Kenji presented his "Aetheric Resource Deprivation Cascade" (ARDC) plan to Elara and Martha. The storehouse was dimly lit by a single Aether-infused crystal, casting long shadows that danced as Kenji gestured, his SAI projecting diagrams of Aetheric waveforms and logical flowcharts.
Martha, ever the pragmatist, was skeptical but willing to trust Kenji's judgment after the battle. "If you say it has a chance of shutting that cursed thing down without blowing up the valley, lad, I'm for it. Better than waiting for the Blight to boil up from our cellars again."
Elara, however, was quieter, her ancient eyes fixed on the projected diagram of the ARDC script, particularly the "Aetheric Contamination Mimic" stage.
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[SAI - Projected Display Snippet: ARDC Stage 1 - ACM]
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// ...
// Modulate Aetheric Carrier Wave (Lambda-Phi) with 'Corrosive Echo' Signature.
// Target Signature designed to be 'unpalatable' to Device Intake Protocol X-17.
// Ensure no harmonic resonance with Heartstone Primary Frequency (Alpha-Prime).
// Critical Calibration: ACM intensity must be below Heartstone Ward Threshold.
// ...
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"This 'Corrosive Echo' signature you propose to mimic," Elara said slowly, her voice raspy, "the patterns, the way it's designed to be 'unpalatable'… it reminds me of something. A fragment of a legend, one rarely told, deemed too dark even for cautionary tales."
Kenji and Martha looked at her expectantly.
"It speaks of the 'First Blight'," Elara continued, her gaze distant, "long before the current Scourge that wanderers bring tales of. An age when the very Aether of the world was said to have turned against itself. Not a plague of monsters, initially, but a decay of magic, a souring of the life force. Some texts hinted at a 'Great Betrayal,' a powerful group of Aether Weavers who sought to control the Aether itself, and in their hubris, unleashed a 'Discordant Song' that nearly unmade the world."
Kenji felt a chill. "A Discordant Song? Like a weaponized Aetheric frequency?"
"Perhaps," Elara said. "The legends say that to combat this, other Weavers, the 'Architects of Concord,' devised 'Null Harmonics' and 'Sanctuary Wards' – Aetheric patterns designed to repel or neutralize the Discordant Song, to shield places of pure Aether like the Heartstones." She looked directly at Kenji. "Your 'Corrosive Echo' designed to be unpalatable to the device… it bears a faint resemblance to the descriptions of those defensive Null Harmonics. What if your device isn't just a Blight generator, Kenji-san? What if it was their weapon, or a consequence of their war?"
The implication was staggering.
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[SAI - System Log/Historical Correlation Analysis (Cross-Referencing Elara's Account)]
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INPUT DATA: Legend of 'First Blight', 'Discordant Song', 'Architects of Concord',
'Null Harmonics', 'Sanctuary Wards'.
CORRELATION (User Script ARDC - Stage 1 ACM):
- 'Corrosive Echo' signature shares theoretical Aetheric wave properties
with hypothesized 'Null Harmonics' (defensive/repellent frequencies).
- Device's 'Heartstone Resonance Dampener' sub-protocol could be an ancient,
automated version of a 'Sanctuary Ward' designed to protect itself from
specific Aetheric frequencies or to hide from something.
NEW HYPOTHESIS:
The Ancient Aetheric Device may be a relic of an ancient conflict, possibly
a weapon or containment unit related to the 'First Blight' or the
'Discordant Song'. Its current Blight generation might be a corrupted or
malfunctioning state of its original purpose. It might have been designed
to *absorb* or *neutralize* a specific type of Blight, and now, damaged,
it's doing the opposite, or it was a weapon that created a specific Blight
and is now out of control.
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"So, the device might have been a weapon... or a defense system that got corrupted?" Kenji processed this. "If it was designed to react to certain Aetheric frequencies, like a 'Discordant Song,' then my 'Corrosive Echo' might inadvertently trigger a much stronger, or entirely different, response than just making it 'uncomfortable'."
The risk of his plan had just escalated dramatically. He was not just trying to trick a malfunctioning machine; he might be prodding an ancient weapon of immense, unknown power, with protocols he couldn't even guess at.
"The legends also say," Elara added, her voice barely a whisper, "that the Architects of Concord, in their desperation, created 'Guardians' for the Heartstones – beings or constructs of pure Aether, bound to protect them. Most are long gone, their Aether dissipated over the millennia. But perhaps… some echo remains."
Kenji looked at Lyra, who was listening intently, her glow unusually subdued. A Sylphid, a minor air elemental, bound to him by a life debt. Could Fae creatures like her have some ancestral connection to these "Guardians"?
The weight of the past pressed down on them. Kenji's plan to "hack" the device was no longer just a clever technical challenge. It was an interaction with forces and histories that shaped this world, a potential catalyst for unknown consequences. The shadows from Aethelgard's ancient past were not just whispering; they were screaming warnings.