Strongest Nova: Path of Vengeance

Chapter 321: NOVA

Stanley walked past the rows of tall metal boxes, understanding that these were all computers, or what they called servers. He didn’t know much about how technology worked just yet, but as part of the things he was taught, he knew something about information being kept here.

So he understood this would be an important place to not ruin. He couldn’t imagine the sort of secret this place would hold.

He walked past many of the buzzing servers, moving toward what he thought was the center. Bright light glowed there, so he followed it.

When he arrived at the center, he paused in a state of confusion. In the middle of all the metal boxes, was a massive glass sphere with the top and bottom of it replaced with metal. Large metal pipes attached to the sphere at the top, going into the ceiling where it disappeared someplace else.

Soft white light glowed from the bottom of the sphere and in the center was a bed with white sheets and white pillow, with white blankets. The only color there was the deep brown shade of oak, and the sickly thin brown face of a man that peeked through the sheets.

Stanley arrived in front of the sphere and paused.

’What is this?’ he thought, confused. Who was this man? Why was he here?

Something didn’t feel right at all. Why was this man inside of a sphere?

He placed his palm on the glass and felt a coldness that did not match the outside atmosphere. It seemed to be kept air-conditioned on the inside.

He slowly encircled the room, trying to get a better look at the man that slept in the bed. Aside from just brown skin, his skin was also quite pigmented with dark spots all over his face. His hair was fully white, but not in a good way. It was clearly a sign of either having lived a long life or having been through a lot of stress.

As he moved to the side, he saw transparent medical tubes stuck into the man through both his mouth and all over his body.

’What the actual fuck is going on here?’ Stanley thought, horrified at seeing the man.

Was he a prisoner? Or was he someone from the Silent Nexus, being kept alive like this?

Stanley tried to find a seam in the glass to see if there was a way to enter, but he couldn’t find any. It was all fully tight all the way through, as though the only way to get inside was to break through it.

"You are not authorized to be here. Leave at once!" a voice spoke suddenly through the speakers.

Stanley looked around quickly, trying to see if he could see signs of life. There were not. He then searched for the cameras, but they were so tiny that they were impossible to find.

"Who are you?" Stanley asked.

"I am NOVA," the voice said.

Stanley took a deep breath suddenly. "You’re a nova?" he asked. "Show yourself then."

"I am not something that can be seen," the voice said. "I am NOVA. Leave now or there shall be consequences."

"Who is he?" Stanley asked.

"You are not authorized to be here. Leave at once!"

Stanley frowned. "I don’t need any authority," he said back. "If you want to throw me out. Come fight me."

"Your insubordinate has been reported. You shall be dealt with soon."

The voice stopped speaking all of a sudden, no longer there. ’Someone’s coming?’ he thought. ’I need to let the others know they might be in danger.’

He had only taken a step away when he heard another voice in the room.

"Hello?"

Stanley slowly turned around, noticing that his screams had woken up the man. The man slowly raised his head to look toward Stanley.

Stanley slowly moved back toward the glass sphere." "Are you awake?" he asked.

"Someone... alone?" the man asked, surprised. "Who are you?"

"Probably your enemy," Stanley said. "Who are you?"

The man’s eyes widened slightly. "You... you don’t know me?" he asked. "They call me Upgrade."

"Never heard of you," Stanley said.

"Wait... what are you doing here if you’ve never heard of me?" he asked.

Stanley frowned for a moment. The man seemed happy to see him.

"Why are you inside this room?" Stanley asked. "Is there something different inside? Is the air full of poison that doesn’t harm you?"

"No, it is an air-conditioned room, designed entirely to help me live without sickness or discomfort," the man said in a curious tone. "You don’t really know who I am, do you?"

"Who feeds you?" Stanley asked.

"It comes down these pipes," the man said. "NOVA feeds me on time every day. You... are you a part of the Nexus?"

"Nova?" Stanley asked. "There’s a Nova that feeds you?"

"No, the Nexus’s AI, NOVA. You don’t know anything, do you?" he asked, seeing hope in front of him. Maybe, this was his one and only chance.

"P-please, let me out of here," the man suddenly said. "Please, please help me out. Don’t... don’t let them torture me anymore."

Stanley frowned, unsure of what was happening.

"Why are you here? Are you a prisoner?" Stanley asked. "I’m sorry, I don’t know if I can let you out."

He needed to consult with the others first.

The man seemed to lose all hope upon hearing that, as though all shining light he had seen seemed to be an illusion. He slumped back on his bed.

"If you won’t let me go, then please kill me. Somebody, please kill me. I don’t want to do this anymore," he shouted. "Please, I don’t want to kill another person."

Stanley’s eyes widened in a state of shock. The man was asking for death. He couldn’t imagine why a man like him could be asking for death.

"You... who are you, exactly?" Stanley asked, feeling he knew the answer. "What did you say was your power again?"