Chapter 310 - Interlude: Particles Flew

A waterdrop in the darkness. 

Her body shined with- no, her clothes illuminated the darkness around her. But there was nothing here. Nothing she could see. Almost like the darkness spread to infinity. 

Her feet touched the water below but she didn't sink; they didn't get wet either. 

Muffled.

"Sarol Xeroha Xemu, I, Lord Hermanshieer Pirmus officially appoint you as the 4838y7483th commander of Xanard. May you prosper."

The voice floated in the air. 

The girl couldn't see anything. It was the same darkness to her just as before.  'Couldn't these morons just have done this in a bit less cumbersome way?'

She knew the answer, but she still didn't like it. 

Last week, she decided to become a commander, so she could go fight the UM-23-13, but, the procedures to become a commander were much more complicated than she'd assumed at first. 

She had to give a physical exam and a written one. But that wasn't all. They had to insert a small chip in her brain directly to grant her access to certain things she otherwise wouldn't have had. 

And that wasn't even the hard part. 

Now she had to go through this thing. 

A ceremony of sorts.

And she wasn't allowed to wear proper clothes. What was the point of a flashy white cloth such as this?

Did the higher-ups just want to see her outline that badly, or something?

"Now go!" The voice commanded. "Bring glory to Xanard!"

'As though you own this damn planet…' the girl smiled faintly. "As you command your Holiness."

The girl- Xeroha held back the urge to laugh at the cringe-worthy conversation. 

But she just turned around and started walking. She didn't want to spend a second longer in this place- the very same place that deemed her family unfit to exist. 

The darkness gradually disappeared and moments later, she found herself out of the Central. 

A massive city- just below her feet. 

She was maybe a kilometer up, on a clear glass floor. Behind her was the central- a massive building with nine hundred and sixty-nine floors. Actually, she was still in its boundary.

And in front of her lay the black city, tall buildings, neon lights, and eternal night; no stars in the sky.

It'd been over a century since she last watched over the city like this; nothing changed. And her sentiment was the very same as the last time, 'This is pointless.'

Xanard- a free world. And its inhabitants the Xenes were free. They valued freedom and yet- they were stuck here in their home planet, despite the planet itself dying. 

Xanard's home star was in the process of dying but the Xenes refused to stop using the Stellar engine, even now. They refused to spread into the universe and colonize other planets. Instead, they were more focused on ridding themselves of the boredom. They were more focused on virtual reality than anything else. 

After all, it was so easy to make virtual reality- a heaven. So why would they spend pointless time making other world's hell, not so hellish? Besides they still had some million years left.

Some did worry about their future but as immortal beings with no offspring and biological need to procreate, they weren't that concerned about colonizing. 

The girl- Xeroha was no different. She too sought the pleasure and thrill of the battlefield. But unlike the rest of her kin, she was more worried about the UM-23-13 not being able to actually put up a fight than her planet and its inhabitants. in a virtual world she could just crank up the difficulty, out there though- she couldn't. 

She couldn't care less about the planet and all its problems. 

She just found the idea of going through all this crap just to get hooked to an advanced Link a bit absurd. But she had to agree, 'Finally-'

Xeroha stretched. "Initiate warp." Particles flew around her; visible red particles. "To the-"

Before she could finish, the particles spun violently, and she warped to her room. 

Once she got here- 'Shit.' Her eyes twitched as she smiled. she forgot to specify the location before actually starting. 

A rookie mistake. 

'Great start.'

At least she could now change into something better. 

***

The Xenes were a superior race compared to most other races of the universe. And a warrior race no less. They always sought thrill, adventure, and challenge. 

They'd modified their bodies to the extreme and cured aging; death was irreverent. 

They were quite capable when it came to combat, but since their numbers were more or less stagnant, they proposed a law to prevent the commanders from directly moving into the battlefield. Instead, the commanders would link up with capable soldiers and fight.

However, the law was revised and if a commander truly wished to head to battle, nothing was there to stop her. 

Xeroha made her way into the link room on a specific floor of the central; it was similar to her room but maybe triple in size. There were exactly nine billion Xenes on planet Xandar. And yet, not even a single soul was in sight. 

There were supposedly fifteen hundred of them in a kilometer radius and yet- not even one was here. 

Which was a good thing as Xeroha didn't really care much about the people.

"Commence link."

This was different from her usual links. 

For one, the link device was different. Much more powerful and definitely bulkier. 

Instead of putting it on, she had to put herself in it. 

The machine was similar to a sleeping pod of sorts. 'Almost like a grave…'

Everything melded into whiteness and transparent screens appeared before her. A nostalgic feeling. 

One thousand soldiers and one commanding vassal. She could see them all. They were connected to her. 

That was all she'd been given. It wasn't enough but- but she didn't care. 

'Time to put you to good use, Todd.'

The purple soldier- her soldier, was named Todd. The very same one she'd killed all those years ago. The same one who gave her so much thrill, so much pleasure. 

An armored giant. Horns, three eyes, and a very deep helmet. 

Her consciousness melded into the purple soldier and she could feel everything it felt. 

Excitement! All three of her hearts pumped blood. It'd been a long while since she last felt this… boiling excitement.

'Perfect!' She grinned. "Next stop, UM-23-13. Begin warp."

Particles flew.