The rhythmic grinding instantly escalated to a piercing, metal-on-stone shriek. It wasn't the distant hum of the drill anymore; it was the sound of a mechanical beast chewing through the final inches of our sanctuary. <CRRAAAAACKKK!> The drill bit ripped through the cistern ceiling with the violence of a cannon blast. The air exploded. A... Continue Reading →
5 – The Dead Zone
Anya was right. The Aetherium sphere, my most sacred charge, my last link to a glorious past, was a beacon for the regime. It was the ultimate, agonizing betrayal of a holy relic. I carefully wrapped it in the coarse, damp linen from a forgotten store shelf and tucked it deep inside my coat. The... Continue Reading →
4 – Cracks in the Void
Trapped! The word was a heavy stone in my gut. The basement door at the far wall of the Istoki Mysli basement exploded inward, splinters of ancient oak showering the damp stone floor. Hidden behind the ruins of a conduit, I watched the armed Okhrana agents pour into the space—their dark uniforms a stark, violent... Continue Reading →
3 – The Broken Machine
Istoki Mysli The aetheric shriek was a siren’s call, a frantic, desperate scream that cut through the silent hum of the city. It was not the harmonious resonance of the old world, but a chaotic, untamed energy, raw and dangerous. It felt like a dissonant note in a sacred hymn, a wrench in the gears... Continue Reading →
2 – Ghost in the City
The day after my failed attempt to awaken the Petersburg node, I felt a change in the air. It was more than the cold, damp chill of a St. Petersburg autumn; it was a subtle, almost imperceptible hum that seemed to vibrate in the very bones of the city. The gas lamps that flickered on... Continue Reading →
1 – The Aetherium Engineer (Prologue)
The Echo of the Lost Grid The year is 1898, and the world hums with the false promise of progress. It is a world I am forced to live in but do not belong to. Smoke belches from a thousand new factories, iron behemoths roar across continents, and a strange, chugging sound—the rhythm of the... Continue Reading →
The Apocrypha of Azazel 