The ruins stretched endlessly before Arthur and his team, a maze of dark corridors and towering, broken structures. The air inside was heavy, charged with a strange, almost oppressive energy that prickled at the edges of their senses. 

Arthur’s HUD displayed a constant stream of data, but the results were baffling, most of the structures defied human understanding, their architecture and material compositions unlike anything he’d seen before.

As the team advanced, their steps echoed in the vast, hollow space. Massive, fragmented technological structures loomed around them. Some seemed like control consoles, others like reactor cores, but all bore the same fate: destruction. The damage was not recent; these ruins had been in this state for millennia, perhaps hundreds of thousands of years before humanity even left their home planet.

Arthur paused near what appeared to be a large, circular platform with faintly glowing lines etched into its surface. He activated ‘Analyse’ , scanning the device. The results flickered in front of him. 

//——————–//

Object: Matter Manipulation Platform (Damaged)

Purpose: Unknown (Possibly linked to molecular reconfiguration)

//——————–//

[A/N: Molecular reconfiguration involves changing the arrangement of atoms within a molecule, it could potentially be used to create a wide range of applications including designing new materials with tailored properties. Eg: Food replicators in some popular sci-fi movies.]

‘Damaged,’ Arthur thought, his eyes narrowing behind his helmet. The intricate carvings along the edges of the platform suggested a complex design, far beyond humanity’s grasp. The machine’s functionality was lost, and even with his technopathy, he couldn’t make it respond.

Moving further into the ruins, Arthur and his team came across a towering cylindrical object, its surface marred by deep scorch marks. Pieces of it had collapsed inward, and exposed wires dangled lifelessly. Arthur mentally gave a command ‘Analyse’.

//——————–//

Object: Black Hole Generator Core (Damaged)

Warning: Type III Civilization Technology Detected

//——————–//

Arthur froze for a moment, taking in the implications. A black hole generator. Even in humanity’s wildest scientific dreams, such a device was a mere theoretical concept. This ruin wasn’t just a relic of an advanced species, it was proof of a civilization operating at a level incomprehensible to current human understanding.

The core was beyond repair, its components fried or warped. Arthur placed his hand on its surface and attempted to use technopathy, but the machine remained utterly silent, as if rejecting his very presence. This lack of response disturbed him; it was as if the ruins themselves were locked against his abilities.

The feeling of being watched gnawed at him again. It had been subtle at first, but now it was growing stronger. His hand instinctively moved to the hilt of his sword as his eyes scanned the shadows. The patterns etched into the walls caught his attention again, alien symbols that seemed to shift and shimmer when viewed from different angles.

Arthur activated ‘Analyse’ on the walls, and a result appeared in front of him.

//——————–//

Composition: Element-99

Source: Formed within White Hole Phenomena

Properties: Hyper-dense material with unknown energy signatures

//——————–//

‘Element 99,’ Arthur thought, his mind racing. It was a theoretical element humanity had only hypothesized, supposedly formed in the extreme conditions of white holes. Its presence here confirmed that this civilization had not only harnessed white hole phenomena but had also used it as a fundamental resource.

He traced his fingers along the wall. The strange symbols gave off a faint glow at his touch, and for a split second, his head spun with a disorienting sensation, as if he were being pulled into another dimension. He recoiled, shaking off the feeling.

…

Arthur’s mind raced as he pieced together what little information he could from the ruins. This civilization, capable of creating black hole generators and using Element 99, was far beyond humanity. But their fall was evident. The destruction seemed too targeted, too deliberate, to be the result of natural decay.

‘Was it war? Sabotage?’ Arthur wondered.

As they moved further, they encountered more remnants of technology, some alien in design. There were broken conduits, shattered crystalline structures, and fragments of what appeared to be energy weapons.

The deeper they went, the more Arthur felt the weight of the place pressing down on him. This was a graveyard of a once-great civilization. And somewhere in these depths, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something still lingered, watching their every step.

…

As they moved deeper into the ruins, the team’s sensors began picking up unusual energy spikes. At first, they were faint, like residual echoes of the advanced technologies once housed here. But as they proceeded, the readings grew stronger and more erratic.

Arthur stopped at a junction where the walls converged into a massive archway. His HUD warned him of elevated energy levels just beyond the passage. He gestured to his team to halt and scanned the area.

The room ahead was vast, its ceiling disappearing into the darkness above. In the center stood a three meters tall obelisk, its surface covered in more of the shifting patterns Arthur had seen earlier. It pulsed with a faint, rhythmic light, almost like a heartbeat.

