The silence in Hephaestus's workshop was no longer one of contemplation; it was one of sacred creation. On a pristine, sterile workbench, bathed in a soft, clean light, lay the spoils of war: a flawless Starlight Core that pulsed with the gentle light of a captured galaxy, and three small, heavy ingots of raw Orichalcum, glowing with a faint, golden hue.
These were not materials. They were the heart and soul of the masterpiece he was about to create.
For three days and three nights, the legendary craftsman worked. This was not the brutal, fiery forging of axes and armor. This was a process more akin to surgery or watchmaking, requiring a delicacy and precision that pushed even his legendary skills to their absolute limit.
He began with the Orichalcum. Using a high-frequency sonic blade, he shaved micro-thin layers from the ingots, each layer no thicker than a human hair. He carefully wove these metallic threads together, following the impossibly complex schematics from Oracle's blueprint, creating the pendant's crescent moon frame. It was not just a piece of metal; it was a dormant, S-Rank shield emitter.
Then came the heart of the device. The Starlight Core. He had to carefully calibrate the miniature star, designing a containment field that would allow it to power the pendant indefinitely without it going supernova. He worked with the focus of a man defusing a bomb, sweat beading on his brow.
Finally, he inscribed the psycho-receptive runes, the core of the Aegis's defensive protocol. The code was a divine language, and he, the humble smith, was its translator, painstakingly etching the alien characters onto the Orichalcum frame.
Hephaestus, the man who had long ago grown bored with the limits of mortal science, was in a state of pure, religious fervor. He cursed Oracle for the impossible, divine complexity of the task, while simultaneously worshipping the sheer, breathtaking beauty of the design.
At the dawn of the fourth day, he was finished. He held the finished pendant up to the light. It was an object of profound, understated elegance. A small, silver crescent of impossibly smooth Orichalcum, cradling a single, dark crystal that seemed to drink the light around it. But deep within that crystal, the captured galaxy of the Starlight Core swirled and pulsed with a quiet, cosmic life. It was beautiful, but it radiated a terrifying, dormant power.
Hephaestus felt a deep, paternal pride, a feeling he had not experienced in many, many years. Hephaestus: "The gift is ready. A shield fit for a goddess. The delivery... that is your problem now, you damn ghost."
How does a silent, "dead" teenager give a priceless, one-of-a-kind S-Rank artifact to the school's most popular girl without raising a billion questions?
This was the puzzle Qin Mo now faced. A direct gift was out of the question. An anonymous delivery would be suspicious and impersonal. The solution, like all of his plans, had to be elegant, indirect, and layered with plausible deniability.
The opportunity presented itself at the dinner table that evening. "Ah, I'm so nervous," his mother, Li Suyin, said, sighing as she served the rice. "The university is hosting a formal academic gala this weekend to honor the history department. Professor Su—you know, Su Liying's father—is the keynote speaker. All the parents from the PTA are going to be there to show support."
She wrung her hands. "But I don't have a suitable gift to bring! It would be so rude to show up empty-handed to such a prestigious event."
Qin Mo, who had orchestrated this entire "opportunity" by anonymously nominating Professor Su for the keynote speaker position through a university alumni forum a month ago, saw his opening.
He looked up from his bowl, feigning a casual recollection. "A gift?" he said, his tone flat. "I found something interesting at an online auction for pre-Revival antiques a while ago. I thought it looked unique. It's just a piece of jewelry, but it looks very old. Maybe Professor Su's wife would appreciate it as a historical curiosity?"
He got up and went to his room, returning with a simple, elegant gift box made of dark wood. The box had been delivered to one of General Jiang's dead-drop locations just that morning.
His mother's eyes lit up. "Oh, Mo-mo, you're so thoughtful! Can I see?" He opened the box. Inside, nestled on a bed of black velvet, lay the 'Aegis of Stillness' pendant. To an untrained eye, it simply looked like a beautiful, if unusual, piece of antique silver and obsidian jewelry.
"It's beautiful!" his mother gasped. "So elegant! Oh, this is perfect. Thank you, my son. You've saved me!"
She took the gift box, completely unaware that she was now a courier in a silent war, carrying an artifact of divine power capable of stopping an S-Rank assassin's blow.
The academic gala was a glittering affair, held in the grand ballroom of a five-star hotel. Su Liying stood beside her proud parents, politely smiling as her father, the renowned Professor Su, accepted congratulations from his peers.
"Professor Su, a brilliant lecture!" "Anya, your husband is a treasure!"
Amidst the mingling, her father introduced them to a friendly, smiling woman. "Liying, Anya, this is Mrs. Li. Her son is a classmate of yours, Liying."
"It's a pleasure to meet you," Su Liying said with a graceful nod. "The pleasure is all mine! Your father's work is magnificent," Li Suyin replied warmly. "And my son, Qin Mo, speaks very highly of you." Su Liying's heart skipped a beat at the mention of his name. "He is a very quiet boy," Mrs. Li continued with a fond smile. "He's not very good at expressing himself, but he is very thoughtful. He actually asked me to give this to your family, as a small sign of respect for the Professor's work."
She presented the simple, dark wood gift box. Su Liying's parents were touched by the gesture. "How very kind of him," her father said as he opened the box.
They saw a beautiful, elegant pendant. "My, what a unique design," her mother commented, admiring its craftsmanship.
But Su Liying... she didn't just see it. The moment the box opened, she felt it. Her A-Rank Empathy, which had been struggling against the chaotic, noisy tide of a hundred different egos in the ballroom, was suddenly washed over by a wave of perfect, absolute stillness.
The pendant was not radiating power. It was a void. A small, wearable black hole of silence that absorbed all the hostile, arrogant, and jealous emotional noise around her. For the first time in a crowded room, her mind was quiet.
She reached out and her fingers brushed against the cool metal. She recognized the feeling instantly. It was the same feeling she got from Qin Mo's soul. It was a small, wearable piece of his own profound, cosmic silence.
She understood. This was from him. A gift. A tool. A shield. A message.
She was left speechless, a storm of emotions—awe, gratitude, and the terrifying, heartwarming weight of his silent, absolute protection—welling up inside her.
"May I?" she asked her mother, her voice a near whisper. She took the pendant from the box and, with trembling fingers, clasped it around her neck. It settled against her skin, cool and calming.
From a single, inconspicuous security camera in a forgotten corner of the grand ballroom, Qin Mo watched.
He saw the entire exchange. He saw the polite greetings. He saw his mother, his unwitting and perfect courier, present the gift. And he saw the look on Su Liying's face as she touched the pendant—the instant, dawning comprehension in her eyes. He watched as she put it on.
A new notification, visible only to him, appeared in his mind. [AEGIS OF STILLNESS: ONLINE] [BIOMETRIC AND SPIRITUAL SIGNATURE LOCKED TO: SU LIYING] [SHIELD STATUS: DORMANT] [PROTECTIVE AURA: ACTIVE]
His asset was now protected. He watched her through the camera's cold, digital eye, a faint, almost imperceptible smile touching his lips. The king had just armed his queen.