Luthar didn't look up immediately. His fingers were still tracing the outline of a convergence ring on the schematic, eyes distant in thought.
It was Hephaestus who noticed Liliruca first, her crimson eye glancing up from the enchanted ingot she'd just finished inspecting.
"You're done?" she asked.
Liliruca gave a small nod. "All three nodes are active. Shop, Church, and your main forge. Signal strength is quite good; I've already tested it."
At that, Luthar finally raised his head. He reached out and tapped a rune-stone embedded in the console beside him. After a moment, a green light blinked twice in confirmation.
"Good," he murmured. "Now we can focus on the main objective. As for the communication device, since it isn't complicated, it can be completed with our current machinery."
Hephaestus leaned her hip against the nearby workbench, arms crossing under the thick leather of her smithing apron. "If I remember correctly, someone said I needed a new workshop for their communication device production," she said with a smirk.
Luthar responded with a noncommittal grunt, neither amused nor offended.
Liliruca stepped forward, arms behind her back. "That's for the units we plan to rent out. For our internal use, I can handle the production in my own workshop."
Luthar gave her a long look, then turned to the center of the lab.
The dimensional frame stood fully assembled now. Its rings were carved with spiraling glyphs that shimmered faintly with residual mana. Thick cables ran from its stabilizers to a power core encased in protective plating. Overhead, a crystalline alignment lens hung from a ceiling track, already calibrated for spatial coordinates. The entire machine pulsed softly—alive, ready to be used.
Luthar, eyes fixed on the machine, said, "I need to begin the final calibration today."
He paused, his gaze hardening slightly. "And if it fails—for the next few years, I won't be able to build another one in this world."
Liliruca's eyes narrowed slightly at his tone.
"And if it fails?" she echoed, stepping closer. "Or if we get another demon—or whatever that monster was."
Luthar didn't flinch. "This one is different. It doesn't open a gate between universes."
Hephaestus raised a brow. "Then how are we going to other worlds?"
Luthar turned back to the dimensional frame. "This one will send me to a place that exists between all worlds. From there, it will be easier to travel anywhere."
Liliruca folded her arms. "Sounds complicated. But more importantly, you haven't told us the method this machine will use to send us to a new world."
He nodded slightly. "This method is different. I'm no longer the rift between two universes. Instead, I'm constructing a fixed-phase dimensional corridor, stabilized through quantum anchoring. I'll be powering the machine myself, ensuring it can't function without me."
His voice remained steady. "The device will momentarily shift your existence—anchor, body, and soul—into a new dimensional framework."
Then, calmly, he added, "As for me, I possess a special energy that will protect me while I move through the space between worlds. From there, I can establish an anchor. After that, future travels will be easier and safer."
She glanced sideways at Hephaestus, then back at him. "So what's the worst-case scenario?"
"Space is distorting so quickly it rips the world apart. At best, my idea simply doesn't work."
Liliruca let out a slow breath. "The way you talk about the destruction of the world so casually is terrifying."
"If the universe really does get destroyed, I have a backup plan," he replied without hesitation.
Hephaestus pushed away from the bench, brows furrowed in thought. "Then tell me—what's your contingency? If something goes wrong, I need to be prepared."
Luthar inclined his head, his voice even. "If there's a situation where this universe is about to be destroyed, those of you present will be forcibly placed into my dimensional pocket. I will override the primary sequence and reopen the gate."
Hephaestus narrowed her eyes. "To where?"
A faint hum vibrated through the chamber as the machinery idled behind them. Luthar's gaze remained steady. "To the Imperium. While it's a terrible place, I believe no matter how strong the blast of this machine is, it wouldn't cause any damage there."
He paused, then added plainly, "Then we can go back to my home planet and probably cry to my father so he can help me build new machines."
Hephaestus arched an eyebrow. "I thought you didn't like your father. Aren't you worried he'll freeze your emotions again?"
Luthar gave a dry shrug. "Well, he is a billion times richer than me. I've got two ships—he commands an entire fleet and owns multiple planets. At that scale, holding a grudge just seems… impractical."
As he said that, Luthar remembered the fools who had tried to kill him during his escape from the 40k universe. With a faint grimace, he added, "We just need to make sure we don't die mid-journey… or get caught by one of the factions."
"Can't you at least make sure we don't end up stranded on some alien planet instead of your homeworld?" Liliruca asked, her tone flat but cautious.
Luthar didn't look at her directly. "If we land on some alien planet, it's actually easier. We can just kill everyone and take over the place. The real problem is ending up in a human-controlled world—then you need a more creative reason to kill them before they try to kill you."
Hephaestus clearly wasn't eager to pursue that line of conversation, so she steered it back to the matter at hand. "So, what are the chances we make this jump without, you know, blowing up the world?"
"It's one hundred percent," Luthar replied confidently.
Liliruca blinked. "You're that sure?"
"With absolute confidence," he confirmed.
But Liliruca frowned, unconvinced. "Then why do you keep talking like there's a chance the world might end?"
Luthar didn't hesitate. "Because my certainty is based on theory and calculation. Not on thousand live experiments. The numbers say it'll work—but I'm not arrogant enough to claim certainty where no practical test has been made."
He turned back toward the dimensional frame, adjusting the glyph calibration on a side panel. Cables hummed softly as the machine began to respond to his inputs.
[ Then, without looking up, he said calmly, "Be ready. Tonight, I begin the test run."
[ Did you know you read more than 28 advanced chapters now if you go to /Silvervir?utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator
There is also draft for other fanfictions; unfortunately, other fanfictions are quite slow, as my most focus is on TPM ]