#sentient ruin laboratories

[dustedmagazine]

Clan Dos Mortos Cicatriz — Débil (Sentient Ruin Laboratories)

Débil collects records originally released between 2017 and 2022 by Brazilian blackened punk outfit Clan Dos Mortos Cicatriz. The reliably sharp-eared freaks at Sentient Ruin Laboratories have made the decision to sequence the compilation in reverse-chronological order: songs from the recent Senil EP (2022) appear first, and listeners track back to tunes from the band’s first self-titled and untitled digital releases. The music is hair-raisingly exciting, and that sequencing decision makes Débil a stylistically engaging record.

The compilation is also an indispensable crash course in Clan Dos Mortos Cicatriz’s vigorous musical virtues — if “virtues” is the right word. “Good” also feels like the wrong modifier, especially for the music from Senil, which will pleasure you in direct proportion to the degree to which you feel pummeled senseless (a combo that will make sense to some — you know who you are…). Check out “Vértebra (A Revolta da Carne)”: its top-speed flirtations with D-beat’s rhythmic chaos; its käng-punk snarl; its saturation in so much reverb that the resulting sonic smear might precipitate an attack of vertigo. That’s all in the blackened punk playbook, for sure, but Clan Dos Mortos Cicatriz perform with conviction and impressive venom. It’s lively, and it’s nasty.

This reviewer finds the record increasingly enjoyable the deeper into it you get, and the older the tunes become. The early songs buzz and hum with trebly energy, and hints of Void, early Government Issue and Agnostic Front c. Victim in Pain sharpen up the already keen edges. “Palma Lisa” moves along with a demented hardcore strut that will have you flashing on John Stabb at his most chaotic. Yikes—scar tissue, indeed. For anyone who’s been sleeping on this band (hello), Débil is a wake-up call. A bracing, battering scream, with guitars.

Jonathan Shaw

[blastbeat]

ch'ahom [germany] // blackened death metal.

“ts'ono'ot" is from the “ts'ono'ot“-ep, released on tape via sentient ruin laboratories in 2023.

[musicmakesyousmart]

Exaltation - Under Blind Reasoning

Sentient Ruin Laboratories

2022

[lesdeuxmuses]

Suspiral - Delve Into The Mysteries Of Transcendence (Sentient Ruin Laboratories, 2021)

[plush-pigeon]

Robot!Volo AU

First of all i'd like to give a big shout out to @triskelion-soda for coming up with the idea and letting me use it and @robin-fable-art for helping me develop it.

In this AU Volo is a robot who somehow wakes up in an laboratory that lies in ruins, abandoned for years. There he discovers his creation was the objective of the unfinished "Project Volo", which he takes as his name. After managing to escape from the wires and rubble and eventually forging a couple documents, he joins the tech company Ginkgo Inc. for which he works at a warehouse, but as a hardware salesman as well. Not only does this give him easy access to the parts he uses to constantly improve his unfinished and damaged body, but he also hopes it will help him discover what he was made for and by who.

The more Volo learns about himself, the more selfish he finds humanity and despises it for making "life", but not committing to finishing it, and not even finding it sentient and worthy of happiness.

Cropped versions of the different drawings under cut

[devils-voice]

Abkehr - In Asche

Vinyl: Limited Edition, Clear

Label: Sentient Ruin Laboratories, Sick Man Getting Sick Records

Released: 2017

[screamingforyears]

IN A MINUTE: // A NEW MUSIC ROUNDUP….

“INTERSTITIAL ENMITY” is the lead single from @aberrationdeath’s forthcoming debut album titled ‘Refracture’ (3/22 @sentientruin) & it finds the Minneapolis-based quartet of JH (Aberrations), DH (Emanations), AW (Lacerations) & EC (Abominations) spreading their “Light-devouring abyssal death metal (featuring members of Void Rot, Suffering Hour & Nothingness)” vibe across 7 sprawled out mins of blackened DeathMetal.

