Eli Zenith knelt alone.
The floor was smooth marble, warm under his hands. Heat came from below so visitors would not shake in front of the throne. It was one of the few kind things in a place meant to make people feel small.
Above him, the ceiling was made of crystal that slowly changed color. Light moved across it like a slow tide. Each wave of light showed rows of nobles watching from the high seats. Thousands of eyes stared down at him.
He kept his head down.
Not to show respect.
Because he had to.
The air felt heavy, like deep water pressing on his body. The royal family sat far away on a black platform. Their powers twisted the space around them in quiet, scary ways. The Emperor could bend gravity without trying. The Empress gave off heat like a furnace. The princes and princesses shimmered with power that made guns useless.
Next to them, Eli felt weak.
"Eli Zenith," the Emperor said.
His voice was calm, but it filled the hall. Eli felt it in his chest.
"Son of Viscount Wilson Zenith. Lord Warden of the Deoxy Prime."
"Yes, Your Majesty," Eli said.
Whispers came from the crowd.
"no aura at all"
"a pure human"
"shame for House Zenith"
He ignored them. He had learned to do that years ago.
"Your father ruled the frontier well," the Emperor said. "He kept order where none was expected."
A short pause.
"He died serving the Imperium."
Eli's throat tightened, but he stayed silent.
The Empress leaned forward. Her gold eyes were sharp. "The Deoxy Region is not an easy post. It is dangerous and unstable."
A young prince smiled. "Most people think it is a death sentence."
Soft laughter followed.
Eli pressed his fingers into the floor.
"I ask permission to take my father's place," he said.
The hall went quiet.
The Emperor raised one hand.
"By imperial order, you are now the Warden of the Deoxy Region."
A mark of bright light formed in the air and struck Eli's chest. It sank into his skin.
"It is done," the Emperor said.
No praise.
No comfort.
Just an ending.
"Stand, Lord Warden."
Eli stood.
He did not look at the royal family. He did not look at the nobles. He turned and walked down the long path to the exit alone.
No one stopped him.
No one spoke.
Outside, the platform looked over the endless city. Tall towers of glass rose through the clouds. Lights covered everything and never turned off.
One transport ship waited at the edge, engines humming.
An old man stood beside it in Zenith uniform.
Steward Halden.
Relief hit Eli suddenly. "Halden. I didn't know you were still here."
The steward bowed. Slower than before, but still perfect. "My lord. I stayed to finish your father's personal matters."
Personal. Not political.
Halden stepped closer and lowered his voice. "Your father left something for you."
He pulled a small bundle from inside his coat.
Eli took it carefully.
The cloth fell away.
A black sphere sat in his hands. Smooth and dark. It seemed to swallow the light.
Even before touching it, he felt something. Not heat. Not cold. Just a strange presence, like holding a rock that used to be part of a mountain.
"My father had this?" Eli asked.
Halden nodded. "He carried it everywhere. I never saw him without it."
"That can't be right. Scanners would have detected it."
"They did not," Halden said.
Eli turned the sphere in his fingers. No lines. No marks. It did not feel as heavy as it should.
"What is it?"
"I do not know, my lord."
That answer bothered him more than anything else.
Halden hesitated. "Before each trip, your father gave this to me. He said if he did not return, I must give it only to you."
Eli's chest tightened.
"Did he say why?"
Halden shook his head. "He said you would understand."
I don't understand anything, Eli thought.
Still, he closed his hand around the sphere.
"Thank you, Halden."
The old man bowed deeply. "Serve well, my lord. I have been reassigned to the Core."
"I will," Eli said quietly.
He turned and boarded the ship.
The transport lifted and left the bright center of civilization behind.
Hours passed. Then days.
Traffic grew thin. Signals faded. Outside, space became empty and dark.
Eli spent most of the trip alone, holding the sphere.
Sometimes it seemed to pulse.
Sometimes it felt like it moved when he was not looking.
He said nothing to the crew.
"Unknown ships coming out of slipspace," a pilot shouted.
Everything changed at once.
Eli looked up just as space tore open outside the window. Dark warships poured out, covered in weapons and painted in harsh colors.
Pirates.
"Shields up. Evasive action."
The first hit felt like a giant hammer.
The ship shook violently. Eli slammed into his seat as lights went out and alarms screamed.
A second blast tore through the side. Air rushed out with a loud howl. Emergency doors slammed down just in time.
People shouted. Some prayed. Others froze.
Eli's grip tightened on the sphere.
It grew hot.
He gasped. Heat flooded into his hand, deep under the skin, like liquid fire in his veins. The surface softened and flowed between his fingers as if it belonged there.
"What is this?"
Pain shot up his arm.
He tried to pull it away, but it was already sinking into his flesh, spreading through muscle and bone.
His vision broke into flashes of light.
Strange scenes filled his mind. Huge predators moved across alien worlds under unknown suns. Silent hunts on planets no human had seen.
Something old woke up inside him.
The ship shook again. The floor tilted. Gravity shifted wildly.
Eli fell to his knees.
He could not feel his hand.
He could barely feel his body.
Sound faded, like hearing through water.
Darkness crept into his sight.
He collapsed onto the floor.
Cold metal touched his cheek.
The last thing he felt was not pain or fear, but something vast inside him, opening without caring about him at all.
Then that feeling faded too.
[User Unconscious. Auto selecting HumoArchive 1A]