[[[[Sorry for the delay in chapters over the past two days, I was traveling back home to my country.]]]]
“Sir, our fleet was attacked by Terran Empire forces without provocation. What are your orders?” the Bilakis civilization’s general reported to Kumakar, his voice clipped with frustration.
“What? Attacked?” Kumakar responded, feigning shock with just the right amount of disbelief. “Weren’t those ships dispatched in response to the earlier r...
2025-06-04 13:04:17 +0000 UTC
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"That’s not important right now," Aron said, answering his own question before anyone else could respond. "We need to deal with the current situation first. We’ll analyze the reasons later, when we have real data to work with. Speculation without information is just a waste of brainpower."
{I’ll continue developing response strategies and update you as new intel comes in,} Nyx said.
"Good," Aron nodded, then resumed reviewing the surveillance footage. It didn’t take long b...
2025-06-01 15:38:44 +0000 UTC
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“Are any of our people harmed?” Aron finally asked, breaking the silence in the room as he turned toward Nova.
{None so far. Per deployment policy, our personnel were not allowed to leave the wormhole stations during their shifts. As long as the shields remain active, they are fully protected.} Nova replied, projecting live CCTV feeds from inside the wormhole space stations. Imperial citizens could be seen calmly going about their duties, documenting everything occurring outside thr...
2025-05-30 18:18:22 +0000 UTC
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Earth, CUBE.
{Sir, twenty of our wormholes on the Wormhole Highway Project have been attacked,} Nova reported directly to Aron through the chip embedded in his body.
Aron was currently sitting in one of the CUBE’s gardens, sharing a quiet picnic with his wife and brother, when he received the alert.
“Excuse me,” he said calmly.
In the next instant, a translucent shield enveloped Rina and Henry, moments before Aron vanished in a blur, leaving behind a shockwave th...
2025-05-29 16:27:18 +0000 UTC
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Two Months Later — The Nexus
The Nexus Space Station was still deep in its construction phase, with activity buzzing across every level. But progress had been swift. The gates were already completed and locked into their required coordinates, allowing materials from across the Conclave to begin arriving in steady waves. Civilizations competed to deliver those materials, eager to earn END, which they could then exchange for precious mana stones. This approach allowed the Empire to pres...
2025-05-28 11:09:15 +0000 UTC
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Transforming. That was the word on everyone’s lips when it came to businesses now operating through VR.
The Empire had recently launched a sweeping initiative to restructure commercial activity within the VR. As part of this initiative, they created an additional protective layer, a sort of social bubble, surrounding individuals who had been connected to the VR for more than six months. These individuals were restricted from broad interaction and could only communicate with those cons...
2025-05-26 20:08:52 +0000 UTC
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To avoid raising alarms, the meeting was wrapped up within just two hours. The leaders agreed that all further detailed planning would be conducted through the long-distance mana communication network in the form of secure documents. Any remaining discussions would be handled through that method to avoid the risk of having all Conclave civilizations’ leaders gathered in one place or being unavailable at the same time without an officially declared meeting.
This decision stemmed from t...
2025-05-24 19:34:12 +0000 UTC
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“Then who?” the leader who had accused the Empire retorted sharply, clearly stung by the Xelovra leader’s dismantling of his argument. “They’re the only ones who have all the pieces that fit the puzzle!”
His frustration was obvious, he had presented his hypothesis with confidence, expecting agreement or at least serious consideration. Being corrected and essentially discredited in front of the entire Conclave leadership left him bitter, and he wasn’t ready to back down.
2025-05-23 19:04:11 +0000 UTC
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“The Terran Empire?” one of the leaders finally voiced, breaking the uneasy silence with the most controversial possibility yet.
A wave of murmurs and narrowed eyes followed, some in consideration, others in immediate rejection.
“They don’t have the wormhole technology to conduct these attacks,” another leader countered quickly, scoffing at the idea.
“But they might have learned it through the knowledge granted to them,” a third leader said, eyes flicking towar...
2025-05-22 17:18:52 +0000 UTC
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"Enough!!!!!!!" the Grand Xor’Vak bellowed, his voice going through the chaos of shouting and accusations like a blade, silencing the chamber as if a switch had been thrown. Every representative, big and small, froze mid-gesture, mid-word, the weight of his voice settled over them. No one dared speak.
The Grand Xor’Vak didn't need to say more. He simply turned his massive head, his gaze locking onto the hologram of the Zelovera leader. A single, almost imperceptible...
