Chapter 8: Mysterious device
[Albedo's POV]
Albedo moved with a placid, unhurried calm through the sterile silence of his inner laboratory, a stark contrast to the symphony of destruction echoing through the rest of the facility –and by extension the entirety of galvan prime– The frantic report from the command center had been expected, a predictable variable in a long-anticipated equation.
'I knew that barbarian Vilgax would come skulking for 'it' the moment the First Thinker departed Galvan Prime...' The thought was a bitter pill in his mind laced with a familiar contempt for the squid-faced conqueror.
'That arrogant fool has been drooling over the project since its inception, believing his brutish strength grants him a right to a creation his mind could never comprehend.' he thought with indignation as a A flicker of old memories surfaced through his mind —days when they had stood side-by-side as apprentices, a time before the flames of ambition had twisted Vilgax into the tyrant he was now.
Banishing the thoughts as he always did whenever his emotions stirred, albedo continued his calm stride.
His path took him past the central examination table, its surface still bearing the faint, clean scent of antiseptic and the lingering, unique bio-signature of his most promising subject. He paused, his large black eyes resting on it for a brief moment, a rare flicker of genuine academic disappointment crossing his features.
'Ah, what a profound shame. He was truly a fine specimen. Perhaps the only one in all the realms whose aberrant biology was compatible, whose very existence was a key for the lock. But alas... fate is an inconvenient variable.'
Prisoner 777 had been Albedo's greatest breakthrough. No other test subject had endured the preliminary infusion of Omni-energy, their bodies and spirits violently rejecting the foreign power. But 777... his flesh, shadow, and spirit had not just endured the energy but had also consumed it entirely adapting and harmonizing with an eagerness that defied all biological and spiritual laws.
The final step, the soul-bonding, was all that remained. A few more controlled injections with some more precise calibrations and the vessel would have been perfected.
Of course, they never intended to let the human keep the relic. The plan was a momentary, controlled bond, just long enough for the relic to permanently imprint the subject's unique essence –which is capable of handling the relic power– to become a perfect template to be used for all future wielders.
777 was not meant to be the relic's true master, instead he was supposed the ultimate and finale key, the genetic Rosetta Stone. Such fate was only to be expected from a criminal, it would serve as a retribution for all the crimes he had committee or at least that is what the Galvans thought.
'What an annoyingly complex process,' Albedo mused, contemplating the final delicate stage of the First Thinker's magnum opus which was the safety protocol that prevented the relic from instantly annihilating any being foolish enough to attempt bonding with it.
Walking to the side of the room, He input a complex sequence into his holographic keyboard and then a section of the seamless wall hissed open, revealing a hidden passage. The gate sealed behind him, muting the distant sounds of battle.
After navigating a narrow, dimly lit hallway that seemed to reject sound itself, Albedo emerged into a chamber that defied conventional physics. It was a pocket of absolute nothingness, an endless abyss where the very concepts of 'up' and 'down' felt meaningless.
In the center of this infinite dark, a single, stark beam of light fell upon a solitary platform, illuminating a sphere of polished, dark metal that seemed to drink the light around it. It hovered in silent majesty, a contained star in a universe of void.
Albedo stepped forward, platforms of solid light materialized beneath his feet, constructing a path with each step as if the room itself acknowledged his authority.
He reached the sphere and a subtle telekinetic field lifted it from its invisible pedestal.
HISS
the sphere split open, its halves retracting to reveal the treasure within.
Inside lay the Omnitrix. It was a device of breathtaking, alien elegance. The central body was a sleek, black disc, upon which a vibrant, green Black colored hourglass symbol was emblazoned, seeming to pulse with a slow, internal light. The band was a symphony of advanced materials—silver, black, and green—interlocking with impossible precision. It was not merely a tool; it was a promise, a compact embodiment of infinite potential, a creation that hummed with a power that felt both scientific and divine.
"Damn it..." Albedo cursed, the word sharp in the profound silence. He closed the pod, the weight of protocol pressing upon him. The directive was clear: in the event of a catastrophic breach, the Omnitrix—the greatest creation in all the mortel and divine realms alike , an artifact rivaling the divine relics of the gods—was to be jettisoned into the cosmic streams, sent to a random, secured divine realm to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands.
The protocol was especially important in this situation as a mind like Vilgax's, armed with such power, would become a cancer upon all of creation.
'that is if he figures out to how to use it properly...' he thought, acknowledging the fact that even if vilgax managed to get his hands on the Omnitrix, it would be useless as he did not possesses the genetic code for it to fully bond with him.