Arthur scanned the obelisk, but the ‘Analyse’ function of his System returned incomplete data, as the object was not fully functional, from his system he learned it was some kind of dimensional portal or something. 

Leo cautiously approached it, but as he neared, a surge of energy radiated from the obelisk, causing his HUD to glitch momentarily.

“Energy feedback,” Leo relayed to his team, and they approached the obelisk to analyze it. 

Arthur retracted his helmet and approached the obelisk, whatever this was, it was still partially active. It felt as though the obelisk was probing his presence.

Arthur and his team had barely begun to analyze the mysterious artifact and before they could discuss what to do with it, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed behind them. Weapons drawn, they turned sharply to face the source of the noise.

Emerging from the darkness was a group of Chimerians, their imposing figures illuminated by the faint light of the ruins. Leading them was a towering Chimerian clad in biomechanical armor, crystalline red plates fused seamlessly with sinewy, and musculature. His yellow eyes burned like twin suns, radiating malice and authority.

Arthur immediately recognized the figure. “A commander,” he muttered, as if on instinct. His grip tightened on the hilt of his sword.

The Chimerian commander stopped a few meters away, his troops fanning out behind him in a practiced formation. His deep, guttural voice carried a mocking tone as he spoke, though the universal translator embedded in their suits rendered it perfectly clear.

“Well, well. Look who we have here,” the commander sneered, his glowing eyes scanning each member of Arthur’s team.

Leo, standing a step behind Arthur, audibly gasped. “I… It’s a Red One,” he stuttered, his voice trembling slightly.

Arthur glanced at the commander, and quickly activated ‘Analyse’, the Chimerian commander’s stats appeared in front of him in real time.

//——————–//

Name: Vorsk Grozks Zelzki

Designation: Elite Chimerian Commander

Age: 538

Height: 8’7″

Strength: 23157.1 Tons

Speed: 479.2 m/s

//——————–//

Arthur’s jaw tightened. ‘He is stronger than me…I need to act cautiously.’ He braced himself, positioning his sword defensively.

The Chimerian commander smirked, seemingly unfazed by the weapons pointed at him.

“Ah, I recognize you now,” Vorsk said, his voice dripping with condescension. “You’re the ones who ruined my plans at the relay station. I have been searching for you.” He pointed a clawed finger at Arthur. “You won’t escape me again.”

Arthur’s eyes narrowed. “So, it was you. The ambush, the coordinated attack… all of it was your doing.”

Vorsk chuckled darkly. “Of course. And you humans fell into my trap beautifully. It was a shame my soldiers failed to finish the job, but… here we are. A second chance, handed to me on a silver platter.”

Elena muttered to herself but her voice cut through the tension like a blade. “How did he know about that mission?”

Vorsk’s smirk widened. “Ah, yes. Your people, so easily swayed by promises of power and wealth. You’d be surprised how many of your kind are willing to betray you. It’s almost… amusing.”

Arthur felt a surge of anger. ‘Traitors,’ he thought bitterly. People selling out their own race for personal gain disgusted him. But this wasn’t the time to dwell on it. And there were not only humans in the UFE, there were also aliens from other planets in the milky way galaxy who could be spies among them.

Vorsk spread his arms theatrically, his crystalline armor catching the dim light. “But enough talk. I came here for one reason and one reason only, to settle the score. Let’s see if you’re as formidable as they say, Arthur.”

Arthur’s name on Vorsk’s lips sent a ripple of unease through the team. ‘He knows me by name,’ Arthur realized, his grip on his sword tightening further and his helmet reappeared as he prepared for a fight.

But before either side could make their move, a sudden pulse of energy rippled through the room. It emanated from the towering obelisk, its glowing patterns now blazing with intense white light.

Arthur’s HUD flickered as the pulse disrupted his systems.

 <“Energy spike detected, originating from the obelisk.”> his AI assistant warned.

The room vibrated, the ancient walls groaning under the force of the energy surge. The obelisk’s rhythmic pulse quickened, its glow intensifying to a blinding brightness.

Vorsk snarled, his stance shifting as he looked toward the artifact. “What is this?” he growled.

And then, with a final, deafening boom, the obelisk released a shockwave of light that engulfed everyone in the room.

Arthur’s vision blurred, the world dissolving into a cascade of white. He felt weightless, his senses disoriented as if he were being pulled through a wormhole.

When the light finally subsided, Arthur found himself lying on the ground, the air around him was different. His HUD was rebooting, struggling to process what had just happened. Slowly, he pushed himself to his feet, scanning his surroundings.

‘Where… am I?’ he thought. The ruins were gone. Instead, he stood alone in an empty hall.

***

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