Empress Dowager Tai Sui stood up on the stage and gazed upon the crowd of determined kids. Chronos caught a glimmer of sadness flickering in her eyes. Even though she had the same warm smile on, Chronos could sense the weight of the innumerable sacrifices laid heavily on her heart.

‘Knowing Grandmama, the threat we face must be an existential threat.’

‘She mentioned internal and external threats, the former must have something to do with the Realm of Destiny…’

The vivid memories of his first day in this world replayed in his mind like it had happened just yesterday. In the past three years, Chronos had tried his best to slyly dig more information out of his beloved Grandmama but all he got was that there was an upcoming war, one that might threaten extinction of the Tertius they knew today.

‘The external threat must be an extraterrestrial power?’

‘Is that why the Technians aren’t a part of the UAT? I remember the mention of one name… Genos…’

Chronos’s thoughts were interrupted by a deep hoarse voice,

“I’m sure it’s clear to everyone that the path of accelerated human evolution is a precarious one, in full transparency, a third of you might not make it out alive…”

“There are two main purposes for gathering you here today, one is to groom an elite force that will one day play an integral role in protecting all of Tertius.”

“Secondly, we need you to clear what we’ve coined the Tower of Legacy…”

A chiseled man with long black hair pulled back sleekly stepped forward and nodded to the Empress Dowager, signaling that he would take over the presentation from here. He was a tall and imposing figure, with sharp features and a commanding presence.

He wore a traditional garb woven with advanced technology, blending old-world elegance with the futuristic regalia of metallic iridescence. His deep voice was calm and measured, but there was a steely determination in his tone that demanded undivided attention.

“We stand on the brink of changing the entire course of our species,” he said, his eyes sweeping over the faces of the assembled group, “The main obstacle to fully grasping this technology we discovered is the language barrier and the only method we know of to inherit the knowledge of our ancestors is through collecting the rewards given out by the A.I. which governs the Tower of Legacy.”

He motioned to the holographic projection and a model of a towering structure. It was a futuristic sci-fi tower divided into several levels, each one marked with a glowing emblem that seemed to pulse with energy.

“The Tower of Legacy is one of the few functions within the Martian Simulated World which we have unlocked, in spite of its intimidating appearance, the tower offers a tantalizing reward to those who manage to clear each level.”

“Rewards which are able to mysteriously materialize in the real world!”

A wave of involuntary gasps echoed within the main hall.

“We believe that one of you may be able to inherit a database, manuscript or recording of their civilizations knowledge!”

The muscular chiseled man then proceeded to pull out a futuristic looking tube encasing a fluorescent blue liquid.

“This is known as a tier 1 catalyst serum… one of the possible rewards obtained from clearing the first stage, it gives a person an unimaginable boost on the path of evolution they have chosen.”

“However! That is the current limit of our exploration. These Simulation Helmets must have been designed specifically for the youth of their civilization, anyone who is above the Form stage has failed to establish a connection with their Simulation World…”

Stolen novel; please report.

“We have been forced to stop our exploration of the Tower of Legacy because while the first criteria of entry is the mastering of the basic breathing techniques…”

“What we didn’t know was, the fundamental difference when entering the Tower of Legacy versus any training simulation is that death in there means death in real life…”

“Only 1 of the very few who have mastered the breathing techniques made it out alive…”

There was a brief pause, as the group absorbed the gravity of the situation.

Suddenly, a high-pitched girl’s voice echoed in the room,

“Father, is all of this really worth it?”

At this moment, 155 sets of eyes shifted toward the source of the question. It was a cute little girl with rosy cheeks and cascading light blue hair sitting elegantly on top of her futuristic kimono. Even with her look of confusion, she was the epitome of cuteness.

Chronos recognized her, she was Princess Tsukuyomi, the little sister of Crown Princess Omikami, that means that the man on stage was King Izanagi!

“A war of survival is coming, maybe in 10 years maybe in a hundred, we need to be able to defend ourselves!”

“Only by making this technology safe and effective for all the people in Tertius will we stand a chance. It’s apparent that the path of evolution as of now has too many restrictions and too low a success rate, only by truly grasping the wisdom that lies within these helmets can we truly take a leap forward together as an entire species!”

