Chapter 153: The countdown till the summoner’s plan

Chapter 153: The countdown till the summoner’s plan The mighty ship—colossal in its build, large enough to accommodate over eight hundred souls—slowly ascended from the surface of the small green planet. Its engines rumbled low, echoing like a distant storm, and the tremor shook through the air as it pierced the planet’s atmosphere, leaving behind a trail of scorched air and trailing energy. It soared higher, cutting through the final layers of cloud and sky until it breached the edge of space. As it gained distance, putting more and more void between itself and the planet, something deeply unnatural began to occur. The green planet behind them—lush, vibrant, and mysterious just moments ago—began to pulse. A great throb, as though the world itself were being compressed by colossal unseen hands, rippled through its form. Then, without warning, a wave of pure blackness surged across it. A shadow... vast and swallowing. The darkness consumed the world, not as a blanket or a nightfall, but as an absolute erasure. And then, something worse happened. The planet began to shrink. The titanic sphere of life and horror compressed inward, as though reality itself could not hold it any longer. The shadow curled and tightened around it, collapsing it down in on itself like a dying star. It kept shrinking, shrinking, until it was no larger than a ball—something so small, a human could hold it in their palm. And in the next instant... it was gone. Vanished. As though it had never existed. The blackness dispersed, and in its place was only the cold, vast canvas of space. From within the spaceship, the passengers stood frozen. They stared in disbelief through the wide, transparent glass wall facing the spot where the planet had just been. No one moved. No one spoke. Expressions were etched with silent horror, fear, disbelief. Some had their mouths slightly ajar, others gripped the rails or walls for stability—not because the ship shook, but because their hearts did. The phenomenon they had just witnessed felt like the very laws of existence had been tampered with. It was too enormous to understand. Too terrifying to face. Silver stood near the wall, still and quiet. Her arms wrapped around herself tightly, as though her body instinctively knew she needed protection. But there was no protection anymore—not from what she had seen, not from what she had felt. Something deeper than fear had settled in her chest. A primal dread. She tried to suppress it. Swallowed hard. Inhaled. Exhaled. But her body refused to lie to itself. Her gaze slowly shifted to the man sitting beside her on the floor—Fex. His knees drawn close, hands resting over them. She looked to him instinctively, as if hoping his expression would offer her comfort, or perhaps reassurance. Anything. But all she found... was emptiness. His eyes were locked ahead. Cold. Lifeless. A senile glare, vacant of emotion but overflowing with quiet rage and sorrow. The hatred buried in his heart leaked through his expression. And in that moment, Silver’s breath hitched. She knew that look. She had seen it before, long ago. And it frightened her more than anything else. Then her eyes drifted to Lloyd. He stood straight, composed in appearance, though the tremble in his jaw betrayed otherwise. His hand rested firmly on the hilt of his blade—always the protector. His expression was unreadable, stoic, but behind it lay a hollowness... a numbness that gripped even him. He exhaled a quiet breath, almost like a sigh carried by exhaustion. Then he spoke. "How do you feel." His voice broke the silence, dry and low, yet startling. It was the first sound uttered since the event had occurred. The other military officers around turned their heads, surprised, some shocked that he could still form words. The silence returned, stretching, and Silver found herself unable to respond. She had forgotten he even spoke to her. Her mind was lost somewhere else, far away—still stuck in that place. It was only when Lloyd cleared his throat and raised an eyebrow, giving her a sharp, expectant look, that her thoughts returned to the present. Her eyes fell toward the ground. "I’m scared," she whispered. Her hands rose slowly to her face, fingers trembling as they curled around her own eyes, as though she wanted to tear them out. "My eyes... I can’t unsee all I saw." Lloyd’s frown deepened. "I feel the same," he said, voice now filled with conviction. "That place... it should be destroyed. Because the horrors there... no one should carry that in their memories." Silver nodded weakly. Tears began to spill from her eyes, streaming down her cheeks. She was always the softer one, gentle and sheltered. And for good reason. If Lloyd remembered correctly, she was the younger sister of High General Shia Vantress. Her sister had done everything in her power to shield her from the battlefield’s darkest sides. But this mission... this mission had left her exposed. Vulnerable. And now, she was breaking. "I can feel my skin crawling," Silver