Chapter 26: Chapter 26 - The Calling Light
Chapter 26 — The Calling Light
The blue pillar split the sky like lightning frozen in place.
It rose far beyond the western forests, piercing dark storm clouds with glowing energy that looked painfully familiar.
Technology.
Not magic.
Not holy light.
Technology.
The moment it appeared, the divine core inside my chest reacted violently.
Pain exploded through my body.
I dropped to one knee instantly as blue static erupted around my arms.
The refugees screamed in panic.
Several Eternal Light knights raised defensive barriers immediately while mercenaries reached for weapons instinctively.
But nobody attacked.
Because honestly?
Everyone was too shocked.
The pillar of light continued burning against the sky like a beacon calling across worlds.
And deep inside my mind—
something answered.
Connection established.
The voice wasn’t human.
Not male.
Not female.
Mechanical.
Ancient.
Cold.
Welcome back, Administrator.
My breathing stopped.
The phone screen flashed violently in my hand.
Ancient Network Node Found. System Integrity: 12%
Awaiting Authorization.
My heartbeat thundered inside my ears.
Administrator?
What the hell did that mean?
The blue core pulsed harder.
Not random now.
Responsive.
Like the shrine recognized me specifically.
Or worse—
recognized the authority inside me.
"Elena—"
Pain cut off my voice.
The static around my body intensified sharply.
The saintess immediately knelt beside me, silver divine energy spreading around her hands.
"Kaiser!"
Her calming power collided with the unstable blue energy surrounding me.
For one terrifying second—
the two divine authorities sparked against each other violently.
The air cracked like electricity.
Nearby knights stumbled backward.
Even Lucien looked alarmed now.
"Contain the resonance!"
Golden barriers erupted across the bridge instantly.
The Eternal Light knights formed a circle around us while refugees panicked behind supply wagons.
Meanwhile Lyra stared at the distant blue pillar with narrowed eyes.
"Well," the mercenary leader muttered softly.
"That definitely looks historically catastrophic."
Honestly?
Fair assessment.
The mechanical voice echoed again inside my head.
Network Signal Weak. Primary Systems Offline. Awaiting Reinitialization.
Fragments of images flashed through my mind.
Metallic towers.
Endless blue pathways stretching across stars.
Machines orbiting entire worlds.
Civilizations connected through glowing networks.
And beneath it all—
a single overwhelming concept.
Expansion.
The original Technology God didn’t think like other gods.
He thought like a civilization builder.
The realization nearly made me sick.
"Kaiser!"
Elena’s voice pulled me back sharply.
I blinked hard.
The visions vanished instantly.
The blue static weakened slightly under her silver divine energy.
Her blue eyes looked genuinely frightened now.
"What’s happening?"
I tried breathing normally again.
"Something..."
Pain pulsed through my chest.
"...something’s calling me."
The phone vibrated violently once more.
Priority Command Detected. Nearest Active Node: 17.4 kilometers.
Recommended Action: Reconnect Infrastructure.
Oh no.
Oh absolutely not.
The wording alone sounded horrifying.
Reconnect infrastructure.
Like ancient divine technology systems waited dormant for centuries.
And somehow—
I was the access key.
Lucien stepped toward us carefully.
"What did the shrine do?"
I looked up weakly.
"It recognized me."
Silence.
Nobody liked that answer.
Especially not Lucien.
The commander’s expression hardened immediately.
"We leave now."
Lyra crossed her arms.
"You think moving farther away solves this?"
Lucien ignored her.
"The council must be informed immediately."
The mercenary leader pointed toward the sky.
"There’s a giant ancient Technology beacon screaming across the continent right now."
Fair point honestly.
You couldn’t exactly hide that.
The refugees whispered fearfully among themselves while staring at the blue pillar.
Some prayed.
Others looked terrified.
But a few—
looked hopeful.
The core absorbed all of it.
Fear.
Wonder.
Curiosity.
Faith.
Every emotional response strengthened the authority somehow.
Technology thrived on attention itself.
The more humanity noticed it—
the stronger it became.
God, that was dangerous.
Dorian quietly stepped beside me while observing the glowing pillar.
"The old systems are responding autonomously."
I looked toward him sharply.
"You sound like you understand this."
The merchant adjusted his gloves calmly.
