Everyone in the office shook. As the sky suddenly darkened, stars scattered across the void like shards of crystal.
"What does the celestial have to do with capturing fragments of past lives?"
"A coincidence?"
"Terra has been unstable in recent years."
"Last month, a region known for its endless floods suddenly suffered a drought, and the crops withered overnight."
"I don't know what the Supreme Court has planned, but I could feel the weight of their interference."
Experts strayed off-topic, but the director, staring out the window, looked grim. The pace of Terra's decline had accelerated. He knew it, and so did a few others, that was the real danger. If the truth were to reach the public, it would threaten the survival of billions of people on Earth. Panic would be inevitable.
"Creation of new elements… could it truly trigger a vision?" He refused to believe it, though the scene in the skies gnawed at him.
Then the vision shifted. Second picture: A sound like waves crashing echoed in everyone's ears as a colossal full moon rose into the shroud of night. Its silver radiance spilled down, bathing a sea of nothingness beneath the void.
Third picture: The darkness shattered into brilliance. Clouds of every hue rolled and twisted, splitting apart in dazzling harmony before drifting to stillness.
Then silence.
Cameras everywhere clicked, desperate to seize the impossible. To those watching, it felt like ten endless days, as a trance overtook them.
The majestic vision left the entire population of Terra stunned, their thoughts scattered. Three images etched themselves deeply into the collective memory. Everyone realized that this was no ordinary weather shift; some unfathomable power had stirred.
And the unknown is always terrifying. Beyond the "new element," one phrase surged across the networks more than any other: The vision of the universe.
Screenshots of the three scenes spread like wildfire. People even set them as screensavers, marveling at their beauty. Major forums, social groups, and streams erupted in debate.
"It was startling just now, I thought the world was ending!"
"Believe in science. Trust the Commonwealth."
"I can't shake the feeling that something worse is coming."
"Wait for the announcement."
"Watching this stream feels pointless now."
"The sky may fall, but there are still giants to hold it up."
"It did create a new element."
Inside a luxury suite, Elenora stared at the projection of Tanner's past life, dazed. New elements. New Ark reactors. The power of the suit would be magnified to an extent that would be beyond recognition.
"If this method of forging new elements falls into the hands of the owner," She murmured, "Wouldn't they surpass me?"
Her past-life capture had granted her strength. After seizing the reward, she had harnessed formidable power. But compared to a perfected suit, it seemed frail. Her hand clenched into a fist, shadows crossing her expression.
Beneath the super-body helmet, Tanner's eyes narrowed. Just for a heartbeat, he wondered if it was an illusion. His thoughts felt sharper and his reflexes keener.
"Is this… a reward from the Network?" He couldn't be certain, but one change was undeniable.
The manufacturing process of the suit, every technique, every detail, had crystallized in his mind. What had been half-understood moments before now flowed with clarity. His hands would no longer fumble; they would create.
As the tally of rewards climbed in the background, Tanner felt the pull of a brighter future beckoning him forward.
At a rural school in the northern Commonwealth, a lone middle-aged man lay in the courtyard, gazing up at the vision lingering in the heavens.
"This vision… could it truly be tied to him? Did the creation of new elements resonate with the Network?" Gage Noël's eyes flickered with astonishment.
He was no ordinary man. Though he looked middle-aged, his true age had surpassed a century. A quirk of fate had once granted him the ability to delay aging, leaving his appearance frozen in time. More than that, he was the record-holder for the most successful captures of past lives.
Awakening again and again, he carried memories few others could comprehend. Yet he chose to remain here, living quietly as a volunteer teacher in a remote village.
"Back then, they called me a genius," He chuckled, shaking his head.
With that, he turned away from the mystery above, and the sky brightened once more. He had lessons to prepare.
The vision faded, but the hearts of Terra's citizens remained unsettled. A sudden night filled with stars? No one believed it was natural. Speculation spread like fire. News feeds, trending searches, and headline banners all pulsed with the three celestial patterns. Interpretations multiplied wildly.
Meanwhile, the audience in Tanner's stream only swelled, climbing past 36 million.
"How powerful is this new element supposed to be?"
"That Ivan is unbearable!"
"So many suits! Huge ones too! Ivan is the real villain here!"
"Tony! Get in there and finish him!"
The visions of past lives flared brighter on-screen, weaving cause and effect together.
[ Hammer's arms exhibition was in full swing. ]
[ Hammer stood proudly at the podium. "That's right, welcome everyone. For too long, our nation has sent brave soldiers into danger. Then Iron Man appeared, and suddenly, lives were spared. But he hoards his technology. It's unfair, unjust, a tragedy. And yet… undeniably, it was a miracle. But today, my friends, the newspapers won't have enough ink to cover this. Today, I present the future of our military!" ]
[ "Hammer Iron Soldier!" From the stage, rows of towering armors rose with mechanical precision. ]
Chaos erupted in the chat.
"Get lost!"
"Tony's designs, why should they be yours?"
"Give him back everything!"
"Idiot, pretending to play god!"
[ Hammer unveiled each suit squadron. Even Colonel Rhodey appeared onstage in the Mark 2 War Machine, representing the military platform. Then Tony streaked from the sky, descending in his crimson suit toward Rhodey. ]
[ "Rhody, Ivan's behind these suits!"]
[ Roddy's eyes widened. "Ivan?" ]
[ Suddenly, numbers cascaded across his visor. His machine gun locked up; he couldn't control the suit. "Tony, it's forcing me, I can't stop it!" ]
[ Tony's thrusters roared as he shot upward, "Take this outside! There are civilians here!" ]
[ The swarm of Hammer suits ignited, their thrusters blazing as they pursued Tony into the night sky. The arena dissolved into panic. Their numbers were overwhelming. Even the War Machine was enslaved to Ivan's control, hounding Tony mercilessly. ]
[Tony darted like a bolt of red lightning, twisting through obstacles, striking down suits one by one. But the swarm pressed closer, driving him toward the city's colossal globe.]
[ Only with Rhodey's eventual release did the battle tilt. Outnumbered and surrounded, the two barely held their ground until Tony roared: "Get down!" ]
[ Panels snapped open on his wrists. Twin red lasers blazed forth, spinning in his hands, sweeping the battlefield with ruthless precision. In seconds, Hammer's army of suits was cleaved apart. ]
"F*ck! That's insane, the Ark Reactor with the new element is a monster!"
"That laser cut through them like paper, ten times stronger than his old one!"
"Wasn't that the same proton flow from when the new element was first born?"
"Agility, firepower, everything's evolved!"
"Tony's a one-man demolition squad!"
The crowd was stunned. The suit's new power shattered every expectation. At the Norland R&D base, Guerino watched the broadcast in equal parts envy and awe. So close, yet unreachable.
"This… this may only be the surface. The power of the new element is still just the tip of the iceberg."He sighed heavily.
And in the chambers of the Supreme Court, the sigh was echoed. Once four elders sat in judgment, now seven. Nearly half of the thirteen had gathered.