“PASTEL PRISON” is the second single/lead track from @doodseskader’s forthcoming sophomore LP titled ‘Year Two’ (3/8) & it finds the Belgian duo of vocalist/bassist Tim De Gieter & vocalist/drummer Sigfried Burrough embracing their sensually soft side while dealing w/ an isolation that spawns a “longing & desire for companionship” across 4+ mins of grungily blown-out & caustically quiet DoomerNoize.

@lessercare are fucking back w/ “STREETWEAR,” a sampled taste from their forthcoming LP titled ‘Heel Turn’ (3/22) & it finds the EPTX-based duo of composer/lyricist/vocalist/guitarist Andres Chavez & drummer/percussionist/vocalist Zane Pacillas (w/ a special shoutout to bassist/guitarist Angel Yglecias) bringing those glammy gloomer goods across a surging 3:43 clip of six-string ringing, low-end pushing & passionately cooed PostPunk.

“SPLICE” is the lead single/track from @m00npuss’ forthcoming LP titled ‘Death Is Coming’ (5/3 @tgic_recs) & it finds the Denver based trio of vocalist/bassist Crissy Cuellar, guitarist Ethan A Hahn & drummer Cory Hager stutteringly agitating their way across 3 mins of murkily morose & start/stopping NoiseRock.

////

[selfboredom]

MOTHERS MISTAKES

CHAPTER THREE :⠀ANOTHER BEGINNING

PREVIOUS CHAPTER

summary :⠀When Arven went to Lab Zero, he expected to be tearing his mother apart for everything she put him through. For abandoning him. Only to find yet another that was left behind in the wake of her mistakes. But some small part of him held out hope. Hope that together they could fix things, and not let anything else be ruined by her.

ao3 link :⠀link

content warnings :⠀parental neglect

fandom :⠀pokemon⠀( scarlet version )

word count :⠀3110

        The trio sat around the room, silently staring at Arven and Sada. Listening closely as they finished their recounting of the past hours' events. None of them could think of anything to say, just in pure shock. Nemona finally broke the silence that had settled over the lab,

        “Dear Arceus… I can’t believe you two had to go through all that…” She whispered.

        “Well, it does seem in character. At least from what Arvens told me about his actual mom.” Florien said with a small shrug.

        “This is absolutely unbelievable. How did the professor manage to program a truly sentient AI? If this could be replicated…” Penny murmured, closely examining Sada.

        “I was programmed with the professor's memory and personality. That’s why I seem more lifelike than an average AI. Replicating me without a human as a basis would be near impossible.” Sada said, enjoying the younger students’ fascination with her creation.

        “Interesting. But you also mentioned you’re the ‘vessel’ for the time machine security system. How did Arven shut it down without… Uh…Getting rid of you?” Penny asked, finally backing off from the professor.

        “Well, that’s what we need some help with. She’s linked heavily with this lab, but if we can rewri-” Arven began, getting cut off abruptly by Penny-

        “That’s impossible.” She said flatly, not bothering to let him even finish the word.

        “Yeah, even with Penny that would be an impossible task,” Nemona said, looking sympathetically towards Arven.

        “It’s not entirely hopeless. The professor wasn’t the only one developing me. My programming should be documented thoroughly. You would have to dig around for it though.” AI Sada explained, placing a gentle hand on Arvens shoulder.

        “Still… It would take a lot of work.” Penny said, remaining unconvinced.

        “Look, if I could do this myself I would. There’s no other way. And I refuse to leave her behind without trying.” Arven replied, his voice cracking ever so slightly. The trio shared a concerned glance before Penny let out an exasperated sigh.

        “Fine. But you’re taking care of the body yourself, Arven. And helping me find that documentation.” She said, freezing up as she was suddenly captured in a hug. Arven couldn’t stop blurting out ‘thank you’ as he tightly squeezed the other teen. After a few seconds, he let go, regaining his typical standoffish composure.

