The room was quiet.
No alarm.
No rush.
He rose, rolled his shoulders once, and dropped to the floor.
Push-ups.
Slow. Controlled.
Every movement precise.
Sit-ups followed.
Breathing steady. Counted.
Then stillness.
He sat cross-legged, eyes closed.
Abi shimmered faintly around his body, not flaring, not wild.
Contained. Obedient.
When he opened his eyes, the glow vanished.
Shower. Cold.
Steam rolled off his skin as water hit tile. He didn't linger.
By the time the sun crept over Dragon Hive, Yusuke was already dressed, bag over his shoulder, shoes laced cleanly. He observed the lives of people he called "NPC's"
Class was routine.
Front row.
Hand raised.
Answers correct before the questions finished forming.
The teacher paused once, sighed, and nodded.
Yusuke didn't smile.
Training came next.
The simulation chamber sealed shut with a mechanical hum.
Commander Marza observed him intently, arms folded.
"Yusuke of the Gamer Class. Top-honors student. Ranked second across the entire Sky-Lands academic database."
Yusuke stepped forward.
Delta-grade robots powered on.
neon eyes. Heavy frames.
They attacked at once.
Yusuke moved.
Not fast, efficient.
A step aside.
A pivot.
Palm strike.
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The first robot imploded inward, metal folding like paper.
Another charged.
Palm.
Shockwave.
It shattered.
One after another, they fell, not from brute force, but perfect placement.
The room fell silent.
Score: MAXIMUM
Yusuke draped a towel around his neck and walked past Marza.
Yusuke "Will you be joining me for dinner soon?"
A faint smiled "Of course, whenever your ready to show me darling."
Her eyes followed him until the door closed.
The market smelled of oil and salt.
"Catfish," Yusuke said.
The vendor nodded, wrapping it carefully.
"...Could you put it in a gift bag?" Yusuke added.
The vendor blinked, then smiled.
"Of course."
Later.
Yusuke set the bag gently at a doorstep.
No knock.
No pause.
He turned and walked away.
Home.
Pari wagged her tail the moment Yusuke stepped inside.
"Easy," he said softly, kneeling to set down her food.
She ate happily.
Yusuke didn't watch long.
He went to the back room.
The library.
Rows of books stretched floor to ceiling.
He pulled one.
The shelves shifted.
Walls unfolded. Light refracted.
The room transformed into a vast digital command space, floating screens, layered data, shifting maps of Dragon Hive.
Yusuke stood at the center.
"Parasite numbers are dropping," he murmured.
Feeds flickered.
The screens rearranged themselves. He could see the past and present events of the parasite attacks.
A familiar sigil appeared first.
LUX WIGG
Corporate magnate
Primary logistics provider to Dragon Hive
Trade routes: Surface → Skylands
Yusuke exhaled slowly.
"Lux Wigg," he muttered.
"A man who profits from everything he touches."
Supply chains lit up, food, medicine, weapons, construction materials.
"A billionaire funding an isolated sky-island," Yusuke said.
"What do you gain from keeping Dragon Hive alive?"
Graphs shifted.
Parasite incursions. Resource surges. Quiet cover-ups.
"You don't do charity," Yusuke continued.
"So if you're here... it's because Dragon Hive is useful."
Another window opened beside Lux's profile.
Yusuke stiffened.
GIGAN
The Liberator of the Surface
Origin: Arkvine
Known for: Anti-regime rebellion, civilian liberation, dismantling tyrannies
Old footage rolled.
Chains breaking. Crowds cheering. Soldiers dropping weapons.
Yusuke's eyes narrowed, not in anger, but in confusion.
"...You don't belong here," he said quietly.
He leaned closer to the projection.
"You fought systems like this," Yusuke went on.
"You freed people from rulers who treated them as resources."
The footage paused on Gigan's face, calm, resolute, weary.
"So why," Yusuke asked, voice low,
"are you standing beside a man like Lux Wigg?"
The screens flickered again.
Another file surfaced.
EMPRESS LINEAGE — DRAGON HIVE
Empress Aelira — ruled 20 years — deceased
Empress Nyxora — ruled 20 years — deceased
Empress Talveen — ruled 20 years — deceased
Empress Seraphine — ruled 20 years — deceased
Then—
EMPRESS JEZRELL
Current reign: 40 years
Yusuke's expression darkened.
"...You broke the cycle."
Parasite activity spiked after the twenty-year mark.
Sharply. Precisely.
"No major incursions before," Yusuke murmured.
"Then suddenly... escalation."
He shut the projections down.
"If Dragon Hive is a system," he said to the silence,
"then even liberators can be pulled into maintaining it."
A pause.
"...Or trying to control what they can't destroy."
Yusuke exhaled slowly.
"...So that's it."
He shut the system down.
Darkness returned.
"What is Dragon Hive?" he asked the empty room.
"If this is a game..."
He turned away.
"...Then we're stuck on a level that isn't meant to be cleared, but I ma Yusuke of the Gamer class, I will break the sequence."
A final screen blinked on.
Street camera.
The gift bag sat untouched.
The door opened.
Einstera stepped out.
She paused.
Picked it up.
Looked around.
Her expression softened, just for a second.
She brought it inside.
The door closed.
Yusuke watched the feed go dark.
Then he turned away.