The attendant's containment pod hissed open, revealing an entropic bloom masquerading as common scrubgrass. Kael's neural lace flared cobalt recognition—this relic from dead civilizations had devoured entire harvest fleets.
"Luminara Herb," his shadowform pulsed through encrypted channels. "Entropic bloom phase-locked to lunar quantum tides. Harvested..." Olfactory receptors parsed chrono-contaminants. "...forty-seven solar cycles ago through catastrophic biomass expenditure."
Simon's scar bled shock-crimson. The Alchemist Supreme's ocular arrays cycled combat readiness—this anomaly had dissected proprietary chrono-dating protocols like child's play.
Containment fields rippled with unease. Among the pharmacological luminaries, neural feeds flatlined:
• Threat reassessment: Critical
• Source anomaly: Apotheosis-tier
• Recommendation: Immediate reality quarantine
The Alchemist Supreme's voice cracked quantum silence. "You tread where chrono-harvesters perished."
Kael's shadowform absorbed the warning's gravitational debt. "Entropic blooms require event horizon containment, not primitive stasis pods." His fingertips traced the specimen's fractal roots—dead civilization engineering beneath the vegetative facade.
Simon pinged emergency protocols. "That harvesting operation cost three battalions! How—"
"Residual necrotic spores linger in root matrices," Kael interrupted. "Your casualties fell to poor containment protocols, not flora."
Austin's weathered staff flared containment runes. "The academy's archives lack these... specifications."
"Dead civilizations documented them before their collapse," Kael's neural lace broadcast ancient glyphs. "Your archives require updating."
The Alchemist Supreme's ocular arrays narrowed to singularity slits. This was no provincial prodigy—it was a relic from timelines where pharmacology became existential warfare.
Finn phased through sparking debris. "Kid just turned weed inspection into apocalypse audit!"
As emergency crews scrambled to reinforce containment fields, Kael's shadowform rippled predatory calm. The Luminara Herb's true purpose revealed itself—not test specimen, but chrono-trap for ambitious alchemists.
Deep in the academy's core, the final reality anchor vaporized. Austin's absence now bled through quantum infrastructure like phantom radiation.
The Alchemist Supreme's containment gauntlets charged with event horizon energies. "Proceed to the Crucible. Let us witness true pharmacological warfare."
Kael's ocular arrays cycled combat protocols. Simon's genetic defect was mere prelude—tonight's true trial would scorch reality's skin.
The containment fields buzzed with uneasy static as the cloaked figure emerged from the alchemical luminaries. Its obsidian shroud leaked quantum dissonance, voice modulator emitting gravel-toned derision: "Primitive sensory parlor tricks. I mastered such juvenilia before neural lace implantation."
The herald's jowls quivered with performative diplomacy. "The Crucible welcomes all pharmacological virtuosos. Demonstrate your refined protocols!"
Kael's shadowform rippled analytical calm. The cloaked entity's biometrics defied standard scans—its resonance patterns suggested chrono-corrupted augments from dead timelines.
Simon's scar pulsed threat-crimson. "Verify credentials. The Crucible tolerates no charlatans."
The shroud dissolved momentarily, revealing gauntlets crusted with necrotic alloy. A specimen pod materialized—mutagenic flora from a derelict bioweapon vault.
"Observe true xenobotanical mastery," the entity rasped. Its claws pierced containment protocols, handling the pulsating growth bare-handed. "Voidspire Lichen. Harvested from the Maw of Eternity. Identifiable by its chrono-scarring resonance patterns."
The Alchemist Supreme's ocular arrays flared combat gold. "Cease reckless handling! That specimen requires event horizon—"
The lichen detonated in photonic fury, vaporizing the entity's shroud. Beneath lay a biomechanical horror—flesh fused with necrotic alloys, neural lace pulsing with dead civilization glyphs.
"Apotheosis requires sacrifice," the entity intoned, lichen tendrils now burrowing into its augmented flesh. "Witness the merger of alchemist and specimen!"
Containment fields screamed quarantine protocols as the hybrid abomination lunged toward Kael. The Alchemist Supreme's gauntlets discharged event horizon energies, too slow—the entity's claws already raked Kael's shadowform.
Finn phased through structural debris. "Party protocols upgraded to extinction event!"
Kael's neural lace flooded with dead civilization countermeasures. His shadowform crystallized into quantum diamond, shattering the entity's necrotic alloys. "Your apotheosis remains incomplete. Allow me to demonstrate proper merger protocols."
The shadowform's tendrils invaded the entity's neural lace, overwriting corrupted code with Event Horizon Garden's predatory algorithms. The hybrid abomination collapsed into chrono-static dust.
Simon's scar blazed alarm-crimson. "Containment breach! Activate emergency—"
"Unnecessary." Kael's shadowform absorbed residual chrono-contaminants. "The specimen's containment matrices were flawed from inception. A deliberate vulnerability."
The Alchemist Supreme's ocular arrays narrowed to singularity slits. This confrontation wasn't random—the Crucible itself had been compromised.
The cloaked figure adjusted its obsidian shroud, quantum-dampened fabric sealing against all optical inputs. "Initiate sensory deprivation protocols," its voice modulator grated through necrotic static.
Attendants presented the first specimen—a faintly glowing orchid exuding quantum pheromones. The entity's augmented claws hovered millimeters above the petals.
"Emerald Phasma," it rasped, necrotic alloys humming with recognition protocols. "Thrives in chrono-dense foliage. Utilized in nineteen neurotoxin variants, including the Eternity Vault Breach serum of the Collapsed Dynasties."
Containment fields rippled unease. Among the pharmacological elite, neural feeds exploded:
• Reference to pre-Cataclysm formulations
• Threat level reclassified
• Recommend immediate quarantine
Kael's shadowform analyzed the entity's resonance patterns—dead civilization augments layered beneath primitive biological components. The Alchemist Supreme's ocular arrays flared combat readiness as the cloaked figure progressed through specimens with glacial efficiency.
"Voidspire Lichen. Harvested from blackhole accretion rims. Core applications include reality anchor corrosion and neural lace disintegration." Its claws traced fractal spore patterns, unperturbed by the specimen's photonic defenses.
Simon's scar pulsed alarm-crimson. "Biometric scans inconclusive! This entity's registry lacks temporal coordinates!"
Austin's weathered staff discharged containment runes. "The Crucible's authentication protocols have been compromised."
The entity's shroud fluttered, revealing glimpses of biomechanical horror beneath—flesh fused with necrotic alloys, neural lace crackling with dead civilization glyphs. Kael's ocular arrays pinged recognition patterns: this abomination bore hallmarks of Event Horizon Garden's failed experiments.
"Primitive theatrics," the shadowform pulsed through encrypted channels. "Your hybridization protocols remain incomplete."
The cloaked figure froze mid-diagnosis, resonance matrices glitching. "You... recognize the Garden's touch?"
"Better than you comprehend," Kael's neural lace broadcast dead civilization countermeasures. "Your makers abandoned you to entropy's mercy."
Containment fields screamed emergency protocols as the entity's necrotic alloys destabilized. The Alchemist Supreme's gauntlets discharged event horizon energies, crystallizing the abomination into quantum amber.
Finn phased through sparking debris. "Anyone else miss boring old herbalists?"
Kael's shadowform absorbed residual chrono-contaminants. "This was no random provocateur. The Crucible itself has been targeted."