        “Anyway… We can’t exactly move in here, so we need to get a copy of the code to take out of the lab. Uh, how big would that be?” Arven asked, turning to face the AI.

        “I hope you can afford a lot of hard drives.” She said bluntly.

      Arvens knees buckled as he struggled to lug the final boxes of SSDs into the lighthouse laboratory. He carefully placed them with the others. He collapsed onto the floor immediately after.

        “You know when she said the size was in petabytes… I did not imagine it would be this many terabytes.” He groaned, gasping to get oxygen back into his system while Penny stepped over him.

        “Well at least we know how many SSDs a Mudsdale weighs now.” She said, plonking herself down in the creaky office chair in front of Sada’s computer.

        “You were more than welcome to help, Penny.” He mumbled into the floor.

        “I’m already dealing with the programming for you.” She said, waving her hand dismissively as she logged into the massive desktop.

        “Now. Where’s this documentation she was talking about? It wasn’t in the Zero Lab or the research stations, so this is the only place left.” She said, talking to herself as she began sifting through the heinously messy hard drive. 

Years-old note files, random photos and downloads. It was a miracle the computer even ran with the amount of junk clogging it. Even now it took minutes at a time to load a single folder.

        “Arceus knows. She left the place a complete mess when she went down to Area Zero permanently. It should be on this first floor though-” Arven said, properly sitting up from the floor.

        “Arven, how do you think the documentation was stored?” Penny asked, cutting him off and slowly turning around to look at him.

        “I mean, she kept almost everything handwritten…” He mumbled, fidgeting slightly in place. Suddenly hyperaware of how long the cable for the computer mouse was.

        “Arven. Please for the love of Arceus. Tell me you don’t actually think the professor wrote down the documentation for a sentient AI in a PHYSICAL. NOTEBOOK.” She said, raising her voice slightly in the end. Something that Arven did not think the programmer was capable of.

        “So anyway, I’ll get to building the SSD rack.” He said, scrambling upstairs, Penny following closely behind yelling at him.

        “WE ARE NOT JUST DROPPING THIS SUBJECT SANDWICH BOY-”

        Arven slotted the final SSD into the rack. He plugged in the cables finally connecting AI Sada’s programming to the computer. Penny sat at the desk reading through the documentation that she had finally found. Though it was almost as messy as the hard drive itself, it at least made the code decipherable.

        “The SSDs are all up and running. You can edit her programming now.” He announced, walking over to the wall of monitors.

        “I just found the section about the security protocols. They don’t seem to be baked into her core functionality. So they should be removable while keeping her working. It's going to take a while though. I need to be a lot more cautious than with the league” Penny said, not looking up from the screen.

        “Thank you again, for this Penny. I can’t say it enough.” He said quietly, hugging his sleeves.

        “It’s fine. I might not like my dad constantly being around… But I can see why you want to salvage Sada.” She said, giving Arven a sympathetic glance.

        “I’m gonna go get the robot from the Zero Lab. I’ll be back soon, alright?” He said, walking out the door to meet with Florian and head back down to the crater.

        Arven sat on the floor with the robot. silently chipping off the tera crystals that had formed around her. It was tedious work. The tera crystals embedded themselves into her. It was impossible to scrape off completely. Though it was only a millimetres thin layer of crystal left after being scraped.

        “I’m going to fix this. I promise… I’ll fix her mistakes.” He whispered, knowing that she was unable to hear him. He diligently continued scraping her exterior nonetheless.

Over the next week, Arven managed to clean up the exterior as much as he could. His time to work on the repairs was limited but he made do, pulling a few all-nighters. Now, he had to deal with a much more delicate operation.

Arven took in a deep breath, carefully removing her exterior shell. As he held it, the reality of just how human-like she was hit him. The synthetic skin felt so realistic. Almost like he was holding a corpse, ice cold in his hands. He writhed uncomfortably at that feeling, barely resisting the urge to chuck it away from him. 

