Somewhere over the Pacific Ocean.SundayAn RQ-4 Global Hawk reconnaissance drone could be seen cutting through the skies, flying at the maximum speed it can safely reach without causing any damage to itself, heading towards the direction where only two countries are situated: Eden and Esparia.It was on its fourth hour of flight for this mission, having taken off from a land base in America due to its inability to take off from an aircraft carrier. Nevertheless, because of its long-range endurance capabilities, that was sufficient enough for allowing it to go and collect intel while returning without having to worry about the risk of falling out of the sky since it could handle a mission that could last for more than 36 hours.Not too far from it, there was an aircraft carrier that was acting as the commanding base of this mission. An E-2 Hawkeye, a squadron of fighter jets and an airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft took off from the
The newly graduated soldiers who had completed their training received their appointments and got off the pods and had already cleaned themselves and had already taken their places in their allotted rooms for having a rest, where they would be spending a week recuperating there and the time would be even longer for those who would be responsible for doing security duty on the island similar to how it had been done by the previous ARES members who will be soon replaced by the these already trained and high-level point achievers, taking their place since they will be going to take their training.But among these graduates, there were a few among them who were called by Athena before they could start resting due to the emergence of some urgent matter."WHOOOOOOOM" A beastly roar could be heard as it echoed through one of the empty roads that were usually busy with trucks passing back and forth, carrying containers in tandem with the rail network, however, at this moment this usually hea
Following the response, James gave the order and they immediately started executing the interception maneuver. Two aircraft patrolled in the area just in case any other aircraft appeared, while the remaining two aircrafts went to intercept. One of them positioned itself on the starboard side of the RQ-4 Global Hawk drone and the other one stayed at the rear of it at a slight distance, prepared for taking the action in case the drone ignored the warning."Unidentified aircraft, this is Angel One-One of Eden's air force. You are approaching restricted airspace. Identify yourself immediately," James called out over the radio.But the intruder remained silent even after he radioed in."Angel One-One to the unidentified aircraft, identify yourself immediately," John called over the radio once again after the awkward silence they had received after his first warning."Angel One-One to the unidentified aircraft, identify yourself immediately," John said for the third time, but like the previ
That night, Aron could be seen at the local airport, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the private plane that was carrying his parents and younger brother, who were still not quite sure what transpired in the last few days.After a few minutes of waiting, the private plane started approaching and Nova immediately informed that it was the plane carrying his family members. This caused a smile to spread across his face, knowing that he hadn't seen them for a very long time. Since the day he moved to Eden to oversee the plans of the coup, he had only been keeping in contact with them through phone calls which he did to them almost every day.After a few minutes of the plane landing, taxing and the passengers getting off, Aron met them at the doors of the plane as he had driven there."BROTHERRR!!!!!" Henry exclaimed while calling out his name as he escaped from their mother's grasp and ran down the plane stairs, nearly missing a step on the way and stumbling in his enthusiasm.Of course, g
"Wow" A unified gasp of surprise escaped from his parents' mouths after they got off the boat which had brought them to the island and saw the massive and brightly lit port. There were thousands of people moving to the trains since they were the new batch of trainees who had come from those freshly recruited, while others boarded the boats and departed the port as they were heading to their stationed locations to take over the positions of the people who were had been there till now and needed to come for their training as well.As for Henry, the young boy was still asleep, enjoying the privilege of sleeping in the car and would be waking up on the bed since he was being carried by Aron who at the moment seemed as if he was carrying nothing but cotton candy.But that gasp was nothing but a mere start of a surprise marathon for his parents as they were surprised once again as they boarded the trains. As they started moving, they saw the brightly lit, beautiful-looking road, saw the gr
"Which option do you think is a better one?" Aron inquired, his voice trailing off after he asked, wanting to know what would be Nova's opinion.{Regarding some of the resources, I suggest option one and for the resources, I recommend going with option two} Nova responded before pausing for a brief moment after which she continued by elaborating the reason behind such a recommendation from her.{Starting with the resources that I believe option one is better suited for, they are the oil and gas reserves. Firstly, these resources are usually developed through the collaboration between the governments of the countries that have these resources and the private companies that will be responsible for extracting them. The arrangements of such a deal will involve revenue sharing between the two parties through the drilling rights of these resources. It is done this way to allow for the country to rip continuous benefits without being forced to invest heavily, making that resource a country's