But still, a mind like vilagax would go on a relentless crusade to find a way to harness the Omnitrix powers...
The Omnitrix which contained the coded essence of countless species, Nobel and otherwise was a weapon of ultimate adaptation. It could grant its wielder the form and power of any race, an ability that surpassed even the most potent of Aspects. And it was designed to evolve, to grow alongside its user as they ascended further on the path of ascension, essentially becoming a second customizable Aspect of unimaginable versatility.
'....Do I truly have to follow this flawed protocol?' A dark rebellious thought wormed its way into Albedo's mind, his face contorting with a complex, unreadable expression.
He was not some lowly soldier. He was the First Thinker's right hand, a mind capable of influencing the destiny of Galvan Prime deciding it's future for the best or the worst.
And so to someone like albedo, The protocol was a coward's solution, a gamble with the highest stakes—entrusting their masterpiece to the fickle hands of fate...
'It could just as easily fall into the clutches of someone even more deplorable than Vilgax!' he thought with rising bitterness. While he doubted such a being existed, the realms were vast and filled with ancient horrors. Even the realms of the six gods were not truly safe.
'No. If Vilgax wants the Omnitrix, he will have to go through me first.' The decision solidified within him, a grim and final resolve. He would be the gatekeeper and he will not allow the most powerful weapon in all the nine realms to fall into the clutches of the unknown.
And so With determined steps, he turned and exited the chamber, leaving the sealed metallic sphere behind on its platform.
He had made his decision, and the gods will bare witness to it.
He would meet the conqueror head-on.
---
[Vilgax's POV]
Vilgax tore through the Galvans' advanced defensive machines with the casual brutality of one crushing insects. To him, the brilliant Galvans and their intricate technology were no different from vermin, nothing more then pests to be exterminated for being in his way
His contempt for them, for Azmuth most of all, was not born from their physical weakness, but from their staggering lack of ambition. They possessed the sharpest minds in all of the realms, ones that could reshape the very fabric of reality and yet they chose to hide away like cowards tinkering in their ivory towers while true empires were forged in fire and blood.
It was the height of idiocy, especially with the War Empire's legions scouring the realms with a divine vessel of war god on their side.
But Vilgax was no coward. He was a warrior, a conqueror, a tyrant to his enemies and a king to his followers. He would not let his hard-won kingdom be threatened And so, he had set his singular, ruthless gaze upon the First Thinker's magnum opus: the Omnitrix.
A divine miracle that could transform its wielder into any species, granting powers that could eclipse even the most formidable Aspect abilities. In the hands of an Ascended Tyrant like himself, it would be the final key to absolute, unchallenged dominion.
Vilgax hissed as his massive sword cleaved another towering Galvan mech in two. The searing plasma of its core washed over his armored tentacles without effect.
Impatience was a fire in his veins. He needed to claim his prize before Azmuth returned. The thought of facing his old mentor in open combat was a complication he preferred to avoid.
'Ah, Azmuth... why did you force us onto this path?' A sliver of something akin to nostalgia, old and weathered flickered in the depths of his mind, a stark contrast to the massacre he was currently enacting.
The sentiment was quickly shattered by a tremendous explosion from high above. A colossal figure, a titan of polished metal and green energy launched itself from the pinnacle of the central spire, landing with a world-shaking impact a hundred meters away, crushing a squad of his own battle drones underfoot.
Vilgax's eyes narrowed, instantly recognizing the pilot within the armored shell.
"Albedo" he growled, his voice a low rumble like grinding continents.
"Vilgax" the amplified, robotic voice replied, its tone flat and neutral, devoid of their shared history.
"I see you are as arrogant as ever if you believe that your little toy can stop me," Vilgax stated, his voice devoid of any warmth their past camaraderie might have held. "Or is this a pathetic last stand? A futile attempt to buy time for the Omnitrix to be smuggled away? If that is the case then Let me assure you, there is not a single corner in all the realms that will hide it from me."
Albedo's mech shifted, a panel on its back detaching and reshaping into a massive, shimmering energy blade. "You know me too well, Vilgax. I am not one for meaningless sacrifices." The robot's arm raised the blade, pointing it at the conqueror. "But entrusting the Omnitrix to the uncaring threads of fate is a gamble I am unwilling to take."
He leveled the colossal sword.
"So,to hell with protocol. I'm sending you bastard, to the shadow realm, where you belong."
A dangerous, humorless smirk stretched across Vilgax's features. "Finally. A worthy sentiment."
