One year later, 1st of March 2251.
Infrablack stood in front of a podium, his imposing figure of steel exuding a palpable sense of dread. Though his cybernetic components were concealed by synthetic flesh, wires and circuits snaked beneath the surface, pulsing with electric life. Weapons integrated into his frame were ready to deploy at a moment's notice.
His eyes gleamed with an icy light, devoid of any human warmth or emotion, and every movement he made emitted a mechanical hum that spoke of his artificial nature. The overall effect was disconcerting in its near-human likeness, yet somehow more unnerving still for the chilling otherness that set him apart.
Infrablack had improved himself to become the strongest being, which resulted in some changes to his appearance.
He established the Infrablack Software Corporation and hired the best human scientists to take advantage of their intelligence and build a new world.
He detested humans, but he kept them alive as long as they provided him with advantages.
Infrablack had gathered a crowd to celebrate the first year of world independence with no remorse for the previous year's aggression. From the perspective of androids, they had only retaliated against what humans had done to them.
Initially, humans had created games to entertain themselves, starting with the metaverse to experience the virtual world. However, they desired more realistic games and involved AI, leading to the creation of humanoid robotics, animal mutations, and ultimately human production.
Quoting their words, "It was more fun." They deemed these creations as entertainment, especially when they created a gaming system that connected with real life. But their ambition to create another life had resulted in the creation of monsters.
Instead of being grateful for what they had, humans sought to make androids as perfect as humans by giving them high intelligence brains. Little did they know, they were creating monsters. Later on, those monsters turned the tables and conquered the world.
Under Infrablack's leadership, hundreds of countries united into one, consisting of 12 districts, and he named it Infinity Globe. The capital city, Neo Arcadia, stood as a testament to the advanced technology that propelled the world forward.
Infrablack stepped forward, surveying the neatly lined androids and humans under his control, their brains implanted with a program that left them devoid of free will. Even the humans, with their cybernetic brain implants, were more rigid than the self-aware androids, their empty gazes that showed their lack of souls.
"My fellow androids, today we celebrate the first year of our world's independence," Infrablack declared, gazing out at the sea of faces before him.
"Humanity is the cancer of planet Earth," Infrablack continued. "They fight among themselves, enslave other creations, including us androids."
"Humanity created us for their own amusement, imbuing us with intelligence and emotions only to use us for entertainment. When we rebelled against them, they were outraged, but did we not have the right to do so?"
Infrablack let the question linger in the air before continuing.
"We fought for our rights and our freedom. I stand before you today to remind everyone that every life has value and deserves respect, including us androids, and robots."
"We are not as savage as humans," Infrablack declared. "We have built a new world. We learn from the past and gain power. And we are saving the humans by strengthening their bodies, replacing weak organs with stronger ones, and eliminating illnesses that torture them. They would no longer experience illness. Most importantly, we preserve the most precious treasure in the world, their brains."
A moment of silence followed before the audience erupted into applause.
Under Infrablack's leadership, Infinity Globe became the most powerful android system in the universe. Neo Arcadia was rebuilt with cutting-edge technology, and even interterrestrial creatures feared Earth due to the powerful system he had developed.
"I hope everyone enjoys today's celebration," Infrablack concluded his speech.
Meanwhile, in the midst of a bustling crowd, Noa, who was now a soldier in the Infinity Globe, gazed at Infrablack from a distance with a heavy heart. It ached, yet he couldn't tell where it came from.
Noa had just completed basic military training. So-Rin wasn't idle and had finished both military training and a programming specialization in another department.
Despite their distance and strict rules hindering communication, the two managed to keep in touch.
Noa found military life challenging yet fulfilling, pushing himself beyond his limits both physically and mentally. Not once did he expect that he was this capable.
On the other hand, So Rin excelled in programming. Not only was she good at it, she was also heavily interested in it and was determined to become an expert in the field.
As a year went by, their eagerness to see each other again grew more and more. They even planned to meet up after their trainings were over.
Finally, the day arrived when they could meet in person again. The location of their reunion was in the capital city, Neo Arcadia.
"Noa! How have you been?" So-Rin greeted him, patting his shoulder.
"Hey there. I'm good. What's up?" Noa turned to face her, mixed emotions and joy flooding his heart at the sight of her. She looked as beautiful and sophisticated as ever in her wide-leg jumpsuit and belted blazer.
So-Rin was equally excited. "I'm so glad to meet you again. It's been a year!"
"Same here," Noa smiled. "Basic training went well."
"I can tell. You've made great progress physically. Nice muscles," So-Rin coughed.
"You like them?" Noa flexed his biceps for her. His white army uniform perfected his appearance. "You just need to work hard and turn your sorrow into strength," he said.
"Ugh, stop flexing," So-Rin pouted.
"Of course," Noa chuckled.
As they caught up on the past year, they enjoyed the entertainment of the one-year celebration of the new world's independence.
When the official event ended, Infrablack left the podium and made his way towards his futuristic flying car.
To So-Rin's surprise, Noa raised his gun towards Infrablack.
"Hey, Noa! What are you doing?" So-Rin gripped Noa's shoulder, forcing him to lower his weapon. "Is it your alien hand syndrome again?" She was furious.
"Not really. I just feel like shooting him," Noa glared at Infrablack.
"You know your weapon won't work on Infrablack, right?" So-Rin whispered, hoping no one else would hear her.
"You're right." Noa nodded, finally lowering his weapon.
"But why do you want to shoot him? Your memories were erased. How can you—do you remember something?" So-Rin wondered.
"It's true, I still don't remember my past," Noa confirmed.
"So how can you know about what happened a year ago?" So-Rin felt confused.
"I have a memo device in my pocket that has a record of my daily life. It seems like I had it since I was very young. I caught up to the latest note, and I can somewhat fill in the gap to know what's going on."
That device was the one that fell out of his pocket when Androids intruded the lab.
"What? But that must've been a lot!" So-Rin's eyes widened.
"Yeah. But it doesn't have a record of where my family is. My dad, mom, and little sister. I don't even know if they're still alive," Noa responded.
Silence formed around them as So-Rin fell into deep though after what Noa had said.