The arrival of the Hope's Legacy changed everything. The silent, primordial plateau of Vesper was now a hive of controlled activity. Astra, hailed as the Architect, was no longer a solitary force. He was a director, and the 212 survivors were his orchestra.
His first act was to complete the Anchor Nexus. With an audience of awestruck engineers, he summoned the half-finished crystalline spire from his inventory and, in a display that cemented his divine status, completed its construction in a single, sun-bright flare of Cosmic Energy. The Nexus hummed to life, a perfect converter now channeling the planet's geothermal breath into a stable, usable field that enveloped the plateau.
"Behold," he projected, his voice reaching every colonist simultaneously. "This is the heart. It will power your homes, your industries, your future."
Under his direction, the work began in earnest. He didn't build the city for them. He gave them the tools to build it themselves.
Using the [Stellar Forge] and his newfound Geomanctic Engineering, he performed acts of large-scale terraforming. He raised foundations of fused stone from the ground itself, creating perfect, level plots for prefabricated habitats from the Legacy. He carved aqueducts and irrigation channels with precise applications of the [Jōgen Lance], diverting water from the geothermal falls. He purified the soil and accelerated the growth of edible, nutrient-rich flora using the biosphere templates from the World-Seed.
The colonists, led by the fiercely capable Captain Elara, worked with a fervor born of gratitude and newfound purpose. Engineers who had watched him weave a new engine from nothing now carefully laid power conduits from the Nexus. Biologists studied the accelerated growth of the alien crops with a sense of holy wonder. This was not just survival; it was participation in a miracle.
Astra assigned his Cognitive Partitions to manage the colony's development. One Partition oversaw the energy grid, ensuring stable distribution. Another monitored the structural integrity of the growing settlement. A third began cataloging the skills and knowledge of every colonist, building a database for the society they would create.
He named the nascent settlement "First Stone." It was a promise of more to come.
Within a month, First Stone was a functioning, if rudimentary, colony. Prefab domes dotted the plateau, linked by clean, stone-paved paths. Fields of purple grain swayed in the artificial breeze generated by the Nexus. The air, once filled only with the roar of the waterfall, now hummed with the sounds of industry and community.
It was during the dedication of the first communal hall that the System chimed, its notification a quiet validation.
[FACTION MANDATE PROGRESS: Saiyan Exodus - Phase 1]
[Sub-Objective: Establish a viable, hidden colony for a minimum of 500 Saiyans.]
[Current Population: 212 (Non-Saiyan).]
[Infrastructure Level: Foundational. Viability: 40%.]
[Additional Reward Unlocked: "Pioneer's Resolve" - All non-combat skill development and construction rates are increased by 15% for all individuals under your designated leadership.]
The reward was a tangible force. The colonists felt it—a sudden clarity of thought, a surge of energy as they worked. Walls went up faster, systems were calibrated with greater precision. The very air of First Stone seemed to encourage growth.
Astra stood at the edge of the plateau with Elara, looking down at the bustling settlement. The silver circlet on his brow was no longer just a tool; it was a crown of responsibility.
"They look to you as a god," Elara said softly, her gaze fixed on the thriving fields.
"They are mistaken," Astra replied, his mental voice calm. "I am merely the first architect. This city, this world... it will be their legacy as much as mine. I have laid the First Stone. They will build the cathedral."
He had created more than a colony; he had created a culture. A culture built on the principles of salvation, mutual effort, and the awe-inspiring power of a leader who could reshape worlds. The Saiyans he would bring here would find not an empty plot of land, but a functioning society, a new way of life waiting for them. The foundation was no longer just physical or energetic; it was social, and it was strong. The First City Stone was set, and the empire was beginning to rise.