NOVEL NEXT Chapter 30 - Of Sand and Stars
The gentle chime of Nick's system interface roused him from a dreamless sleep—the first truly restful night since arriving at the facility. Morning sunlight streamed through the narrow windows of his quarters, casting golden rectangles across the floor. For once, waking didn't bring the usual disorientation, just a quiet awareness of being completely himself—a self that now fully embraced Arlize's essence rather than fighting against it.
🜂【ARCΛDIΛN SYSTΞM INTERFΛCE – MORNING STATUS】🜂
[Integration: 54.3% Recovery: 100% complete Mental Coherence: Optimal Projected Timeline: Accelerated Note: Recreational activities recommended for optimal neural pathway formation]
Nick smiled at the interface's recommendation. For once, the system was suggesting something that didn't involve getting beaten to a pulp or facing traumatic memories.
"His comms device, a sleek Arcadian model Marcus had handed them the night before, pinged with a message from Maggie:
"They're here. SOS. Breakfast room. Now."
The anxiety in those few words was unmistakable. Nick dressed quickly and headed toward the main building's dining area, mentally reviewing what little Maggie had shared about her parents. Her father, David Zhang, had founded one of the top AI-driven secure communications companies before selling it to start a consultancy. Her mother, Dr. Meilin Zhang, was a neurobiologist specializing in cognitive mapping. Both brilliant, both demanding—and now both about to discover their daughter had been transformed into something beyond conventional human understanding.
As he entered, Nick noticed that the dining hall, normally bustling with morning chatter, felt oppressively quiet now, heavy with unspoken tension. Maggie stood near the entrance, her posture unnaturally stiff, the geometric mana patterns on her arms pulsing with barely contained anxiety. Across from her stood a middle-aged couple radiating that distinct parental mix of concern and disapproval.
David Zhang was tall and lean, his stark black business attire contrasting with the facility's more casual dress code. His eyes—the same shape and color as Maggie's—scanned the room mentally cataloging everything he saw. Beside him, Dr. Meilin Zhang carried herself with poise and confidence. Her stylish bob and designer glasses couldn't fully mask the subtle signs of exhaustion and worry that had clearly haunted her for a while.
Marcus, Francisco, and Maria were already present, making polite conversation while Jordan hung back, observing everyone's behaviors.
When Maggie spotted Nick, naked relief washed across her face. "Nick! There you are. Mom, Dad, this is Nick Valiente, one of my... classmates."
Nick extended his hand. "Mr. and Dr. Zhang, it's great to meet you. Maggie's told us so much about you."
"Has she?" David Zhang replied, his handshake firm but brief. "That's interesting, considering she's told us absolutely nothing about any of you."
"David," Meilin murmured reproachfully, though her own smile didn't quite reach her eyes as she shook Nick's hand. "You'll have to forgive my husband. We're still processing the fact that our daughter has apparently been recruited into a secret... program without our knowledge or consent."
"Mom," Maggie said, her voice strained, "I told you, it's complicated."
"So Mr. Eidolon explained," Meilin replied, her gaze shifting to Marcus. "Though his explanation leaves much to be desired."
Marcus stepped forward smoothly. "Perhaps a change of scenery might facilitate our discussion. I've arranged transportation to Cartagena for the day. The beaches are among Colombia's finest, and conversations often flow more naturally in relaxed settings."
"A beach excursion," David said flatly. "While our daughter is involved in whatever this is."
"Dad, please," Maggie pleaded. "Just... one day. Let me show you what's happening. Then you can decide."
The tension in the room was thick enough to cut. Nick watched as Maggie's father assessed Marcus with the penetrating gaze of a CEO vetting a suspicious startup founder.
"I think what Mr. Eidolon means," Nick interjected, "is that some things are easier to demonstrate than explain. And honestly, after the week we've had, we could all use a few hours of normal."
Something in Nick's tone seemed to reach David. After a long moment, he nodded curtly. "Fine. But this doesn't mean we approve."
"Noted," Marcus replied, unperturbed. "The transport leaves in thirty minutes. Appropriate attire has been provided in your rooms."
