Atachi One

(Note: Some concepts addressed in this chapter are quite complex and could cause readers to lose track due to their intricacy. Therefore, certain notes have been added to facilitate understanding of the scenes and the powers used.) (Enjoy the reading!)

After the bitter and unequivocal humiliation endured by Jayden, the most powerful summoner of Mégerya, he remained strangely impassive. What would have been a devastating trauma for others seemed, for him, to be a trial he was determined to overcome. With methodical coldness, he erased the memories of all who had witnessed his downfall, turning this humiliation into a fearsomely guarded secret.

Under the moonlight, the Castle of a Thousand Dragons shimmered like a gem, its bright red roofs and golden dragons perched majestically. Walking along a jade-lined path, the Fernanders reached a central courtyard, dominated by a pond adorned with silver lotuses and lacquered wooden bridges.

Inside, red columns inlaid with jade led to the Throne Hall, where an imperial seat stood among golden screens and mythological frescoes. Guzhengs played softly, creating an atmosphere of celestial elegance, while the king of Mégerya reigned, surrounded by his royal guard.

Upon their arrival, the court instinctively congratulated those who had proven to the world that the Tartarus could be cleansed. Tartarus is a kind of dungeon completed after defeating a game's final boss. Some Fernanders discerned the contemptuous game that the courtiers and nobles of the court delighted in playing.

The king of Mégerya stood there, his aging body still emanating an imposing dignity. Despite the ravages of time, he remained a living monument to the era when his authority was absolute. He rose slowly, his calculated movements a reminder that he had never forgotten the essence of ruling.

"Today, we toast to honor the Fernanders, heroes of Mégerya, who achieved the impossible by purifying Tartarus! I bestow upon you my eternal blessing, and your names are now engraved in the Pantheon of Legends. Glory to the Fernanders!"

Thunderous applause filled the hall. Yet the sincerity of these loud cheers was marred by a strange alchemy of contempt and jealousy. The courtiers, while congratulating the heroes, poorly concealed their perverse satisfaction: the Fernanders had, once again, done the "dirty work."

Jayden, with calculated confidence, stepped into the center of the hall to speak. His words, though carefully chosen, seemed to weigh heavily, making the air almost tangible.

"Greetings to the people of Mégerya. You are the ones who have radically changed my life. My life at the palace allowed me to forge unbreakable bonds with my companions. We purged Tartarus for you, but I cannot ignore the troubling rumor that has surfaced. Your rival kingdom has also turned to summoning, hasn't it?"

The court, unaware of such significant information, except for a select few of the highest ranks, fell silent. Standing by the king, the emperor's royal advisor embodied the wisdom and prestige of the imperial court.

Dressed in a sumptuous black robe embroidered with celestial dragons and golden phoenixes, he wore imperial red ornaments, signifying his high rank. At his waist, a white jade seal reflected his authority. His traditional wide-brimmed hat reinforced his image as a scholar. His upright posture, piercing gaze, and measured gestures conveyed his loyalty and crucial role at court.

He rose with imposing grace, every move calculated to capture the assembly's full attention.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he began, "two months ago, we sent an army of spies to Sinongara. Thanks to an unexpected alliance with a fallen prince, we received information of exceptional gravity. Allow me to share the contents of this letter with you."

Suspense was at its peak. Jayden had already read the letter thanks to his unparalleled eyes. Yet, he allowed the advisor to reveal the truth.

"Lord Djamuqa, I write to warn you that Baldur, the king of Sinongara, has made contact with a foreign race, the Terranians. They bring with them a weapon called 'Singularity.' If this weapon is real, it could prematurely trigger the end of this world. Act before the Great Terror awakens."

A chilling silence enveloped the hall. Célhéstia, a primordial vampire among the Fernanders, stepped forward with icy eloquence.

"My King, assemble the armies of the lands you unified during our absence. It is time to save the world from the threat posed by Baldur and his kingdom of heretics."

Jayden added:

"In three days, we will besiege the Khan's palace. We Fernanders have conquered Tartarus! The kingdom of Sinongara is but the penultimate step for us, who will build a better world!"

A thrill of excitement coursed through the assembly. The murmurs transformed into cheers, soldiers pounding their weapons against their shields in a martial symphony. The very walls seemed to vibrate under the intensity of the collective emotion, each person present fueled by the promise of a glorious future under Jayden's banner.

The entire kingdom buzzed with activity. Messengers galloped across plains and mountains to recall scattered soldiers and form new units, merging their forces for the imminent campaign. Under the emblem of Mégerya, an unshakable sense of unity emerged, as if the spirit of this sacred symbol imbued them with indomitable determination.

However, beneath this apparent enthusiasm, an underlying tension settled in. Under Jayden's strategic leadership, this territorial war, laden with memories and ancestral rivalries, would soon take on unprecedented proportions. Yet the intricate web of fate had already begun to unravel, for the unforeseen intervention of Atachi and Titan had shaken the very foundations of this reality.

