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
“Why can't they come here and are instead making you go? Doesn't that indicate that we are showing they are important enough to warrant the emperor of the empire being at their beck and call by having him personally go to them instead of them coming to you?" the next reporter asked.Aron responded calmly, "The reason I am going to them is not about showing subservience or being at their beck and call. It is a matter of practicality and diplomacy. Their environment and circumstances are unique, as their bodies are literally roots encompassing the entirety of the planet, and it is essential for me to understand their situation firsthand.Although they can transfer parts of their consciousness to small humanoid trees, there's no assurance that the connection can be maintained over the distance between the two star systems. So, the easiest solution is for me to go and have discussions with them there.As for the second reason, you have to remember that this meeting will determine whether t
The questions continued before he brought the address to an end, with the time from the start of his address to the end totaling two and a half hours.“He has gotten really good at addressing people and making others work hard at realizing them for him,” Felix Jokingly complained to Sarah about Aron as they watched the address together.Although his complaint was made in a manner of sarcasm, he, not he but the company he leads, was the one who was going to have to create all of the signal boosters that would be required to create a network between the two star systems, as their company was the one that was contracted to making many things from the government including the communication infrastructure.“Isn’t it one of the requirements of a great leader? Being able to make promises and delegating qualified people to achieve those promises.” Sarah responded, humoring his complaint but also giving him the opportunity to brag and feel good.“Well, I can’t argue about that, as I’m cursed b
No matter what you do—whether it's bad, good, or somewhere in between—once it's on the internet, you'll always receive both positive and negative reactions. There's always someone who either reads too deeply into the words or not deeply enough.Some people can read or listen but struggle to comprehend the message as the writer or speaker intended. The moment they hear something, it passes through their personal filters before the brain starts to process what was being said or written.As a result, people often hear what they want to hear rather than what was actually communicated. This was precisely the case with the emperor’s speech; he was not exempt from such misinterpretations.And the majority of these people were among the most prolific users of social media, eager to express their opinions. Consequently, they voiced their feelings and reactions moments after the emperor finished his speech and it resulted in quite a mess.There were those who believed that the emperor was using
Even after two weeks had passed, the emperor’s speech remained a hot topic of discussion. This was remarkably long for something to stay relevant in the fast-paced world of the internet.Far from fading into obscurity, the emperor's speech seemed to gain momentum, its importance escalating with each passing day, leaving the public increasingly intrigued.Today was the day of the official imperial funeral for the deceased explorers, broadcast live through the imperial news channels. The viewership was enormous, especially after the empire released video footage of the evacuation that showed the chaotic and disastrous conditions the planet was in, which had led to the scientists' deaths.The footage seized the public's attention, as many were astounded by the fact that only a few lives were lost in the midst of such a chaotic natural disaster. The survival of the majority was a testament to the advancement of imperial technology.The funerals took place at the new imperial cemetery gro