The countdown to the Prime Minister election was no longer a distant date on a calendar; it was a getting closer and candidate where getting ready.
High above the noise, perched on the decorative stone ledge of a hundred-story skyscraper, Valkhyre stood motionless. The wind at that altitude was violent, ripping at the edges of his dark, suite, but his posture remained perfectly rigid. His eyes reflected the flashing campaign ads below, "Looks like I won't be participating," Valkhyre murmured to the empty sky, a cold, smile touching his lips. "I have something far more important to attend to."
Then he disappeared.
. Jaxen walked out of a convenience store, casually tossing a small plastic bottle of soda into the air and catching it.
"Looks like everyone is hyped about getting a new Prime Minister," Jaxen said, glancing over at the digital billboards plastering the brick walls of the alleyway.
"Yeah, I agree," Kealen replied, his hands deep in his pockets as he stepped around a pile of discarded campaign flyers. "Ever since Bola Ahmed went off the deep end, the whole city's been paranoid. They want a savior, but all they're gonna get is another weirdo."
"Holy shit!" Sloane suddenly shouted, stopping dead in her tracks. Her hand snapped out, pointing a trembling finger toward a massive, premium-grade steel billboard towering over the main plaza intersection. "Kealen, look! Icarus Flare is participating!"
Kealen froze.
, his shoulders locking into hard, rigid lines. He stared up at the , portrait of an elderly man with piercing, aristocratic eyes and a styled reddish white hair.
Kealen's fist squeezed together so tightly that his knuckles popped like small firecrackers,
"Well ..... looks like my grandfather wants control of the border."
Sloane's expression softened, the teasing light leaving her eyes as she noticed the sudden tension vibrating through Kealen's frame. She stepped closer, placing a firm, reassuring hand on his shoulder, applying just enough pressure to ground him.
"Well... forget about that," Sloane said softly, her voice shifting into her usual authoritative tone as she looked back toward the street. "Let's go home. And Jaxen—don't try to run off."
Jaxen, who had been stealthily shuffling his feet toward an adjacent alleyway with a nervous grin, froze mid-step. "Run... ehh, I'm not running," he said, smiling weakly as he scratched the back of his neck. "
, Dock Von sat heavily in his chair. The massive window behind him offered a sweeping view of the city.
The heavy blast doors to his office suddenly hissed open, and the leader of the Intelligence and Analysis Team rushed inside, his breathing ragged, his uniform slightly disheveled.
"Sir! You wouldn't believe this!" the analyst gasped, clutching a digital data pad to his chest.
Before Dock Von could even open his mouth to question the intrusion, Zane materialized out of thin air, leaning against the edge of the mahogany desk with his arms crossed over his chest.
"Haa!" the analyst screamed, jumping a foot in the air, nearly dropping his data pad onto the polished floor. He clutched his heart, his face turning a pale shade of white. "You scared me, sir!"
"Ok, get to the point," Dock Von said, his gravelly voice cutting through the panic as he leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk.
"Yes, sir! Sorry..." The analyst cleared his throat quickly, tapping the screen of his device .
"The Zethrian attacks have reduced by 70%. We haven't had a single attack in a 2 weeks."
Dock Von's eyes widened to absolute circles, . "70%... and in weeks?"
"They may be planning something," Zane said,
"Yeah, true. They may be," Dock Von agreed, his expression darkening as he stared at the data.
" Ok, just continue to monitor the border. If you see even the slightest shred of suspicious activity, report it directly to me or Zane."
"Yes, sir, I will!" the analyst said, bowing quickly before turning on his heel and rushing back out through the heavy doors.
Back at the 10th Division headquarters, the domestic kitchen area was unusually peaceful. Elias sat alone on a wooden stool, casually blowing on a steaming ceramic mug.
"Looks like I now know how to make coffee and cook, all thanks to Vela's teaching..." Elias muttered to himself, stretching his left arm over his head, "...but I had to endure Vela's punishment any time I messed up."
The heavy automatic door to the lounge slid open, and Nyx stepped inside. The moment her eyes landed on Elias sitting peacefully by the counter, she froze. Inside her chest, her heart started beating fast , a sudden wave of heat rushing to her cheeks.
Elias looked up, raising his mug in a casual greeting. "Hey... Ny—"
Before he could even finish pronouncing her name, a loud POP echoed through the kitchen. Nyx teleported instantly.
Elias stared at the empty space, his mug frozen halfway to his lips. "Ok..." He let out a long, slow sigh, taking another sip of his coffee.
The door opened again, and Renji walked in straight training grounds.
His knuckles were wrapped in fresh white athletic tape,.
He looked around the quiet room, his eyes sharp.
"Where's everyone?" Renji asked, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge.
"Rook's training. I have no idea about the rest," Elias replied honestly, setting his mug down on the counter.
Renji paused, his grip tightening around the water bottle.