But the events of the main plot had diverged since Atachi and Titan's intervention, leaving the future entirely uncertain. Thus, the narrative returns to the dilemma imposed by the fallen one on the scientist Aliya.

Under the cold light of her destroyed laboratory, a real tension filled the room. Titan's decaying body, riddled with impurities his body could not expel, was momentarily forgotten. Aliya recalled past memories with this man, a wave of sadness, confusion, and surprise tormenting her.

Lost in her thoughts, Aliya cried out, demanding answers.

"How can you still be alive, crown prince Arisu?"

Arisu, unveiling his face from beneath his scarf, stepped forward, wielding the legendary sword Keldel, also known as the Sovereign's Sword, the most powerful imperial weapon in this world. Facing him, Aliya activated the emergency system, sealing the place in a technological prison, the ultimate bulwark against the chaos he embodied. But Arisu, relentless, reduced her efforts to nothing, his sword slicing through the air as if sculpting destiny.

She then ordered Pandora:

"Pandora, launch the final survival plan: Arch Zero!"

The synthetic voice of the artificial intelligence responded, cold and composed:

"Are you sure you are willing to bear the consequences of what you ask, Mistress? The consequences will be irreversible, Lady Aliya. But if this is your choice..."

The mecha activated with a mechanical rumble, its dazzling lights illuminating the chaos of the laboratory. In front of it, Arisu smiled with a cold arrogance. As for him, the face of Aliya reminded him of better times.

"You were a more docile wife before. Who led you astray so completely? This man, almost dead, would have distanced you from the right path?"

With a fluid movement, he made Keldel appear. He leapt with blinding speed, and with a brutal strike, devastated the laboratory in a cascade of debris. Aliya fell into deep despair.

Her gaze turned toward Titan, lying unconscious on the ground.

Arisu advanced toward the defenseless body. He raised Keldel to pierce the back of the Terranian, but at the moment the blade grazed his skin, it glowed with a transcendent blue, refusing to harm its target. He was perplexed, the blade of his own will had stopped Arisu from a madness he could never have assumed.

"A Terranian... resisting divine power? How intriguing, I will hasten to sever our ties, Aliya, or should I submit you to me for eternity? I will take pleasure in defiling the one who abandoned me for my brother, then for this man."

Decades of research had been destroyed, Pandora was gone, Titan was on the verge of death, while Aliya stood alone in front of this vengeful spirit. His cruel smile widened. He sheathed his sword, then reached out his hand. Using telekinesis, he lifted Aliya and drew her to him with relentless force. He struck her stomach with incredible violence, causing a cry of pain to escape her as she spat blood.

"Am I going to ruin such a brilliant woman? You will carry the first stone of my perfect progeny."

He proceeded to commit the irreparable. Aliya, on the brink of despair, believed her end was imminent. But suddenly, a luminous barrier erupted between them. Pandora, the artificial intelligence, reactivated with newfound energy. It began speaking in a poorly developed robotic language.

"Transfer complete. Arch Zero project initiated. Creation of multiple consciousness. Multiplication of connections. Creation of judgment. Archetypes acquired. Adaptation completed. Next mission activated."

Arisu burst out laughing, mocking.

"So, Pandora, a mass of circuits hopes to oppose the power of a demigod? Very well, show me what you're worth!"

The Keldel sword shone, and he rushed to deliver a fatal blow to Pandora. But just as he was about to strike, a second version of Pandora appeared behind him, attacking with the same precision as Titan. Caught off guard, Arisu pivoted and sliced the second mecha, only to discover that the real Pandora was still intact.

Completely disoriented, he asked:

"What kind of sorcery is this? Don't think for a second that this could defeat a deity."

"Quantum superposition at full scale."

(Note: Quantum superposition: A particle can exist in multiple states at once, like an object being in several places simultaneously. Only when we measure or observe this particle does one of its states "choose" itself.)

Arisu, surrounded, now faced two Pandoras simultaneously. With every new attack, Pandora was reborn, learning and adapting to his movements, retaliating with increasing effectiveness. Time was running out for Pandora, she had to save her mistress and Titan.

"Environmental connection. Unification process initiated."

Pandora dematerialized, merging with the atmosphere. From all directions, mechas emerged and attacked Arisu in perfect choreography. The artificial intelligence always chose the best angle of attack to finish off her opponent. Cornered, Arisu then unleashed the power of the Singularity.

"If you want to play, Pandora, let's see if you can challenge a cosmic weapon!"

Arisu attempted the unthinkable: he dropped the box and drove his divine sword into the ground. But Pandora, having adapted, delivered a single strike, replicating Titan's last move before collapsing. Pandora's strike, perfectly imitating the divine blow, prevented contact between Keldel and the Singularity. A colossal explosion of energy destroyed the surroundings.

As for Titan, he sustained no damage due to his extreme durability, which could not be affected by such weak gusts trying to resemble hurricanes.

