The coordinates Velo Krass had given were unlike anything Kairos had ever seen.
They pointed to a graveyard orbit, just outside the event horizon of a long-dead neutron star. No planet. No station. Just wreckage—hundreds of ships, frozen in a slow death spiral, debris fields stretching like the bones of a forgotten empire.
"Gravitational drift detected," Nira warned. "Ship hull integrity must be constantly monitored. Recommend tethering Vulture to debris field node 77B."
Kairos narrowed his eyes as the Jade Vulture approached the field.
"It's beautiful," he muttered.
"Your definition of beautiful includes high radiation zones, hull-piercing spikes, and rogue defense drones?"
"Only on Thursdays."
Nira didn't laugh, but he imagined she wanted to.
They anchored near a shattered capital-class warship: the XSV Defiance. According to Market Ghost's passive overlays, this was where the Thorn of Azaek had last changed hands… in the middle of a desperate final stand.
[Data match: Battle of Kevar IX Remnants – Unreported trade detected aboard Defiance][Trade Code: One-Use Item – Mindborne Relic – "Thorn of Azaek"]
[Status: Unrecovered. Possible Vault Detected in Officer Quarters.]
Kairos pulled on his reinforced suit and stepped into the boarding dock.
Inside the Wreck
The airlock hissed open, and the smell hit immediately—burned plastic, stale air, and the metallic tang of death. The corridors were twisted and blackened, walls scorched from internal detonations. Bodies were long gone, either retrieved or lost to the void. But something lingered—memories.
Not just metaphorical ones.
[System Alert: Passive Echo Field Detected.][Residual psychic imprint active in local space.]
As Kairos stepped through a narrow doorway, a wave of memory hit him.
Screaming. Gunfire. And a voice—desperate, strong:
"Lock the Thorn away! Do not let it fall into anyone's hands!"
Then silence.
He gasped, heart pounding. "That wasn't a hallucination."
Nira's voice came through the neural link.
"Confirmed. Passive psychic data stored in environmental anomalies. Someone... or something... is trying to communicate."
The Vault
He found it sealed behind a melted bulkhead. A single handprint pad remained—charred, but functional. The Market Ghost system shimmered over it, displaying dozens of transaction echoes.
"Final trade made here," Nira reported. "The Thorn was exchanged for... coordinates. Coordinates marked as Class Black—Earth-tier encryption."
Kairos's breath caught. "Earth again."
He placed his palm on the scanner.
The vault door hissed, stuttered, and then opened.
Inside was a black dagger—no hilt, just obsidian glass wrapped in a static field. It pulsed faintly, as though breathing.
As he reached for it, a warning exploded across his interface:
[Item: Thorn of Azaek – Requires Psychic Compatibility][Warning: Mental Feedback Risk – Moderate to Severe][Confirm Attempt to Interface?]
Kairos hesitated.
Then nodded. "Do it."
The Connection
His mind was pulled into darkness. Cold, infinite, whispering.
He saw wars—dozens of them—where the Thorn had passed hands. Generals whispering orders with it clutched in their grip, their enemies falling to their knees as thoughts turned to dust. He saw madness. Power. And finally... a man standing alone in a ruined city.
"You."
The voice echoed.
"You are not of this age. You are not of this war. Why do you seek me?"
"I trade," Kairos replied. "Information, value, power. You're valuable."
The voice paused.
"Then let us trade."
And just like that—the dagger glowed.
Back in the Real
He opened his eyes, breath ragged. The dagger floated in his hands. No longer sealed. It had accepted him.
[Item Acquired: Thorn of Azaek – Bound Relic][Effect: Once per 7 days – Whisper of Collapse – Forcefully disrupt enemy mental cohesion in a 10m radius.][Trade Power Boost: Increases barter effectiveness against psionic or emotionally reactive species.]
[New Passive Unlocked: Relic Insight – Ability to assess value of memory-bound items.]
[New Tag Earned: "Relic-Wielder" – Reputation unlocked across relic markets.]
Kairos stared at the dagger, then sheathed it in a containment field.
"Another piece of the puzzle," he whispered.
And he knew—this wasn't just about trade anymore.
It was about legacy.
And Earth, somewhere, was the key to it all.
Status Summary:
Cosmic Units (C.U.): 6,950
Star Credits: 15,800
Trader Rank: Tier 2+
Relic Acquired: Thorn of Azaek – Bound
New Passive: Relic Insight
Reputation: +10 (Relic Circles, Rogue Traders)
Inventory Update: High-value asset acquired – illegal in most regulated zones