Stellar Echo: Heart of the Myst

Inside the sphere of light, Erik watched in amazement as he rose into the air, noting how the cruiser in the sky grew larger from his perspective. This only highlighted the incredible craftsmanship, which seemed to have been carved from a single piece of white jade or something similar.

By the time they reached the upper deck of the ship, the spheres of light disappeared, revealing the wolves and Erik, who began to look around with curiosity and caution, while Sigrún watched them with a small smile.

"What do you think of my ship, Erik?"

"It's awesome! Do you know how to make one of these, Master?" Erik asked, his eyes shining.

"Mmm... well, I know the logic behind its functioning," Sigrún replied evasively while looking away. But out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Erik's expression change to one of slight disappointment, so she quickly added, "But if you want to learn how to make one, I know someone who can teach you."

"Really?! You're the best, Master! Can I take a closer look at the ship?"

"Of course, look at everything you want."

Erik jumped for joy and approached a small tower at the rear of the deck, which he began examining closely, analyzing the material it was made of while running his fingers over the set of runes engraved all over its surface.

Meanwhile, Sigrún watched with an ironic smile at her first disciple's evident interest in the artifact, but her expression quickly changed to one of surprise, evidence of the incredible event occurring before her.

(How is that possible?!!! That's Myst solidification, although its structure is terrible, making it super inefficient and fragile. I've never seen or heard of anyone who can do it so easily, let alone control it at will like that!!)

What Sigrún was witnessing was incredible even for someone like her. After all, Erik was now suspended in the air, standing on a platform that seemed to be made of crystal, rotating around the tower so he could better see the carved runes.

"Erik, could you tell me about the platform under your feet?" Sigrún asked, keeping her emotions under control, with the most 'normal' and 'natural' voice possible.

"You mean this?"

Erik asked curiously while pointing to the crystal platform, to which Sigrún casually nodded. This led the boy to deactivate it and drop to the ground before continuing.

"I discovered this when I was trying to replicate the animals' attacks, and although I could never achieve that, I somehow managed to make this kind of floating crystal."

The boy raised his right hand, upon which a 'crystal' arrow formed, and continued.

"At first, this crystal was very fragile and useless, but since it was the only thing I could make, I kept experimenting. Over time, I improved it to the point where I can now use it to land good blows from a distance or stand on it like before.

It's still fragile and can only withstand a little more than my own body weight, so it breaks if I apply force. But it's very easy to manipulate, and since I can shape it any way I want, it's proven to be very useful."

Sigrún watched in surprise as the number of 'crystal' arrows increased while Erik spoke, dancing around him precisely and coordinatedly, like highly trained soldiers performing a military routine.

"You're very creative, Erik,"

Sigrún commented with a strange look on her face, to which Erik responded awkwardly.

"Hehehe, thanks."

"Well, we'll continue talking in a moment. For now, let's take off, and watch closely. I'm sure you'll enjoy the spectacle."

Sigrún commented with a small smile before looking at Erik, who ran to the railing to watch, while the wolves lay down and played with their toys in their mouths, completely unfazed by their master's excitement.

After a small mischievous laugh, Sigrún murmured some words, and the immense ship quickly became covered with a sphere of light, which then turned invisible, allowing a perfect view outside.

Without Erik expecting it in the slightest, the ship abruptly accelerated towards the sky, causing him to stumble a bit. Although he braced his body for the inertia and G-forces from the incredible acceleration, contrary to logic, he felt nothing, as if what he was seeing outside was just an illusion and the ship wasn't moving at all.

"Master, very funny joke, you almost had me fooled."

Erik turned to look at his master with a blank expression. After all, it was obvious he was being pranked since not only did he not feel any G-forces or inertia, but the scene presented was also ridiculous. The ship was now in space, moving away from the planet at an incredible speed.

"HAHAHAHAHA... I really wanted to see your reaction, but I never thought you’d think it was a joke, HAHAHAHA," Sigrún laughed joyfully as she spoke, holding her slender stomach with one hand.

"What else could it be but a joke? Not only did I feel nothing when the 'ship' accelerated, but also this scene is impossible," Erik said, still expressionless, looking at his master.