said, her voice cracking. "My arms... they’re heavy... my body..." She looked up, tears clouding her eyes. "I want to end my—" Before she could finish the sentence, Lloyd moved. Swift as a shadow, he closed the distance between them and struck her with the side of his palm. The blow was precise, gentle enough not to injure, but strong enough to knock her unconscious. She collapsed in his arms, limp. The other summoners tensed, startled. Hands moved toward weapons. But Lloyd was quicker to explain. "She can’t take it," he said firmly, kneeling beside her. "So I’ll help her erase the memories." He pulled out a strange white device from his satchel. It looked like an injector—slim, smooth, and cold—though it lacked the piercing needle typical of syringes. "Please," Lloyd said, turning to the others. "Help me with your memory warpers." There was hesitation. A pause. But one by one, they began to step forward, handing him their identical devices. Soon, he had at least fifteen. It would be enough. The Memory Warpo was a forbidden invention—one developed in secret by a radical genius. It had one function: to erase memory in chunks. Each device could eliminate a day’s worth of experiences from a mind. With fifteen, Lloyd could wipe away the last fifteen days. Enough to make her sane again. Enough to remove the images of the green planet from her heart. He worked quickly, pressing the first tube to Silver’s skin, watching as a faint pulse of white shimmered from it. The others watched in silence, none objecting now. They understood. Lloyd’s jaw clenched tightly as his hand trembled. ’That Ravin...’ his mind seethed. ’I’ll make sure he pays for this.’ The memory burned fresh in him. A different military instructor had appeared weeks ago, ordering an emergency mission to intercept a wave of comets heading for Earth. It had seemed routine. They boarded the ship, bracing for high-atmosphere combat. But they never reached the comets. Instead... they appeared on that green planet. And on that planet... they found hell. They witnessed things no one should see. Heard sounds that defied sanity. Faced entities that were more nightmare than flesh. Now the planet was gone. But the damage was not. Inside, Lloyd could still feel the weight of those fifteen days... crawling under his skin. Buried in his bones. --- General Albert sat in his office, his cold, calculating eyes fixed on the surface of his work table. As the Head General, he didn’t have as much paperwork as most believed—his rank spared him from such tedium. Yet, Albert insisted on reviewing every document, every transaction, every detail that passed through the academy. It wasn’t about control. It was about vision. His plan for the academy was already in motion. A plan far beyond simple military reforms or standardized exams. He wasn’t interested in merely shaping disciplined soldiers—he intended to forge weapons. With the final test approaching at the end of the week, everything was perfectly timed. He would separate the strong from the weak. The unworthy would perish in silence, and those who survived would emerge stronger, forged in fire. It wasn’t for their protection—no, not in the slightest. It was because he needed them for something greater. Because Albert was preparing for the next war. His plan was simple... terrifyingly so. He rose from his seat, a pen spinning effortlessly between his fingers as he walked toward the balcony of his office. The door slid open with a low mechanical hiss, and he stepped out into the quiet of dusk. From this height, the entire academy stretched out before him—pristine buildings bathed in gold from the setting sun, bordered by massive, iron-clad walls. He watched it all in silence. His mind drifted. Slowly. Painfully. Back to the cold truths of war. The attack on Titanfang had been overlooked by the very people who called themselves protectors of the realm. ’The more I go higher in the ranks, the more I realize how broken the system is... All these motherfuckers confuse peace with obligations. What else would one expect? A single moment to rest, that single moment a man says he just wants to take a minute... it’s enough for his entire life to go to ruins. How incompetent.’ His eyes narrowed as they scanned the distant silhouette of Titanfang. His jaw clenched. That was why he had chosen a different path. He was going to raise the students to become Grade Two Summoners. They would be strong enough to defeat low-grade Nyxaris without backup. No mercy, no excuses. Then... he would test the device Ravin had given him. If it worked even half as perfectly as Ravin claimed, then Albert wouldn’t just rise to the top of the military. He would ascend beyond that. He would rule Earth itself. He kept twirling the pen, lost in thought—until it finally slipped through his fingers and clattered to the floor. The sound snapped him back to the present. He blinked. Realized he had been standing motionless for far too long. ’The age... my age! My rule and my freedom—it will soon be upon us. In less than a month.’