Chapter 74: A Glimpse Of Ruin Part Three

Genesis’s expression became more serious.

?The Iron Angels were deployed into an environment containing an overwhelming number of hostile Teathlings. Their forces were severely outmatched, and there was no visible senior officer present to intervene.?

Arthur’s fingers tightened slightly against the edge of the bed.

"Which means something went wrong."

?Extremely wrong.?

Arthur was silent for a moment.

Genesis continued.

?There are two primary possibilities. The cadets may have been suddenly transported from an area under safe surveillance into dangerous territory. Alternatively, they may have been assigned a mission whose difficulty was severely underestimated.?

Arthur thought about it.

"The second possibility doesn’t sound very likely."

?I agree.?

Arthur looked at her.

"Because of the Academy?"

?Yes. The Imperial Academy routinely places cadets in dangerous situations, but its training exercises are still structured around controlled risk. A mission involving an overwhelming number of hostile creatures with no superior officers present would represent an unusually severe failure in judgment.?

Genesis paused.

?Therefore, an unexpected change in circumstances is somewhat more likely.?

Arthur’s expression became darker.

"Then what happened after the battle?"

Genesis looked at him.

?That is where the circumstances become significantly more concerning.?

A holographic reconstruction of the metallic chamber appeared between them.

?You were restrained inside a specialized chamber. Your Neural Link was connected directly to a large machine, and an Imperial officer informed you that you had been deemed a dangerous threat to the Empire.?

Arthur’s jaw tightened.

"Meaning the Academy investigated me."

?More accurately, the Imperial authorities investigated you following the incident.?

Arthur stared at the holographic chamber.

"But why me?"

?That is currently unknown. However, several details provide a possible explanation.?

Genesis raised another hand.

?You appeared physically unharmed when you found yourself in the chamber.?

Arthur nodded slowly.

"I noticed that too."

?If the deployment resulted in a catastrophic loss of personnel, yet you were found alive and apparently unharmed, your survival would naturally attract attention.?

Arthur’s expression hardened.

"So I might have been the only survivor."

?That is one possibility.?

She paused.

?If you were the only surviving member of the deployment, the authorities would have had considerably more reason to investigate your circumstances.?

Arthur looked down at his hands.

"And if they were already suspicious of me..."

?Then the tragedy would provide them with a reason to investigate you more thoroughly.?

Arthur’s eyes narrowed.

"Which means they probably didn’t simply bring me there because I survived."

?Correct.?

Genesis’s voice remained calm.

?If the authorities had no prior reason to suspect you, there would be little justification for treating you as a dangerous threat immediately following an incident involving numerous other cadets and personnel.?

Arthur slowly leaned back.

"So they were already watching me."

?That is possible.?

A short silence followed.

Arthur stared at the floor.

The vision had shown an entire group of Iron Angels being slaughtered.

It had shown Lyra dead.

And then it had shown the Empire turning against him.

He rubbed his forehead.

"...That’s a lot to process."

Genesis floated quietly beside him.

?I agree, Master.?

?Would you like me to continue analyzing the remaining information from the vision??

Arthur stared at the report.

"Yes."

His expression hardened.

"But don’t tell me anything unless you think it’s actually useful."

?Understood, Master.?

?There is one additional problem.?

Arthur looked toward her.

"What is it?"

?I have been unable to determine the exact location of the planet from the information contained within the vision.?

Arthur frowned.

"Nothing?"

?Not yet. However, I was able to identify several constellations visible in the sky during the vision.?

Arthur’s expression became slightly more interested.

"Constellations?"

?Yes. If I cross-reference their positions and configurations against the known stellar data available to us, I may be able to narrow down the star system in which the events occurred.?

"So we could figure out where it happens."

?Potentially. With enough matching data, we may even be able to triangulate the approximate location of the planet within its system.?

Arthur nodded slowly.

"Then do it."

?I will require some time to cross-reference the—?

?I can triangulate the stars.?

Genesis stopped.

Arthur blinked.

He and Genesis both turned toward Eclipsion.

The mechanical eye hovered beside them, its star-shaped frame rotating slowly.

Arthur stared at it for a moment.

"...You can?"

?Affirmative. I can calculate stellar positions and triangulate their relative locations.?

Arthur raised an eyebrow.

"Since when?"

?Since I was created.?

Arthur stared at Eclipsion.

Genesis stared at Eclipsion too.

Neither of them spoke for several seconds. The thought of an assistant that was originally meant to basically be a bodyguard being capable of astral calculations seemed rather odd, but then again, it wasn’t outside the realm of possibilities given his name and the nature of his abilities.

Eclipsion’s mechanical eye rotated slightly.

?Is there a problem??

Arthur rubbed his forehead.

"No. Never mind."

He looked toward Genesis.

"Just give him the information."

Genesis hesitated.

?Master, I was already in the process of conducting the analysis myself.?

"I know."

Arthur glanced at Eclipsion.

"But if he can do it faster, let him."

Genesis remained silent for a moment before finally agreeing.

?Understood.?

A series of holographic windows appeared around her.

?Transferring astronomical data to Eclipsion.?

The information rapidly flowed across the space between the two AIs.

Constellation patterns.

Star positions.

Relative angles.

Visible celestial bodies.

Everything Genesis had managed to extract from the vision was transferred to Eclipsion.

For a few seconds, Eclipsion remained completely still.

Then its mechanical eye began rotating rapidly.

Several streams of data appeared around its star-shaped frame.

Arthur watched with growing curiosity.

"...That’s fast."

Genesis also stared at the calculations.

?Eclipsion is already processing the stellar data.?

Arthur raised an eyebrow.

"How long will it take?"

A moment later, a system window appeared.

?Stellar Triangulation Complete.?

Arthur blinked.

"...Already?"

Another window appeared.

?Most Probable Star System Identified.?

A three-dimensional star map materialized between them.

Several stars illuminated across the holographic display, forming the same configuration Arthur had seen in the vision.

Then a single star system became highlighted.

Eclipsion transmitted the calculated coordinates directly to Genesis.

Genesis’s eye widened slightly as she examined the information.

?...The accuracy is remarkably high.?

Arthur looked at her.

"How accurate?"

?Based on the available information, the calculated stellar position has an extremely low margin of error.?

Genesis continued analyzing the data.

?Eclipsion has successfully identified the most probable star system.?

Arthur’s expression became serious.

"Where?"

Genesis projected the coordinates before him.

?The tragedy you observed will most likely occur within the following star system.?

The holographic map expanded.

A single planetary body became highlighted.

?Target Planet Identified.?

Arthur stared at the planet.

For several seconds, he said nothing.

They now knew where it would happen.

Not exactly when.

Not exactly how.

Not exactly why.

But they had a location.

And that changed everything.

Arthur slowly clenched his fist.

"...So that’s where it happens."

?Affirmative, Master.?

His eyes remained fixed on the holographic planet.

This time, the future wasn’t just something he had witnessed.

It had a location.

And now that he knew where to look, he could prepare for it.