266 THE GARDEN OF NEDE
Liorea didn't drive back toward Silver City.
Instead, she headed for New Myrone first. Along the way, they experienced the alien menace firsthand, raids on the roads were becoming more frequent and more violent.
Eventually, they arrived at the abandoned village in the wilderness—the entrance to New Myrone. Without delay, they descended into the basement city.
"There are more people here than I expected," Damen remarked, scanning the crowd.
"I didn't come back to Silver City for nothing," Liorea said. She waved her hand, and hundreds of carts rolled into view. "I organized for most of our people in Silver City to relocate here, to this fortress."
Kalmer and Green rushed forward.
"Thank goodness our supplies have arrived," Green said, relief in his voice. "We have rations to last a year or more."
"These equipment will complete our defenses for the underground fortress," Kalmer added, inspecting the carts.
The three embraced briefly.
"It's good that everyone from Myrone is safe here," Damen said. "The world outside is going to hell—aliens are breaking through everywhere."
"Are we really safe here from the alien invasion?" Green asked nervously.
Kalmer shook his head. "Don't worry. Even before we arrived, this place was designed as an underground fortress to protect against the aliens. It was only abandoned after they were pushed back through the portal. Its structure is solid… even comparable to our own fortress in Myrone."
"With the advanced equipment from Silver City, we can make it even stronger," Liorea said with a smile.
Damen's eyes fell on something enormous and circular. "What is that equipment?"
Liorea grinned. "This is a boring machine."
"A boring machine?" Kail appeared and laughed. "Didn't know machines could get bored."
"It's not that kind of boring," Liorea replied, amused. "It's a tunneling machine. We're using it to expand the spaces underground and drilling a tunnel toward Silver City."
"What are you planning, Liorea?" Damen asked, curiously.
"Well," she said, "Silver City will eventually fall under the alien onslaught. Maybe we can save more people… and bring them here."
Damen thought for a moment. "That's a good idea. Why didn't I think of that?"
"That's because your mind is always on vengeance," she teased, smirking.
"Yeah, coming from the queen of an assassination guild," Damen shot back.
"I've changed… after finding my brother, Kail," she confessed softly.
They all laughed together, the tension of the world outside momentarily eased by camaraderie.
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[Somewhere in an unknown space- The Garden of Nede]
Godfather drifted through his special space in absolute silence.
The place was vast—far larger than it should have been—an endless twilight garden suspended within an alternate reality.
Thousands upon thousands of flower pods floated in layered spirals, their translucent petals pulsing faintly, expanding and contracting like breathing lungs. Veins of living light threaded through them, carrying nutrient fluid, genetic sequences, and something far more dangerous—
Life.
Inside each pod rested a human embryo or a half-grown clone, suspended in artificial amniotic glow, their bodies poised on the edge of becoming life.
Some were still knitting bone and organ. Others already bore sculpted muscle, neural lattices shimmering beneath pale skin.
They were beautiful in a grotesque way—humanity refined, optimized, and rewritten.
This was the cradle of his empire.
Godfather extended a hand.
Space tore open.
A man was dragged inside—not by choice, but by compulsion—his body slamming onto invisible ground as he struggled to breathe.
"Where the hell am I?" the man demanded, panic bleeding into his voice.
Godfather regarded him without interest.
"Welcome to my Garden of Nede," he said calmly. "Where life is remade."
He inhaled.
Suddenly, reality shuddered.
With a casual wave of his hand, the man's body convulsed violently. His scream cut short as flesh, bone, and soul collapsed inward, exploding into raw essence—a storm of liberated power.
But it did not flow to Godfather.
A nearby pod drifted forward, petals unfurling slightly. Inside, a clone's chest flared as streams of colored energy—devoured from the victim—were injected directly into its developing core.
The pod drank greedily.
Meta-powers.Psychic abilities.Superior DNA.
These were stolen powers.
Godfather could devour abilities from meta-humans, but the power never remained within him. It returned to this garden—Nede, his reverse Eden—where it was purified, refined, and embedded into his creations.
Every elite meta-human and super-soldier under Godfather's command was born here.
"Stability at ninety-four percent," a calm voice reported.
Dr. Revive stepped out from behind a ring of pods.
There were faces inside the pods- Thrynn, Orya, Nymeris, Umbros, and Acyros. Those once dead meta humans were being reborn again.
"The subjectshave accepted the psychic imprint without rejection, after modifications based on their previous experiences and failures," he continued. "Our refinement process improves with every iteration, their power improves with every new birth."
Godfather's lips curved into a faint smile.
"Of course it does," he said. "Perfection is never achieved in a single generation. Only repeatedly trials and errors would create perfection."
He gestured again.
Several pods opened wider, their petals peeling back. In one of them, a clone's eyes snapped open—awakening far too early.
"This one," Godfather said. "Imbue him with the relevant cores. Strip away instability. I want greater control and greater reach."
Dr. Revive bowed his head. "As you wish. This clone will be programmed to exceed Rank 6A projections within three growth cycles. He will become your strongest Quantum Mind yet."
Inside the pod lay a human boy—silver-haired, and flawless features…
…. and bearing a perfect resemblance to Argent.
Godfather drifted onward.
At the center of the garden loomed the Mother Bloom—a colossal floral construct, its massive petals layered like living armor, its core blazing with condensed, devoured power.
This was where his greatest creations slept.
"Our Black Halo clone is developing faster than projected," Dr. Revive said carefully. "At this rate, it may soon rival even your prime iterations…. But without the original host's true power, this subject could not reach perfection, it may never approach the elusive Rank S that you seek."
While Black Halo battled the Four Wardens, Godfather had not been idle.
He had quietly siphoned the residual echoes of Black Halo's power—copying his signature, his resonance, his combat logic—using them as blueprints to recreate the perfect clone.
But what Godfather obtained were only imperfect copies of Black Halo's abilities.
Not the real thing.
The essence that made Black Halo Black Halo—the singular convergence of will, his instinct, and evolution—remained beyond replication.
"These clones were never meant to be perfect. They were attempts at perfection. Foundationsto be built upon," Godfather replied.
Then he came to a halt.
"Ah… Black Halo," he said softly. "One day, your true power will be mine. And when that happens, my greatest creation will finally be complete."
He placed his palm against the Mother Bloom.He turned, his eyes reflecting the glow of ten thousand unborn gods.
Power surged across Nede as thousands of pods pulsed in unison—their hearts forming, minds awakening, and destinies being rewritten.
"This world will not be inherited," Godfather murmured.
"It will be cultivated in my garden."
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