In succession with the disappearance of the planes that had been on the road not long ago, another set of similar-looking cargo planes started taxiing out of the printer building and heading to the patch of the road that was suitable for planes to take off during peacetimes due its elevation being flat, as for wartime, the planes can take off from anywhere, thought that would just require a little longer maintenance or they could simply be disassembled and printed once again.This subsequent batch of planes also carried a printer each and after they took off, they also went to new directions that were different from their predecessors.This sequence repeated itself several times, with each round fifteen new planes would come out of the atomic printer then take off and head to a new direction that was different from their previous batches. This continued until ten batches of planes had already taken off, with the planes going to a total of one hundred and fifty different destinations,
Two weeks passed by since the cargo planes had started sending the necessary materials to the borders that were shared between the two countries, Esparia and Eden.In the two subsequent weeks, nothing much had changed other than the arrival of a new batch of recruited soldiers at the island. Simultaneously, the graduating ones had left the island for their posts, starting their military service once again.During this time, the atomic printers sent to all the military bases had been working non-stop, churning out equipment in continuous batches, ensuring that all the graduating soldiers were equipped with the gear they had trained with during their training in the VR environment.Meanwhile, Eden had taken a humanitarian step during the negotiations and released a list of the names of the soldiers who had unfortunately died in the conflict so that their family members could start mourning earlier and not continue clinging to a false hope about their loved ones' survival, only for it to
“Seraphina,” Aron began, his voice steady but carrying an undercurrent of authority, “I’m not your enemy—unless you choose to make me one. I understand your anger, your frustration. You’ve lost control of a situation you believed was firmly under your command. But this predicament wasn’t my doing—you’re here because your leader chose to sacrifice you. What I’m offering you isn’t a chain—it’s an opportunity.”Her sharp eyes narrowed, the intensity of her gaze unwavering, but she held her silence. Aron leaned forward, his own gaze unrelenting as it met hers.“You can continue resisting, pushing the boundaries of the mana oath, and enduring needless pain. Or…” He paused, letting the words linger like a challenge. “You can choose to turn this situation into one that serves us both. Your strength, your insight—these are not things I wish to suppress. Quite the opposite. I want them refined, amplified, and put to meaningful use.”He motioned toward the table, where Nova was still doing fina
[Colosseum]Aron and Seraphina stood motionless, maintaining the same distance as at the start of their faceoff. Neither had moved, even during the spectacular fireworks show that followed Aron’s acceptance of her surrender. The only exception was Aron briefly waving to the citizens of his empire watching the broadcast, many of whom were overcome with emotion, crying in celebration of their historic victory. This event marked the first-ever interstellar combat they had participated in, and despite their lack of experience, they emerged as the sole victors.As cheers of triumph reverberated among his people and the disbelief of others lingered, the broadcast concluded. The moment Aron secured his final victory, the Arena itself was officially handed over to him as part of his reward, along with control of the AI referee. Without hesitation, the AI complied with her new owner’s first command: to end the broadcast. Aron had more pressing matters to attend to—a private conversation with a
[Meeting Room]Inside the Zelvora mental network, an oppressive silence hung over the gathered representatives around the meeting table. The events of the day had left them all stunned, their minds racing with the implications of what had transpired. These were not just any representatives—they were the ones who had signed off on the agreements, the architects of their civilizations’ participation in this contest.Now, they were confronted with the brutal outcome of their decisions.Many representatives sat deep in thought, their faces betraying various degrees of fear, frustration, and resignation. Those who hailed from civilizations steeped in selfish political traditions knew all too well the grim truth: scapegoats would be needed. Someone would have to bear the brunt of the blame for the humiliation, anger, and setbacks their civilizations had suffered.For many of them, the path forward seemed bleak. In the best-case scenario, they might lose their positions, exiled from the corr
