[Volume 2] Chapter One: Sis Avasarala

White light streamed through the void as the creases of space rippled. Everything before their eyes twisted into shapes beyond description.

Then, in a sudden instant, everything returned to zero, and time began to flow once more.

The starship piloted by Su-Jin appeared in the darkness of space. She switched on the curvature engine, and the starship leaped forward, arriving at a new set of coordinates.

World Alpha-NINE-A-876523, Akashara Stellar Empire.

This was a super-empire that had existed for hundreds of thousands of years, with colonies spread across countless galaxies. It was the undisputed hegemon of its world—a technologically advanced, economically prosperous, and culturally flourishing empire governed as a constitutional monarchy.

And its monarch was Avasarala.

Avasarala, Empress of the Akashara Stellar Empire, had unified the empire hundreds of thousands of years ago. She had expanded its borders, conquered in every direction, and forged a prosperous and powerful realm.

Later, tired of endless political affairs, Empress Avasarala launched a series of reforms, established a constitutional monarchy, and returned the power of government to the people. From then on, she became the eternal symbol of the Akashara Stellar Empire.

Her position as Personnel Manager and her work handling the affairs of the Spacetime Destruction Bureau were nothing more than a way to entertain herself.

…

Before them was a planet of interwoven deep blue and dark green. Seen from outer space, it was vibrant and breathtakingly beautiful—a highly habitable world.

Yet there was no trace of civilization anywhere on its surface. The planet had retained its most primordial and untouched state.

If not for the enormous space station slowly rotating in orbit and the expansive warship platforms nearby, everyone would have wondered why no one had ever developed such a habitable planet.

“We’re here. This is Sis Avasarala’s private office planet.” Su-Jin altered the starship’s course and headed toward the planet’s atmosphere.

“A private office planet?!” Jimmy’s eyes widened in shock. He had only ever heard of private offices. The most extravagant arrangement he had imagined was a private office tower.

But Sis Avasarala had an entire planet.

“What are you getting so excited about?” Su-Jin said, casually spinning an outrageous fantasy. “Once you reach Sis Avasarala’s level, a private office planet will be nothing. You’ll be able to have your own office solar system, your own office galaxy, even your own office universe.”

Olivia was pressed against the viewport, gazing dreamily at everything outside. It was her first time looking down at a planet from space, and the magnificent sight left her dizzy with wonder.

Far away, more than a dozen enormous star-destroyers locked onto Su-Jin’s little ship and sent a request for identification. Su-Jin ignored them completely and continued straight toward the planet’s surface.

The star-destroyers seemed to receive an order. They disengaged their weapons lock and continued patrolling space.

Su-Jin piloted the ship downward. At an altitude of nearly ten thousand meters, clouds drifted through the sky, their edges gilded by the light of the rising sun. A hundred-story white tower floated above the clouds, rising and falling gently in the boundless sea of mist.

Su-Jin landed the ship on the helipad atop the tower. The four of them disembarked, stepped onto the teleportation platform, and arrived at Sis Avasarala’s office.

The entire floor consisted of a single room. Its walls were made of enormous floor-to-ceiling windows, leaving it open on all sides. Sunlight filtered through the clouds and slanted into the room, bathing it in a warm, pale gold.

Avasarala sat behind a square desk, handling her affairs with meticulous care. Her features were gentle, and she looked like a dignified middle-aged woman accustomed to a life of comfort and luxury. Her bearing was graceful and noble, radiating the majesty of someone born to a position of honor.

She merely sat there, yet her innate nobility swept over the room. Su-Jin, Jimmy, and Olivia immediately felt painfully inferior and lowered their heads, not daring to meet her eyes.

Finn, however, remained unchanged, as calm as ever. Even if a true god appeared before him, he would still stand with his spine straight, without the slightest retreat.

“Newcomer, you really did pass the assessment. I knew I hadn’t been wrong about you.” Avasarala’s voice was gentle and genial, putting people at ease like a warm spring breeze.

“Thank you, Your Majesty.” Faced with Avasarala’s imposing presence, Jimmy’s knees nearly gave way. Fortunately, her friendly attitude gave them just enough strength to keep him standing.

“Just call me Sis Avasarala. From now on, we’re all colleagues in the Spacetime Destruction Bureau. There’s no question of rank or status between us.”

Her tone remained warm and kind, carrying the benevolent warmth of an older woman taking a younger colleague under her wing.

“Yes, Sis Avasarala!”

Avasarala gave a slight nod. With a single glance at Jimmy, she understood the course of his life over the past decade and more, as well as how he had performed while working with Finn these past few months.

“Finn, I’ve transferred one hundred Contribution Points to you. Also, if you have the time, go to World Delta-NINE-D-852426 for a meeting. Chen-Awelon is going to announce a mission, and those of us from the main base can get together while we’re there.”

“Okay,” Finn replied.

Ever since the last great upheaval—when the “Boss” had been attacked by the Spacetime Administration Bureau of the Star Cosmos Empire—many members had perished in that battle that shook heaven and earth and made even gods and ghosts weep. The Spacetime Destruction Bureau had suffered devastating losses.

Several centuries had passed since then. Time had moved on, and now, with Chen-Awelon—the ultimate show-off—taking the lead, everyone was gathering from across the Endless Worlds for a reunion. It was a rare opportunity.

“Sis Avasarala, can I sit this one out? I can just attend by projection when the time comes,” Su-Jin asked.

“Of course. Attendance is voluntary from the outset.” Avasarala didn’t seem to mind at all.

The Spacetime Destruction Bureau had always been extremely loose and freewheeling. The Celestial Sojourners had gathered because they shared similar goals and interests, exchanging resources and intelligence. That was how the “Boss” had founded the Spacetime Destruction Bureau in the first place.

“Want to hold a prize draw?” Avasarala asked Finn.

At the same time, a prize-draw box materialized in midair. It was a bright red, boxy octahedron with a small white opening in the center.

“Why are we doing a prize draw?”

“Last time, I played mahjong with three Main Gods. They said that after every mission, they let their reincarnators hold a little prize draw for fun.”

Avasarala spoke in an unhurried tone.

“I figured, hey, this is pretty good. Why don’t we add a prize draw to our own missions?

“Besides, I’ve got too much useless stuff piled up. It was all looted by members of the Spacetime Destruction Bureau from various worlds. Keeping it takes up space, but throwing it away would be a waste. So we might as well use it as prizes.”

“All right. I’ll draw one, then.” Finn rubbed his hands together, secretly looking forward to this part of the proceedings.

The bright-red octahedral prize-draw box floated over. Finn reached inside and rummaged around for a moment before pulling out a transparent crystal.

Inside the crystal, a miniature Tsar Bomba rested motionless.

Finn knew that the crystal was no ordinary container. It was a Spacetime Crystal Case, capable of stopping time, compressing space, and folding mass.

In other words, the miniature hydrogen bomb inside it was the real thing—a nuclear weapon with a yield of 170 million tons of TNT.

As long as Finn released the restraints on the Spacetime Crystal Case, the miniature bomb would expand back to its normal size: a fifty-four-ton Tsar Bomba, an absolute doomsday weapon.

There was even a tiny red button at the bottom of the bomb.

Finn took a closer look. Beside it was a line of instructions:

Press the button. The hydrogen bomb will detonate in three seconds. Throw it immediately.