"Hehe, what did I tell you a moment ago?" Sigrún looked at Erik with a mischievous smile and continued proudly, "From now on, you live in a world completely different from everything you know. You are now a disciple of the greatest genius of the galaxy and the youngest Master in history."

Erik's eyes almost popped out of their sockets upon hearing Sigrún's words, and he commented in a voice full of disbelief.

"Are you really not joking with me?"

"Hahaha, not at all, Erik. It's the truth. Humanity conquered this galaxy a long time ago, and your master is very remarkable, known as the greatest genius in history. So be proud to be my first disciple," Sigrún said, strutting with pride.

"Why have I never heard anything like this? Although it is common knowledge that we are just a planet in the vast galaxy, I never heard that humanity had conquered it or anything like that," Erik quickly asked, choosing to selectively ignore his new master's blatant attempt to brag.

"Well, that's because your home planet is very primitive and has nothing worth exploiting, so you live in your little bubble without realizing what happens outside."

As Sigrún's words still echoed in Erik's mind, the floor glowed a bit, and the wood reshaped itself, quickly forming two elegant and stylish chairs and a table.

Shortly after, Sigrún pointed to one of the chairs for Erik and elegantly sat in the other, while a porcelain teapot of incredible beauty, pure white with gold decorations, appeared out of nowhere on the table, along with several similarly designed plates with bread and cookies.

Still very confused by the bewildering information he was receiving, Erik sat in the chair almost by inertia, and after a moment of reflection, decided to ask.

"If humanity conquered the galaxy, why is my planet primitive?"

"Hehe, you noticed right away, and I suppose you can imagine, but your planet wasn't always like this. About 40,000 years ago, things were very different. It was known as a rather prosperous kingdom with good military power and stable trade, part of the Meridian Federation, one of the three great factions.

However, due to a struggle for the throne, a bloody civil war broke out that left them very weakened, which allowed many to take advantage of the situation, inevitably causing many wars and conflicts that ended up leaving very few survivors.

The royal family fell, as did most of the powerful nobles, so the few strong characters left either fled or were too injured to do anything. Eventually, the accumulated knowledge they had was lost, leaving them in their current pathetic state, where the best they can offer is a cheap version of an apprentice-level knight, not to mention going to space."

Sigrún commented calmly while placing some tea leaves in the teapot, which filled with water that appeared out of nowhere. Before she finished speaking, the teapot was already steaming, allowing her to serve exquisite tea in the beautiful cups that accompanied the teapot.

"I have so many questions..." Erik commented in a low tone, one hand on his chin, lost in thought.

"I know, it must be quite shocking for you to learn all this. But where we are going is the most prosperous place in the galaxy. There are people from all over and from all origins, so it's better that you understand a bit of what you're up against. But don't worry, we’ll be traveling for about a month, so we have plenty of time for you to catch up on the essentials. So take it easy."

Sigrún commented with a beautiful smile on her face as she floated one of the cups over to Erik, landing it gently on the table in front of him. The boy took the cup in his hands, his mind racing with many thoughts and questions, but he decided to tackle them one by one and began by asking.

"Well, the first thing I’d like to know is, what are the three great factions?"

"Great question. The three great factions are basically the three largest 'alliances' in the galaxy, and they fight among themselves quite a bit. Although they haven't gone into full-scale war for about 700,000 years, there are still occasional skirmishes. These factions are: the Meridian Federation that I mentioned before, the Boreal League, and the Jade Lotus Union."

Sigrún answered calmly after savoring the delicious tea, to which Erik quickly asked another question.

"Why didn't the Meridian Federation help my planet?"

"Well, that's due to the internal policies of the alliance. They don’t interfere in internal conflicts, and since it was a civil war, they weren't obligated to help. Moreover, the ones who delivered the final blow to your planet were other members of the alliance who looked for any valid excuse to invade. Since your planet was on its last legs and had little value, no one opposed them."

"So typical..."

Erik commented in a low voice, but Sigrún heard him and responded with a small laugh, feeling that the more she got to know her disciple, the more she liked him.

"Hahaha, quite typical. Even though we conquered the galaxy, we are still humans and always end up doing things like that."

"I see..." Erik commented thoughtfully, making a mental note not to talk to himself in front of his master. He then continued, "But I’d like to know what the alliances are based on and why they hate each other."