“The implications are unfathomably vast, with the technology and resources buried within the Simulated World of our ancestors, we can eradicate all illnesses and physical defects, we will accelerate the evolution of our species by millions of years…”

“Each and everyone of you here are pioneers at the forefront of the rediscovery of our lineage, the locksmiths to the locks within our genealogy… The founding fathers of a new generation of Tertiuns!”

King Izanagi’s voice rang with passion as if he were a general motivating his army. He proceeded to slam his fist onto his chest and said,

“On behalf of the UAT, our families, our homes and our way of life, I thank each and everyone of you for your bravery!”

“Your personal Simulation Helmets have been placed on the beds you awoke from, take time to explore the Simulation World, but proceed with caution, do not attempt to start the process of evolution in haste!”

“From this day forward until you graduate, you are a cadet of the UAT Academy of Evolution.”

—

The group of talented youths were dismissed as they hurried excitedly back to their dorms to explore the new and fascinating world that would be their entire lives for the next few years.

Only a few people stayed. Chronos looked around and saw Princess Tsukuyomi, the Ibeji Twins and another pair of a boy and girl.

Chronos recognized the young boy to be of Indian descent, or in this world, a citizen of the Kingdom of Kailash. Rummaging through his extensive studies of key figures in Tertius, Chronos knew that this was the youngest son of Empress Devi, Prince Dashavatara.

He was a timid looking boy with a slender frame and delicate features that made him look almost fragile. His wide dark eyes were often either fixated on the ground or darting nervously around his surroundings, as if he were constantly on edge.

However, Chronos knew never to underestimate this frail looking boy, for he is known to be one of the most talented beings in centuries of Kailashian history. Alike Chronos, he was born with an extremely powerful dimensional sigil which invoked a celestial phenomena as soon as he awoke from his lineage chamber.

Considering the members of the UAT, Chronos deduced that the last remaining girl was Princess Azure, the youngest daughter of the Daddiri Royal Family. She was the epitome of a beautiful doll, Chronos’s gaze flicked over her, taking in the picturesque sight of her almost ethereal beauty.

She had a head of turquoise hair which glistened under the lighting in the futuristic main hall. Neat curls fell all the way down her back, not a strand out of place. Her complexion porcelain, beaming with youthful vibrancy, had an impeccable pearlesque hue.

What really caught Chronos’s attention were her two beady eyes. One of which was an emerald-green of the most pristine of jades, the other was the blue of every dancing sky, infinite hues illuminated by newborn light.

Her heterochromic eyes and beguiling oyster-white smile lit up the subtle beige dress she was adorning, the matching bonnet placed lovingly sideways on her head unable to shade their iridescent glow. On her neck was a string of adult fist-sized pearls which shone under the vibrance of her smile.

‘Wow…what a beauty…’ Chronos thought privately, or so he assumed.

Princess Azure giggled as the Elder Saint of the Daddiri, Fu Xi, swept swiftly in front of her from atop the stage like a protective father bear.

“Don’t get any funny ideas little brat, my precious princess is off limits to anyone!” He growled with an arm stretched out to the side.

Chronos meekly raised one arm like an obedient student and muttered,

“Umm… I’m only three years old…”

Grandmama Tai Sui let out a joyous laughter and teleported to Chronos’s side, “Don’t scare my baby boy Fuxi! Besides, it isn’t a bad idea to finally become in-laws.”

“Hmph! I didn’t hear you saying this when my second son had his eyes on little Shi Kong…”

“Hey! That’s unfair, you know that by that time that brat Aion had already…. Anyways, better late than never!”

“It’s precisely because I know what Aion did that I need to protect my precious girl from his spawn!”

“Fuxi don’t be so petty you old snake it's been more than 200 years!”

“Don't call me that you all hag!”

Just as the two elderly looking people were about to start fighting, Elder Saintess Nuwa floated gracefully to her husband’s side and pulled Fuxi close to her.

She then planted her gaze onto Chronos, “So this is the wonder boy who’s caused so much commotion these past few years…”

Her clear emerald eyes fixated upon Chronos as if she were scrutinizing his soul,

“Interesting …” she mumbled before she turned to look at her daughter Azure.

“You two would make a great match!” Elder Saintess Nuwa let out an entrancing smile.