2025-05-20 09:40:20 +0000 UTC
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“Who dares?!” the Valthorin leader thundered, slamming his hand onto the table. The gesture might have carried more weight if the meeting hadn’t been held via group call, his holographic image merely flickered slightly, his display shaking for a brief moment before settling.
But no one was surprised by his reaction.
The Valthorins were known to hold their honor and pride above all else. And now, both were being called into question by the very civilizations they considered b...
2025-05-18 13:09:59 +0000 UTC
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While the leaders silently questioned why the Grand Xor’Vak was so furious, the answer inside his mind was sharp and unwavering.
‘Who dares infringe on my territory?’
Yes, his territory. In his eyes, the entire Conclave belonged to him. He was not merely a leader of the strongest civilization, he was its rightful king. Its ruler. Its owner.
To Xor’Vak, this belief wasn’t delusion. It was a truth constantly reinforced by reality. His whims, if spok...
2025-05-16 13:20:58 +0000 UTC
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No matter how carefully you plan something, the moment you implement it, the unpredictable always happens, usually in response to the other side’s actions.
The same was true when Dreznor launched his fleets. While they succeeded in disabling the mana-powered long-distance communication nodes for more than half of them, a few of them managed to send out SOS signals before being neutralized.
“Keep it quiet for now and gather as much intel as possible. We can’t afford the embar...
2025-05-15 06:55:05 +0000 UTC
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“For anyone who witnesses injustice and atrocities taking place, there are four paths he can take,” Dreznor’s voice echoed through the parade ground, calm yet heavy with conviction. Before him stood a massive formation of soldiers, rigid in attention, their eyes locked on him with reverence and resolve.
“He can hate what’s happening but say nothing. He can speak out against it. He can take action against it. Or ” his tone sharpened, “he can j...
2025-05-13 21:53:13 +0000 UTC
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No matter how slow time had felt, the month without VR finally passed. Aron could now receive the full report and witness for himself how they had discovered and recruited her.
{We found her through one of Seraphina’s faction members,} Nyx began as she materialized beside him. {He had been demoted to the role of overseeing the well-being of the Grand Xor’Vak’s concubines after he had abandoned her.}
Aron raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t that… actually a powerful position? It ...
2025-05-12 10:29:16 +0000 UTC
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“There are no new discoveries yet?” Aron asked without looking up from the report.
“No,” Ayaka replied, her tone neutral but edged with disappointment. “Unfortunately, it seems that at my current level, it’s impossible to uncover anything new about the Fountain of Life material.”
Aron nodded slowly, flipping through the pages of her report, detailed with charts, test results, and hypotheses. “Have you managed to contact Laifu again since her first appearance?”
2025-05-09 20:30:41 +0000 UTC
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“I’m telling you,” Abdullah said, his face lit up with excitement, “if you read the announcement properly, the empire’s planning to make all of us six-figure earners, if not outright millionaires.”
“How so?” Mussa replied, skepticism etched into his expression. “We’ll only be able to access that fund after retirement, and I don’t see us hitting that age anytime soon unless we retire early. And even then, the empire hasn’t set a clear retirement age. It’s only b...
2025-05-08 16:18:59 +0000 UTC
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"That is completely the opposite of what we experienced when we took over the world," Aron said with a chuckle as he skimmed through the report detailing the Zypharion people's reaction, comparing it to humanity's during their last world war.
By just the second week, Dreznor had already gained the support of the majority of the population, a stark contrast to Aron’s own experience, which involved battling numerous insurgencies and unifying fractured governments.
{Your situation ...
2025-05-07 12:26:39 +0000 UTC
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One of the humanoid dolls stepped forward, its feet softly pressing against the ground as it advanced toward Ukubun, the former planetary leader and Conclave-appointed representative. With each additional step, its body began to shift. Its limbs shortened, its skin darkened, and its features morphed into something all too familiar.
Within moments, it stood not as a doll, but as a perfect replica of a man Ukubun and nearly every viewer across the planet instantly recognized.
“You...
2025-05-06 08:51:53 +0000 UTC
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Although the invasion had initially sparked widespread panic and desperate escape attempts, the immobilized ships floating helplessly in orbit served as a grim warning: there was no way out. The message spread quickly, and no one else dared try to flee.
Life under a near-feudal leadership had taught the populace to adapt quickly to shifts in power. So, when it became clear the invaders weren’t targeting civilians, the general panic began to fade. Still, the people remained wary, choos...