In Titan's soul, a desperate battle raged. Faced with the death that threatened to consume him, he wandered in an unfathomable void, an infinite darkness devoid of any meaning or creation. This inner emptiness was his battlefield, a place where every thought was a struggle for survival.

"How can Atachi theorize about vibrational consequences? What could his spiritual space look like? Why am I unable to understand the very foundations of the soul?"

Atachi had initially planned three stages for Titan to pass through the first fundamental phase. The three phases consist of: material mastery of things, spiritual mastery of being, and finally conceptual abstraction. Each phase is an ascent that requires much more than just brute force.

Titan had started by understanding the principles of matter, learning to manipulate material systems to access an intelligence that transcended comprehension. The genius behind this mastery pushed Titan, indirectly, toward the next phase: spiritual mastery.

He recalled the contents of his master's file, where a portion of 10 thousand pages was dedicated solely to spiritual principles. The memory, coupled with Titan's survival instinct, drove him into a trance commonly known as "the flow."

In this state, his soul crossed barriers it had never dared to touch. His chakras opened, one by one, like doors sealed for eons. His dantian activated, releasing an unimaginable vital energy. The divine meridians that ran through his being, once obstructed, illuminated in a symphony of light.

(Note: Dantian: The dantian is an energy center, considered the source of vitality and inner balance. The dantian helps direct energy (Qi) within the body to maintain health and harmony.

Chakra: These are energy centers in the human body. There are seven main chakras, each linked to a specific area of the body and influencing emotional, physical, and spiritual aspects.)

But the balance is fragile. Titan realizes a terrifying truth: physical death is just a passage. If the soul, divine essence, and body do not converge in perfect harmony, he risks fading away completely, lost in cosmic oblivion.

Death is first and foremost physical death; the spirit and soul will later reincarnate since the soul is inherently immortal by nature, functioning in a cyclical manner.

Meanwhile, miles away, a cataclysmic battle shakes the capital of Sinongara, invaded by Arisu's fleet, brother of King Baldur and now the supreme commander.

In a laboratory now transformed into a battlefield, Pandora, Aliya's advanced artificial intelligence, pushes the limits of reality.

"Evolution of advanced consciousness. Repeated use of quantum entanglement combination to transgress the laws of current physics. Superposition, entanglement, execution."

With unmatched precision, Pandora anticipates every movement of Arisu. Her theorems calculate the position of her opponent's subatomic particles ten seconds in advance. Arisu charges, his sacred sword radiating a protective aura. But Pandora, deploying in 1,762 simultaneous positions, propels him out of the room in a dance of perfect attacks.

In the midst of this turmoil, Titan, still frozen between life and death, is suddenly teleported by quantum entanglement near Pandora. The mecha analyzes his body with surgical precision, while another mecha, at work, absorbs energy fragments to execute Aliya's orders.

(Note: Quantum entanglement: This means that two particles can become "connected" in a special way, even if they are at vast distances from each other. No matter where they are, if one undergoes a change, the other feels it instantly. "They can also, hypothetically, reconnect instantly.")

A voice rises from the chaos: that of Aliya, filled with cold determination. Her consciousness has been uploaded into a superimposed mecha. The first phase of the Arch Zero project is unfolding perfectly. Aliya, delighted, realizes that she is achieving the ultimate goal of transhumanism.

"The operation is proceeding as planned. Even though your quantum system still exceeds my understanding, we are ready. Decades of research are finally coming to fruition. Redirect one cubic centimeter of quantum vacuum energy into his body!"

Pandora remains silent. Aliya's request is a mathematical madness, a technological utopia impossible to achieve, even for an advanced artificial intelligence. Manipulating one cubic centimeter of quantum vacuum energy – an amount beyond human comprehension – would be like playing with the birth of entire universes.

(Note: Quantum vacuum: The vacuum is not truly "empty." Even without matter, there are small fluctuations of energy. This means particles can appear and disappear rapidly, creating a sort of invisible activity. This "vacuum" is actually full of movement on a very small scale, which affects many quantum phenomena.)

The box, containing the coveted cosmic weapon, rests just a few dozen meters away. Aliya, driven by a mixture of desperation and resilience, focuses her efforts to transport it to its target location. Her gaze falls on Titan, his broken body, and a wave of emotions overwhelms her.

Aliya whispers beside him, her words vibrating with determination.

"I will save you, Titan, I promise! I will follow you beyond all limits, and I will become the greatest scientist of all time!"

Arisu emerged from the darkness, his aura crackling with devouring hatred, turning his once attractive face into a monstrous effigy of vengeance. Aliya, weakened but resolute, met his gaze, her body trembling under the weight of his overwhelming presence.

"Aliya! Today, you belong to me again! I will not let any man steal your smile, the one you gave me so kindly. If you no longer desire me... then... I have no choice left... I will kill all of you!!!"