It took Nova slightly longer to log Aron in, since she needed to upgrade the sequence to fit his newly restructured brain before she could log him in."Arghhhh...." Aron woke up feeling as if he had slept for more than a year. His body felt very heavy as he placed his hand on his forehead and sat up.Nova had refrained from making him feel refreshed, since she didn't have the complete upgraded brain data and doing something without it would be like firing an arrow as a blind person—even if the blind person hit the target, there was no guarantee they would do so on the first shot. Thus, the moment Aron fully opened his eyes and put his hands on his head, Nova wasted no time and attempted to access his brain data.The moment she received access, she analyzed the new data, and after a few seconds, she had completely finished the check and wasted no time in making him feel refreshed. That resulted in him feeling better, but the moment he did, it was like a dam
A week later.A week had passed since the negotiations began, and today marked their end. To announce the successful conclusion, as well as what conditions had been agreed to after the surrender, a press conference was being held at the Esparian presidential palace. Due to the end of the war, the reporters that'd left had all returned, and there were a few hundred of them present. Thus, the press conference had to be held on the lawn, instead of the conference room."Today marks the end of the negotiations between Eden and Esparia, as well as the war caused by the Esparians that had been corrupted by money and the pursuit of benefits." Alexander began his speech with the confidence of a person who was sure nothing was going to happen to him no matter what he said. But despite that, he still didn't put the blame on the citizens of the country. Instead, he only blamed the politicians who were behind the decision."A few minutes ago, we signed Emanuel's Surrender A
"Isn't execution barbaric?" asked a CNN reporter, trying to highlight the moral aspect of it while showing how uncivilized a country that came with that condition was.Alexander wasted no time with his answer. "For a country that etched into its constitution the equality of every person, doesn't that also mean that a life is equal to a life? So what should the punishment of a person responsible for the death of more than five thousand people when it wasn't warranted or justified be?" he asked, instead of giving an answer."It's inherently immoral and reduces society to the level of the criminal," the reporter replied, still believing that she was right and had the moral high ground.Alexander just smiled and said, "That might be true for you, or even your country, but our constitution explicitly states that the equality of man means that a life is equal to a life. If you take one without justification, the country has the responsibility to take yours in exchange." Throughout his answe
Aubrey Morgan, his son, and his assistant were in a secure room. "Ares, who are they? Find out everything about them, especially who their owner is," Aubrey said in the room, without even looking at the others.The assistant immediately nodded and headed out the door to relay the order."They seem to be the most likely beneficiaries of this conflict, and are either the ones behind our defeat, or at least connected to them. We'd never heard of them before they became Eden's contractors. At first, that didn't seem important to anyone and we all thought it was just a cost cutting measure, but now they're going to take over Esparia, too. That means they'll be the military overlord every PMC dreams of becoming and can be considered a legitimate military force, with military-grade weapons. They may even be the ones producing them," George said, slightly jealous that, despite their power, they couldn't legitimately have such a massive force under them. Instead, they were forced to break thei
The intelligence department immediately got to work. They soon came up with a plan to return Vladimir to his country with a story that would make his disappearance understandable, while still allowing him to return to his position without any suspicion.As for Aron, he had already logged out and went to meet his family and friends. After all, he had spent more than 210 days in that hellish training compound without any access to the outside world.After spending a week with his family and friends, he finally returned to work and had his first meeting with his CEOs and friends, Felix and Sarah, who seemed to have an idea of what the meeting might be about."Long time no see," Aron joked, as they had met last week during his pseudovacation, though he had spent most of it being grilled about his absence by his family. "How've you been?""I've been good. We didn't have much work to do, thanks to you," Felix answered."It seems like you already have an idea of what the meeting's about, so
The following weeks went as planned; Aron didn't get hit with any unexpected stumbling blocks.The soldiers that had been captured as prisoners of war during the Eden-Esparia war, as well as the first skirmish, were the first to be sent to Avalon Island to start their training. The ARES members stationed in Esparia were documenting the now out-of-work soldiers that wished to continue serving as part of the new Esparian military force.Although many people liked the idea that their country was going to be protected by the powerful army that had overwhelmingly defeated them, there were still some that hated everything it brought with it. They thought Esparia shouldn't even have surrendered without putting up a desperate struggle in the first place, and having their 'enemies' train their new soldiers was... unpalatable, to say the least. It wasn't really surprising that many of the people in that group were among those who'd voted against surrendering and had chosen to continue the war,
With the announcement of the parade, the military movements in the country increased even further as groups of soldiers began arriving in the city to start preparing the location the parade would be held, while others were being sent to Avalon Island.What was weird was that none of them were practicing marching drills at all, making people wonder if it was being done in secret or if the soldiers were just going to be walking out of sync with each other. Maybe it was a result of the government rushing the parade, wanting it to happen while people were still relishing in their victory. That would naturally result in some neglect, but many had come to expect huge things from their government—especially when it came to the military—after the two consecutive victories they had pulled out of the jaws of anticipated defeat.That assumption was amplified even further when an article talking about what kinds of weapons might show up during the parade. One of them was a very modern-looking, in
With advertisements rolling out about the upcoming social media app that GAIA was working on, it became a talking point among the users of their OS. And coming from a company that could now be considered a behemoth with more than three billion customers, word quickly spread. After all, most people used a GAIA product on more than one device, leading to the advertisements working their way through more than fifteen billion devices.During the less than a year that the GAIA corporation had taken to rise to fame, they'd met with, and overcome, many obstacles from others, including Google and Apple.The crackdown from two massive companies continued, both of them trying their best to hinder the growth of the GAIA OS, as each had their own operating systems that had dominated the field before the upstart company's newer, and better, OS was released. When the OS was becoming relevant at the start, they had been desperate to make it impossible to download, but failed. Each and every blockade
“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