Chapter 114: The Frontier’s First Enemy

The thunderous heartbeat echoing beneath the bedrock gradually faded into the dark, but the central golden spire continued to shine brighter than before. Waves of pure, warm light cascaded across the vast cavern, washing over the multi-tiered structures and suspended bridges.

Thousands of subterranean inhabitants remained kneeling along the illuminated avenues. Their bioluminescent crystalline markings pulsed in unison, responding directly to the radiant Sovereign energy flowing out from Rhaevia’s core.

She stared down at the elderly keeper, her dark eyes filled with mild exasperation.

"Everyone can stand up now," she said clearly, her voice echoing off the cavern walls.

The keeper hesitated briefly before slowly pushing up from the stone floor using their crystal staff. Only after the elder offered a nod did the surrounding guards and citizens begin to rise back to their feet.

Rhaevia exhaled a breath, rubbing the bridge of her nose.

If every ancient civilization she encountered insisted on kneeling in reverence, building an ordinary frontier research outpost was going to become considerably more complicated than she had anticipated.

Beside her, Raevor remained on high alert, his hand resting near his sidearm while his silver eyes swept over the armed guardians and the countless buildings carved into the crystalline cliffs.

"Your people have been hiding down here for countless generations," Raevor noted, stepping closer to the elder. "Yet you recognized Rhaevia’s energy signature immediately, which suggests your historical archives contain far more than mere mythical legends."

"They do, General," the elder replied, bowing their head respectfully.

The keeper tightened both hands around the smooth shaft of their translucent crystal staff.

"My name is Elarion," the elder introduced themselves, their voice carrying the weight of centuries.

"I serve as the primary keeper of this hidden city, preserving the sacred knowledge original ancestors entrusted to us. We were strictly commanded to remain hidden beneath the stone until the returning Sovereign appeared."

"Who gave that original order?" Rhaevia asked, stepping forward.

A sudden flicker of pain passed across Elarion’s weathered face.

"The historical records are incomplete, Your Highness," Elarion confessed. "Much of our written history was destroyed during the cosmic calamity. But one primary instruction survived through every single generation."

The elder raised their eyes toward the vaulted cavern ceiling, where enormous, petrified crystal veins stretched into the shadows.

"Protect the planetary core at all costs," Elarion recited solemnly. "Preserve the natural energy crystals, and never allow the enemy to reach what lies slumbering beneath us."

Rhaevia’s expression sharpened instantly.

"What enemy?" she demanded.

Elarion did not answer her directly.

Instead, the keeper gestured with their staff toward a grand, domed structure connected to the central golden spire by a sweeping, suspended crystalline bridge.

"Please follow me," Elarion requested, turning toward the bridge. "There is a recent development you must see for yourselves."

The small expedition group followed Elarion across the luminous bridge and into the central facility. The local citizens parted reverently as they passed through the streets, their bioluminescent eyes tracking Rhaevia’s every movement with a mixture of profound awe and subtle fear.

Inside the massive facility, the atmosphere shifted from sacred city to technical command center.

Rows of floating holographic displays filled the vast circular chamber, casting a cool blue glow across the floor.

Some terminals displayed real-time energy distribution across the city, while others mapped the planetary crystal grid extending deep beneath the surface. Several major nodes on the map flickered with alarming crimson indicators.

Rhaevia walked straight toward the central holoprojection table.

"Your planetary energy reserves are steadily declining," she noted, her eyes scanning the scrolling data streams.

"Precisely," Elarion confirmed, reaching out to touch the holographic interface and expanding a detailed regional map.

"For the past three months, our outer crystal deposits have been mysteriously disappearing. At first, our engineers believed the resource losses were caused by natural geological instability."

The holographic projection shifted rapidly.

Dozens of red warning markers materialized across several distant subterranean sectors.

"Then our deep mining outposts went silent," Elarion explained, their voice darkening. "Entire crystal deposits vanished overnight, leaving behind hollowed-out caverns and severely damaged energy conduits."

"Have you dispatched armed guards to investigate the sites?" Raevor asked, leaning over the map.

