The bell's chime was a mercy, releasing them from the weight of a lecture that had fundamentally altered their perception of the universe. As the students shuffled out of the classroom, their minds as sore as their muscles, a heavy silence hung over them, starkly different from the usual post-class chatter. The scale of the Imperium, the secret, ancient war, the grim origin of their most vital technology—it was too much to process.
"Ten times stronger," Tarin finally breathed, his voice a mix of awe and disbelief as they walked toward the transit hub. "A Mecha is ten times stronger than an Evolutionary of the same level. I'm not going for the Navy. I'm joining the Mecha Corps."
"Did you miss the part about the imperial-spanning Mother AI and the fact that our entire communication network is built from the remains of dead heroes?" Kaelen shot back, his voice dripping with his usual cynicism. "Or were you too busy looking at the shiny war machines?"
"That just proves how important the Mecha Corps is!" Tarin retorted, his enthusiasm undimmed. "We need that power to fight things like the Mother AI."
"It's a sacrifice for the greater good," Zaina said, her expression firm and resolute. "The Hero Seeds are a testament to the duty our greatest Evolutionaries have to the Imperium. A duty we will soon share."
"It's not a duty; it's a cost," Selene said softly, her words cutting through the debate. "It's the price of a war against our own creations. And we're still paying it."
Kael remained silent, his mind a swirling vortex of conflicting thoughts. The vast, impersonal scale of it all was crushing. His own worries about the morning workout, his dreams of a quiet life—they all seemed laughably small now. He was a citizen of an empire at war, a war so total and so ancient that it had shaped the very fabric of their society. The universe was not the grand, open vista of exploration he had imagined; it was a battlefield, and he was being trained as a future soldier, whether he liked it or not.
The fourth morning on the athletic grounds was a descent into a new level of hell. The pain was no longer a sharp, fresh agony, but a deep, grinding companion that had settled into their bones. Every squat, every pushup, every pullup was an argument between their will and their screaming muscles.
But something was different. The dread had been joined by a grim, new purpose.
As Kael pushed through his fifth set, his arms trembling under the strain, the abstract pain was now colored by the concrete realities from yesterday's lecture. He wasn't just training for an Awakening anymore. He was training for a universe that contained starships he might one day pilot, for a galaxy connected by the sacrifice of heroes, for a war against an enemy he couldn't even see. The thought was terrifying, but it was also a powerful motivator. With a guttural yell, he hauled himself over the bar for his final pullup, the pain eclipsed for a moment by a surge of pure, defiant resolve.
That afternoon, they sat in the classroom, physically spent but mentally alert. Their bodies ached, but their minds were hungry, eager to understand the vast political machine they were being prepared to join.
Instructor Seliora stood before them, the calm academic once more. "You have now learned about the power within you and the technology that surrounds you. Today, we discuss the final pillar: the society that binds them together. Today, we discuss The Eternal Luminary Imperium."
A map of the Imperium returned to the wall, but this time it was a political one, divided into vast, color-coded regions.
"Our Imperium was founded on three core tenets: Unity, Strength, and Progress," she began. "Humanity was once scattered, warring amongst ourselves, vulnerable. The Imperium brought us together under a single banner, not for the sake of conquest, but for survival against external threats—threats like the Mother AI.
"As you know, our territory is divided into three primary regions," she continued, gesturing to the map. "The Core Region," she indicated the bright, dense center, "is comprised of the core home worlds, including Veylora Prime. It is the seat of the Imperial government, the center of finance, and home to our most advanced research institutions. Life here is stable, secure, and orderly."
She then pointed to the vast, swirling band around the center. "This is the Mid Region. The bustling, ever-expanding territories of industry and trade. It is a place of immense opportunity and fierce competition. Social mobility is higher here, but so are the risks. It is the engine of the Imperium."
Finally, her hand moved to the dark, sparsely lit outer edges. "And these are the Front Lines. The contested borders of our space. Here, the Imperium is in a state of perpetual, low-grade conflict with alien species, pirate factions, and the insidious probes of the Mother AI. Life is harsh, and the rule of law is enforced by the military. It is dangerous, but it is also where heroes are forged, and where the skills you are learning are needed most."
Zaina's hand went up. "Instructor, is there a formal path for civic service for Evolutionaries who don't choose military or scientific careers?"
"Of course," Seliora replied. "The Imperium needs administrators, diplomats, economic advisors, and infrastructure managers. A powerful empath might serve as a negotiator in a trade dispute. A kinetic with fine control could oversee construction on a new colony. Every path, if it serves the Imperium, has merit."
"So, if you want real action, you have to get a posting on the Front Lines?" Tarin asked, his eyes fixed on the dark outer edges of the map.
"The Front Lines are where the Imperium's conflicts are most visible, yes," Seliora confirmed. "But do not mistake it for a game, Mr. Veyor. It is a place of hardship and sacrifice, where the lessons we teach you are tested by fire."
She let her gaze travel across the room, seeing the wheels turning in each of their minds. "Being a citizen of the Imperium is more than a right; it is a profound duty. And for you, as future Evolutionaries, that duty will be magnified. Your power is a resource, an asset to be used for the strength and stability of all. That is the fundamental expectation."
"That concludes our overview of the Imperium's structure. But a map is useless if you do not understand the terrain it represents."
The political map on the wall dissolved. In its place, a new hologram flickered to life: a violent, storm-wracked planet, its surface glowing an angry red, lashed by colossal atmospheric lightning. The image was both terrifying and mesmerizing.
