Lightning, contrary to popular belief, doesn’t move at the speed of light. The invisible “leader strike” travels from the cloud to the ground at around two hundred thousand miles per hour; a far cry from the speed of light, which travels at upwards of 670 MILLION miles per hour. But what people think of when they look at lightning isn’t the invisible leader strike, but what’s called the “return stroke”, which heats the air in the ionized pathways left behind by the leader strike, turning it to plasma. That travels significantly faster, at around a third of light speed or 60,000 miles per second.So when the people surrounding Aron and the awakener supremacist, Alejandro Garcia finally blinked their eyes clear of the temporary blindness caused by seeing a return stroke at incredibly close range, all they saw was the emperor of mankind standing in the same position he had been, slightly leaning forward with his hands clasped behind his back and his chin jutting out. But behind him was a
As Aron approached his personal shuttle, the aegis members surrounding the park rose to their feet and deactivated the PAPS dome, then collapsed into two files behind him and followed him into the aircraft. Once everyone had boarded, the hatch hissed shut and the shuttle lifted off on a suborbital hop to the Cube at Avalon Island. It was still the center of the imperial government, as Aron had decreed that his imperial palace would be the very last building to be constructed, and the construction would only begin after everyone else had been settled into their new homes.{Sir, we have a dispatch from Proxima Centauri coded for your eyes only,} Nova reported the moment Aron settled into his seat.“I wonder what happened that warranted sending a dispatch,” he said. There were very few things that would merit the sending of dispatches across the vast gulf between Earth and the exploration fleets, so the news was either very good, very bad, or had far-reaching implications that might affe
Within the time-accelerated VR's private space, Aron, Gaia, and Nova sat silently, gazing at the scene before them. Aron was struck by surprise, while Gaia and Nova struggled to reconcile what they saw with their prior understanding of reality, based on the data they had previously used to gauge the world.This silence continued for more than ten minutes as each of them digested the information in different styles.Without surprise, Aron was currently digesting the information about Liafu, which, to him, was the second most important piece among the messages sent. He realized this knowledge was something he would only have learned if he had bought advanced-level mana knowledge, if not higher, as it was a worldview-altering revelation. Despite not changing the current events, this information was akin to discovering a new fundamental law of the universe. It didn't impact ongoing matters but provided a framework to understand previously unexplainable phenomena and offered a new tool to
"Ten billion awakeners are too important for me to merely have them as allies when we have the option of welcoming them as citizens," Aron stated decisively. He paused, contemplating the next steps. "The challenge is understanding their requirements," he continued, his mind already strategizing on how to approach this critical decision.{I don’t know what it is, but if anyone among humanity can fulfill their requirements, it's you.} Nova responded confidently. {Based on what they did during the meeting and those memories from Kim Ho So, it seems like they've given a requirement that could potentially be met. Otherwise, they would have made it clear. From what they've shown us, they don't seem to have a concept of lying. However, that could also be part of their strategy. But based on everything we've seen, they don't appear to be the type to deceive.} Nova's perspective offered a cautious optimism about the awakeners' intentions and the potential for a fruitful alliance or integration
The next day.Rina could be seen adjusting Aron's tie, ensuring it looked dignified and matched his full black suit, as if he were heading to a funeral.“If I didn’t have the lesson already planned, I would have come with you,” Rina said as she finished adjusting his tie and wiped the nonexistent dust off his suit, doing a couple of double takes to make sure everything was perfect.Since she had decided to focus on magic research, and with Aron's aid, Rina had been making significant breakthroughs in the field of magic use. These advancements even surprised Aron, who already had high expectations for her. Rina’s intimate understanding of magic, being a user herself, gave her an edge in her discoveries—an advantage Aron lacked since he couldn’t use magic without runes in real life.Although he could use magic normally in the universal simulation, Aron didn't have the luxury of time to practice it due to his numerous responsibilities. Additionally, he preferred not to use the higher tim
There was silence in the room, briefly interrupted by the sound of a woman crying. In any other circumstance, this would be distressing, but here, it was an expected reaction as she had just received news of her husband’s death.It was the emperor himself who had shouldered the weighty responsibility of delivering the news of the Proxima Centauri exploration fleet’s casualties. Both he and Rina were sitting in silence, their faces reflecting the gravity of the situation, allowing Rachael who was sitting in front of them to cry and process the devastating news for a moment, as the weight of the news warranted such a reaction in the first place.“I’m sorry for showing this side of me, but I can’t help…” Rachael attempted to regain her composure and apologize for her emotional reaction, but she struggled to control herself and soon resumed crying.Nova rose from her seat beside Aron and moved to sit beside Rachael. She gently embraced her, offering a comforting shoulder to cry on. Racha
As Aron and Nova visited the different families to deliver the sad news, the rest of the empire was left wondering about their activities. Videos circulated of them arriving at ordinary houses, spending a few hours inside, and soldiers raising a white imperial flag in front of each house before departing. The sight of the white flag, symbolizing the loss of someone who died in the line of duty, sparked widespread curiosity and concern among the citizens, who speculated about the nature of these visits and the tragic news being shared.With these visits occurring randomly and often on different continents, many people dismissed the idea of them being surprise visits. This conclusion was further supported by the sight of the white imperial flag, a symbol previously only seen at official burial sites like war heroes' cemeteries or the burial grounds of those who had fallen victim to cult attacks. The presence of the flag indicated a somber purpose behind the visits, leading the public to
“With the servers having reached us, it also means the data they collected throughout their exploration period has been sent back, along with many surprising discoveries. With my previous statements, I’m pretty sure that many of you are likely wondering the same thing: whether we are still alone in the universe or if there are aliens on the planet.” He paused, allowing the tension to build, and everyone watching felt their anticipation grow.“It’s more complicated than that,” he said. Before the reporters could interrupt, the scene shifted to a visual presentation. The screen showed part of the exploration fleet arriving at the planet, indicating that he chose to show rather than tell.The scenes shown were carefully selected anchor points that summarized the entire situation. The montage concluded with the image of the newly created races being placed into standardized VR pods, providing enough explanation before the scene returned to the emperor standing at the podium.Both the ro