The glow of the forge table cast pale light across the temple stones.
John sat cross-legged in front of it, arms resting on his knees, eyes focused on the screen hovering silently above the surface. It was shaped like a window made of starlight and breath, soft at the edges, but every word within it was sharp. Precise.
Item Type: Melee Weapon
Blueprint Class: Void-Forged Blade
Material Required:
Stormsteel Ore – One Unit
Raw Mana Crystal – One
Void Trace Energy – Compatible
Estimated Forging Time: Ten minutes
He tapped the confirmation in his mind.
The forge hummed beneath his fingers.
Energy flowed upward from its core, pale purple and steel blue. The Stormsteel dissolved in a slow shimmer. The mana crystal floated above the center rune before melting into pure light. The void energy in his chest pulsed once, and a thin strand of shadow wound itself into the fusion.
Metal formed from the mist.
The blade took shape.
First the core—a spine of black steel, then the edges—razor sharp, curved slightly toward the tip. It was not a long weapon. More like a combat knife stretched into the proportions of a shortsword. Balanced. Lethal.
The last layer was strange. The void energy wrapped around the blade in rippling lines, like ink dropped into water. It did not cover the surface. It marked it. Veins of darkness set deep into the metal.
Then it was done.
The glow faded.
The blade fell silently onto the table.
John picked it up with both hands.
It was warm. Heavier than it looked. Alive in a way that steel should not be. The edge shimmered as he tilted it toward the candlelight.
The System whispered.
Item created: Void-Forged Blade
Durability: A minus
Weight: Light
Special Effect: Absorbs traces of elemental magic on contact
User Affinity: Perfect
John held the blade against his knee and stared at it.
No spells. No incantation.
This was not a sword that borrowed power.
It was made from it.
He stood.
And behind him, a voice spoke.
"You forged that without any chant"
Sera stepped from the shadows near the back wall. Her brown robe trailed quietly behind her. Her arms were crossed. Her eyes sharp.
"I watched the whole thing"
John met her gaze.
"I did not hide it"
"Why not"
"Because I wanted you to see"
She walked forward, slow but certain. She stopped a few paces from the forge and stared at the faint runes still glowing on its surface.
"You are not from here" she said.
"Not fully"
"Explain"
John glanced at the others sleeping across the temple floor.
Sera raised one hand.
"They will not wake. I gave them a little herb. Safe. Harmless. I needed you alone"
He did not ask how. He only nodded.
"You will not believe what I say"
"Try me"
John looked down at the blade.
Then he spoke.
"I was born in a world without magic. A world of machines. Of buildings that scraped the sky. Of roads that glowed in the dark. I died there. And something brought me here. A ring. A voice. It gave me a second life. It gave me knowledge"
Sera said nothing.
"I remember both lives. Both worlds. But this world is where I belong now"
"And the blade"
"I built it using the System inside me. A structure that turns memory into matter. Idea into tool. With it I can change everything"
He expected her to laugh. To deny it. To say he was insane.
She did not.
Instead, she stepped closer to the forge.
She touched the surface. Pulled her hand back quickly.
"It sings beneath the skin" she said. "Your tool. It hums like a trapped storm. You are not lying"
"No"
She turned her eyes back to him.
"That blade. Could it kill a mage"
John did not answer with words.
He lifted it and brought it down against a loose stone pillar nearby.
There was no sound.
The blade passed through the stone.
The upper half of the pillar slid off and fell to the ground.
Thud
Dust floated into the air.
Sera stared.
"I see"
John returned the blade to the forge table.
"Now do you understand why I will not kneel to nobles. Or beg to the mages who enslave others in shadowed tunnels"
Sera stepped forward again.
She did not kneel. She did not bow.
But she placed a hand on his arm.
"You will not find peace here. Not in this land. Not with that kind of power"
"I do not want peace" John said.
He looked out the temple door.
"I want change"
The next morning, the sun rose behind a thick curtain of fog.
The villagers were already gathered.
Sera had summoned them with a single bell from the temple roof.
Now they stood in the square. Farmers. Weavers. A few former soldiers who had long since traded swords for hammers. All of them wore simple clothes. All of them looked up when John stepped into the light.
Sera stood beside him.
She raised one hand.
"This man is not your enemy. He is not here to steal or threaten. He is here because the world he escaped from is the same one that presses its heel on all of us. The nobles will call him dangerous. The Circle Mages will call him cursed. But he is neither. He is what comes next"
John stepped forward.
The villagers stared.
He lifted the blade.
"This world is broken" he said. "The strong hoard magic. The weak die nameless in tunnels and alleys. I have seen it in your eyes. You know it too"
He turned slowly, voice steady.
"I carry knowledge from another world. Tools from another era. I can forge weapons and defenses your enemies will not understand. I do not ask for loyalty. I ask for a place to build. In return I will protect this valley"
The silence stretched.
Then the village elder stepped forward. An old man with a curved back and sharp eyes.
"Do you swear not to use this power against us"
John nodded.
"I swear"
The elder turned to Sera.
She nodded.
He looked at John.
"Then the forge is yours"
John bowed his head once.
The village had given him its first yes.