Chapter 178: The Violet World – Thal'Ryn
After a journey through the silent, star-dusted tapestry of the void, the shuttle began its descent towards Planet Thal'Ryn. As it pierced the atmosphere, a breathtaking vista unfolded beneath them, a world that seemed plucked from the canvas of a dream.
Thal'Ryn was a symphony of alien flora, a living watercolor of profound violets and fiery amber. Vast, rolling plains were covered in forests of towering, willow-like trees whose leaves were not green, but a deep, majestic purple, shimmering with a velvety sheen under the light of its gentle sun. Interwoven with these violet canopies were sprawling fields of vegetation that blazed in shades of reddish-yellow, like a perpetual autumn sunset frozen in time. From above, the landscape was a stunning patchwork of royal amethyst and burning gold.
The very soil of the planet contributed to its otherworldly charm. It was a rich, bluish clay, the color of a twilight sky, creating a stark and beautiful contrast with the vibrant foliage. Winding through this surreal panorama were rivers and lakes of startlingly clear, normal-colored water, their familiar sapphire and turquoise hues acting as serene, reflective mirrors to the alien palette that surrounded them. It was a world of Earth-like proportions, but with a soul painted in entirely different colors.
Their shuttle homed in on a large, cleared area amidst the sea of purple and gold. It was a landing port, a massive, circular platform constructed from a dull, gunmetal-gray alloy that spoke of rugged functionality. As the ship settled with a soft hum, its landing gear connecting firmly with the cool metal, the doors hissed open.
They were greeted by a small contingent of people waiting on the tarmac. The group was a study in contrasts. Several were clad in the tactical, armored fabrics of professional bodyguards, their postures rigid and their eyes constantly scanning the environment. Standing among them were individuals in pristine white lab coats, their demeanor more focused and academic.
One man stepped forward from this group. To the eyes of someone from pre-essence Earth, he would have appeared to be in his late sixties or early seventies—a man of advanced age, with a face etched by time and wisdom, his hair a distinguished silver. But in the current era, such appearances were deceptive. He was, in fact, 450 years old.
This was the most fundamental gift of the pervasive Essence Energy that had suffused the universe. It was not a power reserved solely for hunters who battled behemoths or cultivators who sought to defy the heavens. It was in the air, the water, the very food consumed. It gently suffused every cell of every living being, slowing the processes of decay and entropy to a crawl. A mundane human, one who never threw a punch or practiced a breathing technique, could now naturally live for five or six centuries, their vitality enduring far beyond the ancient limits of mortality. The man who greeted them was not an elder on the verge of decline, but a mature adult, likely with another two centuries of vibrant life ahead of him. He was a living testament to the new, elongated timeline of existence that essence energy had bestowed upon all of humanity.
Lisa was the first to descend the shuttle's ramp, her heels clicking softly on the metallic landing pad. A perfectly practiced, professional smile was fixed on her face—the kind that reached her eyes just enough to be convincing but held no genuine warmth. She moved with an air of corporate authority, the representative of a powerful financial institution.
Following a few paces behind her, Moon and Kai emerged like twin shadows. Moon was in his customary uniform of a black shirt, black trousers, and stark white sports shoes, a study in monochrome intensity. Kai was his mirror opposite in a crisp white shirt, black pants, and black shoes. Their attire was their signature, a non-verbal statement of their role: observant, separate, and ready. Yet, as they had anticipated, all eyes glided over them, fixing solely on Lisa, the apparent person of importance.
The silver-haired man stepped forward, his movements measured and calm. He extended a hand, his skin marked with the elegant wrinkles of his four and a half centuries—lines that spoke not of frailty, but of immense experience.
"Well, hello, Ms. Lisa Mingrui," he said, his voice a calm, resonant baritone. "I am Dr. Elarion Voss. I hope you had no trouble reaching our remote corner of the universe." A serene smile graced his lips, making the wrinkles around his eyes crinkle deeply.
Lisa matched his energy perfectly, taking his hand in a firm, professional shake. "Not at all, Dr. Voss. The journey was perfectly comfortable. Your coordinates were precise."
With the formalities observed, Dr. Voss gestured towards a wide, seamless entrance carved into the base of a nearby, violet-forested hill. "Please, follow me."