He set it aside safely and out of view before examining the robot's internal mechanisms. A pristine metal skeleton sat inside, almost mimicking a human exactly. Even down to a ribcage, providing extra protection to her central battery and motor. Behind the skeleton, a massive motherboard covered her entire torso.

The damage wasn’t too severe overall, only a small amount of tera crystals got inside. Though her legs were badly crystallised, they only broke a couple replaceable cables. He got back to scraping away tera crystals, extra careful not to damage any more of her internals. He hummed quietly as he worked, trying to distract himself from the utter emptiness of the lab.

He should be used to this. But being back in his mother's lab… It felt a lot more lonely. Surrounded by mountains of documents and work. Work that she always prioritised over him. Now stuck fixing another of her victims.

In a few days, Arven finished his work on the body, reaching her head. He recoiled back feeling the hair. It felt… Real. He knew it was likely some type of synthetic material, but it was still unsettling. The subtly bumpy texture. The way the strands so naturally fell between his fingers. Another reminder of the AI’s humanity.

He carefully removed the face plate, luckily not causing any damage. Like her main body, only a little bit of the tera energy had gotten inside. Though, unlike her body, the mechanisms of her head were infinitely easier to break. The electronics inside were crammed tight. There wasn’t even a millimetre of wiggle room.

Stress began to get to the teen. He knew that this was the most important part. One wrong move here could potentially break everything. With that in mind, Arven began to methodically scrape away at the tera crystals.

Over the days working on it, he found a comfortable groove. But at the last possible moment. A deafening crack sounded throughout the silent lab. Panic instantly set in, throwing his tools to the side. Frantically trying to find the damage. In the end, it was the port for one of her eyes that fell victim to his slip of the hand.

Arven let out a deep sigh of relief, removing the wire from the broken port. He thoroughly checked for any more damage to the circuit but didn’t find any. He reattached the face plate, sure to not make any more mistakes.

He took a few steps back, looking at the reassembled robot. The leftover crystallisation on her skin gave it a crystal vitiligo effect. Hopefully, it wouldn’t interfere anymore with her motor functions. Her hair was still laden with tera crystals, though due to the nature of the material he couldn’t help much with that.

        “Sorry about your eye. Hopefully, everything should be working though. Even if your legs were a bit rough with tera crystals.” Arven said quietly, waiting a moment for a response he knew wouldn’t come.

        “Penny isn’t finished adjusting your programming yet. But she’s down to removing the Paradise Protection Protocol now. You should be back soon…” He continued, standing next to the robot. He glanced over at her, greeted by empty voids for eyes.

        “Goodnight Mom… I’ll make sure you don’t get dusty before we can reboot you.” He whispered, wrapping her in a small hug. 

She was still completely cold. 

        The wait for Penny to finish fixing Sada’s programming was torturous. But Arven finally heard the familiar ring of his rotom phone late one night. 

        “Hey, I think I finally cracked it. I can’t be sure, the code was a complete mess. But I’m pretty sure the security protocols are gone.” A tired voice rang through the speaker. Only conscious via the power of copious energy drinks.

        “So if we link her to this code we can safely deactivate the time machine?” He asked, a hesitant hope seeping into his voice.

        “If everything goes well, yeah. I’ll meet you at the lab tomorrow and we can see if she functions right.” Penny mumbled, her voice barely picked up by the microphone.

        “Thank you, thank you so much for doing all this.” He said, barely containing his joy. The only response he got was a low groan followed shortly by the call disconnecting. After putting his phone away, Arven crept up to the lab's second level.

The robot stood as motionless as ever. Still exactly where she was left last. 

        “Hey, Mom. Penny finally fixed your programming. At least we think she did… Either way, you’re going to be back tomorrow. You’re… You’re going to be better tomorrow okay.” He said, hope lacing his voice. “Please… Please be better tomorrow. And if you aren’t…” He continued, tears beading in his eyes as he stared at his imperfect repairs.

