A New Star Chapter 33

I continued further into the complex as I pondered, examining the surroundings closely, taking my time as I walked down the halls. All of which, by the way, were perfectly clean and well-kempt now that I was deeper into the complex, despite the place's apparent age and state of disuse. It wasn't something I was too concerned about, given that with any sufficiently advanced level of technology keeping such a place clean for millennia would be trivial. That did put the thought in mind whether this was being done entirely by magic, but perhaps I could find something if I poked around the place a bit more. 

Eventually, I came upon what I thought might be a central room, having found scant little of any interest before that. The place was extensive and had plenty of rooms of various sizes, but it was clean…too clean. There wasn't anything laying around; no old papers, scrolls, books, crystals, cutlery, gems, trinkets, jewelry, clothing, cookware, dishes, small amenities, toiletries, or any such thing that one would expect from daily life or occupation. It was a distinct oddity because the place absolutely, despite the weird metal furniture, had rooms for sleeping, rooms for bathing, dining rooms, kitchens, and so on. It was clearly not just a lab or office building but a building that people were intended to live in. Despite that, there was literally nothing but the structural components, such as the walls and floors, and the furniture. It was as if someone knew they would be leaving the place and had taken everything but the tables, chairs, bedframes, and bookshelves.  

I saw that wasn't entirely true as I walked into the central room, however, though at first, I mistook what was within for more furniture. Perhaps that's technically true, as they were storage lockers or cases or containment units, but they clearly weren't regular furniture. The room was about fifty meters to a side and two stories tall; not the largest place even within the complex, but a plenty big space, nonetheless. The nine cases were cubes, three meters to a side, each resting on a short pad of about half a meter in height, all nine cubes being turned so that one corner slotted into the pad about half a meter deep. Eight of the cubes were empty with the front side, the one facing the door I had entered through, being open and there being nothing within. The ninth cube, however, had the front face, which was made of some material like plexiglass or some such, shut and locked. 

As I walked closer to the cube I realized I had been wrong, and not just by a bit. The material was clear and gave the impression of some of those early substrates that people used in windows or skylights or some such, but it was far from that. The whole thing, and by that I meant that face of the cube, was made of a diamondoid material, something created through some kind of highly precise manufacturing that had aligned pure carbon into a diamond-like structure. I had seen very similar things in my last life as my people took to the stars and started to journey even just within our own solar system. To see such an advanced, space-age material sitting in a room under a mountain next to a civilization that was just starting to figure out how the steam engine and electric current worked was pretty shocking. Then again, my extensive reading back at the family estate had told of a series of booms and busts that had swung between grand magic and practically the stone age; between dreadnoughts sailing the skies and to the planet’s four moons using almost entirely technology, and people struggling to light simple fires and keep handpumps for water working. I supposed this facility was from one of those great boom periods, likely one that leaned more heavily toward researching technology, though magic would definitely still be involved. 

Still, I was feeling a bit suspicious at this moment. Just a touch, just a tiny, small, almost infinitesimally tad suspicious, considering I was standing in a facility that looked not abandoned but thoroughly and strategically vacated in a very orderly and precise manner. Yet even though it was clearly left with much planning and forethought on the part of the owner or owners, they had somehow left not just these storage containers, but they had left one still with an item inside? I was finding this hard to believe, though nothing I did or cast brought the sense of any living thing within the facility, nor of any trap I knew how to detect. I also had not seen or detected any sign at all of any kind of security system or monitoring system that might be reporting to said owner. There were no cameras, no sensors, and no feedback to some external source, though I admit I did not have the kinds of tools I would need to properly identify and trace such things.  

I stopped about three paces from the cube and stared through the diamond window at the item within. It was a spear, hovering inside the cube point down without touching the floor or any side, about two-and-a-half meters in length and, boy, calling it a spear was doing it a grave disservice. The thing wasn't a spear, it was a stars-damned work of art, one of the finest weapons, nay, one of the finest crafted items that I had ever laid my eyes on. It was made of a single type of material, which I could tell with just a glance, and was fashioned in such a way that the whole haft looked like a coiled dragon. It was, in fact, a coiled dragon, as the head of the dragon sat right below the spearhead, with the bladed wedge of the head of the spear emerging from the dragon's mouth. The whole thing, including the blade itself, was made of some kind of dark blue material, including a heavy pommel nut at the base around which the tip of the dragon's tail curled in an almost lazy fashion. 

Having laid eyes upon it, I wanted it, and not just because I was quite skilled with the spear and it seemed a very fine weapon, but because this was a masterpiece. Perhaps even the masterpiece of a legendary craftsperson, someone who had dedicated much of their life to forging and creation. I was not necessarily a greedy person, genuinely, but I had a great respect for the person who forged such a thing, and I felt it a great shame that such an exquisite weapon would sit in a box deep underground and not see the light of the sun and stars, nor would it taste the blood of its enemies. I wasn't sure if I could open the box, and that also really just felt like a bad idea, even if there weren't any direct security systems protecting the spear, but I needn't consider it long, as there was a very slight hiss and the diamond pane unlatched from the cube other than at the top corner. I quickly drew my sword and took several steps back, scanning the room while also keeping my attention firmly focused on the cube. I could detect nothing else around, though with the face of the cube open, I could certainly detect the spear. 

