Rise of the Nullborn

The fire had long since faded to a circle of ash, but warmth lingered in the hollowed bark behind them. Zayn stirred first. He rose from where he sat against the trunk, the smell of morning dew soaking into the earth beneath him. Light filtered through the spiral branches above, casting flickering shadows across his face.

He stretched, each movement quiet and deliberate. His body felt lighter, less burdened. There was no artificial hum behind his thoughts, no signal drag from a decaying system.

Only silence.

No, not silence.

Peace.

Behind him, Nala stirred. Her eyes blinked open slowly, unfiltered by any HUDs or overlays. She looked almost younger here, even though her presence had matured. Her blonde hair had curled slightly from the moisture, framing her face softly.

"We made it through the night," she said, voice quiet.

Zayn nodded, pulling his cloak tighter around his shoulders. "The portal hasn't moved."

He stood, walked to the edge of the ridge, and looked out again. The flickering vertical scar in the air still hung low in the distance, unchanged... dormant. For now.

"We won't get answers by staring at it," Nala said, stepping up beside him.

"No," Zayn replied. "But we can mark the location. Maybe someone in this world knows what it is."

They both turned to the path sloping down the ridge.

[Waypoint Marked: Flicker Scar - Portal Class Unknown]

[Map Generation: 3% Complete]

Their journey resumed, boots pressing into damp soil, breaths visible in the morning chill.

The world around them remained strangely beautiful. Trees hummed with dormant Aether. Low grasses occasionally sparked with shimmer threads. Small, floating orbs of light drifted lazily near the trunks – harmless, reactive to movement, like pollen that could think.

Zayn had to remind himself more than once that this was real. That he wasn't inside a construct, no longer wrapped in simulation fields. Everything he touched was solid. Everything he felt was raw.

He pulled up the Interface briefly.

AETHEROID CORE: Stable

Tier: Aetherborn (Ascendant Tier 1)

PATH: Aetherwright (Signalwright Variant)

PRIMING: Ready - Unlock via Ruin Interaction

SKILLS:

Space Warp [Active]

Core Stabilization [Passive]

RELATION SYNC: Nala - 82%

He lowered the menu. Nala glanced at him.

"Anything new?"

"Priming unlocked. We need a ruin to trigger it."

"Then we'd better find one."

They continued eastward, guided by instinct and the barely-there pulses of Aether in the distance.

---

By midmorning, the terrain shifted.

The grass thinned, replaced by low stone ridges. Broken walls appeared ahead, sun-bleached and moss-covered. Structures emerged from the overgrowth like bones half-forgotten by time. Some had collapsed entirely, their frames overtaken by vines and spiraling bark.

A structure shaped like a collapsed tower lay in the center, next to what seemed like an old aqueduct, now dry. Smoke rose from further ahead, faint but steady. Not wildfire... hearth smoke.

Civilization.

Zayn crouched behind a half-toppled column and scanned.

[Aether Readings Detected - Low to Mid Tier Activity]

[Signal Class: Organic - Human Presence Confirmed]

He turned toward Nala. "There's a settlement up ahead. Low-level energy signatures. Looks like they use localized Aether instead of centralized cores."

"That would make sense. No tech here. No Architect. No signal relays. Just... Aether."

They advanced slowly, keeping to the shadows of the ruins until the path opened.

A wooden arch marked the entrance. Hand-carved, painted with faded symbols. Above it, hanging from frayed rope, was a nameplate.

MOONVINE

The town looked like it had grown from the ruins themselves. Buildings were a patchwork of stone, timber, and bone-reinforced Aetherwood. Pathways were uneven, stitched together with scavenged tiles. A wide square occupied the center, surrounded by market stalls.

People.

Actual people.

Dozens of them.

Some wore armor made from hide and Aether-chitin. Others carried farming tools laced with glow-filaments. A few had cloaks similar to Zayn's, eyes cautious, hands near weapons. Children played with floating stones tethered by threadlike energy.

Zayn stepped into the light.

Conversations died.

All eyes turned toward him.

Nala followed a step behind, head high, shoulders square.

Whispers began, quiet at first.

"That aura..."

"He isn't bound."

"I don't see a sigil. No mark."

"What's wrong with his eyes?"

Zayn kept walking.

He reached the center of the square. No one stopped him, but they made space. Wide-eyed. Suspicious. A few backs tensed. One boy pointed directly at his chest.

"His core... It doesn't hum. It's quiet."

[Aetheroid Core Signature: Detected - Unique Variant]

[Local Aetherians: Unfamiliar - Behavioral Instability Possible]

A woman stepped forward from the edge of the crowd. Older, dressed in layers of cloth dyed with earth pigment, a curved bone staff in her hand.

"I am Halwen, elder of Moonvine," she said.

Zayn inclined his head slightly.

"We mean no harm," he said.

"Then explain why your core reads empty... yet alive," she replied, voice calm but firm.

Zayn held her gaze. "I was born without one. Nullborn."

Gasps.

Nala stepped beside him, her presence steady.

"That is no longer true," she added. "His core is Aetheroid. Alive... and aligned."

Halwen looked at her, then back at Zayn.

"You carry something... foreign. Not corrupted. Not twisted. But... alien."

"I became this after the Fracture Sphere collapsed," Zayn said.

She tilted her head. "The what?"

He paused. Right. These people didn't know the world he came from. That timeline had never reached them. This world wasn't built on tech and collapse. It was something older.

"It doesn't matter. I'm here now. I want to understand this world. Not tear it apart."

Halwen studied him.

Then she turned.

"Let them rest. If they cause trouble, we'll know."

The crowd thinned.

Whispers remained.

But no blades came.

---

Later that day, Zayn and Nala sat beneath a slanted rooftop in the edge of the town. An older man named Ferek had given them bread and boiled root drink in exchange for stories. He didn't believe half of it, but he seemed to enjoy the lies.

Children peeked from around corners.

Zayn didn't mind. He let them stare.

The world had to see him.

Eventually, Nala shifted beside him.

"They don't understand you," she said.

"They're not supposed to," Zayn replied.

"Then why let them look?"

He smiled faintly. "Because I want them to see I'm not hiding."

The sun began to lower. Traders packed their stalls. Guards rotated. The whole town moved like it breathed Aether with each rotation of the stars.

[Local Ruin Detected - 1.2km Northeast]

Zayn stood.

Nala rose with him.

"Time to find that ruin," he said.

And together, they walked back into the wild light of a world without wires.