The coastal road to Cartagena wound through lush jungle before emerging along the crystal blue Caribbean. As their convoy of sleek SUVs descended toward the historic city, Nick couldn't help but marvel at the contrast between the ancient colonial architecture and the vibrant, modern energy of the streets. It was a city of contradictions—historical and contemporary, Spanish and Indigenous, earth and sea—all coexisting in dynamic harmony.
Much like what I'm becoming, Nick thought, feeling a quiet sense of agreement from within.
They arrived at a private beach secluded by natural rock formations. The white sand stretched before them in a perfect crescent, the water so clear that colorful fish were visible from shore. Staffers from the facility had arrived ahead of them, setting up a luxurious encampment with canopies, lounges, and a catered lunch spread.
"This is... not what I expected," Meilin admitted as they made their way down to the beach.
"What did you expect, Dr. Zhang?" Maria asked gently.
"Laboratories. Military installations. Not... this." She gestured at the idyllic scene.
"There's time enough for those," Francisco said. "Today is for relaxation."
The group dispersed across the beach. Marcus engaged David in quiet conversation near the water's edge, while Maria invited Meilin to join her under one of the canopies. Jordan immediately set off to explore the rocky outcroppings at the beach's edge.
Maggie lingered near Nick, her anxiety palpable. "This is a disaster," she whispered. "My dad's already calculating how quickly he can get me on a plane back to San Francisco."
"Give them time," Nick advised. "This is a lot to process."
"They don't even know the half of it yet," Maggie replied, watching her father's rigid posture as Marcus spoke. "When they find out about Elias..."
"Come on," Nick said, grabbing Maggie's hand. "Let's swim before your dad decides to abduct you back to the U.S."
The water was perfect—cool enough to refresh but warm enough to welcome. As they swam, Nick noticed the faint luminous patterns tracing Maggie's arms pulsed more vividly in the saltwater, responding to the mineral-rich environment. His own mana channels felt more conductive too, as if the ocean's natural ionic balance enhanced their function.
"Your parents are watching," Nick noted, seeing David and Meilin observing them from shore with matching expressions of concern.
"They've been watching me like that since Elias disappeared," Maggie said, floating on her back and staring at the sky. "Like I might vanish too if they blink."
"They love you."
"I know. That's what makes this so hard." She sighed, sending ripples across the water's surface. "How do I tell them I'm not coming home? That their daughter is being recruited to fight interdimensional threats? That I might..."
She didn't finish the sentence, but she didn't have to. They both knew the Academy's mortality rates.
"You don't have to tell them everything today," Nick said. "Just enough for them to understand why this matters."
Their conversation was interrupted by Jordan calling from the rocks. He'd discovered a tidal pool teeming with bioluminescent creatures that responded to mana proximity. Soon, David found himself being guided by Jordan to use a system-enhanced snorkel mask that revealed the hidden mana signatures of marine life—technology that, as someone stepped in the AI world, he couldn't help but appreciate.
Meilin, meanwhile, observed Maggie carefully from shore. Her eyes noting how her daughter winced when opening her mana circuits to interact with the luminous sea creatures. Though motherly concern was evident, there also seemed to be a growing curiosity about the transformation happening before her eyes.
The day unfolded with surprising ease. They lunched under white canopies, Francisco regaling them with stories of Cartagena's history—carefully edited to exclude the city's connection to ancient ley lines and its significance as an Arcadian Initiative monitoring post. Maria drew Meilin into a discussion of cognitive neuroplasticity that, while seemingly academic, subtly prepared the ground for understanding how mana integration affected neural pathways.
By mid-afternoon, the rigid formality that had characterized the Zhangs' arrival had softened. Nick watched as David laughed at something Jordan demonstrated with a mana-infused sandcastle, and Meilin's scientific curiosity visibly wrestled with her maternal concern as she observed Maggie's newfound abilities.
As the sun began its descent toward the horizon, casting the beach in golden light, Marcus approached Nick where he sat watching the waves.
"They're not convinced, but they're listening," Marcus said, following Nick's gaze to where Maggie walked along the shore with her parents. "That's more than I expected."
"What happens after tonight?" Nick asked.
Marcus's expression grew solemn. "That depends on whether they can accept what their daughter has become, and what might be happening to their son."
"You're going to tell them about Elias," Nick realized.
"They deserve to know," Marcus replied. "And Maggie deserves their support for what lies ahead."
