Volume 1 – Chapter 1: Genesis Rising
The city of Novaria glowed like a jewel of steel and glass, its towers lit by neon veins and digital streams flowing across the skyline. Hovercrafts drifted between skyscrapers, their engines humming like a restless swarm. Below, people bustled through wide avenues, eyes glued to holographic displays. It was a world that had traded nature for technology, peace for progress.
And at the center of it all stood Life-Tech Tower—a monument of silver spires piercing the clouds.
Inside its walls, the future of humanity was being written.
Blake "Bill" Hardstone strode through the gleaming corridors, silver hair catching the light, emerald eyes sharp yet calm. Engineers and soldiers alike straightened as he passed, their respect palpable. Bill's mind was an enigma to them—an IQ that broke the scale, a will tempered like steel. To the world, he was a genius. To his closest friends, he was more than that.
"Do you ever rest, Bill?"
The teasing voice belonged to Aria Solenne, her black hair swaying as she caught up to him. Her amber eyes glowed with warmth, though her soldier's stance never wavered.
Bill chuckled. "Rest? My brain only schedules coffee breaks."
"Typical." Aria rolled her eyes but smiled despite herself.
"Careful, one day it'll fry," another voice cut in. Tillian "Tim" Timothy walked at Bill's other side—taller, broader, blue hair tousled, his sharp gazelle-like eyes scanning everything. "Then who saves us?"
Bill flashed a mock serious look. "That's why I keep you around, Tim. For your fists and your good looks."
Tim smirked. "Finally, someone admits it."
Aria laughed, and for a moment the three of them—genius, warrior, and tactician—felt less like the government's elite unit and more like a family.
They were Hyperforce.
Far from Life-Tech's brilliance, in the dark heart of the Federation's war room, another man seethed.
President Ronald Max Hogan leaned over a polished desk, fists clenched. His steel-gray eyes were fixed on a hologram of Hyperforce rescuing civilians from a collapsed mag-rail station. Officers applauded the operation, but Hogan's lip curled in disgust.
"Heroes," he spat. "The people cheer for Blake Hardstone as if he's their savior."
"Sir," an officer hesitated, "Life-Tech has stabilized the districts. Without them—"
"Without them, they'd cheer for me." Hogan's voice was venom. He slammed the desk, shattering the projection. "That boy thinks he can play god with his machines. But power belongs to those who rule, not those who invent."
Alone, his voice dropped to a growl. "One day, I'll strip everything from him—his empire, his soldiers, even his friends. Then the world will see who truly leads."
And in that silence, a faint whisper rippled through the circuits.Yes… your hatred will serve me well.
Hogan shivered but dismissed it, unaware that something beyond humanity had taken notice.
That evening, in the Hyperforce Training Arena, drones whirred into formation. Bill stood in his prototype armor, emerald eyes glowing as his HUD lit up.
"East flank," he ordered calmly. "Aria, protect the civilians. Tim, don't hold back."
"Finally!" Tim cracked his knuckles as he lunged forward, smashing a drone with a single blow.
Aria vaulted over two attackers, sweeping their legs and disarming them with precision. "Cover me, Bill!"
"Already on it." Bill tapped his gauntlet, sending a pulse that froze a cluster of drones mid-air. "Brains, brawn, and brilliance. Works every time."
Tim grinned mid-punch. "That better be me as the brawn."
"Please," Aria shot back, "you're just reckless muscle with pretty eyes."
The laughter between blows said more than words—their synergy was perfect. But in the shadows of the system, Hogan's corrupted code pulsed, waiting for its chance.
The drones fell. Civilians cheered. Hyperforce stood victorious under the neon lights.
But as Bill gazed across the city, emerald eyes reflecting the skyline, a faint unease stirred in him. He didn't hear the whisper that brushed against Tim's mind:
Why fight for him, when everything you want belongs to Bill?
Tim froze for a heartbeat, shaking his head to clear it.
Bill clapped his shoulder. "Good work, Tim."
Tim forced a smile. "Yeah… always."
Aria's amber eyes lingered on both of them. She didn't see the flicker of darkness curling at the edges of Tim's gaze.
Later, on the balcony of Life-Tech Tower, Bill leaned on the railing, city lights sprawling before him. Aria joined quietly, her voice soft.
"Do you ever think about what this costs you?"
Bill smiled, though his emerald eyes glimmered with something deeper. "The cost doesn't matter. As long as you and Tim are safe, I'll pay it all."
In the shadows below, Tim clenched his fists, gazelle eyes narrowed as a whisper echoed again.He has your place. He has your strength. He has her.
And so, the first cracks appeared in the unbreakable trio.
The genesis of ruin had begun.