Kael strode out of the polished glass doors of his lawyer’s firm, the buzz of city noise swallowing him as soon as he hit the street. His eyes flicked up toward the sun, already sinking lower in Ashport’s cloud-speckled sky. Normally, he'd head straight home after one of these tense meetings, but today felt different. Heavy. He needed to talk to Lira.
He cut through the dense foot traffic, letting the weight of the morning sink deeper into his spine with every step. People brushed past him—businessmen, vendors, students in uniform—completely unaware of the storm he was carrying. It wasn’t just the pressure from AGE Magazine, or the security company issue festering on the horizon. It was the future itself, pulsing with unseen weight.
When he reached the sleek, slate-colored headquarters of Ashport Disposal & Recovery, he gave a nod to the front desk security before climbing the stairs to the executive wing. Lira’s office was empty. He checked her calendar—offsite. Probably making a deal or inspecting a site. She didn’t tell him, but she didn’t need to. Lira ran a company with military precision.
Kael sighed and stepped into his own office. The walls were adorned with framed contracts, regional maps, and a long digital display showcasing real-time metrics. But none of that interested him right now. He locked the door behind him, closed the blinds, and sank into the oversized chair at the heart of the room.
"Enter inner world," he murmured.
The world blurred. A warm current tugged at his navel, and reality inverted.
He opened his eyes to find himself standing on a cliffside overlooking a vast, silent replica of Ashport without the manmade infrastructure. It was uncanny—land, sea, sky—but sterile, devoid of people, emotion, or life. No birds. Nothing for the wind to rustle. Just the artificial hum of a simulated landscape held together by raw will and energy.
He exhaled and spoke into the empty air. "Status screen."
A glowing interface bloomed before him:
Welcome, Creator.
Universe Classification: Seed-State Pocket Dimension
Anchor: The Creator
Tether: Active — Linked to Outer Vessel
Natural Law Framework: Default (The Cosmos)
Environment Template: Ashport Surface (Simulated)
Modifications Available:
-
Natural Law: [Available] — Prana Detected
-
Environment: [Available]
-
Flora Creation/Modification: [Locked — Insufficient Chakra]
-
Fauna Creation/Modification: [Locked — Insufficient Chakra]
Atmospheric Composition: STABLE — 72% N, 24% O₂, Trace Elements…
Artificial Gravity: ACTIVE — Drain Rate: 0.0052 Mana/sec
Temperature Regulation: SUSPENDED — No Longer Required
Artificial Magnetosphere: ACTIVE — Drain Rate: 0.0023 Mana/sec
Sun Genesis: SUSPENDED — 3.33 x 10^10 Chakra or 3.33 x 10^15 Aura + 4,389 Prana Required
Moon Genesis: SUSPENDED — 9,846 Chakra or 9.85 x 10^13 Aura Required
Environmental Simulation (Ashport Surface Pattern): INITIALIZING — Insufficient Chakra
— Landmass Formation: 100% Complete
— Sea Generation: 100% Complete
— Celestial Simulation—Sun/Moon: 100% Complete [-0.0012 Mana/sec]
— Flora Genesis: 5.32% Complete (Insufficient Chakra)
— Fauna Genesis: 0.00% Complete (Insufficient Chakra)
Total Energy Remaining:
— Chakra: 1.320 Units
— Prana: 13.810 Units
— Aura: 18,000.088 Units
— Mana: 1,520.011 Units
— Force: 10.100 Units
— Ki: 22.221 Units
Current Power Sources:
— Mana reserves from consumed materials
— No renewable energy systems detected
— New energy must be consumed
Thermal Energy: 1,879,011.221 Units
Stability Timer: 48h 32m 12s Remaining
Kael’s brows pulled together. That stability timer always made him anxious.
“System,” he said aloud, “where’s the energy from the sun and moon endin’ up?”
The system responded in the same cold, neutral tone it always used:
Energy is neither destroyed nor created. Mana powers natural phenomena, including wave motion and light/heat emission. Excess is subtracted post-simulation effect and stored in a thermal energy bank.
"So the simulation is leakin' heat into a vault?"
Affirmative. Excess heat is stored beneath the environmental layer in a structured vault: the heat energy bank.
"What's a unit of heat energy mean?"
One unit is defined as the thermal energy required to raise one Aqual of pure liquid water by 1°V.
Kael clicked his tongue. "If I remember correctly, heat's the lowest-quality energy. Can I recycle it into high-quality energy types like mana or force?"
Recycling is theoretically possible. Full self-sustaining conversion requires replication of Celestria, Nyxara, and Aurevia. Their combined interaction enables celestial energy cycling within a closed system.
Kael’s jaw tightened. "Impossible. I can’t copy the whole star system. I'm a freakin' E-rank. Give me another option."
Divine constructs can convert lower energies to higher energies. One such construct: elemental dragons. After they mature to a certain point, they produce ambient mana and aura.
Kael's face lit up when he heard the word "dragon." He was excited at the prospect of having his own dragon. Then reality hit. After thinking about it for a minute, he shook his head. "Too slow. I don’t have decades to wait for dragon hatchlings to grow up. Give me another option."
Alternate construct available: [Divine Tree Seed].
A schematic appeared before him: a radiant, silver-blue seed glimmering with dense chakra threads.
The Divine Tree absorbs Chakra and Aura to grow. Converts CO₂ to O₂. Converts thermal energy to Mana, Aura, Force, and Ki. Mana radiates passively. Aura, Force and Ki condense into fruit. The fruit becomes a life elixir if consumed at maturity. The fruit becomes High Elves if allowed to ripen past maturity and fall naturally.
Kael’s heart jumped. This—this was it.
But then came the catch. "How long does this take?"
Approximately 12,800 orbits under current conditions.
He clenched his fist. "What the fuck? That's longer than the dragon! Can I speed it up?"
Yes. Inject additional chakra or aura. Or accelerate temporal flow.
A new prompt flashed.
Natural Law Modification: [UNLOCKED] — Prana Detected.
Kael stared at it, stunned.
He hadn’t just created a world. He could now rewrite its very rules.
A slow smile crept onto his lips.
"Now we’re gettin' somewhere."