The group moved towards the entrance, which slid open noiselessly. This was the standard for anyone who owned a private planet in this era. All major development—living quarters, laboratories, power systems—was built underground. The surface was sacrosanct, left to its native vegetation and ecosystems. It was a hard-learned lesson from humanity's past, a collective memory of a scarred Earth that forced them into sterile space cities. Now, residing on a planet meant coexisting with it, not conquering it. The true civilization thrived beneath the beautiful, untamed surface.
As they descended into a brightly lit, cavernous hall, the purpose of this facility became immediately clear. It was less a sterile lab and more of a vast, curated biosphere. The walls were not plain metal, but transparent panels of reinforced crystal, and behind them lay a breathtaking menagerie of Thal'Ryn's fauna, each in a carefully simulated natural habitat.
Dr. Voss, noticing their captivated gazes, slipped effortlessly into the role of a guide. "Welcome to the heart of our work," he said, his voice filled with a scholar's passion. "We observe, we learn."
He pointed towards one enclosure where a creature moved with liquid grace. "Observe the Shimmer-Scale Glider. Its scales refract light, rendering it nearly invisible in the dappled light of the violet forests."
His gesture then shifted to another habitat, where a large, six-legged beast stood placidly chewing on bluish foliage. "And this is a Rust-Horned Grazer. The metallic compounds in the soil are incorporated into its horn, making it one of the toughest organic materials we've documented."
Further along, in a dimly lit tank, a creature floated, its body a pulsating orb of soft, bioluminescent light, trailing dozens of delicate, filament-like tendrils. "The Luminous Medusae," Voss explained. "It communicates through complex patterns of light, a language we are only beginning to decipher."
The hall was a living archive, a testament to the belief that understanding a world's life was the first step to truly inhabiting it. And somewhere in this subterranean sanctuary of life, waited the object of their mission: the Red Diamond Crown.
Lisa's eyes swept across the magnificent underground biosphere with genuine appreciation. She wasn't just a banker; she was a representative of the institution funding this grand endeavor, and the sight of the Rust-Horned Grazers and Luminous Medusae in their pristine habitats was a testament to where the Mountbatten Bank's credits were flowing. It was a sound investment in both knowledge and public image.
It was then that Dr. Elarion Voss glided up beside her, his presence as calm as the deep-rooted violet forests above them. "Ms. Mingrui," he began, his voice a low, polite rumble. "Might I offer you some refreshment after your journey? Tea? Coffee? Water, perhaps? Juice?"
Lisa turned her professional smile back to him. "One orange juice, please."
Dr. Voss gave a nearly imperceptible nod, and without him even having to look, an assistant stationed a few feet away immediately spoke into a wrist-comm, ordering three glasses of freshly squeezed orange juice.
As they waited, the scientist's expression grew more serious, the pleasantries now concluded. "Miss Lisa," he started, a note of sincere apology in his tone. "I am very sorry to inform you that you will have to wait for a few more days before you can take possession of the crown."
A flicker of confusion and impatience crossed Lisa's face. "Ehem, what?"
Dr. Voss offered a patient, knowing smile. "Yes, yes, you heard me correctly. You see, when a treasure of this magnitude is acquired, it cannot simply be put in a box. It is brought under control using a specific essence lock and sealing technique before any research can be conducted. To do otherwise... well, the observer could be driven mad. Or worse, the artifact's untamed energy could cause them direct, physical harm."
He could see she didn't fully grasp the concept, so he gestured to one of the large aquariums housing the Luminous Medusae. "Think of it like a highly sensitive, deep-sea fish. If you were to simply yank it from its specialized aquarium and drop it into another, it would most likely die from the shock. The environment is part of its stability. Similarly, removing the crown now, while it is still fully sealed, would be akin to suffocating it. It would drain its power, effectively killing it as an artifact. We must first carefully 'acclimatize' it, reintroducing it to the ambient essence field in a controlled manner, just as you would slowly add water from the new tank to the old."
Lisa processed this, her banker's mind calculating the delays and the risks. "I see," she said, her tone measured. "In that case, Dr. Voss... can I, at least, see it?"
A wide, welcoming smile broke out on the doctor's face, pleased by her curiosity. "Of course, of course! It is a magnificent sight. Right this way, please. Follow me."
He turned, leading the small party—Lisa, and her two silent shadows, Moon and Kai—deeper into the labyrinthine facility, away from the public biosphere and towards the high-security vaults where the true object of their mission, pulsating with contained power, awaited its eventual release.
To be continued…