Sector 99 – Middle Region — Three Years Later—

"..." Aro slowly inserted his soul sense into a small metallic card resting between his fingers. For three long seconds, the room fell into a tense silence as his aura flickered faintly, scanning the contents again and again—once, twice, thrice—like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

Then, all at once, his composure shattered. He rose to his feet with violent force and hurled the card forward as if it were a spear. The metal shard cut through the air, slammed into the thick wall of his chamber, and buried itself deep within. His chest heaved once—twice—and then he roared at the top of his lungs,

"FUUUUUUUUUUUCKKKK!!!"

Flora startled at the outburst. "My dear, what happened?" She immediately placed aside the delicate ornaments she’d been arranging and stood up. It was rare—almost unheard of—for her husband to lose control like this.

"It’s that son of a bitc—arrrgh!" Aro stopped himself mid-curse as the awareness of his wife’s presence hit him. Grinding his teeth, he kicked the nearby table holding their hot drinks, sending it crashing into splinters. Steam and shards scattered across the floor as he growled,

"It’sCaesar!That insufferable bastard drives me mad!He drives me absolutely insane!!"

Flora blinked, her tone caught between confusion and concern. "What did he do this time? You haven’t seen him forcenturies.There’s no communication between you two at all. Why does he still occupy your thoughts this much?"

"Who else am I supposed to measure myself against, Flora? His Majesty?" Aro scoffed, pacing restlessly. "He’s beyond comparison—an unreachable existence. Or should I compare myself to that plague,Sakar?I’d be thankful if that creature doesn’t end up erasing us all one day."

He moved again, his robe parting slightly as his powerful physique flexed beneath. "The truth is—no one matches me in strength or status except Caesar. But unfortunately..." he stopped, glaring at the floor with burning resentment, "...hisluckeclipses mine by light-years!"

"Hisluck?" Flora narrowed her eyes, curiosity tinged with disbelief.

"Yes! Haven’t you been keeping up with what’s been happening?" Aro snapped his fingers in agitation. "First, he securedRenarabecause of those internal issues they had. Then, when I finally thought I’d reclaimed my position as the true spearhead and was ready to challenge him fairly—what happens? TheEmpress of the Pit of Destructionherself starts working for him! She even slaughteredNexus Stateson his behalf! You remember her, right? The one who nearly annihilated us all on the coronation day?"

His expression darkened as he turned sharply toward her.

"That woman nearly wiped our entire faction from existence if not for His Majesty’s golden shard. Yet somehow—somehow!—she went to Caesarwillinglyand now serves under him. So now that damn man hastwo spearheads!Two!"

Flora let out a slow sigh. "All of this, yes, I know. You’ve told me again and again. What made you recall all that now?" She stepped closer and gently laid her hand on his arm, trying to calm him.

"It’s because of what’s happening inMiddle Sector 100!" Aro shoved her hand away, his aura flaring violently as sparks of energy flickered around his shoulders.

"Many of the powers there have fallen into complete dormancy. Many of the factions there have split into two camps—those who support and those who oppose theCrumbled Dreams Empirein the neighboringMiddle Sector 101.Armies have been sent across sectors, either to aid or to destroy. The rest have locked themselves behind their planetary barriers, terrified of the cosmic war that’s already tearing through that region."

He slammed his palm down onto the edge of the bed with a thunderousBAM!that echoed through the chamber.

"And now—now!—theShadow Swordshave provided theCentennial Cradle Empirewith a comprehensive list of every power that took part in the war against theCrumbled Dreams Empire.They handed it over on a silver platter! Can you imagine? They’ve basically done all the hard work for Caesar! He doesn’t even need to mobilize his full army against them!"

Aro clenched his jaw, his expression twisted in fury. "At this very moment, Caesar and his allies are systematically dismantling those weakened powers one after another while their main forces are still away. All he has to do is sendRenaraorHelenwith minimal reinforcements to crush their Planetary Emperor, then dispatch a fleet or two to clean up the remaining planets—and just like that, he expands his empire effortlessly!"

He began pacing again, his heavy footsteps echoing off the marble floor, rage still burning behind every motion.

"And you know what’strulylaughable about it all?" he said, half-laughing through his anger. "At thesame time,those very armies are beingobliteratedinMiddle Sector 101by theCrumbled Dreams Empire!They’re being crushed with precision, with no chance to retreat—because theShadow Swordsare guiding them right into killing fields!"

He turned back toward her, his voice trembling with a mix of rage and disbelief.

