My head... it aches...
What happened?
It feels as though my mind is engulfed in a chaotic, swirling fog, various fragmented thoughts swirling together, making it an almost impossible task to sift through and extract the clarity I need.
This state persisted for several minutes, until I finally regained a semblance of control over my thoughts.
Ah! Yes! I remember now! What happened before I lost consciousness—Xianxian and I were standing at the school gate, and a student from a prestigious school was bullying one of our classmates. Not wanting to cause trouble, we decided to leave quickly... and then?
I think I shot a hard stare at that arrogant rich kid, and the thought of teaching him a lesson crossed my mind.
And then...
Suddenly, everything rushed back into my mind. The voice of the mysterious "Zenith Remote Strike System" countdown seemed to echo again in my thoughts.
"Xianxian! Run!" I yelled as I bolted upright.
"Where am I...? This is... that dream?" I glanced around, only to see the familiar gray metallic structures from my dream, unmistakably confirming that, after losing consciousness, I had once again returned to this strange place.
I rubbed my forehead, looking around, only to realize that something felt off. It was... too dark.
I lifted my gaze...
The next moment, I felt my heart stop for a few beats!
The enormous metallic spheres in the sky had moved so close to the ground, almost within arm's reach! One of them now covered nearly half the sky, pressing down like another world, looming heavily over me. I could clearly see the intricate metal structure on its surface, with some areas resembling towering spires, others weapon launch silos, and more still looking like protruding communication devices. Numerous dark, cannon-like structures were densely packed together, while vast circular depressions dotted the surface—likely landing or energy-conversion platforms. This terrifying steel jungle slowly moved across the sky, silently conveying an overwhelming sense of impending doom to me below.
What... is this? This scene is far too sci-fi!
No matter how much I tried to complain in my mind, I couldn't change my fate—this floating fortress, resembling a miniature star, would soon crush me! It descended slowly, but my instincts told me it was still getting closer!
In this dream, my intuition was always remarkably accurate. Even now, I could feel, despite being in a dream, that whatever happened here would have a real-world impact.
What should I do? Run? Please. Do you have any idea how enormous this metal ball is? Its radius must exceed a thousand kilometers! Even if it descends slowly, it'll flatten me into nothing long before I could escape!
The only thing I can do now is to stay calm. Calm down! The ball is descending slowly, and it won't crush me right away. But I need to find a building to hide in—one strong enough to withstand this massive fortress that seems more like a small planet!
Finding such a place is probably impossible, better to run a thousand kilometers instead!
Wait, I think I've forgotten something...
Right! What about the other two metal spheres? Originally, there were three in the sky, but now I only see one. Could the others be hiding behind this one that's nearly touching the ground?
...What am I thinking? Two more metal fortresses? One's enough to flatten me; two will only make my demise more thorough...
But just as that thought flashed through my mind, a fleeting moment of clarity cut through the confusion. I remembered the voice that had sounded in my mind when the energy beam appeared at the school gate.
No matter what it was—supernatural phenomenon, superpowers—it seemed that I could, to some degree, influence that energy and the Zenith Strike System. Or perhaps it was that I activated it. One thing was certain: there was a connection between this dream world and the Zenith System. In other words, I could actually affect what happens in this dream world?
It must be true! After all, it's my dream, my domain—my will should shape the events within it!
I said this to myself, but I wasn't fully confident. At this point, I no longer saw this world as an ordinary strange dream. It had transcended the boundaries of a typical dream and had become something much more akin to a supernatural occurrence. Who knows if I'm still dreaming or if I've been consumed by some illusion, or even worse, struck by lightning and somehow transported to another world—though that's unlikely, since the writer promised not to write any time-travel stories.
I forced myself to calm down, focusing my mind, trying to control the massive celestial fortress that would bring my doom.
It was difficult. I had no idea where to start. After all, there's no class on controlling planetary fortresses...
All I could do was repeat the thought in my mind, urging the immense ball to retreat from the ground.
Minutes passed, but there was no sign of change. The oppressive silence was only broken by my increasingly labored breaths. The massive fortress continued its descent, and what had once been vague metallic protrusions were now clearly visible.
But just as I was about to give up, a sensation surged from the depths of my consciousness, as though something had been connected.
Yes!
A burst of joy filled my mind, but the connection was interrupted by my emotional excitement.
"Focus, focus!" I mentally repeated, suppressing my thoughts and concentrating all my attention on the task at hand, attempting to convey my thoughts as precisely as possible.
I don't know how much time passed, but finally, a mechanical voice rang out in the depths of my mind:
"Receiving external command set... Permissions confirmed... Analyzing vague commands... Warning: The instructions you submitted will alter the operational form of the World Arbitration Authority. Please confirm you have sufficient permissions... Confirming once more... Gaia, World Arbitration Authority, altering trajectory..."
As the mechanical voice faded, a low rumble emanated from the giant sphere in the sky, and it began to slowly rise. The moment it did, the quiet world suddenly erupted in a cataclysmic transformation!
The voice that always echoed when I left this world sounded again, but this time it was tinged with a note of joy: "Found it..."
And then, the monotone world was suddenly filled with color!
The ashen sky lit up like a bright screen, quickly donning a deep blue hue that was nothing like the steel world it had once been—a purity more beautiful than any sky I had seen. The distant mountains, once blurred, were quickly covered in green, and the air was filled with a vibrant, life-affirming energy that could be felt from miles away. Around me, the cold metallic buildings regained vitality, faint blue halos forming on their surfaces, and lights began to blink on, one by one, starting from my position like fireworks blossoming in the sky. The massive fortress-like sphere also changed. A flood of blue and white light surged across its surface, the metal channels shimmering as if the entire sky fortress were pulsing with a mysterious and awe-inspiring beauty.
In just a few seconds, the once lifeless place transformed into a vibrant, magical world. The breathtaking beauty of nature and the surreal sights of the future blended seamlessly, creating a scene that could only be described as magnificent. I stood frozen in this transformed metal city, nearly forgetting to breathe.
"What... is this..." I murmured.
A beautiful, yet emotionless, female voice suddenly rang in my ear: "This is the oldest and most powerful civilization in this meta-realm, the Dark Soul Empire, which once ruled the universe through magical technology."
The sudden voice startled me, and I instinctively jumped to the side, only to turn and find the "person" standing next to me.
A translucent, light blue girl was floating there, her gaze unfocused but turned toward me.
A ghost? Or a hologram?
From the course of events, I believed it was the latter...
"Hello," I said with a strange expression (hopefully, despite my contorted face, it looked like a smile), "I'm CJ. Um... what's going on?"
"Hello," the girl bowed to me, then spoke, "I am Gaia, the Second Machine of the World Arbitration Authority. It's a pleasure to meet you, Emperor."