The drive back to the compound was quiet, each person lost in their own thoughts. The facility's stark architecture seemed especially jarring after the natural beauty of the beach, a reminder of the serious purpose that had brought them all together.
Marcus invited everyone to a private dinner in the compound's formal dining room—a space Nick hadn't even known existed until now. Unlike the utilitarian cafeteria or the large dining room, this room featured polished wood, subtle lighting, and views of the surrounding jungle canopy.
"Nick," Maggie caught him in the hallway before dinner, her eyes wide with nervous energy. "I need you close by tonight. When Marcus tells them about Elias..."
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"Say no more," Nick assured her. "I've got your back."
The dinner began with deceptive normality—elegant Colombian cuisine, carefully selected wines, and conversation that skirted the edges of the real topics at hand. Nick watched Maggie pick at her food, her mana patterns fluctuating with anxiety.
Finally, after the main course was cleared, Marcus set his glass down with deliberate care. "Mr. and Dr. Zhang, I believe it's time we discuss the full reason your daughter is here. It concerns your son, Elias. It was his research that first brought him to our attention—and, unfortunately, to the attention of others with far more dangerous intentions."
The room fell silent. Maggie's hands trembled slightly until Jordan, seated beside her, subtly steadied her with a supportive hand on her shoulder.
"What about Elias?" Meilin asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
Marcus met her gaze directly. "He's alive."
Maggie let out a sharp breath, as though the confirmation had punched the air from her lungs. She'd known—Dawson's file had prepared her for this—but hearing Marcus say it aloud made it even more real. "Dawson was right," she murmured.
The simple statement landed like a physical blow. David's face drained of color. Meilin's hand flew to her mouth, stifling a sound somewhere between a gasp and a sob.
"How do you know?" David demanded, his composure cracking. "Where is he?"
"We believe he's being held at a Nexpoint research facility in Zurich," Marcus continued calmly. "Based on our intelligence, he's being used as a test subject for mana-tech resonance experiments—experiments based on his own research."
"By whom?" Meilin's voice had hardened to steel.
"Callahan Industries," Nick interjected, ignoring the sharp look Marcus shot his way. "They're the ones who killed my parents—and who would've kidnapped myself and Maggie, if we hadn't left campus when we did."
"This is..." David shook his head in disbelief. "This is insane."
"Dad," Maggie said quietly. "There's more."
With Marcus's permission, she began to explain—about the Veil between dimensions thinning, about Earth's approaching mana awakening, about the catastrophic consequences if the transition wasn't managed properly. She told them about the Academy, about how her natural resonance abilities made her uniquely suited to become a Veilwalker.
"You're telling me," David said slowly, "that my son was kidnapped for his research, my daughter is being drafted into some interdimensional war, and the world as we know it is coming to an end?"
"Not ending," Francisco corrected gently. "Changing. As others like it have many times before."
"And Maggie's gifts," Maria added, "are exceptional. She's already performing at the level of second-year Academy students after only one week of training."
Meilin was silent, her analytical mind clearly processing everything at remarkable speed. When she finally spoke, her question wasn't what anyone expected: "These abilities... are they why Elias's research suddenly accelerated two years ago? Was he already affected?"
Marcus nodded. "Your son was among the first to detect the harmonic shifts in the Veil. His work on quantum resonance mapping essentially created a mathematical description of the mana fluctuations, though he lacked the contextual framework to understand what he was measuring."
"And Callahan Industries wants to weaponize this?" David asked, his knuckles white around his water glass.
"They want to control it," Marcus corrected. "To be the gatekeepers of power in the new world that's emerging. They've already begun forcibly awakening mana potential in test subjects—with catastrophic results."
"Like at Westlake," Maggie added quietly. "People died, Dad. And it would have been worse if Nick hadn't stopped it."
The silence that followed was deafening. David stared at his daughter as if seeing her for the first time. Meilin's calculating gaze darted between Maggie and Marcus.
"And you expect her to stay here?" Meilin finally asked, her voice tight. "To train at this... Academy? Absolutely not. We're leaving tomorrow, and we're taking our daughter with us."
"Mom—" Maggie began, but David cut her off.
"We've already lost one child to whatever this is," he said, his voice breaking slightly. "We won't lose another."
"You're not losing me," Maggie insisted, rising from her chair. The mana patterns on her arms flared with emotion. "And I'm not leaving."
