Somewhere unknown in the boundless Star Ocean—a place where galaxies twisted like rivers of molten glass and stars pulsed like living hearts, and at this moment, space rippled unnaturally.
The next moment, something appeared around the distortion!
It was colossal, shaped like an equilateral chamfered tetrahedron, its surfaces layered in dark ethereal alloy that reflected no light but instead devoured it, scattering refracted patterns of mystical geometry across the space. Its edges pulsed with silver-gold runes that shifted constantly, as if they were alive and rewriting themselves each second.
Orbiting around this vast construct were hundreds of insect-like constructs, their bodies glimmering with rune-script and crystal wings that thrummed with an eerie synchrony. They formed a perfect Dyson sphere around the entity, their formation pulsing like a mechanical heartbeat in the empty expanse.
The insects rotated, wings unfolding and locking into a web-like lattice. The entire formation looked less like a swarm and more like a mystical seal.
Right at this moment, a static voice reverberated in the space, flat and unfeeling, "Initialization sequence: begin!"
The runes engraved into the tetrahedron flared to life. The insects released streams of luminous script, feeding them into the construct.
"Nightmare Void Server, booting."
At once, the tetrahedron ignited, and light burst outward like the birth of a newborn star, blinding, radiant, violent.
Space around it convulsed, scattering astral currents like rippling water. A corona of silver-black fire stormed outward before collapsing in on itself. However, just as suddenly as it appeared, it vanished!
But in reality, the Nightmare Void Server mended into the fabric of space itself, slipping into a frequency beyond ordinary eyes. Where once there was light and chaos, silence and stillness returned, as though nothing had ever been there.
Yet, the Nightmare Void Server had now changed.
The construct’s appearance had evolved. Now its surfaces gleamed with layers of translucent alloy, shifting like mirrored smoke. At its edges, rotating gear-like rings revolved slowly, emitting thin beams of starlight that curved unnaturally through the space. Its body seemed less a machine and more an entity—half technology, half mystical lifeform.
Surrounded and shielded by the insects, the Nightmare Void Server glided silently through the depths of space as if it were following a predetermined path or searching for something like a predator drawn toward an unseen prey.
After what felt like eternity, it stopped, and the static voice returned, calm and exact: "Target located. Mystic Network Wall has been detected!"
In the vast emptiness before it, space quivered. The insects swarmed forward, synchronizing as glowing glyphs flickered across their wings. They released streams of luminous script into the space, weaving sigils in impossible geometries.
The moment the sigils were completed, an ethereal wall emerged, like hidden ink revealed.
It wasn’t physical. It was vast, translucent, stretching infinitely in every direction. Lines of light ran through it in endless lattices, like a cosmic circuit board. Energy pulsed inside it like veins filled with liquid lightning—an otherworldly barrier that looked less like a wall and more like the skeleton of a network connecting entire realities.
"Commence breach sequence!" The static voice commanded.
From the Nightmare Void Server, impossibly fine threads of light extended outward, weaving like tendrils. They reached the wall, probing, searching.
The insects synchronized again, each one burning with glyph-light as their runes fed energy into the threads. The Nightmare Void Server seemed to be hacking!
The Mystic Network Wall resisted as waves of light rippled across its vastness, rejecting intrusion. The threads fractured, sparks of luminous failure scattering into the void.
"Barrier integrity: 99.8%.
"Breach—unsuccessful!"
For the first time, the static voice carried the faintest distortion. Then, without pause:
"Sacrifice auxiliary units.
"Priority override: Breach!"
The insects responded instantly—one by one, they ignited in blinding flashes, their crystalline wings shattering into runic dust. The energy surged into the Server, magnifying its threads until they burned with stellar intensity.
The wall rippled violently. A single opening, no larger than a pinprick of light, tore open for a fleeting instant.
"Window acquired!
"Execute infiltration!"
The Nightmare Void Server didn’t hesitate. It collapsed into a beam of silver-black light and shot through the rift!
The wall sealed itself in the very next heartbeat. The insects—what remained of them—burned away, their sacrifice complete.
Silence fell once more, and the chaotic space returned to its tranquil chaos, untouched and unknowing, as if nothing had happened.
---
At this moment, within the Mechanized Sovereign Tower, Jacob sat in a colossal chamber lit only by the glow of a vast holographic projection that spanned the air before him.
The holographic projection flickered in the chamber, replaying the phantom image of the Nightmare Void Server disappearing into the Mystic Network Wall.
A single Mechanical Insect perched upon Jacob’s shoulder, its crystalline eyes glowing as the static voice resonated through the room, "The Nightmare Void Server has successfully infiltrated the Virtual World Link through the Mystic Network Wall of the SAAI and Undying Will, sir.
"Now begins the assimilation process. I require time to anchor it into their system without detection. Once complete, we will possess an undetectable vantage point within the Virtual Worlds present in the Legendary Plains!"
The flames within Jacob’s hollow sockets flickered with a faint ecstasy, but the glow quickly steadied into cold, tranquil light.
He leaned forward, skeletal fingers curling lightly over the armrest of his chair. His expression was unreadable, yet his bony face carried the illusion of a smile, eerie in its stillness.
"Perfect," Jacob murmured, voice calm yet edged with satisfaction
But the Mechanical Insect’s wings trembled faintly, and the Black Mechanic’s voice returned, more deliberate, "Sir, caution is imperative. The Mystic Network Wall is not a simple barrier. It is a bioproduct of technology far beyond the Legendary Rank, woven through the Legendary Plains like a living web.
"SAAI and Undying Will use it to monitor everything—movements, communications, even shifts in energy signatures. If we act too quietly, our assimilation may stall. If we act too hurriedly, their Machina Units will detect us instantly. Balance is crucial."
The insect’s crystalline eyes flared briefly, and the projection shifted, showing a lattice of infinite light-webs stretching across entire star systems. It looked less like artifice and more like the nervous system of some titanic organism.
"This ’wall’..." Black Mechanic continued, static voice thickening with something close to awe, "...is a masterpiece. If I can absorb its underlying principles—its synthesis of organic and mechanical law—one of the requirements for my evolution would be fulfilled. This could open a path for me that many from my race would have sought for countless eras, yet never even to be able to touch it."
Jacob’s sockets glowed faintly as he listened. He remained silent for a long moment, his gaze locked on the living hologram of the Network Wall.
Then his voice came, calm, measured, carrying both authority and cold promise, "Focus on the goal first. Our task is not yet complete. But once we achieve it, I don’t mind letting you pursue this knowledge. I’ll even help you, for it’ll serve me well."
The Black Mechanic did not hesitate, nor did it show a hint of dejection or rebellion.
The insect dipped its crystalline head, static voice steady, absolute, "Understood, sir. I shall comply. The Nightmare Void Server will continue assimilation at optimal pace, undetected."
The projection dimmed, and the vast chamber fell into a heavy silence. Jacob’s skeletal frame leaned back, the faint, ghostly smile still curling against his hollow visage. The flames in his sockets pulsed once, steady and resolute.
"Good," He whispered, the words echoing like a death knell, then, louder, cold and certain, "Let the Nightmare Plan begin!"