest, a massive, scaly hand reached out of thin air and caught the arrow, snapping it like a toothpick.
A low, guttural growl vibrated through the room, shaking the glass pedestals until they shattered.
[First Lifeform Created: 'Void-Drake Wyrmling' (Rank-C Elite).]
Out of the darkness behind Chronos, a creature of obsidian scales and glowing purple eyes stepped into the light. It was only the size of a large wolf, but the aura it radiated was pure, ancient terror.
"Kill him," Chronos ordered.