"I see. Hey, Elias... wanna spar?"
Elias blinked, a small spark of interest finally flickering in his silver eyes. "Sure, why not."
Ten minutes later, the heavy blast doors of Training Room 4 hissed shut.
Rook sat cross-legged on an elevated observation platform, a stopwatch hanging from his finger.
"Ok, first one to surrender loses," Rook shouted down, his voice echoing over the intercom. "Keep it clean. Begin!"
The moment the word left Rook's mouth, the air in the room shattered.
Renji didn't hesitate His eyelids snapped open, and his Star Eyes: Third Edge flared into existence.
"No holding back, Elias!" Renji roared.
"Sure, I won't," Elias replied calmly, dropping into a low, balanced stance.
Renji moved. He wasn't just running; . His speed had increased drastically , his boots tearing small grooves into the reinforced alloy floor. He appeared in Elias's blind spot in a heartbeat, driving a vicious, straight right punch toward Elias's jaw.
Thanks to his Star Eyes, Renji could see the immediate future—predicting the exact -movement Elias would make to dodge.
As Elias tilted his head, Renji adjusted his trajectory mid-strike, his taped knuckles grazing Elias's cheek. A thin line of blood appeared on Elias's skin, but before the droplet could even hit the floor, a flash of white light passed over the wound. Elias regenerated instantly, the skin knitting back together without leaving a scar.
Renji didn't stop. He pivoted on his left heel, unleashing a lightning-fast combination of liver shots, throat jabs, and a sweeping low kick meant to disrupt Elias's center of gravity.
But Elias was simply too strong. His base physical conditioning had reached an entirely different tier. Elias parried the throat jab with the palm of his hand, the sheer impact creating a miniature shockwave that rattled the walls. He didn't just block the low kick; he stood his ground, letting Renji's shin collide with his leg like a sledgehammer hitting an unyielding anvil.
"My turn," Elias muttered.
Elias took a deep breath, and the atmosphere in the training room changed completely. The air grew dense, a steady, blinding white light erupting from his pores. He wasn't just accessing his power—he was sliding effortlessly into True Evolution. There was no struggle, no wild explosion of uncontrollable energy. He had mastered it. The silver fire in his eyes was perfectly stable, burning like a quiet star.
Renji's Star Eyes spun frantically, predicting the next twelve moves Elias could make. But every single path his vision showed him ended in absolute defeat. The sheer speed of Elias's forward thrust bypassed the physical limits of Renji's reaction time.
ZOOM.
Elias moved. Renji's eyes saw the strike coming, but his muscles couldn't move fast enough to evade it. Elias drove a palm strike directly into Renji's chest, stopping exactly one millimeter short of making actual contact.
The compressed air pocket created by the sudden halt of Elias's hand exploded outward. The sheer kinetic shockwave hit Renji like a runaway freight train, lifting his entire body off the ground and launching him fifty feet across the room. Renji hit the padded wall heavily, sliding down to one knee, his breath completely stolen from his lungs.
Elias returned back to normal as he extended a hand across the distance.
"Renji, you did great," Elias said, walking over to him. "You've gotten stronger. ."
Renji sat on the floor, huffing heavily as he took Elias's hand, allowing himself to be pulled back up to his feet. He looked down at his own trembling palms. "How did you master it? I haven't seen you train "
"I have, but secretly," Elias said
"I see..." Renji replied, a bitter but determined smile crossing his face as he grabbed his towel. "Looks like I still have a long way to go."
From the observation deck, Rook leaped down, landing flawlessly on his feet. "Yeah we all do, we must never be satisfied until we've reached the absolute peak ."
By 9:00 PM,
Elias walked up the metal staircase leading to the rooftop of the 10th Division base. Sitting alone on the edge of the concrete ledge, her knees pulled tightly to her chest, was Nyx.
Elias walked over quietly, . "Hey, Nyx. Can we talk?"
Nyx didn't look up immediately. She kept her eyes fixed on the distant flashing billboard of Sector 2. "Sure," she replied, her voice unusually quiet,
Elias stepped up beside her, "What's going on? You haven't been yourself lately. Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Nyx said quickly, a forced, defensive edge entering her tone as she finally looked up at him. "Just bored, that's all. I haven't gotten to explode anything and. My daggers are getting rusty."
"Oh I see " Elias replied
"Em... Elias, this is a weird question, but... do you like, em..." She cleared her throat again, looking away . "...have a crush on Mira Ice?"
Elias didn't answer right away.
"I don't," Elias said bluntly, his voice entirely steady. "She's just a friend."
"I see," Nyx whispered, a tiny, genuine smile finally returning to the corners of her lips.
"Well, good to know you're all right. See ya," Elias said, waving a hand casually as he turned around
Millions of light years away
A space ship th
e size of a planet was moving
"Coda,cha,eth"(next destination earth) an alien said