        “Please just know we tried, Mom. We really did… I really did… I never wanted to abandon you. Not like her.” He whispered, voice cracking as he hugged her tightly. With no one else around, he let the tears fall. Crying silently into her chest as his grip tightened.

        Arven stood by Penny, uncharacteristically fidgety. Watching Penny link the fixed AI to the robot shell. Switching on the power, nothing happened for a few minutes. The only sound coming from the robot was the sound of internal fans running. Suddenly, her eyes snapped open, only showing a dim electric blue iris in the still functional one.

The pair stayed silent, watching the robot continue to boot up. Another minute passed before she started rapidly blinking. Soon revealing her more human eye once again. 

        “Arven? Penny? Where… Where am I?… This isn’t the Zero Lab.” She said, looking around the messy room. It felt familiar. But she couldn’t specifically identify any memories of the place despite that. Her vision was also drastically limited.

        “This was the professor's ‘home’ lab. Is everything in you functioning properly?” Penny asked, trying to assess the AI’s condition as best she could.

        “My vision… It’s much reduced from before.” She murmured, her words slurred as she continued to boot.

        “That’s on me. While I was getting the tera crystals out of your head I slipped. Sorry…” Arven said, avoiding her gaze as he rubbed the back of his neck.

        “I should be able to adjust to it. Is everything else inside functional?” Sada asked, a small smile resting on her face.

        “The tera energy was pretty thick around your legs, but otherwise you should be fine.” He said, looking over to Penny to take over.

        “Do you feel anything different inside? Memories being hazy, forgetting things, stuff like that.” Penny asked, examining the professor's exterior for any other defects.

        “No. Now that I’m fully booted I don’t feel any different. Thank you for your help, Penny.” Sada responded, all lack of clarity finally leaving her voice. She seemed to be running completely normally now.

        “That’s good. If you start bugging out, uh, I apologise.” She said quietly, looking over at Arven. “I have Eevees to get back to, I’ll leave you pair be.” She said before walking out of the lab, leaving the others by themselves.

Once Penny had left, Arven leapt into a hug with Sada, clutching her as if she might just disappear if he let go. Sada tenderly wrapped her arms around Arven in turn, the pair staying still and taking in the moment. It was nice feeling her warmth again. Her arms wrapped around him again.

        “I knew you and your friend could do it, Arven.” She whispered, breaking the silence that fell upon the room. 

        “I mean, Penny did all the hard work. I just fixed your internals, and I didn’t even get that right.” He murmured, feeling guilty over breaking her eye. Sada’s only response was hugging him tighter before she spoke again.

        “I’m still proud of you, regardless. And thankful… I’m finally free of that lab.” She said, tenderly running her hand through Arvens hair, “I… I can go explore. I can pursue my own dreams.” She said, joy apparent in her voice despite its robotic undertone. 

        “Well, before you do that there is one issue we need to take care of,” Arven said quietly. Tension quickly entered the air around them. He reluctantly parted from Sada.

        “Of course… Hopefully, your friend was successful in removing my security protocols.” Sada said, the prior emotion leaving her voice. Only leaving behind dread and concern.

They had a time machine to shut down.

        Arven and the professor stepped out of the elevator. Once again greeted by the blinding brightness of the tera crystal walls. The cracks left behind from Koraidon’s battle were as it was when Arven had first left. 

Embedded in the ceiling was the camera shutter-like machine, as imposing as ever. It was in sleep mode, but they knew at any point it could reactivate itself and wreak havoc. 

        “Would you do the honours… Mom?” Arven asked, the last word coming out barely audibly. He’d said it before, but when she was actually conscious… It came a lot harder to him.

        “Of course. Hopefully, it won’t happen, but being out of raising floor range is good.” Sada said, taking the Scarlet Book from the teen. Her grip on it tightened as she approached the pedestal in the centre of the room. She couldn’t stand the thought of possibly hurting Arven again. 

