The silence of night in the Ember Core Valley was never truly quiet.
Below the surface of the stone towers, beneath even the forgemaster halls, lay the dormitories of the newly Awakened — 1,000 clan youths that had ignited their Dao Flames. Most were asleep, exhausted from the Ceremony, dreaming of glory, fame, or the endless expanse of the Starry Sea.
But in Dorm 73, Jin Taixuan sat wide awake.
A silver forge lamp flickered gently above his head, and a thin sheet of inscription paper was spread on the table before him — a decoy. His real attention was inside.
Within his spiritual sea, the Heavenhammer drifted through nebula-like energy.
Now partially awakened, its hull was sleek and obsidian, its frame outlined in shifting radiant lines. It didn't resemble any warship class Taixuan had seen in the Awakener manuals. It bore no visible engine thrusters or cannon arrays.
And yet... it radiated pressure.
Something ancient. Dangerous.
> "You've bound to an unknown Star-Class Frame," the ship's voice stated. "Suppressed under disguise protocol."
> "Disguise?" Taixuan asked mentally.
> "Standard Ember-class signature active. Combat output capped at 12%. Visuals locked to Stable-level warship frame."
In other words — it looked just like every other kid's warship.
Taixuan exhaled slowly. Good.
---
He stood from his bed and walked over to the wall console — a simple stone panel with touch-glyphs carved into it. Pressing his palm to it, he accessed the new menu granted to Awakeners.
Starcore Sync Menu.
[Warship Sync: Complete]
[Dao Flame: Stable]
[Combat Readiness: Inactive]
[Battle Systems: Hidden]
He scrolled through and selected "Simulation Training Mode."
> Warning: Simulation rooms are monitored. Conceal true parameters.
"Of course," Taixuan muttered under his breath. "Never show your cards unless the table's burning."
---
The simulation pod looked like a shallow stone basin with glowing formation lines etched across the inner walls. As he stepped inside, the runes flared to life.
His vision blurred.
He found himself in space.
---
Not real space — simulated, but realistic down to the microsecond. A battlefield setting. Floating rocks. Low visibility. A single enemy drone ship on a patrol route.
Taixuan extended his thoughts.
The Heavenhammer responded instantly.
It materialized into the zone, projected in its suppressed "Stable-frame" mode — a 37-meter Ember-class scout frigate. Nothing fancy. Small thrusters. Two light cannons. A support-grade shield.
But Taixuan didn't need the real firepower. He needed to learn the interface.
> "Open internal schematics," he said mentally.
A blue-hued console unfolded in his vision — an overlay only visible to him, showing energy flow, shielding strength, and control feedback loops.
"Memory core..." he paused. "There's something in here, isn't there?"
> "Memory Partition 003: Locked," the ship replied. "Awaiting combat experience threshold."
Taixuan's brow furrowed. Levels within the ship itself?
He guided the ship into motion — standard thruster drift, a simple slingshot maneuver, then activated a short warp burst.
The ship moved with absolute grace. No turbulence. No delay.
It was like a limb.
The simulated drone noticed him and activated weapons.
Taixuan didn't even fire.
He sent the Heavenhammer into a spin, dodged the plasma shot with precision, and used the ship's magnetic core to pull a piece of debris into the path — the drone exploded on contact.
> "Combat Log Updated," the ship said.
> "Skill imprint recorded: Tactical Redirection – Tier 1."
He blinked. The ship is logging my maneuvers into an ability tree?
He left the simulation immediately.
This wasn't standard.
---
Back in his dorm, he sat in silence.
A part of him was thrilled. The gamer-strategist side of his old life wanted to dive in, unlock the hidden systems, and build a god-tier synergy between himself and this ancient vessel.
But that side had gotten people killed in stories before.
So he remained calm. Focused.
No one must know the ship was this advanced. Not until he understood its origins.
> "Heavenhammer," he whispered aloud. "Where are you from?"
Silence.
Then... a faint voice. Different from the ship's systems. Faint, old.
> "I was forged not in this age... but for the one that comes after it."
---
The next morning, Taixuan filed into the Ember Pavilion along with the other Awakeners. The pavilion was massive — a stone-hall with a transparent ceiling showing the stars.
Elder Jin Song addressed them from a raised dais.
"You are Awakeners now," the old man said, his voice rumbling like stone. "Each of you holds a flame of our clan. You are more than individuals — you are the living extension of our Starships."
He swept a glance across the crowd.
"In the days to come, your paths will diverge. Combat. Forging. Navigation. Strategy. But all of you will be trained."
Taixuan stood quietly in the second row, between Jin Yueyao and Jin Zixuan — the rival from a more prestigious branch of the clan.
Zixuan scoffed, not even hiding his disdain. "Heard you got a 'Stable-class' warship, eh?" he sneered. "Not bad. Average, at least."
Taixuan gave him a lazy look. "You'll find I'm very stable."
Laughter rippled through a few of the youths nearby. Zixuan flushed, but said nothing else.
Keep their eyes away from me, Taixuan thought. Let him draw all the attention.
---
Training began immediately.
First, spiritual control exercises — refining the link between body and warship.
Taixuan pretended to struggle at first, then "improved quickly" by the second hour, just enough to be labeled a fast learner — but not a prodigy.
Second, formation theory.
He kept his answers correct but minimal. Never offered insight, only completed what was asked.
The instructors smiled at his discipline, nodded at his diligence, and moved on.
Perfect.
---
By the week's end, Taixuan had mastered seven system overlays inside the Heavenhammer — but not a single person suspected he was anything more than a mid-level Awakener.
He studied every spare hour, running simulations while others joked or fought.
And each night, the Heavenhammer whispered new data from its sealed memory cores.
Fragments of war.
Blueprints of weapons not yet invented.
Coordinates for ruins floating in the void.
> "Why do I have access to this?" Taixuan asked one night.
> "You do not," the ship replied. "But you will."
He closed his eyes.
Let the others chase strength. I'll chase control.
Let them see an ember.
And never suspect the forge burning behind it.