Jīshí sat in the Sect Leader's chair with her legs and arms crossed, her barefoot tapping back and forth as she watched the Sect Leader frantically move from corner to corner of the small room. The man had been working for nearly a week to set up all the appropriate wards and restrictions to block every from Spiritual Energy and Mana to strange formations even SHE had never seen before. The sheer quality and diversity that the man was laying down confused her. What possible reason could there be for such paranoia? Some of the reagents the man was using could make even the Origin clans treasury ache for some time, yet he was burning through them like they were about to spoil.

More shocking, with her recently acquired knowledge, the experienced Prima could even deduce that some of the seals could block most forms of energy waves, such as radio and other forms of electromagnetic signals well. One incredibly complex formation was even designed to break apart shallow level quantum entanglement.

How had this man even created something like that? More importantly, WHY? Jīshí's eyes narrowed, and her suspicions began to grow even further. Finally, her patience ran out, and she stood, glaring at the younger man.

[Jīshí] - "Is all of this truly necessary, Yeom Ki? Everything could be over quick and easy if you'd just let me read your Soul."

Yeom Ki stopped and turned to look at the Elemental, his eyes narrow.

[Yeom Ki] - "I'm not as foolish as that AI, Jīshí. I already know you can't perform a Soul read without my permission. And there are some things that even YOU should not know. I'm surprised it even worked on the AI, to begin with..."

then, almost to himself, he whispered,

[Yeom Ki] - "How far have then come already?... an AI with a Soul?... what the hell..."

The man shook his head and turned back to his work, calling over his shoulder.

[Yeom Ki] - "Bare with me. I'm almost finished."

True to his word, it was only a few more hours before the entire formation collection flashed with powerful spiritual energy. Space itself trembled, and the two felt as if all of existence outside those walls simply vanished, leaving only the two of them and their small room left.

Jīshí's body trembled as she gasped for air, the very connection to the planet that had been with her since her birth snapping before it devolved into thin-air. A moment of wide-eyed panic passed before she managed to calm herself and look towards the Sect Leader's slumped, exhausted form. She doubted it was some kind of trap. Otherwise, the fool wouldn't have locked himself in here with him, not given how much setting up those formations had cost him, both in body and pocket.

After a long moment in silence, both beings seemed to recover somewhat from the experience, and Jīshí snapped.

[Jīshí] - "Now, mind explaining what this is all about?!"

Yeom Ki pushed himself to his feet, legs shaking, before flashing him one of his award-winning smiles.

[Yeom Ki] - "What? Don't you know what it means when a man locks the door? Is it wrong to want to have some privacy with my favorite lady?"

Jīshí didn't respond, opting instead to fold her arms and glared at the man with an intensity that made even his smile crack.

His shoulders sank as he gave a deep sigh before stepping away from the wall.

[Yeom Ki] - "Fine, Fine. It should be about time, anyway..."

Jīshí looked at the man, her brow furrowing, but as she opened her mouth to ask what he meant, something happened.

Something that she, in all of her long life, had never once seen happen. Something that, by its very nature, shouldn't even be possible. As the Elemental watched with wide-eyed confusion, a single strand of golden hair fell to the floor and scattered into gray dust. Jīshí could only stare, mouth agape, mind struggling to process what she had seen.

She wasn't some biological flesh-bag; She was an Elemental. One of THE Elementals. Sure, she should construct a body that mimicked life to the degree that she could even produce Mana, but at the end of the day, it was HER body. She had absolute control over every speck that made up her being.

Or at least, she should have...

Yeom Ki simply sighed and walked towards her. With a flick of his hand, the minute dust that had made up the "hair" floated into the air.

Without warning, Yeom Ki's right arm suddenly dissolved into dust as well and began to circle and encapsulate the former strand of "hair." Soon, a small ball of grey floated between them, slowly spinning. Still, more surprised were to come, as, in front of Yeom Ki, several blue, holographic screens popped into existence. Yeom Ki began to type on a small floating keyboard with his remaining hand as data flew by at an astounding pace.

Jīshí, for her part, was still trying to process all of this. Earth Elementals were famous for their sturdy and unshakable personalities, but they were just as renowned for being weak to sudden and inexplicable change. Though a Prima and far more experienced than almost any other being on the planet, Jīshí was no less susceptible to her nature than the rest of her race.

After a moment, the data on the screens finally stopped scrolling by. Yeom Ki simply shook his head.

[Yeom Ki] - "I knew it; it's one of theirs. Of course the...GAK!"

