Chapter 35: Chapter 35 - Awakening of the Ancient Node
Chapter 35 — Awakening of the Ancient Node
The moment my hand touched the gate—
the world froze.
Not metaphorically.
Literally.
Rain stopped falling midair.
Lightning remained suspended across the clouds like cracks in the sky.
Even the Void Pursuers halted inches away from the shrine, their massive distorted bodies trapped inside frozen time.
Only blue light continued moving.
It spread from my palm across the gigantic circular gate behind me, flowing through ancient metallic patterns carved into the structure like energy racing through a living machine.
The shrine awakened.
Completely.
The blue core inside my chest exploded with heat.
I dropped to one knee immediately as overwhelming information flooded into my mind harder than ever before.
Infrastructure systems.
Planetary defense arrays.
Pathway coordinates.
Ancient civilizations connected through the network.
And beneath all of it—
fear.
The original Technology God’s fear.
Not for himself.
For humanity.
My vision blurred violently.
Then suddenly—
the frozen world shattered around me.
Time resumed.
Rain crashed downward again.
Thunder roared.
And the Void Pursuers screamed.
The gigantic gate behind me rotated for the first time in centuries.
Massive metallic rings shifted against each other with deafening force while blue energy erupted into the storm-covered sky.
The creatures reacted instantly.
All nine Void Pursuers lunged toward me simultaneously.
The phone screen flashed violently.
Emergency Defense System Online.
The shrine answered before the monsters could strike.
Blue constructs erupted from the ground around the clearing.
Tower-like structures unfolded upward from beneath ancient stone while glowing energy lines connected them instantly into a massive geometric network surrounding the shrine.
Then—
they fired.
Beams of concentrated blue energy tore through the storm like divine artillery.
The first Void Pursuer got hit directly midair.
For the first time since encountering these things—
one actually took damage.
The creature’s distorted body cracked apart while black fragments exploded across the clearing.
It screamed.
Not in pain.
In anger.
The remaining Pursuers scattered instantly, twisting unnaturally through the air to avoid the barrage.
The defense towers tracked them automatically.
More blue beams fired upward continuously.
Entire sections of forest vanished from missed shots.
Holy crap.
The original Technology God really built civilization-level weapons.
The phone displayed rapidly changing information.
Planetary Defense Grid:
2% operational.
Threat suppression active.
The shrine shook violently beneath my feet while ancient systems awakened around the clearing.
The gigantic gate behind me continued rotating slowly.
And somewhere beyond the storm—
more blue pillars rose into the sky.
Another node awakening.
Then another.
Then three more.
The network was responding globally now.
The Void Pursuers noticed immediately.
Every creature stopped attacking for one terrifying second.
Then all nine turned toward the gate behind me.
The black distortions covering their bodies intensified violently.
The creatures understood the danger.
Or maybe the opportunity.
Warning:
Pathway synchronization accelerating beyond safe limits.
The first Technology God’s words echoed through my head instantly.
"Connection without strength invites destruction."
But now strength itself threatened connection.
The paradox again.
A massive explosion shook the clearing.
One Void Pursuer crashed directly through a defense tower, destroying it instantly despite losing part of its body during the attack.
The creature adapted already.
Of course it did.
The network immediately recalculated.
Enemy resistance evolving.
Additional infrastructure recommended.
Blue symbols spread across the shrine floor beneath me.
Construction options flooded my thoughts automatically.
Shield generators.
Drone constructs.
Energy cannons.
Reality anchors.
The amount of technology hidden inside the shrine felt overwhelming.
And horrifyingly—
my brain understood all of it naturally now.
No studying.
No learning curve.
The authority translated impossible systems into instinct.
That realization scared me more than the monsters.
Because every second synchronization increased—
I became less human.
The gate behind me suddenly pulsed brighter.
Then—
a voice echoed across the clearing.
"Administrator synchronization confirmed."
Not the first Technology God.
This voice sounded feminine.
Mechanical.
Cold.
The air above the shrine distorted slightly.
A blue holographic figure appeared beside the rotating gate.
A woman.
Tall.
