The moment Sylas stepped into the blacksmithing chamber, the air itself seemed to sharpen—every molecule vibrating with latent energy.
The walls were lined with pulsating veins of molten ore, their glow painting shifting constellations across the anvil at the room's heart—a monstrous slab of blackened steel etched with throbbing runes.
Akashia gestured to the meditation platform, her robes shimmering.
"Take a few minutes to meditate, your weapon must exist in your mind before it can exist in your hands."
Sylas nodded at her before he sat, closing his eyes. Behind him, Sera stood watch in her new humanoid form.
Minutes stretched as Sylas envisioned the blade—its balance, its weight, its everything.
"Tell me," Akashia murmured.
"Two twin-bladed swords," Sylas said. "But that not all. They should be able to shift—four single swords when split, two twin-bladed swords in their real form, one spear when both blades are combined."
A rare flicker of surprise crossed Sera's face. "The locking mechanisms alone would—"
"—very complex which is why I didn't try to create something like this," Sylas finished, opening his eyes. "Good thing we have Lady Akashia here."
Akashia asked with a small smile. "Since you have thought about this before what do you think the primary constraints would be?"
"The weight distribution. They can't be thicker than four inches in diameter if I'm to wield them one-handed, but they must withstand enhanced strikes without shattering, also the energy consumption."
"Leave the energy consumption for now. Let start with the first few issues."
Akashia said as she waved her hand. Three floating ingots materialized infront of her.
"I have three metal here that can solve the problems you just mentioned. The first one is Zephyrite, a silver-blue metal that is lighter than air but twice as strong as a titanium."
After a slight pause Akashia pointed at the next metal.
"This one is a Nyxium, a kinetic absorbing metal, it absorbs 80% of kinetic force."
"And finally Astrium, a very hard metal, several times harder than a Zephyrite but also weigh so much more."
Akashia eyes flickered before she asked. "Which of this metal would you like to use?"
Sylas smirked. "Why choose when I can use all three of them."
Akashia and Sera nodded and replied at the same time, "True."
"So what metal would you use to build the parts?"
The forge's glow painted Sylas's face in flickering orange as he turned the three ingots infront of him, he picked them up in his hands, his mind racing.
He could see the weapon already.
Akashia watched him, arms crossed. "Well?"
Sylas set the metals down before turning back to Akashia and Sera.
"Zephyrite for the hilt and internal structure," he said confidently. "It's light enough to keep my strikes fast, but strong enough to hold everything together without compromising durability."
Akashia nodded approvingly. "A solid choice. And for the energy chambers?"
"Astrium." Sylas traced a finger over the dark, dense ingot. "It's the best option. Also I should use it for the energy channels for the Aether blades."
Sera tilted her head, calculating. "And the kinetic absorption?"
"Nyxium," Sylas said without hesitation. "It'll be layered between the blade sections and used at the connection points. That way, when the weapon shifts forms, there won't be any strain on the joints. It will absorb the impact from my strikes and make sure I don't break my own arms swinging too hard."
Akashia let out a short chuckle, eyes gleaming. "A well-thought-out design. Well here is the blueprint, according to your requirements, obviously I added a few things to make it work perfectly."
Akashia waved her hands a hologramic protection appeared showing the blueprints, scales, measurements, parts, etc of the blade.
"But you still haven't told me, what will make these weapons relics?" Sylas asked.
Akashia's smile widened, mysterious and knowing. "The power source of course, I will provide them when you are done building the weapons."
Something about her tone sent a prickle down Sylas's spine, but he nodded. "Alright. Then let's begin."
With another wave of Akashia's hand, the forge roared to life.
The molten veins in the walls pulsed brighter, and the anvil at the center of the chamber thrummed with a deep, rhythmic energy.
Sylas stepped forward, his mind sharpening.
The process was grueling. Zephyrite had to be shaped carefully, its weightlessness making it difficult to stabilize while forging.
Every hammer strike required precision, each movement measured.
Sera observed, her analytical mind absorbing every motion. "I've never seen a metal behave like that before."
"It's why it's perfect," Sylas grunted, sweat lining his brow.
Hours passed.
The Astrium was next.
It resisted the forge's heat, glowing a fierce crimson but refusing to melt easily.
Sylas adapted, using controlled Aether bursts to temper it while keeping its density intact.
The Nyxium came last.
As he layered it into the joints and impact points, he felt a strange pulse—almost like the metal was absorbing the very energy of the forge itself.
"Interesting," Sera observed. "It's already reacting to the concept of force."
Sylas exhaled, stepping back to admire his work.
The two twin-bladed swords handles lay before him, sleek and elegant.
With a flick of his wrist, he separated them into four single swords.
Another twist, and they locked into a spear.
Perfect.
He turned to Akashia, eyes burning with curiosity.
"Alright. The weapon's body is complete. Now tell me—what's the power source?"
Akashia merely smiled and raised a hand. In her palm, four swirling orb of blue light formed, pulsing like a living heart.
"This," she said softly, "is what will make your weapon a relic."
Sylas frowned. "What do you mean? They feel like aether crystals but... Something feels off."
Akashia stepped closer, holding the four orbs between them. "You have been asking me what differenciate a regular weapon from a relic. It is quite simple... The power source."
"You see, everything has to be recharged eventually including the aether weapon you previously use, even Sera." Akashia continued.
"These are Aether cores. They are created at the start of a planet evolution towards creating life. This is what stabilizes the aether on the planet and in the process aether crystals mines are created."
"The reason they are so hard to find is simple, they get too big to extract, and if they are forcefully extracted well the planet goes boom and the core does as well." Akashia chuckled. "Also everyone close goes boom as well."
"I see, so it is basically a power source that generate it own energy."
"Exactly but it also enable you to use your abilities even in areas without aether because they generate their own aether..." Akashia said.
"Does Sera have an aether core now?" Sylas cut her off.
"Nope, unfortunately I do not have an aether core big enough to power Sera and the only people that can extract them without killing themselves are transcendents, so I will advice you against trying to extract one yourself."
"I see, anyway I can get one."
"Well get stronger, as far as I know their is hardly anyone in your known galaxy lucky enough to find a planet young enough for them to easily extract the core."
Sylas nodded and he opened the weapon source chambers and Akashia placed the cores in all four openings.
Sylas ignited his weapons and smiled as he waved them around for a bit.
"So what would you name the swords?"
"Zenith and Nadir."