He didn’t have Koraidon with him either, so in a worst-case scenario, he would be completely defenceless. She was taken out of her own head feeling a hand grab her wrist, just now noticing her hands shaking out of control. She looked down towards Arven, calming herself down enough to place the book into its slot. The pair stepped back, hearing the familiar voice over the speakers.

ID CONFIRMED: PROFESSOR SADA.

ACCESS GRANTED.

EMERGENCY SHUTDOWN INITIATED.

PLEASE WAIT…

PLEASE WAIT…

Arven and Sada stood still, staring up at the time machine. Sada had Arvens hand in a vice grip, trying to calm herself down as they kept waiting. Waiting for something to go wrong. 

For the security protocols to be reactivated. 

For history to just repeat itself.

EMERGENCY SHUTDOWN SUCCESSFUL.

The announcement cut through the suffocating tension that took over the room. The once blinding walls gradually shut off, becoming obsidian black like the floor. The shutter up in the ceiling groaned to life. This time instead of blooming outwards, it twisted itself tightly shut.

If she physically could, the AI would have been in tears. Instead, nearly collapsing she hugged Arven crushingly tight.

        “You did it! You actually did it! Dear Arceus, thank you. The professor's dream is finally over.” She said, small convulsions running through her body. “And I’m… I can leave this all behind… I can be the parent you deserved. I can go on my own journey, without anything or anyone telling me what to do.” She whispered, her voice breaking slightly.

        “Arven, I can never truly tell you how thankful I am… Thank you for not leaving me behind. For letting me… Us… Have a new beginning.” She said, releasing the teen from her grip and replacing it with a gentle hand holding his cheek. 

Arven stayed silent. Tears trickled down his face as his lips pulled themselves into a tight smile. They couldn’t just go back to rewrite the past, to erase his mother's mistakes. But now… The future looked a lot more hopeful. 

It wasn’t at all certain, but it was theirs to write. For themselves. With no one else to answer to for once in their lives.

[dustedmagazine]

Kontusion — S/T (Sentient Ruin Laboratories)

For anyone looking for an alternative to the sanitized versions of death metal being celebrated by the culture industry and some of its agents (here and here), Kontusion’s debut EP might be just the thing. You get four songs, about seventeen total minutes and absolutely no fat on it — likely the band ate that themselves. What’s left are OSDM essentials: thick, nose-breaking riffs; production that’s hugely effective in direct proportion to the sodden layer of scum on it; just the right balance of disciplined musicianship to a gonzo appetite for really terrible sounds. It’s pretty great.

Kontusion originally circulated as a self-released cassette (thanks to Sentient Ruin Laboratories for giving it a wider release in multiple formats), and listeners might have been surprised by the intensity of the music’s worship of muddy, malodorous death metal. The musicians involved — Chris Moore and Mark Bronzino — are more widely known for their work in hardcore and powerviolence bands, like Iron Reagan, Coke Bust and Magrudergrind. But the players nail it with their work for Kontusion: Bronzino’s stringwork is big and beefy, and when he opens space to shred, the results are pleasingly deranged; Moore’s drumming is always looking for new ways to make the songs weirder and wilder.

Hence, perhaps, the EP’s pleasures. OSDM is hard to play well — unless one happens to be a member of Suffocation or Obituary or another band that actually emerged in the ferment of the late 1980s. You have to work within some now-venerable sonic conventions without cynically rehashing old, moldy, meaty matter or too emphatically aping one’s knuckle-dragging idols. There are some traces of early Convulse and Terrorizer, but Kontusion is cutting its own channels through grind-adjacent death metal’s stinky corpse. Check out “Blood Church,” the shortest track on the EP and perhaps its most unhinged. Just when you think you have caught the rhythm, Moore shifts patterns. Bronzino gamely flays his instruments, and likely his digits. It’s utterly familiar and completely present. One could call it “fresh,” but this is death metal. The music is rotten and awful, just like we want it.

