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
Pangea's massive and explosive growth continued for two weeks, reaching a billion users without any decrease in the trend showing at all. At the same time, it managed more concurrent users than any of the major social media sites.Though it wasn't like that growth hadn't caused any problems. Facebook, Twitter, and İnstagram were all trying to figure out how Pangea was growing so fast. Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Dorsey, and Adam Mosseri were all flustered and had been on hours-long conference calls every day trying to figure out a way to stem the outflow of accounts from their platforms. With a billion registered users on the upstart app, and a little more than half of those being active at any given time—as reported to Aron through the ALM (Active in the Last Minute) metric of Pangea—the three social media giants were beginning to appear desolate. It was a downward spiral the three CEOs were trying their hardest to stop.Some people were even discussing the reason why they were panicking w
After the national anthem ended, a long and beautifully written speech was delivered by Alexander. A few of the attending citizens even cried, as the speech hit just the right notes for the citizens.Immediately following the speech, Alexander stepped off the raised platform and into the car he had arrived in, which had been fitted with microphones on the roof as he stood the car's open sunroof.The same thing was happening in the car behind him, but that one carried John, who was wearing his dress uniform.The cars started and drove to the head of the parade formation, signaling the beginning of the inspection....While the ceremony was in progress, Aron was on the podium alongside the dignitaries from all over the world. He was wearing a bespoke suit, which was only to be expected since it was a product of an atomic printer. Although he was calmly sitting in his chair and watching the events unfold, he still attracted attention whenever a camera panned across the dignitaries. He wa
A week before the celebration.{Miss, they've arrived to pick you up,} Ava informed Rina. The escort from Aron had arrived outside her mansion after going through all the security checks and inspections. They were there to bring her to the airport, then onward to Eden."Sure, let's go," she said and immediately stood from her office chair. She would be taking nothing with her except her phone and the glasses she was wearing. She wasn't even packing changes of clothes.Coming out of her office, she found her secretary and the guard who had taken over for Terry already waiting for her; they would be going with her. "Let's get going," she said and walked past them. They nodded and started walking behind her."Miss, do you think it'll be fine to go with those people without any of our guards?" asked Alex, Rina's head of security."You don't have to worry about that, we'll be perfectly safe with them. Plus, I don't think a single private jet can accommo
"Wow...." Rina had finally managed to calm down over the remainder of the car ride, but was flabbergasted when she saw the plane that was waiting for her. A 'super jumbo' A380 was waiting for her in the private jet terminal at LaGuardia Airport, since there were no private airports in New York that could handle a jet of that size."When and where did he even buy it?" she asked in surprise, as she knew that it took some time for a custom plane to arrive.{He bought it from Transaero Airlines, a Russian company. They were having some financial difficulties and were forced to sell some of their Airbus A380s. He got two of them,} Ava answered after requesting the information from Nova, who allowed access to it as it wasn't a huge secret. The news just wasn't publicized, like most things about Aron.As Rina was talking to Ava, a ramp lowered at the end of the jet, revealing its massive cargo hold. The cars the group had driven to the airport made their way up into th
“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