Polypeptide Solution 9

The second orb's discovery had been entirely serendipitous—a chance encounter at a roadside trinket stand run by a cheerful Veylins worker during what was meant to be a simple holiday excursion. The vendor had insisted it was merely a decorative bauble, something to catch the light in a window, but the familiar otherworldly sheen had been unmistakable.

Unlike its predecessor, this orb proved maddeningly obstinate. For eight attempts, I had tried every combination of pressure, heat, and the intricate twisting patterns that had worked before. Each failure left me more convinced that perhaps this artifact was fundamentally different—or worse, that I had been deceived by mere coincidence.

But persistence has always been my way, and on that ninth attempt, something extraordinary occurred.

The orb didn't simply part along hidden seams as the first had done. Instead, it split cleanly in half with an audible crack, each hemisphere immediately beginning to hover in the air before me. The sight was breathtaking—two perfect shells suspended in space, slowly rotating around an invisible axis. And there, floating in the exact center between them, was a sphere of liquid so perfectly round it seemed to defy the very laws of nature.

The liquid itself was mesmerizing. Unlike the single drop I had coaxed from the first orb, this was a substantial quantity—perhaps enough to fill a small vial. It maintained its spherical form without any visible containment, pulsing gently with that same luminous quality I had come to associate with these mysterious artifacts.

My assistant's analysis confirmed my suspicions. This liquid contained an even more concentrated blend of hair-growth polypeptides than our first discovery. The molecular structure was nearly identical, yet somehow more refined, as if this represented a later iteration of the same cosmic formula. We theorized that while the first orb might have contained a standard-issue solution, this second one held perhaps a more potent, refined version—the difference between a field medic's kit and a master physician's pharmacy.

The extraction process was delicate work. Using the finest crystalline pipettes, we carefully drew samples from the floating sphere, each drop seeming reluctant to separate from the whole. We were careful - we understood that we were handling something that might have traveled between stars to reach us.

Solution 9 was born from these samples—named not only for the ninth attempt that finally cracked the orb's secrets, but for what we hoped might be the ninth step in a longer journey of discovery. The hair tonic proved even more effective than our L-type Elixir, promoting growth that was not only rapid but remarkably lustrous and healthy.

The orb's behavior after yielding its treasure was perhaps the most intriguing aspect of the entire experience. The moment the last sample was extracted, the two halves snapped back together with the same decisive crack that had split them apart. But where before the surface had shown that subtle, shifting sheen, now it gleamed like polished silver—a perfect mirror that reflected not only light but seemed to capture and hold images within its depths.

I spent hours studying my reflection in its surface, searching for any hint of the cosmic travelers who had created it. The mirror-like finish was flawless, yet somehow I sensed that this transformation was not merely cosmetic. The orb felt different now—not inert exactly, but waiting. As if this reflective state was not an ending but a preparation for something yet to come.

Dravendir arrived at the Umberglow as the sun was setting, his usual stoic demeanor softened by what might have been curiosity. He handled the transformed orb with the same careful respect he showed all the artifacts recovered by the Seekers, though I noticed him pause as he caught sight of his own face in its mirror-like surface.

"Two now," he said simply, with a smile as he examined the orb, "Perhaps they were meant to be together."

The thought had occurred to me as well. Two orbs, each containing solutions for the same cosmic ailment, each behaving differently yet clearly connected. Were they parts of a set? Had their original owners lost them in the same catastrophic event that had scattered them across our world? Or were they breadcrumbs, deliberately left behind by travelers who knew others would follow?

After Dravendir left for Vault V that night, I found myself wondering about the reflection I had seen in the orb's surface. For just a moment, in the depths of that perfect mirror, I thought I had glimpsed something else—not my own face, but vast expanses of star-filled void, and shadowy figures with cascading hair that seemed to flow like liquid starlight.

The universe suddenly felt both more mysterious and more connected than ever before. Two orbs, two solutions, two pieces of a puzzle that grows more complex with each discovery. And somewhere out there, among the countless stars, perhaps their creators are still searching for what they lost... or waiting for us to find what they deliberately left behind.

The stars tonight seem brighter, more purposeful. As if they too are waiting for the next discovery.

- Lead Artisan Kestril