291 Variegata Nexus
Eldoralth was a magical world.
It was a massive planet filled to the brim with many mysteries and races.
Before the Zorvans attacked Eldoralth, there were numerous races living on the planet.
Unlike what one would think, this was no fairytale; each of the races weren't allies with each other— they didn't live peacefully.
If anything, they had all been enemies.
Over the past centuries, different wars had been waged, with billions ending up dead. Many races had gone extinct, and this war continued with no end in sight.
Mountains were crushed, terrain forever changed. The world wept as it constantly got damaged.
If this devastating event hadn't occurred, with the Zorvans attacking the planet, no one knew for sure how the fate of the planet and its races would have turned out by now.
But of course, if any one of them had to choose between the past wars and this current one, they would choose the former without any hesitation.
At the end of the day, each of the races was fighting each other. If at any point one of them should win, said winners would be the ones to rule.
But currently, an alien race was threatening not just one, but the entirety of the races in Eldoralth.
It was no time for their useless wars and battles. Their whole world was threatened—their livelihood, their home, their legacy, their future.
They had all stopped all their ongoing wars and immediately banded together to face the alien threat. This was how the Alliance of Eldoriumwas formed.
The war had been ongoing for far too long. More than a century!
Many of the current individuals in absolute power were all born during the time of the war.
The war during that time was even more perilous and dangerous than the current situation of things.
Despite the fact that thousands died every day, things had stabilized a bit compared to when it had just started.
And during this century long war, many races had been annihilated from the face of the planet.
This particular situation was rampant, especially during the beginning of the war. The races of Eldoralth had been embodied in wars for far too long; the hate ran deep.
Before each one of the races had decided to ally with one another, they had each decided to face the threat alone.
And this had ended with many unlucky races getting wiped out without any warning.
Seeing this, the other races didn't need to be told anything anymore—the alliance was formed in a heartbeat.
Clearly, the leaders of each race recognized well enough when to make their pride take a seat.
It had been more than a century since then, and many other races had fallen. The alliance was slowly losing the war, and they were well aware of this.
Which was why when Isabella heard Harrison's words, she immediately flared up.
"Those fucking bastards! What the hell are they thinking! People are dying everyday and all they think about are resources!?" Isabella thundered, her fist hitting the table in a loud bang as the shockwave swept the room, making Harrison's suit flutter a bit.
It was obvious she used a considerable amount of strength to hit that table, and for a master-rank individual, that considerable strength was enough to level an entire concrete building.
And yet, there was not a single scratch on the table, and nothing in the room even as much trembled.
One could see how durable the buildings of the academy were.
Granted she hadn't used mana to empower herself, but even the passive strength of a master-rank individual was something that was hard for a normal human to fathom.
Harrison didn't utter a word. He simply remained silent, allowing Isabella to vent all the anger she was feeling.
After a few seconds and seeing that she had calmed down a bit, Harrison spoke, his gaze still focused on the students down below, "Isabella," he called out.
Isabella took in a deep breath to calm herself down, turning her gaze towards Harrison and responded, "Yes, Dad."
"What was the first lesson I taught you as a child?"
Isabella took a moment to remember, and her eyes couldn't help but turn cold upon remembering,
"Power is everything," Isabella muttered under her breath.
"Say it louder."
Isabella increased the volume of her voice, "Power is everything."
Harrison smiled, "Good. Never forget that."
Harrison took his gaze away from the bustling students, his figure turning to face Isabella.
The cup floating just beside him floated towards the table and set itself there silently.
Locking eyes with Isabella, Harrison continued, "Isabella, we're weak. Incredibly weak," he said, his gaze unwavering as he started walking slowly away from the wall.
"In this world, weakness is a sin, and it is quite unfortunate for us to be caught up on the wrong side of things," he added, the weight of his words lingering in the air.
Isabella clenched her fist hard, gritting her teeth. She asked, "How long?"
"Two years time, during the next Variegata Nexus. They want sector 10 to be our wager."
"That's too short! He'll still be attending the academy!" Isabella exclaimed. In two years, the current first years would be in their third years. And the same would be for one particular white haired boy.
After years upon years of wars and death, the hate between the races ran deep. It was simply impossible for them to suddenly bury the hatchet.
But each of the races knew well enough the importance of the alliance, and this was why the Variegata Nexus came to be.
It was a gathering of all the remaining races of Eldoralth, where each race would choose representatives amongst their younger generation to represent them in a collectively agreed competition.
This was where the title Apex would show itself.
This was created in order to bury the bad blood and deepen the bond between all the races.
But just like every other thing meant for good, the opposite was what it eventually became.
What was meant to be an event that would deepen the bond between the races was turned into an event where every race was trying to prove their superiority.
The Variegata Nexus created an environment for the races, especially the powerful, to show their dominance.
And in this spectrum of power, the human race was on the lowest of the low.
