Lord of Annihilation

Entering the Academy through the main gate, the first thing that Alex noticed was how desolate the surroundings were. 

The paths and fields which were usually occupied by a large number of students were now empty. As far as the eye could see, Alex could not spot a single student.

Of course, this was to be expected. Not mentioning the first-year and second-year students who were sent to the Frontier planets, the third-year and fourth-year students, most of whom were direct heirs of the various families were recalled back to their families.

The Ascension was both a blessing and a curse for the families in the Alliance. It was a blessing because the families could use this opportunity to nurture a group of superhuman forces, which will directly help them in contesting for greater benefits. After all, with strength came authority.

Inversely, it was a curse because the Ascension carried massive risks. There was the risk of losing their people, their resources, and chief of all, their heirs. The direct heirs of some of the lesser families had already lost their lives in the frontier planets. While such cases were low, they nonetheless existed. 

Losing an heir was equivalent to losing their future. It was a foundational loss that would be very hard to recover from.

As the old adage goes, with opportunities comes risks. Losing something in the process of gaining benefits was only natural. 

Knowing this many families still decided to focus their interests on the Ascension. This was the future. No matter how great one's family was currently, refusing to follow the trend would only result in its downfall The Hellwig family was no different

Alex, being one of the very first people to awaken his soul, naturally realized the importance of this power. He had an advantage in this field and not taking advantage of this to improve the foundation of the family would be utter foolishness.

As such, he had already drawn up plans and passed orders to the Hellwig family, in his capacity as the Temporary Head. Under his orders, the elites of the Hellwig family, both brains and brawn would be heading to the Outer-Rim planets to undergo their Ascension. 

Success could not be guaranteed, but with the help of Alex's knowledge and insight, the rate of failure can be drastically reduced. 

'In the end, everything boils down to having power. Only with power can one remain unhindered during this change.' Alex thought to himself.

It was then that a pleasant-looking man with a bald head walked up to the duo. Wearing a professional smile on his face, he spoke.

"The two of you must be Sir Alex and Miss Anya respectively. It is my honor to welcome both of you to the Academy." he performed a bow.

"My name is Edmonds. I'm here to guide the two of you to the central island, where my superiors are waiting for your arrival. Please follow me."

Saying so, he turned around and started to walk towards the central island. Alex and Anya looked at each other and proceeded to follow behind Edmonds.

The journey was quite short as they quickly arrived at the central island. During the journey Alex repeatedly tried to ask about why he was called here, only to be met with the same answer.

"I'm sorry, but I cannot speak about this matter. Do not worry for you will be briefed by my superiors." Edmonds smiled.

Faced with such a response, Alex was helpless. He could only patiently wait.

The bridge leading to the central island was guarded by a group of soldiers. Edmonds showed his ID and spoke a few words to the Captain in charge. After which Alex and Anya had to undergo some identity checks.

After multiple checks which consumed nearly an hour's worth of time and had Alex inwardly raging, the trio finally entered the central island.

The central island was constructed in the same manner as the Alliance HQ. Flat metallic buildings, with a few high-rise glass buildings, occupied much of the island. Students of the Academy weren't allowed entry into the central island and as such, this was Alex's first time entering this place.

Looking around, the key difference that Alex noticed here when compared to the Alliance HQ was that there were a lot of scientists walking around, unlike the administrative personnel found in the HQ.

'Seems like this place emphasizes on the R&D aspect of the Alliance.' Alex inferred

There were also multiple groups of fully-armed soldiers patrolling around the streets. With his keen eyesight, Alex noticed some oddly-dressed men, wearing some sort of mechanical contraption walking amongst the soldiers. 

Rather than say, walking amongst the soldiers, it would be more accurate to say that the soldiers were surrounding these oddly-dressed men. Each of these men was performing a different set of actions. Some seemed to be jogging, some seemed to move peculiarly, and so on.

'They are?... Awakened humans?!' Alex immediately noticed the difference.

With his increasing control over his soul power, he also became more sensitive towards the soul power of other beings. As such, Alex was able to notice the peculiarity of these oddly-dressed soldiers.

'Are they conducting some kind of test?' he pondered.

Just as he was wondering, he heard Anya speak.

"Are those, people who have undergone Ascension? What are they doing?" she questioned Edmonds.

'Nice timing, Anya!' Alex cheered within his mind.

Hearing this question, Edmonds smiled once more and replied.

"I'm sorry, but I cannot speak about this matter. Do not worry for you will be briefed by my superiors." he politely replied.

'Dammit! Are you some kind of robot?! Why do you keep repeating the same answer?' Alex cursed.

Thankfully, Alex did not have to wait long, the group of three quickly arrived at their destination. 

It was a high-rise building that was surrounded by dozens of squads of armed soldiers. Almost 60% of the soldiers present on the central island seemed to be focused around this building.

Looking around, Alex noticed some of the soldiers holding a strange weapon in their hand.

This weapon was shaped like a large-barrel, with multiple pipes and electrical circuits covering the majority of its surface. Faint electrical sparks jumped from within the weapon and a faint glow surrounded it.

Just as Alex was wondering about this weapon, they entered the building. 

"We have arrived, Young Miss." Edmonds nodded towards the young lady waiting in the front.

Seeing the person in front of him, Alex's eyes shrunk in surprise.

"You are..!!" he involuntarily voiced out.

"Nice to meet you too, Alex." a young voice spoke softly.

In front of him was a beautiful-looking young girl, wearing a sweet smile on her face. She had long, silver hair and a pair of bright silver eyes. Her skin was smooth and pale, which shone with youthful tenderness. Judging from her body, she seemed to be around 16 years of age.

The only thing that was different about the young girl was that... she was seated in a wheelchair.

This was Illya Roseberg. The sole child of the Alliance Head and the heir of the Roseberg family. 

"Thank you for guiding them here Edmonds. You can return to the lab now." Illya spoke while facing Edmonds.

Edmonds nodded his head and walked off in another direction. At this point, Alex had awakened from his surprise. Hesitantly, he spoke.

"..Good to see you too, Illya...What happened to your legs?" he asked.

Hearing that question, the look in Illyas's eyes turned bitter. Still, she did not stop smiling and softly spoke.

"I met with an accident while traveling on a spaceship. One of the golden rocks from the Ascension struck our spaceship causing it to crash into the nearby planet."

Her voice turned faint, as she continued

"I was unconscious for most of the time. When I woke up, I had mysteriously gained some superpower and had lost mobility in my legs. Everyone else, aboard the spaceship, had died." her voice became melancholic towards the end and her eyes turned misty.

Having asked such an incentive question, Alex immediately apologized.

"I'm sorry, that was mindless of me to ask such a question." Alex bowed in apology.

Wiping the newly-formed tear in her eyes, Illya smiled sweetly once more and said.

"It's fine. Rather, I would have felt uncomfortable if you hadn't asked me that question. You don't have to apologize." 

Alex raised his body and nodded his head. The atmosphere had turned awkward between them.

'I'm such an idiot!' Alex admonished himself. 

"Cough, cough. May I ask about our duties, Miss Roseberg?" at this crucial moment, Anya spoke up to divert the topic.

"Oh, right!" Illya clapped her hands and exclaimed cheerfully.

"Firstly, I welcome both of you to the Central Research Facility of the Earth Alliance. Thank you for coming here on such short notice. I understand that the two of you have a lot of questions. Why don't we discuss as we move along." she spoke with excitement.

Saying so, she controlled her wheelchair to turn around and started to head into the building.

"Please follow me."