"TheCrumbled Dreams Empiredoesn’t even realize they’re beingused!They think they’re fighting their own cosmic war—but in truth, theShadow Swordsare pulling their strings, using their hands to eliminate theCradle Centennial Empire’senemies. Every single time Caesar selects a target, theShadow Swordsdiscreetly lead theCrumbled Dreams Empireright to that army of that power to destroy them first!"

"...." Even Flora was left speechless for a few moments, her hands instinctively rising to cover her mouth. The weight of Aro’s words—and the fury that filled the air—hung heavily between them.

What in the heavens was happening right now in the neighboring Middle Sector 100?The thought sent a chill down her spine.

But after a few seconds of stunned silence, she took a deep breath, straightened her posture, and regained her usual calm composure. Her voice came out soft yet steady, carrying the wisdom of someone who’d learned to balance passion with reason.

"Aro... you know you can’t blame His Highness Caesar for all of this," she began carefully. "And you certainly can’t blame theShadow Swordseither, can you? They didn’t choose for the cosmic war to ignite inMiddle Sector 101.It’s not as if they conspired for this to benefit him. I’m certain—absolutely certain—they would’ve aidedusin exactly the same way if the war had broken out nearourborders in Sector 98."

"Iknowthat!" Aro snapped, his fists trembling at his sides. The air around him stirred faintly, responding to his spiritual frustration. "Iknowthey’re not at fault—but still..."

He turned sharply toward Flora, meeting her gaze with eyes that burned like twin storms. "Don’t you see it, Flora? Isn’t it obvious how ridiculously lucky he is?! Strategically, he’s no Sakaar—he could never match that monster’s cunning in battlefield! Politically, he’s not even nearmylevel! And yet somehow, every single time, he manages to achieve the same results—or worse, tooutperformus!"

Flora’s expression softened, a hint of amusement flickering in her eyes despite the tension. "You underestimate the man who has stood beside His Majesty for hisentire life,my dear."

She crossed her arms lightly. "His Highness Caesar himself once admitted that ever since that fateful day His Majesty found him, they’ve been inseparable. His Majesty personally taught him everything—how to read, how to write, how to lead, even how tothink.Tell me—how could someone live beside such a being andnotabsorb a few traits along the way?"

Aro froze mid-breath. For a brief instant, the world seemed to stop around him. Then, as realization dawned, his expression twisted into disbelief. His eyes widened, and he muttered through gritted teeth,

"Damn it...how did I not notice that before?! Even his damned bitch of a mother left him at His Majesty’s feet, of all people!"

"Hmm!!" Flora’s eyes narrowed sharply as she placed both hands on her hips, the tone of her voice taking on that familiar edge of disapproval that always managed to pierce through Aro’s temper.

"Tsk... spare me your ideals and morals for today, please!" he growled, waving his hand dismissively. "I’m not in the mood for them right now!"

He stormed toward his royal wardrobe—a towering structure of crystal and gold—and flung it open, revealing rows of luxurious garments. His fingers skimmed through the fabrics impatiently as he muttered under his breath,

"I swear it feels like I’m not racingagainst menanymore... but againstfate itself!Against something that keeps pushing me down no matter how hard I climb!"

"You’renotin a race against anyone!!" Flora shouted from behind, her voice echoing through the grand chamber. "You keep chasing phantoms of competition that only exist in your head!"

"I told you to spare me the sermons today!" Aro snapped back, raising his voice as he pulled out a magnificent blue robe adorned with shimmering silver patterns. The fabric caught the light like liquid starlight as he began changing his clothes.

"I’m the one responsible forreceiving the Seed!" he barked while tightening the robe’s clasp. "I’m the one entrusted with theBlack Waspsto accelerate my planetary expansion! How do you think it’ll look when the deadline arrives—and His Majesty discovers thatCaesar, has surpassed me in progress?!"

He paused, breathing heavily, then shouted in frustration,

"Damn it all!!"

Without waiting for a response, he resumed dressing, fastening each part of his attire with sharp, practiced motions. "That blasted war raging inMiddle Sector 101is going to give theCradle Centennial Empirean enormous boost," he continued bitterly. "At this rate, I wouldn’t even be surprised if Caesar’s expanding attwice—no,three times—the pace of my own territories!"

He fastened a broad belt of dark leather around his waist as the finishing touch, his movements brisk and impatient. Then, without another word, he stormed out of the room, his cloak flaring behind him like a shadow of his fury.

"I need to find a way tomatch his pace—no, tosurpass it!I refuse to fall behind any longer!"

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