"I study lost civilizations."
Of course he did.
Dorian’s eyes reflected the blue light from the distant beacon.
"Most divine authorities leave temples after collapse."
He gestured toward the sky.
"Technology apparently left infrastructure."
Again that word.
Infrastructure.
Not symbolic worship.
Functional systems.
The original Technology God truly engineered divinity itself differently from everyone else.
No wonder history feared him.
The phone screen shifted again suddenly.
Incoming Signal Fragment.
Audio Reconstruction Available.
A distorted voice crackled softly through the speaker.
"...central network... failure confirmed..."
Static interrupted the message briefly.
"...Earth node permanently silent..."
My entire body froze.
Earth.
The recording mentioned Earth.
Elena noticed my expression instantly.
"What is it?"
I stared at the phone screen in disbelief.
The distorted voice continued.
"...remaining planetary pathways unstable..."
More static.
"...Administrator absence exceeds acceptable duration..."
Then silence.
The recording ended.
Nobody around me spoke.
Because they all understood one terrifying thing.
Earth existed within the original Technology God’s network.
Not metaphorically.
Literally.
The original authority connected worlds physically somehow.
And Earth was one of them.
The prophet’s visions suddenly made horrifying sense.
The pathways between worlds weren’t magic portals.
They were infrastructure systems.
Built.
Maintained.
Engineered.
Holy crap.
The original Technology God may have been less a deity—
and more the administrator of an interdimensional civilization.
The blue core pulsed violently again.
Like it agreed.
Lucien’s expression darkened heavily.
"What did it say?"
I hesitated briefly.
Then answered honestly.
"It mentioned Earth."
Several people looked confused immediately.
Not Elena though.
She remembered my story.
The saintess stared at me carefully.
"Your world."
I nodded slowly.
The wind across the bridge intensified.
Storm clouds gathered thicker above us now.
The blue beacon continued burning in the distance like a second sun.
Lyra quietly whistled.
"So the rumors were true."
Everyone looked toward her.
The mercenary leader shrugged lightly.
"Ancient stories claimed the Technology authority came from beyond the known worlds."
Interesting.
Lucien frowned sharply.
"You never mentioned this before."
"Because ancient stories usually involve nonsense."
Lyra smirked faintly.
"Unfortunately, today keeps proving nonsense correct."
Fair.
Very fair.
The refugees grew increasingly restless behind us.
One older man suddenly shouted nervously—
"Is this the end times?!"
Panic spread instantly afterward.
People started yelling.
Children cried.
Several refugees attempted fleeing the road entirely.
The Eternal Light knights struggled to maintain order as fear escalated rapidly.
And the worst part?
The core loved it.
The blue energy inside my chest surged stronger beneath the emotional chaos.
Not because people worshipped me directly—
but because technology naturally spread fastest during crisis.
Desperate people searched for solutions.
Stability.
Safety.
Exactly the conditions where innovation thrived.
The realization horrified me.
The original Technology God may not have manipulated humanity intentionally.
Civilization itself naturally empowered him.
Elena suddenly grabbed both my shoulders firmly.
"Kaiser."
I focused on her immediately.
Good.
That helped.
The saintess looked directly into my eyes.
"You need to stay present."
Her voice remained calm despite the chaos around us.
"Don’t let the authority consume your thoughts."
Right.
Because my brain was dangerously close to spiraling into existential technological philosophy again.
I exhaled slowly.
The blue static around my body weakened slightly.
The mechanical voice inside my head faded too.
For now.
Lucien immediately seized the moment.
"We move."
His command voice cut through the refugee panic sharply.
"Full defensive formation."
Knights reorganized instantly.
Mercenaries moved aside reluctantly as the convoy prepared to continue westward.
But before anyone could start moving—
the blue beacon suddenly changed.
The pillar contracted inward sharply.
Then exploded outward in a circular wave of light.
The shockwave spread across the sky silently.
Beautifully.
Terrifyingly.
And every divine authority on the bridge reacted immediately.
Golden light erupted around Lucien.
Silver energy surrounded Elena.
Even Lyra’s amber aura flared instinctively.
Meanwhile my phone displayed a single line across the glowing screen.
Secondary Nodes Activated.
And then—
far across the distant horizon—
another blue pillar rose into the sky.