The street between them vaporized as the two former allies, now mortal enemies, erupted toward each other in a cataclysmic clash of titanic forces.
---
[Hugo's POV]
Hugo burst through a final vent cover, tumbling out of the claustrophobic ductwork and into the vastness of Albedo's main laboratory. The sight that greeted him made him freeze.
A gigantic, jagged hole had been torn in the far wall, a wound of twisted metal and shattered marble, offering a terrifying view of the city below. And in that view, two god-like figures were trying to kill each other.
"What in the..." he breathed, creeping toward the edge.
His eyes widened as he recognized Vilgax, the tentacled behemoth, his crimson eyes burning with murderous intent. The other was a towering robot, its design unmistakably Galvan.
'Wait, is that grey bastard inside that thing?' The pieces clicked into place. Albedo had built himself a war-machine to confront the invader. It made a twisted sort of sense.
"then what the hell I'm I supposed to do in this situation?!" he exclaimed, the words a raw mix of fury and despair. The sheer unfairness of it all was a poison in his veins. Everything since he'd entered the nightmare had been a chaotic, nonsensical nightmare where he was a powerless pawn in a game between forces he couldn't even comprehend.
Gritting his teeth until his jaw ached, he forced himself to think. His eyes darted away from the world-shattering duel and back into the lab, towards the section of wall where he had seen Albedo disappear.
He rushed over, his enhanced senses scanning the seamless surface. 'Maybe there's something in there... '
Then, he remembered. The exact sequence.
"Ah!" His hand shot out, pressing a specific, unmarked point on the wall. A holographic green keyboard flickered to life before him.
'It needs the code...'
He closed his eyes, calling upon the flawless recall granted by his [Extraordinary Memory]. The sequence Albedo had input was burned into his mind, every symbol, every movement. His fingers flew over the holographic keys, replicating the pattern with precise, desperate urgency.
On the seventh and final symbol, the keyboard vanished. With a deep, resonant hum, the white wall slid open, revealing the hidden passage.
'Well... I've got nothing left to lose.' The thought was a grim final acceptance and so He stepped through, the entrance quickly sealing behind him, cutting off the sounds of battle.
The hallway was short, and it opened into a space that stole the breath from his lungs.
Hugo found himself standing on a narrow lip of solid matter at the edge of an impossible chamber. It was not a room; it was a pocket of absolute nothingness, a void so profound it felt like staring into the end of all things. The air was still and cold, devoid of any scent or sound. In the center of this infinite dark, a single, blinding beam of pure, white light fell from an unseen source, illuminating a solitary platform that floated in the emptiness. And on that platform hovered a metallic sphere, radiant and mysterious, as if it were the heart of the universe itself.
His eyes, wide with a primal awe, were locked on the sphere. His breath hitched, his mouth agape. He didn't know what it was, but a pressure filled the void, a tangible weight of significance that pressed down on his soul. It was otherworldly, magnificent and truly divine.
And it was calling to him.
A deep, instinctual part of his being, something deeper than thought or reason screamed that this object was a part of him, a missing limb he had never known was absent.
A desperate, all-consuming need to possess it, to touch it, overwhelmed every other senses making him turn into a rabid animal.
He had to get it, No matter the cost.
He tried to step forward, but his foot met only empty air. A bottomless abyss stretched between his ledge and the distant platform, the fear of falling into the void quickly sobered him up.
"Damn it..." he cursed, his voice a frantic whisper. The maddening proximity, the irresistible pull, it all made his blood begin to boil. His bones ached, his flesh tingled and rippled. Deep within, his [Spirit Core] spun into a frenzied, infinite cycle, straining against an invisible barrier.
Then, something miraculous and terrifying happened.
His shadow, which had been a dormant, passive thing even after gaining the [Shadow-Rend] attribute, suddenly shifted. It was not a simple movement but instead it was a fundamental change in state. It writhed at his feet, then with a sensation like a part of his own soul being violently torn free, it detached.
A sharp and psychic agony lanced through him bringing with it A profound emptiness where his shadow had been moments ago, a cold void that was somehow worse than any physical pain.
'What the hell is happening?!' he screamed inwardly, his body trembling.
His shadow, now a living, independent entity of absolute blackness, rose from the ground like a dark spire, towering over him. It stretched across the abyss, a bridge of solidified night, connecting his ledge to the platform with impossible solidity.
"Tenebrous powers... huh?" he murmured, the words tasting like ash and wonder.
But He didn't hesitate. Quickly Setting a tentative foot on the shadow-bridge, he found it perfectly solid. Then He sprinted across the void, his heart hammering against his ribs, and in mere moments he was on the platform, standing before the sphere.