2025-05-05 19:55:20 +0000 UTC
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Not even a second after Dreznor uttered the word surrender, a bullet shot toward his head, fired by a guard who had descended from a hidden panel in the ceiling, exploding it.
At least, that was the outcome the leader expected.
Instead, what he saw defied belief: Dreznor was still standing, completely unharmed, as if nothing had happened.
“Haaah,” Dreznor sighed. At least I tried, he thought, clutching a fold of his clothes tearing it as the torn piece started refo...
2025-05-04 10:58:28 +0000 UTC
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Nova, who had been silently observing Aron as he went through documents related to the empire for approval, couldn’t help but notice the persistent smile on his face. It had been there for quite some time and showed no signs of fading.
“What is it?” Aron asked when he looked up and saw her standing there, just staring at him.
{I was trying to deduce what made you smile,} she responded, her gaze unbroken, clearly indicating that another instance of her was continuing the dedu...
2025-05-02 14:59:56 +0000 UTC
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“At ease, gentlemen,” Dreznor said, his gaze sweeping over the group of former pirates, now standing in disciplined attention like seasoned soldiers with years of experience.
In just one month of intense training, they had transformed. The first real-world week had been entirely theoretical, an immersive and assimilative crash course to fill the gaping holes in their knowledge. As former pirates, most of them had only received the bare minimum education necessary to survive in socie...
2025-05-01 13:32:05 +0000 UTC
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“Within the last month, we have managed to reach 172 billion Conclave users, with over fifty billion being concurrent,” Sarah reported, addressing the Emperor, the heads of the three ministries, and the directors of the imperial agencies during a topic-specific Imperial Council meeting. This session had been called to review the progress made in the first month of the expansion campaign.
The room remained quiet, but their expressions betrayed the storm of thoughts behind their compo...
2025-04-30 03:48:15 +0000 UTC
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It had only been three days since they came to capture the pirates, but for Dreznor, those three days had been enough. Enough to spend a full year trapped with them in VR. Enough to end all of his grievances, or at least, that’s what he thought, until he started reviewing the pirates' extracted brain data.
Among the information collected were the locations of hidden loot, stashed money, and, more importantly, data about the pirates' employers, the ones who hired them for specific, tar...
2025-04-28 04:41:02 +0000 UTC
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"I never signed up for this," thought the man, standing stiffly among a packed crowd inside a sterile, well-lit room.
He had joined the pirate crew barely three months ago, hoping for a fresh start after giving up on finding peace on his home planet. Now, he found himself waiting in line, waiting for a torture session dedicated to victims he had never even met.
He hadn’t done anything yet. When he joined, the pirates were in a quiet period between raids, gathering intelligence, ...
2025-04-27 04:39:19 +0000 UTC
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“Oh my god,” Dreznor breathed, his eyes fixed on the five colossal wormholes unfolding before him in the distant sky.
He had always known that wormhole technology existed within the Astral Conclave—at least in theory. It was the kind of thing whispered about in myths and legends, the stuff of old spacer tales passed down through generations. Most would live and die without ever seeing one.
Now, he was seeing five at once, opening like rips in reality itself.
At first, ...
2025-04-26 02:24:39 +0000 UTC
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Six months later.
A full half-year of intensive planning, negotiations, amendments, and rework inside the Conclave's VR, translating to over a decade’s worth of accelerated time, finally bore fruit. The final plan, after countless revisions and compromises, had been unanimously accepted by all participating civilizations. Every representative, regardless of their status or influence, walked away satisfied with the outcome, marking a rare moment of total consensus in Conclave history.<...
2025-04-25 02:20:29 +0000 UTC
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Since the top fifty representatives were already in agreement, the passing of the bill in the Conclave General Council was practically guaranteed, as long as none of the top ten civilizations used their veto power. Given the way voting was structured, those fifty civilizations alone could form a majority, despite the Conclave comprising over a hundred members.
Even if a few among the top fifty had voted against it, the remaining civilizations had every reason to support the resolution. ...
2025-04-23 03:29:09 +0000 UTC
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Once the runic intent was fully imbued, Aron activated the rune. It had already been charged with enough mana to allow it to expand and cover the entire asteroid field.
Executing such an operation while the representatives were still present in the Trade Hub would normally have been considered a significant risk. However, that risk had already been accounted for. During the asteroid collection phase, the field had been strategically placed in a position where the sun lay directly betwee...
2025-04-22 04:02:54 +0000 UTC
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