Auralis Empire

My head... hurts...

What happened?

It feels like my brain is a pile of mush, with all kinds of random things mixed together, making it nearly impossible to find any coherent thought.

This state lasted for several minutes before I finally began to regain control of my thoughts.

Ah! That's right! I remember now! What happened before I lost consciousness—Tina and I were standing at the school gate, and a student from the opposite school was bullying one of his classmates. It looked like they were about to fight. Not wanting to get involved, Tina and I decided to leave quickly. And then...?

I started looking for a brick... oh, that plan went out the window. I tried to glare that rich kid to death instead. My thought at the time was that the world would be so much better if I could just punch him.

And then...?

Suddenly, everything became clear again. The countdown of that mysterious “Zenith Remote Strike System” echoed in my mind.

“Tina! Run!” I shouted, sitting up abruptly, only to find that I wasn’t at the school gate.

“This is... that dream?” I looked around, realizing that I was surrounded by the same gray metallic buildings from my dream. There was no doubt about it—I had returned to this strange place after losing consciousness.

Rubbing my forehead and surveying the surroundings, I suddenly realized something was off. It seemed... too dark.

So, I looked up...

In the next moment, my heart stopped for a few beats!

A huge metallic sphere was so close to the ground that it almost seemed within arm’s reach. The massive sphere obscured almost half of the sky, pressing down like a second earth. I could clearly see its complex metallic structure: some parts resembled towers, others were weapon launch silos, some looked like protruding communication devices, and there were more blackened cannon barrels packed like a forest. Between these metal structures, there were large circular depressions that seemed to be landing pads or energy collection facilities. This terrifying steel jungle slowly moved through the sky, silently conveying an overwhelming sense of dread to me, who stood directly beneath it.

Creeeak, creak, creak, a low sound echoed. I couldn’t tell if it was coming from the sky’s iron canopy or from my own neck—probably my neck.

What is this thing?! This scene is too sci-fi!

No matter how much I complained in my mind, it couldn’t change the fact that I was about to be crushed by this airborne fortress, which resembled a small asteroid. It descended so slowly that I couldn’t see any movement, but my gut told me it was still coming down!

In this dream, my instincts were always eerily accurate. It felt like I could sense that, even though this was a dream, the events happening in this world would definitely affect me in the real world.

What should I do now? Run? Are you kidding me? Do you have any idea how big that metal ball is? I’d guess its radius is over a thousand kilometers! Even if it’s descending slowly, there’s no way I’ll get far enough to escape before it crushes me into a meat patty—pure meat, with a nylon bag wrapped around it, the school emblem of City No. 2 stamped on the packaging...

The priority right now is to stay calm, calm down! The metal ball is descending slowly, it won’t crush me immediately. Before it reaches me, I must find a building to hide in. This building must be strong enough to withstand the impact of that massive asteroid-like fortress above...

Finding a place that sturdy might be as impossible as running a thousand kilometers!

Wait, I feel like I forgot something.

Right, what about the other two metallic spheres? There were originally three, but now I can only see one. Could the other two be hiding behind this one, which is almost touching the ground?

...What am I even thinking at a time like this? One asteroid-like fortress is enough to crush me into a meat patty, adding two more would only make the stuffing more even.

But just as this fleeting thought crossed my mind, a moment of clarity pierced through the chaos in my mind. I remembered the voice that echoed when the energy column appeared at the school gate.

Whatever that thing was—whether it was a supernatural phenomenon, a superpower, or something else—I seemed to have the ability to influence that energy, or whatever the Zenith Strike System was. It seemed that the world in this dream and the Zenith Strike System must be connected. In other words, I could actually influence things in this dream world?

I knew my thoughts were likely a desperate stretch, an attempt to make sense of the situation, but at this point, there was no other option—I had to imagine myself as some hidden expert, and come up with a powerful move to save the world. Maybe I could negotiate with the giant sphere in the sky, get it to go away...

It’s easier said than done, but whether it works or not, I can’t help but feel uncertain. At this point, I no longer considered this world to be just an ordinary strange dream. This bizarre dream had surpassed the boundaries of normal dreams, even rising to the level of a supernatural event. Who knows if I’m dreaming or if I’ve been swallowed by some illusion?

Trying to calm myself down, I focused all my mental energy, attempting to control the colossal celestial fortress in the sky.

This was very difficult because I had no idea where to start. All I could do was repeatedly think in my mind: get the giant sphere to move away from the ground.

Minutes passed, and there was no sign of movement. In the stillness, I could only hear my increasingly heavy breathing. The enormous fortress in the sky was clearly getting closer to the ground, and the metallic protrusions, which had once been blurry, were now clearly visible.

Just when I was about to give up, I felt a strange sensation as if something had connected deep within my mind.

That’s it!

I felt a surge of joy in my heart, and immediately focused, trying to send my thoughts as precisely as possible.

Finally, a mechanical voice sounded deep within my mind: “External command set received… Permission confirmed… Analyzing vague instructions… The command will alter the operational structure of the World Arbitration Mechanism. Please confirm you have sufficient permissions… Reconfirming, adjusting the orbit of the second World Arbitration Mechanism, Gaia…”

As the mechanical voice finished, a low rumble came from the giant sphere in the sky. It began to slowly ascend. As the rumble resonated, the silent world suddenly underwent a dramatic transformation!

The voice that always echoed when I left this world suddenly returned, this time with a tone of joy: “Found it…”

Then, the monotonous world regained its color!

The dead-gray sky seemed to light up like a glowing screen, rapidly donning a new azure blue. The color was far more beautiful than anything this steel world should have, cleaner than any sky I’ve ever seen. The distant mountains, once blurry, were quickly covered in green from top to bottom, and the air was thick with the scent of life from miles away. Around me, the cold metallic buildings regained their vitality, faint blue halos began to appear on their surfaces, and twinkling lights gradually illuminated one by one, like fireworks blooming in the sky. The giant fortress above also underwent a transformation, with blue-white streams of light flowing through the metal crevices, filling the massive aerial stronghold with an air of mystery.

In just a few seconds, this lifeless world had become a vibrant, magical place. The beautiful natural scenery and surreal futuristic landscapes merged, creating a magnificent beauty. I stood in awe in the transformed metal city, nearly forgetting to breathe.

“What... is this...” I murmured.

A pleasant but emotionless female voice suddenly echoed in my ear: “This is the capital planet of the Empire, one of the mother planets of the Auralis Empire.”

The sudden voice startled me, and I jumped to the side, only to notice the "person" who had appeared next to me.

A translucent, light-blue girl was floating there, her inorganic eyes turned toward me.

A ghost? Or a hologram?

Based on the unfolding events, I suspected the latter.

“Hello,” I managed a strange expression (hopefully she recognized it as a smile, despite how distorted it was). “I’m Blair Carter. Uh... what’s going on here?”

“Greetings,” the girl bowed slightly and said, “I am the World Arbitration Mechanism No. 2, Gaia. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty the Emperor.”