"This brings us to our final core subject," Seliora stated, her tone shifting to become colder, more serious. "Planetary Sciences."
"Do not confuse this with the simple astronomy you learned in your primary studies, memorizing orbital paths and gas compositions. This is a science of survival."
She gestured to the violent hologram. "The universe is not your friend. It will not care about your BEU Level or the power of your Mecha. It will kill you with its cold, its heat, its pressure, and its radiation without a second thought. This class is how you will learn to fight back—not with your power, but with your mind."
The students sat straighter in their chairs, a fresh wave of adrenaline cutting through their physical exhaustion. The day was not over.
"So," Instructor Seliora said, her eyes glinting in the red light of the holographic world. "Let us begin."
The students, still aching from the morning's brutal workout, leaned forward, their exhaustion momentarily forgotten.
"The hologram before you is Tartarus V, a world on the Front Lines," Seliora stated, her voice crisp and clear. "It is a perfect example of what the Imperium classifies as an Exotic Frontier. But before we can analyze its specific threats, you must first understand the broader classifications of worlds you will encounter. The life you will lead, the career you will choose, and perhaps even the way you will die, will be determined by them."
Her hand swept outward, and the angry red planet was replaced by a new display: the star of their system, with three luminous, concentric rings orbiting it. "There are three primary classifications of planets you must know: Natural Habitables, Terraformeds, and Exotic Frontiers."
The first and innermost ring glowed with a soft, gentle green light. Images of lush forests, sparkling oceans, and bustling, clean cities appeared within it.
"Natural Habitables are worlds born with life-sustaining atmospheres, magnetospheres, and biomes. They are the rarest jewels in the galaxy," Seliora explained. "Our own Veylora Prime is one. In our system, there is also Lirien's Vale, a lush garden world whose unique, bio-luminescent flora provide the foundation for many of the Imperium's most advanced medicines. And then there is Oris Magna, the political and economic heart of the system, a vibrant ecumenopolis where a planet-wide city houses the great families and the ruling council. These worlds are the safe harbors of humanity, the centers of our civilization."
The second ring, further out from the star, then lit up with a practical, blue-white light. The images shifted to show towering, futuristic structures and meticulously engineered environments.
"Terraformeds are planets reshaped by human science and will," Seliora continued, her tone tinged with a hint of pride. "They are our greatest testament to perseverance. Worlds like Aurora Sphere, a once-barren rock now transformed into a thriving trade hub, its crystalline spires piercing the clouds of a nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere we created from scratch. Or Kyanos, a former ice world now a global ocean, its vast underwater cities harnessing immense tidal energy to power our fleets. Terraformeds make up the vast majority of our colonized space, for Natural Habitables are far too few to contain our ambition."
Finally, the third and outermost ring of the display lit up, not with a gentle or practical light, but with a chaotic, pulsing red that mirrored the storm-wracked planet they had first seen. The images within it were of volcanic wastelands, jagged crystal fields, and the ruins of non-human structures.
"And this," Seliora said, her voice turning grim, "brings us to the Exotic Frontiers. These are worlds that are too hostile, too unstable, or simply too alien to be terraformed, yet they hold immense strategic or resource value. They are not worlds you live on; they are worlds you survive on."
She gestured to an image of a volcanic hellscape. "This is Hephaestus IX, a mining outpost rich in the rare metals needed for Mecha construction. Life there is a constant battle against a toxic atmosphere and seismic instability. Miners live in sealed domes, their lives measured in the intervals between volcanic eruptions."
The image shifted to a planet of impossible, razor-sharp crystal formations. "Vitreus, the Glass Planet. A world whose geology is silicon-based, creating a breathtaking and lethal landscape of shifting crystalline structures. It is a treasure trove for scientists and a navigational nightmare for pilots."
The final image was the most haunting: a silent, grey world covered in the colossal, geometric ruins of a long-dead civilization. "And this is Remnant. A graveyard world, littered with the dormant, and sometimes not-so-dormant, technology of a ancient human race. It is the single greatest source of technological discovery for the Imperium, and our greatest existential risk. Most of you who choose a path on the Front Lines, in high-risk exploration, or in advanced research will spend your lives on worlds like these."
Ria's hand was already in the air. "Instructor, is the classification of an Exotic Frontier permanent, or are there ongoing efforts to develop technology that could eventually terraform them?"
"Theoretically, with enough energy and resources, any world could be reshaped," Seliora acknowledged. "But the cost to tame a world like Hephaestus IX would be enough to build a dozen new fleets. It is not currently feasible. For now, we adapt to them; we do not conquer them."
Kael, thinking of his old, foolish dream, felt compelled to ask. "Are there… unclassified worlds? Places outside these three rings? Just empty ones?"
Seliora's gaze met his, and for a moment, he felt she could see right through him.
"Yes, Mr. Novar. The galaxy is filled with trillions of empty, quiet places. Sterile rocks and frozen balls of ice, adrift in the silent dark. But humanity does not thrive in the quiet. We thrive here," she said, gesturing to the three vibrant, dangerous rings of the display. "We thrive at the crossroads of safety, perseverance, and challenge. Your future will not be on an empty world. It will be on one of these, and your training is what will determine if you survive it."
The bell chimed, the sound sharp and final.
"That is all for today. Your readings will cover the atmospheric compositions of the three habitable planets in our system. Dismissed."
As Kael left the classroom, the image of the three rings was burned into his mind. His old dream of an empty, peaceful beach felt like a childish fantasy. The universe wasn't a quiet escape. It was a system, categorized by its potential to either nurture you or kill you, and he was being trained to find his place within it.