I had been wrong, oh so wrong about it; this thing wasn't a masterpiece, it was a magnum opus, the greatest work of a lifetime, of a hundred lifetimes. As soon as the seal on the cube had cracked, I felt the energy wash out from it, every last drop of it originating from the spear. To truly put it into perspective, I had trained and sparred with the count for quite a while now and had some certain sense of how strong his full power was. Even if I was underestimating the man grossly, this spear was still more powerful than he was, a power that could equal or even surpass Z-rankers, and all that from a weapon, an inanimate object. I watched the diamond pane slowly flip up, exposing the spear to the rest of the room, energy thrumming from it in palpable waves. This was not an artifact to take lightly, and that made me all the more cautious, especially since it's containment cube had mysteriously decided to open on its own.  

I waited for several minutes, easily being able to stand in one place and wait for hours at a time, if necessary, the vagaries of being an intergalactic political leader having taught me to stand, loosely hold my posture, never to fidget or expose the nerves. I didn't think that was going to be the case here, but I was very cautious of the mystery underground facility with a strange weapon that decided to coincidentally break containment as soon as I walked in. Still, after a dozen minutes had passed and nothing had happened, I decided it was time to at least investigate. Patience was great, but standing around all day until a powerful enemy showed up or a net closed around one was not a great plan, either. I carefully approached the cube, feeling like I was wading through mud as I got ever nearer the spear, its power that deep and tangible. I stopped right at the face, glancing up at the diamond pane to make sure it didn’t try anything funny; a piece of that wasn't something I could do more than scratch at my current level of strength. 

When the pane showed no more sign of moving than the eight panes on the eight other cubes, I stepped forward again, stopping just in front of the pad on the ground. When nothing struck at me, I boldly strode forward, stepping onto the pad and then stepping halfway into the cube, leaning forward and grasping the spear. The last meter of space around the spear felt thick, almost like pushing my hand through a force barrier rather than mud, but the resistance stopped all at once and my right hand closed on the haft of the spear. A sensation like a thousand thunderbolts flowed up my arm and shocked me to my core, causing me to gasp as if I had just surfaced from being held underwater.  

As the powerful sensation passed through me and faded away, I had the strangest vision, a blur of images and thoughts. It was hard to interpret, but I got the general sense of what was being shown to me; the spear was the last creation of the ninth and greatest of the Wyrm Sovereigns, nine beings of draconic lineage so powerful many had referred to them as gods. All nine had left this world a long, long time ago, in a distant and forgotten age. The last of them, Raziel, left this spear behind, the greatest work he had created before leaving for…something…something beyond the far edge of the horizon. The visions were rather difficult to decipher, but then again, the spear, Gungnir, was a weapon, not a memory storage device. A weapon, in fact, that seemed perfect for me, as it channeled the power of lightning and was forged to always strike true at the target; no art or mystical working could interfere with its attack. 

I stepped back from the cube, Gungnir still in my hand, feeling the raw power of it pulsing throughout the room. I swung it experimentally, slashing with it before performing a series of thrusts, finally rolling it around my body and resting it overtop my shoulders, a deep rumble echoing through the room as I stopped moving. I wasn't sure what that was, but I got the sense that the spear was pleased, though it didn't have anything like a true consciousness. I still had not fully let my guard down, for I thought if anything in this old facility were of any danger, it would be the incomprehensibly powerful weapon currently stretched across my shoulders. It was quite heavy, as well, and I would have struggled to hold it, let alone wield it, if my body weren't so horrifically powerful for my age and level of advancement. I kept it draped across my shoulders, quite comfortable with a spear in that position, exploring the rest of the room to make sure I had missed nothing.  

I had not, in fact, missed anything else; no other legendary weapons forged by a being largely considered a god leapt out of the shadows and into my hands. Disappointing. Having determined that I had the greatest prize possible, and certainly the best this abandoned lab had to offer, I started back-tracking to the surface, phasing into the Dark Paths. To my relief, the spear came with me without issue, not causing any problems or additional disturbance when I phased away nor when I walked the paths out of the facility. The only issue with the spear was that it was a bit long for me right now, but I still had, at minimum, a foot of height to add to my overall total, by which point the spear’s length would be a non-issue. Even now, I could very competently wield it without much trouble; I just had to be aware that the thing was a little long for my arms and current overall stature.  

Leaving the cave was even easier than entering it, though the lack of a giant, immensely powerful dragon in the cavern I had first spotted it was a bit…worrying. Still, nothing else even had a hope of detecting me, and that big lizard didn't show up, even after I was well out of the caves and moving through the forest. I returned to the old researcher base, therein having a decision to make; did I return to the estate with the spear, or did I leave it somewhere 'safe?' In the end, it wasn't a difficult decision to make, as I wasn't going to leave a godly relic, one that already felt bonded to me, just laying around in some old researcher’s hideout. If anyone tried to take it from me, well, I couldn't use even a fraction of its true power, but even the count would have to be careful if I had this thing in my hand. The spear also gave me both hope and an eagerness to explore; I had gotten to it for several reasons, including that I had a way to move around that most beings couldn't detect, but even if that weren't true, I could find a way to explore such places. And with it being true, well, I was going to loot the Untamed Wilds for everything that wasn't nailed down, though that would have to include much longer bouts of exploration than an occasional weekend jaunt.  

The walk back to the estate was rather uneventful, though that was largely because I did the whole thing in the Dark Paths. Once I got back to my room, I dropped out of the paths and propped the spear up against the wall next to the fireplace. It was only a moment after that that there was a furious knocking on my door, causing me to sigh and turn towards the door with an exasperated expression on my face.  

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