Lord of Annihilation

Following behind the group of Head Commanders, Alex walked through a pair of large, double doors which shone with a cold, metallic glint. Passing through into the other side, he finally laid his eyes on the World Council Hall, about which he had previously heard from his Father.

It was in this very room that the Earth Alliance was officially established bringing peace to mankind in an era plagued with wars. Humanity had joined its hands together and worked towards the improvement of the species as a whole, pooling together its resources and technology.

The major decisions and policies which have a direct effect on the future of the Alliance are passed from this very room. And today, for the first time in his life, Alex was going to step into it.

The Hall was a large, circular room, having a diameter of 120m. At the very centre of the room stood a white-marble stage upon which was a podium.

With the stage being the centre, the seats of various representatives and dignitaries of various influential families were arranged in a pattern of multiple concentric circles.

The closer a seat was to the centre of the room, the higher its authority and weight of its words in the Council. Key families such as the Hellwig Family, Roseberg Family and the White Family, held the seats which were the nearest from the centre. Families such as the Cline Family or the Wellsworth Family(Luther's family) were closer to the back rows.

The further back one goes, the lesser was the importance of that family or dignitary.

"Follow me." the old commander softly said to Alex.

At the moment of his arrival, Alex had noticed that the current session of the World Council was already in full motion. A representative of the Earth Alliance stood upon the stage at the centre and was informing the various families of the recent blackout that had occurred.

The blackout of communication had been too sudden and unexpected. So much so, that none of the families currently knew what was happening. They had no idea about the 'Ascension' or of the process of awakening the soul.

The room was dead silent, save for the solemn voice of the Alliance representative who was speaking at the podium.

Alex followed behind the old commander while paying careful attention to the contents of the speech.

"....on the 9th of February, a sudden influx of mysterious energy originated from the Universe. The nature of this energy currently remains unknown and so are its properties and composition. Due to the influx of this energy, there has been a great change in the properties of many pre-established scientific models."

"The properties and composition of electromagnetic waves and atomic particles have also undergone an imperceptible change, resulting in the current 'blackout' of all communications and information. As for the exact changes and the extent of change, we are currently unsure. The holographic screen projected on your tables show our current understanding of this topic. "

"Furthermore, these changes are not final! According to the words of the 'Head Scientists' currently in charge of researching this issue, these changes are but the beginning. If things were to progress in this direction, all existing physical and mathematical models have to be tweaked, or in the worst case changed."

"In simpler words, the Universe as we know it has begun to change."

Gasps of shock and confusion could be heard from the audience.

Although the various representatives and dignitaries present here weren't experts on the topic, they more or less understood the seriousness of the situation.

Education has come a long way in the current era, and everyone citizen of the Alliance more or less had a basic understanding of the Universe. These people, who have undergone special education and grooming were naturally superior.

"We are here." just as Alex was immersed deep within his thoughts, the voice of the old commander interrupted him.

Raising his head, Alex noticed that he had arrived at the very front of the seats. Almost two dozen empty seats were present before his eyes, all of which were marked with the symbol of the Hellwig Family.

"Go sit at the Head seat." the old commander gently instructed.

Nodding his head, Alex walked towards the seat which was at the very front. It was taller and more ornamental, compared to the other seats. Placing a hand on the arm-rest and feeling its warmth, Alex directly seated himself.

'Until my father comes back, I have to bear the responsibility of 'Family Head'. I will not let the family down!' he thought to himself.

After Alex seated himself, the various High Commanders also seated themselves behind him.

The Hellwig family controlled the majority of the military and was one of the strongest families in the Alliance. This group of men and women who held the position of High Commanders were the direct subordinates of his father and as such are completely loyal to the Hellwig family.

With Alex's father currently MIA and Alex undertaking the responsibility of Family Head as its direct head, they decided to support him. With their support, Alex's words would carry significant weight in the upcoming discussion.

Having taken his seat, Alex once again placed his full attention on the words of the speaker. He wanted to have a complete understanding of the state of the Alliance.

"....the state of various frontlines and frontier bases currently remains unknown, due to our inability to establish communications. As such, we have confirmed that the influx of this 'mysterious energy' is not the product of a terrorist attack. The exact cause behind it remains unknown."

"One piece of good news is that a preliminary model on the nature of the mysterious energy has already been established, increasing our understanding towards it. As you know, a basic method for communication has already been established, thanks to the efforts of the Snowden Corporation."

"This technology is currently being perfected, with the Alliance investing all available resources on re-establishing communications. Upon completion, the Snowden Corporation has agreed to share this technology with the various families, free of charge."

After saying this, the speaker on the stage paused for a moment. He raised his head and looked directly into the eyes of every person seated in this hall. His eyes were serious and his tone was cold.

"The next part of our discussion is of the highest importance. The contents of what you are about to hear are not to be shared outside this room under any circumstances."

Hearing the cold tone of the speaker, the family heads and dignitaries in attendance unconsciously straightened their back.

One thing that has to be mentioned is that all the seats in the Hall were currently occupied. In fact, the seats were occupied either by the Heads of the various families themselves or by direct representatives of the Family Head.

After Reyna had established a basic method of communication, the preliminary data on the events in Deatov were shared with the Alliance. The Alliance immediately locked down this information and spared no efforts in inviting the Heads of all the influential families to the HQ.

The matter to be discussed was simply too important.

Seeing that all attention was placed upon him, the representative standing upon the stage resumed.

"The first base that established contact with the HQ, was the frontier base of Deatov. Upon establishing contact, this was the preliminary information which they had sent back."

Saying so, the representative pressed a button on the podium. A large holographic screen was projected into the air and a video began to play.

On the screen- The rapid panting and hurried movement of the person taking the video could be seen.

"*Huff*, *Huff*... I-is this thing on?.... Thank god, I had a spare battery with me!"

The video spun around the face of a young woman was projected. Her face was devoid was pale and was caked in dirt and dried blood. Multiple injuries and cuts would be seen on her body, with blood flowing out of her wounds.

If Lucius had been here, he would have recognized this young lady to be the one who had followed behind him, when he was tracking the murder aboard the Voyager-16. Unexpectedly this young lady had sneaked up the compound wall in Deatov and had recorded the scene of the alien army's invasion.

"This is..*crackle*.... reporting from Deatov... *crackle*....an alien species....." the video cut off at multiple points and the voice of the lady was incoherent.

"....our soldiers are being slaughtered!!!. *crackle* blade-like arms...large eyes...*crackle*..."

The video cut off at this point and the screen turned dark at this point. After a few seconds, the screen lit up once again.

The camera now pointed towards the top of the wall where a large number of Sickle Bugs were tearing apart the human soldiers. Blood and guts flew across the air and the dying screams of the soldiers on the video could be heard.

Seeing this scene, some of the faint-hearted amongst the audience immediately turned pale.

".....*Huff*...they have yet to find me. I-I don't think *Huff*, *Huff*... surviving this. I-if someone were to find this recording... this is completely real!....enemy arrived..."

Just as the young reporter was in the process of relaying information, a large severed blade suddenly cut through the air. In a smooth motion, the head of the young lady was cleanly cut.

Her body lifelessly fell and the video camera in her hands dropped onto the ground. Its lens pointing towards the ongoing battle.