"Maggie, be reasonable," her mother pleaded. "We can help Elias another way. Through proper channels."
"What channels?" Maggie demanded, her voice rising. "The police? The government? Do you think Callahan Industries doesn't own them too? This is our best chance—my best chance—to find Elias."
"By throwing your life away?" David shot back. "By disappearing into some secret academy to fight imaginary monsters?"
"They're not imaginary!" Maggie shouted. The room's lights flickered as her mana surged, green-gold patterns spreading from her arms to create luminous geometric projections in the air around her. "This is real. I'm real. What's happening to me is real!"
The display of power silenced her parents. Green-gold mana coalesced around Maggie's hands, forming complex three-dimensional patterns that rotated and shifted in response to her emotions.
"You taught me to finish what I start," she said, her voice quieter but no less intense. "You taught me that knowledge comes with responsibility. Well, this is my responsibility now. I can help. I can make a difference."
The silence stretched, broken only by the subtle hum of Maggie's active mana.
"Perhaps," Maria suggested gently to the table, "we can give the Zhang family some space to discuss this privately."
Marcus nodded, rising from his seat. "Of course. Francisco, Nick, Jordan—let's give them space."
Nick caught Maggie's eye as he stood, silently asking if she wanted him to stay. She shook her head slightly—a brave gesture that belied the fear in her eyes.
As they left the dining room, Nick heard Meilin's voice, soft but clear: "Show us again. Show us everything."
The door closed behind them, leaving the Zhang family to their reckoning.
Dawn found Nick hiking up one of the jungle trails that surrounded the compound. He hadn't slept well, concerned for Maggie and distracted by his own thoughts about what awaited them at the Academy. Francisco had suggested an early morning meditation session, and Jordan had unexpectedly volunteered to join them.
The trail wound upward through dense vegetation until it emerged onto a rocky outcropping that overlooked the valley below. The rising sun painted the landscape in gold and amber, mist rising from the canopy like ethereal fingers reaching for the sky.
"This whole area sits atop a convergence of ley lines," Francisco explained as they settled into position. "The mana concentration here is particularly conducive to introspective work."
Nick could feel it—a gentle pressure against his senses, like the weight of deep water or the subtle pull of gravity. His mana channels responded automatically, opening to receive and circulate the ambient energy.
Maria, smiling at both of them, guided them through a series of breathing exercises, teaching them to find their center even as mana flowed through and around them. "Stability isn't about perfect balance," she explained, "but about remembering who you are, even when the world shifts around you."
As Nick's breathing deepened and his awareness expanded, something unexpected happened. The landscape before him seemed to shift, reality overlaying with something else—a vision or a memory, he couldn't tell which.
His parents stood before him—not as in nightmares, but as they were: vibrant, powerful, unmistakably alive. His father bore the quiet strength of a man who carried burdens without complaint, his eyes reflecting the fierce will now burning in Nick. His mother's hands shimmered with violet mana, her smile serene and sorrowful, as if she'd always known this moment would come. The air rippled with luminous currents—mana streams Nick could now see.
"You're ready," his father said, though no sound passed his lips. The words settled directly into Nick's mind like truth.
"We've always known," his mother added, her image refracting like sunlight through crystal, her voice echoing timelessly.
Behind them unfolded a vision of breathtaking scale: spiral galaxies spinning, nebulae blooming, constellations linked by living light. At the center floated Earth—fragile, luminous, cradled in space. Encircling the planet was a translucent membrane, a living Veil woven from mana and dimensional resonance. It pulsed with rainbow light, each layer singing a distinct frequency. Some regions thrummed with vitality, while others thinned and frayed, glowing faintly like stretched silk about to tear.
Then, something shifted.
Where the Veil had weakened, radiant tendrils emerged—streams of energy dancing like auroras, reaching toward Earth with cautious intelligence, offering connection rather than conquest. Where they touched the world, blossoms of light flared—geometric patterns etched into land, sea, and air. Mana networks awakened. Nodes of power, long dormant, now pulsed with rediscovered memory.
And Earth responded.
Tendrils of energy rose from the planet in return, hesitant yet eager, meeting the cosmic strands halfway. This wasn't war—it was communion. A rethreading of what had once been across space, time, and dimensions.