"Every reconnaissance team we dispatched either vanished entirely or returned with catastrophic injuries," Elarion reported grimly. "Those few soldiers who survived described strange entities moving through the darkness, but their eyewitness accounts wildly contradicted one another."

The elder’s voice dropped to a low whisper.

"Some survivors claimed the raiders possessed mechanical limbs, while others swore the attackers were shadowy creatures capable of passing straight through solid stone," Elarion said. "None could agree on their physical appearance."

Rhaevia leaned over the hologram, tracing the red incident markers with her eyes.

The missing crystal deposits were not scattered randomly across the subterranean world. Each stolen deposit sat directly along a major planetary energy junction, and together their locations formed a vector pointing down toward the planet’s deepest core layers.

"They aren’t stealing energy crystals indiscriminately," she murmured, her mind analyzing the tactical layout. "They are systematically targeting the network’s most critical power nodes."

Her fingers moved rapidly across the interactive screen, calculating the structural consequences of further losses.

"If they remove enough crystals from these primary junctions, the entire planetary energy grid will collapse," she warned. "Your city will lose all power, and the planetary core will be left exposed."

Elarion’s pale face drained of all color.

"Our oldest ancestral laws warn us that the core must never be exposed to the void," the elder breathed.

"Then we won’t let them reach it," Rhaevia stated firmly.

She turned around to face Raevor.

"Prepare an elite reconnaissance team," she instructed. "We will investigate the nearest compromised crystal deposit before the next energy cycle."

Raevor’s silver eyes settled on her face, his brow furrowing slightly.

"You intend to lead the field team personally?" he asked.

"I am the only one here who can actively communicate with the planetary energy network," she pointed out smoothly. "If an unknown entity is manipulating its pathways, I need to observe how they are interacting with the crystal matrix."

Raevor held her steady gaze for a long moment, weighing her reasoning against the potential risks. Finally, he gave a crisp, decisive nod.

"Then I am accompanying you," he stated.

"I expected nothing less from my commanding officer," a subtle, playful smile touched her lips before she turned back to the console.

She looked at Elarion. "Show me your latest automated surveillance recordings from the mining sectors."

The keeper immediately tapped a series of commands into the side console.

Several fragmented, heavy holographic video feeds materialized above the main projection table. The first feed showed a massive, vacant mining chamber illuminated by wall crystals. The third camera caught a distorted, shifting silhouette gliding between two towering crystal pillars.

Rhaevia stepped closer, her eyes fixing on the blurred shadow.

"Isolate and enhance that final video recording," she ordered.

The holographic playback sharpened considerably, rendering a narrow subterranean tunnel illuminated by scattered golden crystals.

Something dark was moving through the background.

The automated surveillance system struggled to lock onto the target’s physical form. Its outline flickered erratically between frames, appearing almost human before stretching into a grotesque, impossible shape.

A moment later, several smaller figures emerged behind the lead raider, carrying heavy metal containers packed with glowing, stolen crystals.

Then, the leading figure suddenly turned its head toward the hidden camera lens.

The recording froze automatically on the creature’s face.

Rhaevia’s relaxed expression hardened into cold intensity.

"Run a full biological and technological classification scan against the database," she instructed the system.

The city’s terminal processed the frozen image, its processing indicator spinning rapidly. A series of standard identification prompts appeared, followed by a tense silence.

Then, the entire display flashed bright, warning red:

[UNKNOWN ENTITY DETECTED.]

[HUMAN CLASSIFICATION: NEGATIVE.]

[ZERG CLASSIFICATION: NEGATIVE.]

[IMPERIAL TECHNOLOGY SIGNATURE: NEGATIVE.]

[DATABASE MATCH: NONE.]

Raevor stepped up beside her, his gaze dropping to the alarming scan results as his posture turned lethal.

"If it isn’t human, Zerg, or Imperial technology," he said, his voice dropping an octave, "then what exactly are we dealing with out here in the dark?"

Before anyone could answer, the frozen holographic image on the screen suddenly distorted.

The raider’s twisted, shifting face expanded until it filled the entire central display, its glowing eyes staring back through the lens.

And directly beneath the failed classification results, a final, chilling system alert flashed in brilliant red:

[WARNING: ENTITY ORIGIN - UNIDENTIFIED.]