To say Aron was surprised would be the understatement of the gigaannum. The announcement had obliterated every scenario he had meticulously crafted in his mind. In all his time spent in simulations, preparing for countless contingencies, not once had he considered the possibility of the Xor’Vaks surrendering—least of all without a fight.Their pride in their strength was legendary, surpassing even the vaunted arrogance of the Valthorins. For a race that reveled in their dominance, surrendering, especially on such a grand stage, was unthinkable. This sudden reversal of expectations hit him with such force that he could practically feel the metaphorical veins in his temple throbbing from the sheer shock of it all.The audience’s collective astonishment mirrored his own, but none felt it as acutely as Aron, whose carefully laid strategies now seemed almost laughably over-prepared in the face of this unanticipated twist.The largest part of Aron's shock wasn’t just the surrender itself bu
The minutes passed quickly for the viewers, their eyes glued to Aron as he sat unmoving in the same meditative position for over fifteen minutes. Speculation ran rampant on both sides, fueled by curiosity and tension.For those in the Empire, the consensus was that Aron was in VR, likely meeting with family or key figures. Many debated who he might be speaking with, guessing that he was either calming worried loved ones or strategizing for the next fight.On the other hand, viewers from the Astral Conclave harbored a mix of anxiety and intrigue. They questioned whether Aron was recuperating in preparation for the upcoming battle, enhancing his focus and mental clarity, or if his recovery from the previous fight was incomplete and he was still in the process of healing.But their speculations ceased to matter as Aron opened his eyes with five minutes remaining in the waiting period. Calm and deliberate, he removed the glasses from his head, placing them back into their container. His n
The moment the fight was officially declared over, Nova acted without hesitation. She immediately dispatched the collector ship, equipped with a medipod, to retrieve the Trinarian fighter's body. Simultaneously, she ensured Aron could rearm himself with a fresh set of nanomachines. For the first time, this process was being done openly, marking a significant shift.Previously, nanomachines had been classified technology, their existence kept strictly under wraps. However, that secrecy had been unintentionally broken when Nova used them to cover Aron’s exposed body during a critical moment, prioritizing his dignity over confidentiality. As a result, while the technology remained shrouded in mystery, its existence was now officially acknowledged, albeit without disclosing any further details.Aron retrieved a small canister from the ship and opened it, revealing a liquid-like substance inside. Pouring it onto his hand, the substance behaved unnaturally, defying gravity as it began to sp
"Him alive is better than dead, right? I can use his live brain data to study how they use their spatial abilities—it might even help accelerate my plans if things go as intended," Aron said as he stood over the fainting Trinarian fighter.{True, having him alive presents opportunities. But dead men cause no problems, while the living carry infinite potential for chaos—especially one like him. If our spatial lockdown isn’t enough to fully contain his abilities, he could use them long enough to cause catastrophic damage, even if it means enduring the backlash,} Nova replied, her tone laced with caution. She wanted to ensure Aron was fully aware of the risks he was inviting by sparing the fighter's life.Usually, Nova would have been in favor of keeping him alive—it meant more data for her to process, analyze, and extrapolate from. But spatial ability users were in a league of their own when it came to danger. Even a dead one would yield enough data to at least satisfy her curiosity for
“Nova,” Aron called out in his mind the moment his eyes snapped open, rapidly collecting information and orienting himself, realizing he had finally left the enigmatic place the system had sent him.“Nova,” he called again, this time aloud, his voice carrying a commanding weight as it echoed faintly in the arena. Receiving no response to his first call, his sharp gaze shifted to his surroundings. It didn’t take long for him to notice his current state—nearly naked, save for the swarm of nanomachines that had begun assembling around him.{The system had ejected me, sir,} Nova’s voice finally came through, calm but slightly delayed as the nanomachines completed their task. They prioritized covering his lower body, forming a sleek pair of trousers, as there weren’t enough surviving nanomachines to reconstruct full armor. His chiseled upper body remained exposed, glistening under the lights of the Colosseum, much to the awe and unease of the spectators.Nova’s pragmatic choice left Aron l
Following Nova's orders and the AI referee's approval, the mana stone carriers swiftly began moving toward the Colosseum. As the first ship arrived and entered, it wasted no time, promptly unloading its entire cargo of mana stones before departing to make way for the next carrier to do the same. The process was conducted with remarkable efficiency, ensuring a steady flow of mana stones into the Colosseum without any unnecessary delays.The process continued as over fifty ships unloaded their cargo of mana stones, an act many from the Conclave viewed as both excessive and wasteful. With each successive ship, the pain of the Conclave's viewers grew, particularly when the fifth ship alone had already matched the quantity of mana stones used during the Colosseum's initial construction. Yet, they didn’t stop there; instead, they went on to unload ten times that amount, as if mana stones were an endless resource, leaving the Conclave citizens bewildered and horrified by such apparent extra