My Talent's Name Is Generator Chapter 749: A Dead Star

As we delved further into Sector Zero, an eerie hush settled over everything.

The bustle from behind us dwindled away, with patrol paths growing sparser until the stars seemed remote and uncaring once more. Sector Zero served as a nexus, not a prison, and if you knew the right spots to check, it provided escapes just as readily as it imposed watchfulness.

I positioned myself by the main screen as Aurora superimposed the star chart supplied by the demons. It held no flair or deeper meaning. It was straightforward and unsentimental, revealing solely the essentials. Key factions. Reliable paths. Areas wise to steer clear of unless you were ready to face the fallout.

"Right there," Aurora pointed out, illuminating a zone distant from the main pathways. "That spot’s been labeled dormant for ages."

The view magnified.

A lifeless star.

At first sight, it scarcely qualified as a heavenly object, merely a colossal ball of imploded material wandering the void, its exterior shadowy and rough, devouring illumination instead of bouncing it back. No bursts. No bursts of deadly rays. No surrounding planets. The fire that once raged in its heart had vanished long ago.

Yet the surrounding void whispered another tale.

Aurora refined the hologram, allowing the picture to sharpen.

"Stars this enormous don’t simply hush when they crumble," she explained. "When such a giant implodes, the principles it sustained don’t vanish. They persist. Fractured. Warped. Some dwindle gradually, while others merge in impossible ways compared to when the star pulsed with life."

Steve bent closer, examining the ripple effects encircling the star. "So it’s shaky?"

"Not quite," Aurora answered. "It’s stabilized, yet not mended. The fabric of space curves gently close to its edge. Leftover energies swirl aimlessly. It’s a spot where exchanges still occur, only without any core authority to keep them in harmony."

North’s eyes sharpened as she observed the gradual twist near the outer layer. "So the principles remain," she noted, "but they’re no longer working together."

"Precisely," Aurora confirmed. "Responses here won’t be straightforward. Anything you carry in, you’ll need to enforce order upon it personally."

I inclined my head. "That’s the reason we’re halting at this point."

The pair of them swiveled to face me.

"You two have lingered at the edge for some time," I stated. "Your bases are firm. Now’s the moment to advance your ranks."

He flashed a slight smile. "That seems just."

Our vessel decelerated upon entering the dead star’s gravitational influence. Even at this remove, the frame groaned softly while mechanisms adapted, tweaking propulsion to hold a steady stance.

"We’ll halt right here," I declared.

Steve’s brow furrowed. "Not advancing nearer?"

"No point," I responded. "You don’t have to plunge into it. Just get near enough to sense it."

I advanced and pressed my palm toward the emptiness. The void reacted at once, curving in to form a firm teleportation link.

"You set?" I inquired.

Steve shrugged his shoulders. "Have been."

North locked eyes with me and gave a single nod.

I triggered the device.

We three blinked out from the vessel and materialized in the vast emptiness beside the dead star, suspended by a slender barrier of Essence that I stretched over us. The quietude was total. Only the weight of something immense and immovable loomed ahead.

In proximity, the star dominated utterly.

Its exterior lacked evenness. It was cracked, marred by its own downfall, strata of substance squeezed past all logic. Rays of light warped as they neared, distant stars elongating into dim curves behind it. The tug wasn’t forceful, but persistent, insisting on recognition.

I withdrew the barrier from Steve and North initially.

Gravitational force bore down on them right away.

Steve let out a grunt, his footwear scraping briefly before he dug in his heels, bolts of electricity sparking along his limbs on reflex. Darkness gathered underfoot, drawn by the void’s lack of light more than his will.

North balanced herself silently. Atmosphere condensed nearby, the void subtly creasing to spread the strain rather than defy it head-on.

"This beast ignores us completely," Steve grumbled.

"Correct," I replied. "And that makes it ideal."

I retreated a pace, upholding just the barest tie required to step in if trouble arose. This trial belonged to them, not me.

Steve paused for the briefest instant, then dropped into a seated pose with legs crossed, his electricity fading as he compelled himself to cease the instinctive surge. Darkness deepened around him, erratic initially, then gradually calming as he drew it inside.

North mirrored him, settling down. The area encircling her constricted, then eased as she attuned herself, inhaling steadily while syncing with the irregularities rather than flattening them.

I observed.

Time slipped by in minutes. Then longer.

The dead star towered in silence, its pull unyielding, its aura unceasing. Steve’s electricity shifted, no more whipping out but coiling his form in compact loops, with shadows threading through them instead of battling.

North’s aura sharpened. The void curved precisely around her, atmospheric flows steadying into a defined pattern.

Then the emptiness responded.

Essence started converging from all sides. It streamed in deliberate, weighty flows initially, tinted emerald, dense and glowing, before surging into a vortex that enshrouded their figures.

Steve’s electricity burst on instinct, shadows extending and snapping back as the Essence pressed in, compelling the dual powers to merge under duress. Near North, gales compacted into stratified streams, the void contracting and creasing as the approaching Essence wove through her grasp, probing each limit she’d erected.

Neither stirred.

They welcomed it.

I projected my words to them without amplifying, calm enough to pierce the Essence tempest without disrupting its flow.

"This goes beyond mere breakthrough," I said. "Entering Transcendent means more than honing power. You’ll be forging a domain."

Though their eyes stayed shut, I sensed their focus turn.

"A domain rests on the principles you’ve grasped, indeed," I went on. "But that’s merely the skeleton. What really shapes it is your chosen stance. How you battle. How you persist. What you won’t yield."

The verdant Essence grew denser as it poured into them.

"Your domain will accompany your growth. It’ll transform, but its core stays fixed. So don’t fixate on might alone. Consider the route you’re selecting, and the sort of influence you aim to cast upon the cosmos."

I halted, allowing the advice to sink in.

"Construct something you’d inhabit willingly."

While they pressed on, I glanced at my talent interface, which was steadily climbing toward yet another upgrade.