Chapter 224: Clean Cut

By Wednesday afternoon, the Starlight facility was running like clockwork.

Under Raymond Wells’ supervision, the three automated production lines had already filled four thousand jars of Star-Jade Salve. The first two crates had been picked up by the military trauma corps, and Calista was busy in the formulation lab overseeing the next batch.

At two o’clock, Evren, Amber, and Zephyra took the armored SUV out of District One, heading east toward District Four for Master Tridon’s workshop.

The heavy steel blast doors were already unlocked. Inside, the air was warm and smelled of hot metal, charcoal, and cooling oils.

Master Tridon stood near the central anvil, wiping his hands on a greasy leather rag. The blacksmith had soot across his grey beard, but his wide grin showed every tooth in his mouth. Beside him sat an iron cooling chamber covered in glowing blue frost runes.

"You’re right on time, Chairman," Tridon boomed, his voice carrying over the hiss of steam pipes. "The seventy-two hour cooling cycle finished twenty minutes ago."

Amber stepped forward, her eyes locked onto the frosted chamber. "Are they ready, Master Tridon?"

"More than ready, young lady," Tridon said proudly. He walked over to the console and pulled a mechanical release lever.

The blue frost runes flickered out, and thick cold steam hissed from the pressurized seals as the lid opened. Inside, resting on a bed of dark velvet, sat a matched pair of twin sabers.

The blades were four feet long, forged from forty pounds of refined Star-Metal and quenched in deep abyssal oils. In the center of each crossguard, a dark purple Level 82 Void Royal Guardian Core was firmly embedded, pulsing with faint concentric rings of energy.

The metal itself had a dark, matte silver finish, with thin red and gold lines running along the cutting edge. Amber stared at the weapons, her breath catching in her throat as she remembered the broken remnants of her old sword.

"Go ahead," Tridon urged, gesturing with a thick hand. "Pick them up. They were forged specifically for your mana type."

Amber stepped up to the pedestal and wrapped her hands around the leather-wrapped grips. The moment her fingers closed over the hilts, a sharp, bright hum rang through the blades, resonating instantly with the core inside her chest.

A burst of golden-red mana erupted from her shoulders, flaring outward in the shape of two radiant wings.

The twin Level 82 cores flashed in response, absorbing her mana without any strain and sending a clean wave of balanced kinetic force back into her hands. The sabers felt completely weightless, like natural extensions of her arms.

"How do they feel?" Evren asked, watching her with a smile.

"They feel like they belong to me," Amber said, her voice filled with quiet wonder. "There is zero mana drag, and the blades pull my energy directly into the cutting edge without any loss."

Tridon chuckled loudly, crossing his thick arms over his leather apron. "That’s because those Level 82 cores naturally stabilize the balance. Come over to the test cage and see what they can really do."

He led them toward the back of the workshop, where a reinforced testing pit was lined with three-inch-thick steel plates. Inside the pit stood three solid cylindrical blocks of armor-grade titanium alloy, each over three feet thick, used by military engineers to test heavy artillery shells.

Amber stepped into the pit, taking a balanced forward stance. She took a slow, steady breath, then stepped forward with blinding speed.

Two bright arcs of red and gold light slashed through the air with a clean, high-pitched whistle. Amber came to a stop three paces past the pillars, cleanly sheathing both blades behind her back in one smooth motion.

A second of complete silence hung over the underground chamber.

Then, with a dull metallic thud, all three solid titanium blocks slid apart along perfectly smooth diagonal cut lines, crashing onto the concrete floor.

The cuts were as clean as polished glass, with not a single jagged edge or burr.

Zephyra stepped to the edge of the pit, inspecting the severed metal with a nod of approval. "Clean cut. The void energy in the core severed the molecular bonds before the steel even touched it."

Tridon slapped his leg in sheer delight. "Three feet of solid titanium, cut like soft cheese! That is the finest pair of sabers that has ever come out of my forge!"

Evren watched the display with deep satisfaction, knowing their investment had paid off completely.

Suddenly, the familiar gold screen appeared before his eyes, displaying Amber’s updated combat status.

[HEROINE WEAPON SYNCHRONIZATION DETECTED]

[TARGET: AMBER STERLING (100% DEVOTION - ABSOLUTE SOUL-BOND)]

[EQUIPPED WEAPON: SSS-RANK VOID-VALKYRIE MATCHED SABERS]

[CORE RESONANCE: 2X LEVEL 82 VOID ROYAL GUARDIAN CORES]

[HEROINE EFFECT: ATTACK SPEED AND KINETIC PENETRATION INCREASED BY 30%]

[PASSIVE UNLOCKED: MOLECULAR VOID SEVERANCE (IGNORES 15% PHYSICAL ARMOR)]

[ABSOLUTE SOUL-BOND FEEDBACK TRIGGERED!]

[HOST SYNCHRONIZATION: EVREN CRAWFORD]

[SHARED PASSIVE GAINED: MOLECULAR VOID SEVERANCE]

[EFFECT: HOST’S MELEE AND LIGHTNING ATTACKS NOW INFLICT 15% TRUE ARMOR PENETRATION!]

Evren felt a cool surge of void mana pulse through his chest, syncing seamlessly with Amber’s core. He dismissed the golden system display with a quiet smile.

Tridon walked over with two custom leather scabbards reinforced with dark alloy bands. "Here are the carrying rigs. They can be mounted on your hips or strapped across your back."

"On the hips," Amber said, taking the scabbards and fastening the leather belt around her waist. She slid the twin sabers into the sheaths with two satisfying clicks, the weapons sitting securely at her sides.

"Thank you, Master Tridon," Amber said sincerely, bowing her head. "I will make sure these blades protect our people."

"Just bring me more high-tier cores when you find them," Tridon laughed, waving a hand dismissively. "Now get out of here before the smoke ruins your fancy coats."

Before they could turn toward the exit, Evren’s phone buzzed loudly in his pocket with an incoming call from Captain Keller. He pulled it out and answered right away.

"Evren here," he said.

Keller’s voice came through the line. "Chairman. Giving you a status report on the northern ring road."

"Report," Evren ordered, his tone focused.

"A heavy freight transport carrying twelve pressurized tanks of high-purity cryogenic stabilizing solvent was intercepted near Junction Nine," Keller reported. "Two unmarked black armored trucks rammed our lead escort off the road."

Evren glanced over at Amber and Zephyra. "Who hit them?"

"Twelve armed operators using military-grade kinetic rifles and mana disruption grenades," Keller replied, the steady pop of controlled rifle fire audible in the background. "My escort unit took defensive positions around the transport and returned fire. We already neutralized three attackers, but the rest are trying to burn through the rear cargo locks."

"Where is the quick-reaction squad?" Evren asked.

"Unit Two is en route, but heavy traffic on the lower bypass puts their arrival at eight minutes," Keller stated evenly. "My men will hold the perimeter, but stray armor-piercing rounds could puncture the tanks and ignite the solvent."

"We are five kilometers away in District Four," Evren said. "Hold your line and keep the transponder live. We will be there in three minutes."

"Understood, Chairman. Transponder is active."

Amber reached down, resting both hands on the hilts of her new twin sabers. A cold, dangerous smile spread across her face.

Zephyra melted into the shadows behind Evren’s shoulder, her violet eyes gleaming in the dim light. "They picked the wrong road."

Evren turned toward the workshop exit, his mana surging through his veins. "Let’s go test those new blades."