"We will use the earth as our last battlefield and haven before our own territory, while we set up outposts using energy sensors. we are setting the first pairs up at the place you have scouted just now: Jupiter, especially near its moons. We plab for a net off energy sensors, that will make it inpenetrable without setting off the alarm. That way we will know from where they will attack by then. We have 7 billion Worms here, 3.5 billion soldiers from yourself, 1 billion logistical workers, 1 billion ingeneurs and 1 billion soldiers from the unified 13th forces. We already constructed 104 Destroyers and we should be able to build about 500 a day. The problem are the strict ressources especially energy. We don't have enough for the battleships." "Have we plundered their electronical devices already?" "We mostly used the natural resources of this planet and some of the scattered ones from their power plants etc."
"Then use everything they have, their phones, trash and everything else, we are enough to accomplish this. Try to harvest more energy from the radiation and even if they attack us, I will push them back and give you more time for it." Faced with an unshakeable enemy that is the Void Army, Mars had no choice but to let them have everything that the modern society was build on, if not there was no chance for it to ever regenerate itself. Earth would be swallowed by this black mass of Void.
"We will get to it right now. Is there anything else you want to know?" "What are we going to do after we... win?" Mars thought that maybe the Wyrms weren't that bad and would draw back after this leaving everything like it was.
"I cannot answer this yet, you and the others have to decide for yourself. It would probably be easier if we just reseted humanity and give them another chance to start anew. I don't think they should enter the transuniversal age yet. They are an unpredictable species and the way they are going right now... It would end very quickly and they would just steal others ressources, that is their nature."
"Weren't we the same? I think we will be able to guide them and let them find the right path. They lived to long in darkness and there would be no use to another reset. They are an incredible species, which adapts to any circumstances and stands up again and again. We shouldn't stop them." The Commander was speechless "I hadn't thought, you have such an opinion over them." "They have potential." "You have to tell this to the others though. I have no might over this decision." After a bit of silence he asked if Mars wanted to talk to them already or at least to Venus again, but he refused. They would definitely notice his different behaviour, so he said that he would call after winning the first battle. After trading some more pleasentries did he leave the Commander, whose name was apparently Paulus, alone and went to his own tent, that had just been built. It was quiet enough for him to finally take a look at his Cores again, especially his Physical Core.
After making sure that he was alone and cut off from the outside using his energy to engulf the tent, did he acess his Physical Core.
'Acess Physical Core!'
Mars felt something strange happening in his chest. Just as he was wondering why nothing was going on, did he hear a tearing sound.
His front was ruptered of his body, floating in front of him and then forming a version of an older Mars along the edge. There was no pain, only fear and the question on what this thing inside his body was, that changed him that much. Mars didn't realise that no blood came out but instead he even regenerated his skin and looked normal again, but something was clearly missing. He had no puls. His heart stopped beating the moment the tearing began. Instead the other self was now standing there with its eyes closed and half an heart beating inside it. It looked like it was glowing and even roaring like a monster. Every heartbeat pierced the silence of this already black space and made Mars experience an otherwordly feeling. He saw his own heart inside someone else, beating for someone else. If not for Mars's high resilience and willpower he would rush for it and pull it out, only to push it into his own body again.
But Mars acted rational, he stood there and used his Mind force to try and communicate with it.
It opened its eyes, focusing right onto Mars. Those eyes... he had seen them once before. They were the same gray eyes as those from Aurelius, the living fog. A smirk appeared on its face "So you are a bit stronger now, it seems. Now, now don't be afraid. You might be wondering why this core, doesn't look like you. This here could be your perfect humanoid body, but it is mostly the ideal version of myself. Since I influenced your Cores when we talked the first time, the Physical Core should also look a bit like me. You haven't talked to the others yet, right? Good then we are still undercover or at least they might think we are still weak. You can access the Skill tree for your Physical Core through me and if you have any questions, just ask them. How long do we have again? A month? That should be enough to bring you to a prime form. So let us begin..." A serious and content smile appeared on Aurelius's face. A system announcement could be heard. The next moment Mars's body tensed up and he fell to the floor.