Jonathan Shaw

[xasha777]

In the distant future, the remnants of humanity have scattered across the galaxy, building new civilizations amidst the stars. One such civilization, known as Aetheria, is ruled by an enigmatic and powerful figure known as the Wraith King. Clad in obsidian armor, his presence alone commands respect and fear. By his side stands Lady Elara, a warrior of unmatched skill and determination, whose loyalty to the Wraith King is unwavering.

Aetheria, a realm of floating cities and vast, dark forests, is a place where ancient technology and mysticism blend seamlessly. The Wraith King and Lady Elara maintain order and justice, their reign marked by peace, albeit through an iron fist. However, beneath this veneer of tranquility, a hidden secret pulses at the heart of Aetheria—an ancient artifact known as the Chrono Crystal, capable of manipulating time itself.

One stormy night, as thunder echoed through the stone halls of the Wraith King's fortress, a visitor from Earth's past arrived. His name was Daniel Coit Gilman, a renowned scholar and founder of the prestigious Johns Hopkins University. Gilman had been studying time dilation theories when an experiment went awry, catapulting him through time and space to Aetheria.

Confused and disoriented, Gilman found himself in the presence of the Wraith King and Lady Elara. They listened intently as he recounted his journey, recognizing the importance of his knowledge. The Wraith King, sensing an opportunity, proposed a pact: if Gilman could help them unlock the full potential of the Chrono Crystal, they would return him to his own time.

Gilman, intrigued and driven by scientific curiosity, agreed. He and Lady Elara embarked on a quest to uncover the secrets of the Chrono Crystal, delving into ancient ruins and deciphering long-lost texts. Along the way, they encountered various challenges, from rogue AI sentinels guarding forgotten knowledge to treacherous landscapes filled with temporal anomalies.

As they journeyed together, a bond formed between Gilman and Elara. She was fascinated by his tales of a bygone era on Earth, while he admired her courage and unyielding spirit. Their quest led them to the Nexus of Time, a hidden chamber beneath the fortress where the Chrono Crystal was kept.

In the Nexus, Gilman discovered that the Chrono Crystal was not just a relic of power but a sentient entity, capable of choosing its wielder. It communicated with Gilman, revealing that it had been waiting for someone with both the knowledge of the past and the vision of the future to unlock its true potential.

With Lady Elara's help, Gilman performed a ritual that activated the Chrono Crystal, merging his scientific expertise with the mystical energies of Aetheria. Time itself bent to their will, allowing them to glimpse the future and alter the past. They saw visions of a united galaxy, free from the shadows of tyranny and war.

But such power came at a cost. The Wraith King, sensing the loss of his control, sought to seize the Chrono Crystal for himself. In a climactic battle within the Nexus of Time, Gilman and Elara faced the Wraith King. The fortress trembled as energies clashed, threatening to unravel the very fabric of reality.

In the end, it was Elara's unwavering resolve and Gilman's strategic mind that prevailed. The Wraith King was defeated, his dark influence shattered. With the Chrono Crystal in their possession, Gilman and Elara used its power to reshape Aetheria, establishing a new era of enlightenment and peace.

True to their promise, they created a temporal gateway that returned Gilman to his own time. As he stepped through, he looked back at Elara, a silent promise passing between them. He returned to his laboratory, forever changed by his journey, and documented his incredible adventure, ensuring that the legacy of Aetheria and the Chrono Crystal would never be forgotten.

In Aetheria, Lady Elara stood as the new ruler, her reign marked by wisdom and justice, guided by the knowledge and vision she gained from her journey with Daniel Coit Gilman.

[sludgewarden]

[lesdeuxmuses]

Labored Breath - Dyspnea (Sentient Ruin Laboratories, 2021)

[dakhmagnasu]

Hexerei - Ancient Evil Spirits

Hexerei– Ancient Evil Spirits (2021) Sentient Ruin Laboratories Finland - 2022

[ Musicraft ✮ ]