The blueprints for the Storm Griffin had haunted Ethan's waking hours for weeks. Its wings, crafted from interwoven aetherium threads and reinforced with solidified storm clouds, represented a paradigm shift in his approach to Aethelred. Until now, he’d focused on ground-based units, forging a defensive line of armored behemoths. But OmniTech's reach, and the growing threat of the Children of the Convergence, demanded aerial reconnaissance and strike capabilities.

He sat hunched over his battered laptop, the screen flickering with the intricate schematics. Unit 801, a particularly resilient Awakened he’d been painstakingly nurturing, was the key. He’d deliberately held back its evolution, channeling its potential into a specific set of attributes: agility, resilience, and a nascent connection to the elemental forces of Aethelred. He’d even gone so far as to expose it to controlled bursts of raw aetheric energy, a dangerous procedure that had once nearly fried his apartment’s wiring.

The evolution chamber hummed, a chaotic symphony of sparking electrodes and crackling energy fields. Inside, Unit 801 writhed, its clay-like form undergoing a violent metamorphosis. The air in Ethan's tiny apartment crackled with ozone, the acrid smell stinging his nostrils.

He’d poured every ounce of his accumulated resources into this single evolution. The rare aetherium crystals, painstakingly extracted from the remnants of manifested constructs, were now being vaporized and channeled directly into Unit 801’s evolving form. He monitored the vital signs on his laptop, the lines spiking erratically.

"Hold on, 801," he muttered, his fingers dancing across the keyboard, fine-tuning the energy flow. "Just a little further."

He pushed the Engine harder, drawing more power from the already overloaded circuits. The lights flickered violently, threatening to plunge him into darkness. He ignored them, his focus laser-locked on the data stream.

Suddenly, the chamber erupted in a blinding flash of blue light. The power meter on his laptop went haywire, spiking off the charts. An excruciating pain shot through Ethan’s skull, as if his brain were being overloaded with raw electricity. He gasped, clutching his head, his vision blurring.

He staggered back, knocking over a stack of empty ramen containers. He could feel the Engine feeding back, its immense power surging through his neural pathways. It was a familiar sensation, but this was different. This was… overwhelming.

"Damn it!" he yelled, trying to regain control. He knew he was pushing the boundaries, flirting with the limits of his own capacity. He had to cut the connection, sever the link to Aethelred before it was too late.

But he couldn’t. He was locked in, his mind inextricably linked to Unit 801’s evolution. The pain intensified, turning into a searing inferno. He could feel his consciousness fraying, his thoughts scattering like leaves in a hurricane.

He saw flashes of images: vast, windswept plains, towering mountain peaks, and a creature of incredible power soaring through the skies. He felt the wind rushing beneath his wings, the exhilarating freedom of flight. Then, darkness threatened to consume him.

He fought back, clinging to the last vestiges of his sanity. He focused on Unit 734, the first Awakened he’d ever encountered, the one he now considered his friend. He pictured its stoic face, its unwavering loyalty. He thought of the countless hours they’d spent together, battling through the virtual landscapes of Aethelred.

The image of 734 anchored him, pulled him back from the brink. He managed to regain a sliver of control, enough to dampen the energy flow, to prevent a catastrophic overload.

The light in the chamber began to subside, slowly returning to normal levels. The pain in his head lessened, receding to a dull throb. He took a shaky breath, his body drenched in sweat.

He looked towards the chamber. The swirling vortex of energy was dissipating, revealing the form of Unit 801. But it was no longer Unit 801. It was something… more.

Standing tall, its clay body now replaced with a chitinous exoskeleton shimmering with iridescent feathers, was a Storm Griffin. Its wings, vast and powerful, spanned nearly the entire width of the chamber. Its eyes, burning with an intelligent light, fixed on Ethan.

The Griffin let out a piercing cry, a sound that resonated deep within his bones. It was a sound of triumph, of freedom, of boundless potential.

Ethan staggered forward, his legs weak and trembling. He reached out a hand, hesitating for a moment before touching the Griffin's beak. The creature nuzzled against his palm, its touch surprisingly gentle.

"You did it," Ethan whispered, his voice hoarse. "You actually did it."

He looked at the power meter on his laptop. It was still dangerously high, but stable. The energy flow had stabilized, the connection to Aethelred re-established, albeit precariously.

He knew he'd pushed his luck. He’d nearly crossed the line, nearly sacrificed his own life in pursuit of this evolution. The cost had been immense, but the reward… the reward was breathtaking.

He spent the next few hours cautiously acclimating the Storm Griffin to its new form. He learned to communicate with it, not through words, but through a shared connection, a mental link forged in the crucible of its evolution. He discovered that the Griffin possessed a remarkable intelligence, a sharp understanding of its own capabilities and limitations.

He carefully led it out of the evolution chamber, into the cramped confines of his apartment. The Griffin, surprisingly agile for its size, navigated the cluttered space with ease. It seemed fascinated by the mundane objects that surrounded it: the stack of comic books, the half-finished model kits, the worn-out armchair.

As the sun began to rise, casting long shadows across his apartment, Ethan knew he couldn't stay here. OmniTech was closing in, their agents likely scouring the city for him. He had to move, to find a safer location, a place where he could train the Storm Griffin and prepare for the inevitable confrontation.

He glanced at his reflection in the dusty window. He looked exhausted, drained, but also… determined. He’d stared into the abyss and emerged, scarred but unbroken. He knew the path ahead would be fraught with peril, but he was no longer just a disillusioned coder haunted by his past. He was Ethan Blackwood, the Warlord of the Awakened, and he had a Storm Griffin at his command.

He deactivated the Aethelred Engine for now, the Storm Griffin did not vanish like the golem had, but remained in this world, its power source being some strange interaction with the ambient energy around them, like the golem had made a deposit of sorts in his place, now he has a constant energy generator around him in the shape of a sentient being.

The process left him weakened, and with a fever. It was a constant gamble of energy, how much to spend versus how much you'd have left, and this time he had been overzealous. As if on cue, the Storm Griffin emitted a small puff of electricity that massaged his body, making the pain recede slowly, he just hoped the effect was temporary, it would be difficult to explain a fully charged electric bird to any doctor if he needed it.

"We need to go", Ethan muttered as he started packing. "I have a contact we could meet, an Awakened User".

He had made some tentative contacts in the past few weeks, before OmniTech took notice, people who like him, had noticed there was something more to this game. One name in particular was ringing in his head, he had no way to verify it, but he hoped it was true, a man called "Professor Cain".

He remembered their quick chat "I'm something of a Warlord myself, perhaps a collaboration would be in order, if you ever need help".

The man had said to meet him at a bar in Central London, "The Red Dragon", at 10 AM, if he ever needed help. Now, running from a mysterious company, with an energy consuming Griffin by his side, Ethan thought he needed help, and fast. He hoped the man would answer, and wouldn't be some kind of trap.

"Let's go, my friend" Ethan said as he petted the Griffin "We have a world to save".