Wearing ancient black armor covered with glowing blue circuitry-like patterns.
Her expression remained emotionless.
"Defense Unit Astra online."
I stared blankly.
The hologram looked directly toward me.
"Awaiting command authorization."
Holy crap.
Artificial intelligence.
Divine artificial intelligence.
The original Technology God literally built AI assistants.
The Void Pursuers attacked again before I could process further.
Three creatures descended simultaneously toward the gate while the others targeted remaining defense towers.
They learned quickly.
Too quickly.
"Astra!"
The holographic woman instantly turned toward me.
"Defensive priority?"
I pointed toward the attacking Pursuers.
"Protect the gate!"
"Command accepted."
Blue light erupted across the clearing.
New structures unfolded from beneath the shrine floor instantly.
Smaller floating constructs launched upward like mechanical birds made from glowing metal.
Drone systems.
The flying machines swarmed the Void Pursuers immediately, firing concentrated blue beams continuously while dodging through the storm.
The creatures roared furiously.
One drone vanished instantly after touching black distortion surrounding a Pursuer.
But ten more replaced it immediately.
The defense network adapted faster than the monsters expected.
Astra calmly observed the battlefield beside me.
"Threat analysis updated."
Blue screens filled the air around her.
"Current enemy force represents scouting-level incursion only."
My blood ran cold.
"Scouting level?"
"Yes."
The holographic woman looked toward the storm clouds.
"Full Pursuer fleets historically consumed entire star systems."
Excuse me?
The gate behind us pulsed harder.
The gigantic rings rotated faster now while blue light spread across the clearing in expanding waves.
Synchronization:
23%.
Dangerously high.
The authority inside my chest evolved again.
Not abruptly this time.
Smoothly.
Naturally.
My thoughts became clearer.
Faster.
The battlefield transformed into patterns and probabilities automatically inside my mind.
Enemy movements predicted themselves.
Defense routes optimized instinctively.
The Technology authority loved large-scale systems.
And honestly?
Part of me loved them too now.
Nope.
Dangerous thought.
I forced myself to remember ordinary things again.
Late-night gaming.
Cheap street food.
My sister threatening to expose embarrassing childhood photos.
Human.
Stay human.
The blue core stabilized slightly afterward.
Astra watched me carefully.
"Identity reinforcement behavior detected."
I blinked once.
"You can tell?"
"Previous Administrators displayed similar symptoms during synchronization."
Symptoms.
Not comforting wording.
One Void Pursuer suddenly broke through the drone swarm.
The massive creature slammed directly into the shrine platform, shattering ancient stone while black distortion spread rapidly toward the gate.
Warning alarms erupted immediately.
Infrastructure corruption detected.
The creature’s fractured white eyes locked onto me.
Then—
it spoke.
Not normally.
The sound felt wrong.
Like reality translating concepts it wasn’t meant to understand.
"Network..."
The distorted voice shook the clearing.
"...must remain silent."
Every defense system paused briefly.
Even Astra looked surprised.
The Void Pursuer slowly rose from the shattered platform while darkness consumed part of its own body continuously.
Like it existed incorrectly.
"You awaken pathways..."
Its fractured gaze focused directly on me.
"...they return."
Cold fear crawled down my spine.
"They?"
The creature twitched unnaturally.
Then the black cracks along its body widened further.
And suddenly—
I saw something inside them.
Not darkness.
Eyes.
Countless enormous eyes staring through the fractures from somewhere impossibly far away.
The Void Pursuer wasn’t the real threat.
It was a servant.
The realization nearly stopped my heart.
Astra’s expression sharpened instantly.
"Administrator, immediate evacuation recommended."
The giant gate behind us pulsed violently.
Synchronization:
31%.
The pathway was opening faster now.
Too fast.
The Void Pursuer looked toward the gate almost desperately.
"Seal..."
Its voice distorted heavily.
"...before the Watchers awaken."
Then the creature exploded.
Not from an attack.
Its body collapsed inward into black distortion instantly, erasing part of the shrine platform completely.
The remaining Void Pursuers screamed across the storm.
And far beyond the clouds—
something answered.