Nick understood—not as theory, but as truth in his soul—that this was not an apocalypse, but an evolution. He felt the fullness of who he was—Arlize and Nick, past and present, myth and mortal—not as conflict, but as convergence. He was the bridge.
His parents nodded in unison, sharing this revelation. Their forms dissolved into radiant motes, drifting into the starlit weave above.
"Remember," they whispered as they faded—their voices neither sound nor thought, but something ancient, woven into his very being.
The vision faded gradually, leaving Nick in awe and with a profound sense of purpose. He would help earth survive and he would master his abilities.
When he opened his eyes, he found Jordan watching him curiously.
"You saw something," Jordan stated flatly.
Nick nodded. "The future, maybe. Or a possibility."
Nick noticed both his grand parents and overheard him and each had smiled knowingly but continued their own meditations.
"I saw my old unit," Jordan admitted after a moment, his voice uncharacteristically vulnerable. "My commander. The people I left behind when I was recruited to monitor you."
"You miss them," Nick observed.
"I feel like I abandoned them," Jordan corrected. "Like I betrayed my oath. But now..." He looked down at his hands, where faint gold mana traces had begun to appear around his fingers after a week of intensive training. "Now I'm not sure where my loyalty should lie."
"Perhaps," Maria suggested, appearing silently from the path behind them, "loyalty is not about choosing one oath over another, but about expanding your understanding of what you're protecting."
The four sat in companionable silence as the sun climbed higher, each lost in their own thoughts but somehow connected by the ambient mana currents flowing through the mountain.
When they finally made their way back to the compound, they found Maggie waiting for them in the solarium—a glass-walled room at the front of the compound that was filled with tropical plants that Nick had never visited before. Her expression was unreadable, but there was a new steadiness to her posture.
Her parents sat nearby, surrounded by holographic displays. David appeared to be analyzing system schematics, while Meilin studied resonance modeling software with intense concentration.
"They're staying," Maggie said simply as Nick approached. "They want to help."
"Help?" Nick echoed, surprised.
David looked up from his work. "I founded an AI firm focused on autonomous comms security systems," David said, eyes scanning the interface. If my daughter is going to be part of a secret war, the least I can do is make sure her side has better operational security than... this." He gestured dismissively at one of the displays.
"And I'm going to improve these resonance interfaces," Meilin added, not looking up from her work. "The neural load these systems place on developing brains is completely unoptimized."
Nick glanced at Maggie, who shrugged with a small smile. "They were up all night. By morning, they'd decided if they couldn't stop me, they'd help make sure I survived."
"You have your mother's stubbornness," David said, his voice gruff but fond. "But I'm proud of where it's led you."
Maggie didn't cry, but the soft "Thank you" she offered carried volumes of emotion.
That evening, after the Zhangs had been shown to their newly assigned quarters—apparently they were staying indefinitely—and Nick found himself drawn to the compound's western observation deck. The stars were emerging in the darkening sky, countless points of light in the vast cosmic ocean.
He sensed Maggie's approach before he heard her footsteps. Her mana signature had grown more distinctive over the week, the green-gold frequency uniquely hers.
She joined him at the railing without speaking, both of them watching the stars in comfortable silence.
"They're really staying," she said finally. "Dad's already identified six critical vulnerabilities in the facility's security system, and Mom's convinced she can enhance the mana-neural interface efficiency by thirty percent."
"Sounds like they've found their roles," Nick observed.
"It's not just that." Maggie turned to face him, her expression serious. "They're staying because of Elias. Because now there's hope."
Nick nodded. "We'll find him, Maggie. And we'll get it back. All of us, together."
"Marcus says we leave for the Academy in two week," Maggie said, returning her gaze to the stars. "Do you think we're ready?"
The question hung between them, weighted with all they'd experienced and all that still awaited.
"No," Nick replied honestly. "But we will be."
They stood in silence as night fully claimed the sky, the Milky Way stretching overhead like a road of light leading to distant worlds. Somewhere beyond those stars, beyond the thinning Veil, forces were gathering—some threatening, others perhaps offering hope. And here they stood, an unlikely team of transformed humans, preparing to meet whatever came.
As Nick stood beside Maggie under the infinite sky, he felt both impossibly small and immeasurably significant—exactly as he should be.