As if sensing his presence, the sphere began to open. The halves retracted, and within, cradled in a bed of soft light, was the most beautiful and terrifying thing he had ever seen. It was an oversized watch-like device, sleek and alien, dominated by a glowing, green hourglass symbol.
Hugo's breath caught. Without conscious thought, his hand rose, his fingers stretching towards it.
The device leaped from its cradle as if alive, latching onto his left arm. The moment it made contact, a glorious, blinding green light erupted, and something impossibly vast and ancient flooded into his very being. Simultaneously, his detached shadow dematerialized and flowed back to his feet, re-anchoring itself with a jarring finality.
Then, everything inside him exploded.
His blood, bones, flesh, mind, spirit, and shadow erupted in a violent, synergistic reaction. It was a completion of sorts, a terrifying harmony that felt like his very atoms were being disassembled and reforged together at the same time.
A low, savage scream was torn from his throat, a sound of utter agony as the agony he was experiencing changed, this time it was not the feeling of being complete, it was the feeling of something forienge and vast seeping into his soul reshaping it entirely, the pain was similar to the violating needles of Albedo's experiment yet far exceeding it at the same time.
Then as if to mock him, the voice of the Spell rang in his skull, a cold counterpoint to the inferno consuming him.
[A Relic is attempting to bond with you.]
[Your soul is being filled with a mysterious power.]
[You have gained an attribute.]
[Your Aspect is transforming.]
[You are a mutant.]
[Your existence is undergoing a metamorphosis.]
He couldn't hear the rest. The world dissolved into a universe of green light and white-hot pain, threatening to unmoor him from reality itself.
---
Vilgax and Albedo broke apart from their devastating clash, their respective armors scarred and smoking. Their hatred for each other burning so brightly that it was almost a palpable force.
Then, a brilliant, shimmering geyser of emerald energy exploded from the upper levels of the tower, piercing the chaotic sky.
Both of their heads snapped toward the light, their expressions morphing into identical masks of pure, unadulterated horror. They knew with the certainty of an absolute law, the source of that radiance.
"The Omnitrix!" Vilgax roared, his voice filled with urgency. He abandoned the fight without hesitation, leaping toward the tower with a terrifying burst of power that cracked the street beneath him.
Albedo was a split-second behind, jets erupting from his mech's back as he shot upwards in pursuit.
They quickly bypassed the complex lock system— Vilgax by sheer, brutal force, Albedo with his innate knowledge—and burst into the Omnitrix chamber, their temporary alliance of desperation forged once more.
They both froze at the threshold.
The source of the light was a human figure, curled in a fetal position on the platform, his left arm encased in the glowing device. The Omnitrix was fused to him or at least it was in the process of doing so, its light pulsing in rhythm with his shuddering breaths.
Vilgax's expression contorted into a mask of apocalyptic rage. A human. A insignificant savage creature was defiling the artifact meant for a god-king.
"You dare lay your filthy hands on such a holy relic?!" Vilgax's scream echoed in the vast chamber. He launched himself forward, his massive sword aimed to cleave the human in two before the bonding could complete.
Albedo's eyes widened in dawning, catastrophic understanding. "Vilgax, wait! That's the specimen! His biology is—!"
But It was too late.
The Omnitrix flashed one final, searing time. A calm, synthesized voice spoke, its pace frantic.
[User life in danger.]
[Omnitrix Failsafe 12 activating.]
[User body unfit for a stable transformation.]
[Releasing stored Omni-energy as a defensive mechanism.]
The voice finished, and the world became light.
A wave of pure, uncontrolled cosmic energy erupted from the device, a miniature supernova contained within the chamber. Vilgax's eyes widened in mid-strike, a fraction of a second before the energy consumed him. Albedo, trapped in the doorway, had no time to escape, his mech and his body dissolving in the overwhelming radiance.
" azmuth.... I'm sorry... "he thought, his last moment spent as an apology to his mentor.
On the other side of the platform, Barely clinging to consciousness, Hugo heard the sweet, cold voice of the Spell delivering its final judgment.
[You have slain an Ascended Tyrant: Vilgax the Conqueror.]
[You have received an Imprint.]
[You have slain an Awakened Devil: Albedo.]
[You have received an Imprint.]
[You have received a Memory.]
Then, the Spell spoke one last time, its tone shifting, offering a reprieve he had never thought he would hear.
[Wake up, Hugo! Your nightmare is over.]
[Prepare for appraisal…]