Before Yeom Ki could finish the thought, a massive stone hand erupted through the blue screens, catching him off guard as they wrapped around his neck and slammed him into the ceiling. The stone cracked but was quickly repaired by the layered formations. Jīshí stared up at him from the base of the hand, her eyes blazing and her face twisted as she screamed.

[Jīshí] - "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON YEOM KI?!"

Through the immense pressure, both spiritually and physically, Yeom Ki could only barely squeak out, his face slowly turning blue;

[Yeom Ki] - "Can't... Breath..."

Jīshí blinked, then shaking her head, withdrew her spiritual pressure, and freed the suffocating man.

[Yeom Ki] - "Hey! Wai...!"

Freed from his restraints, Yeom Ki fell, wide-eyed, to the floor. He propped himself on his remaining arm, color slowly returning to his face as he coughed. The swirling mists soon flowed back to him and reformed into his arm as well. As he stood and shook his head, only to come face to face with a grim Jīshí, lighting flashing in her eyes.

[Jīshí] - "Now speak! Who are you really, Yeom Ki?"

Yeom Ki backpedaled a few feet and coughed into his hand.

[Yeom Ki] - "*cough* Well, I guess I should reintroduce myself.

The man stood straight and snapped to attention as he gave a perfect salute.

[Yeom Ki] - "Captain Yeom Ki of the United Sol Federation. Acting Commander of the USCS Spearhead-001, Forward Colony Ship for the Anti-Hunter Alliance, at your service".

Jīshí stared in shock and disbelief at what she had just heard, her mouth agape and brow furrowed. However, soon, her plump lips closed and formed a thin frown as she folded her arms and stared hard at the man in front of her. Her next words were cold and hard, laced disappointment.

[Jīshí] - "Bullcrap."

Yeom Ki stumbled, breaking his salute, but before he could ask what she meant, the Elemental help up a hand.

[Jīshí] - "I don't know where you learned those terms from, Yeom Ki, but I told you to stop playing these games with me. You seem to forget that I've already performed a Soul Read on Alpha..."

While the AI's core memory might not have held much about the Federation as a whole, his Soul was something else entirely. Anything and everything the AI had ever seen or learned was at her fingertips.

[Jīshí] - "The last known record of the USCS Spearhead-001 was during the First Federation, and even then, it was labeled "Lost" after being intercepted and attacked mid-jump by a Hunter Mothership. You expect me to believe this story?"

However, instead of answering her question, it was Yeom Ki's turn to stare at the Elemental in confusion.

With a furrowed brow, the Sect Leader tilted his head and asked,

[Yeom Ki] - "What do you mean 'First' Federation?"

Alpha watched through the holding cell's hidden cameras as his prisoners milled about and discussed the recent events. The AI had learned a lot from the short encounter, and not just the local language. The Prisoners were almost as much of a gold-mine of Information as of the things they had carried on them. He almost wished he'd captured a few more, but that was neither here nor there.

The most exciting thing he'd gained was the readings on the (he assumed) young man's use of "Mana." It was amazing; he had never seen anything like it. While seemingly exotic and strange, spiritual energy was at least explainable once you understood what was happening, even if the HOW of it escaped him at the moment. Mana, however, was another beast entirely.

Whatever the wolfman had done, it had essentially supercharged the other creature's cells to a level that physics said they should have burst into flame, simply due to energy released from cell division. Did the energy somehow insulate or strengthen them? Energy insulating energy? How did that even work? Or maybe it was some kind of localized time dilation effect? The Federation used a similar technique in some higher-end healing pods. But the energy and material cost was so astronomical that simple Nanobot reconstruction was deemed more viable, if less effective.

Alpha wasn't a scientist by trade, but even he was starting to feel an indescribable itch to pull this world apart for its secrets. Why did this world hold so many unexplainable and unknown phenomena? The Federation had long ago mastered Space-Time, they grew and harvested Stars, shaped entire solar systems into art, and yet on a single world, he had already discovered so many unknowns. No, not just Unknowns; secrets, and powers that threatened to overthrow everything the Federation thought they understood about the Universe.

But why? What was so special about this place?

The AI struggled to form some theory or explanation about what he had stumbled on. But after hours of pondering on his new reality, he couldn't think of anything that connected all the dots.

Alpha turned his attention away from his prisoners and back to the next most important thing on his list with a mental sigh.

Having long expanded his base to accommodate the CRAB frame better, Alpha entered into his newest chamber, slightly giddy as he looked at the large pile of processed goods and equipment in from of him.

It was time to sort his loot.