The Almighty Ring

Two energy cores of the same type cannot simultaneously be present in the same galaxy at any given time, let alone the same solar system. And so, when the new energy core was birthed by the sun, it was just a matter of time before it leapt off to another galaxy. However, 0541 had managed to lock onto it with Braveheart’s tractor beam and caught it right before it was about to fly off deep into space.

The plan had been to capture the energy core and reel it into the ship’s laboratory where it would then be secured in isolated containment. But 0541 had overwritten the tractor beam’s programmed vector at the last possible second and changed the targeted destination of the energy core from the ship’s laboratory to the holding cell where Jiang Fei was.

The AI also managed to reverse the tractor beam’s setting, making it go from maximum attraction power to maximum repulsion force. And that resulted in the energy core shooting toward Jiang Fei at twice warp speed, like a pinball being fired from the spring release.

Despite being so powerful, energy cores were still non-living objects without a will of their own. And even though cores with the same properties repelled each other and would cause either one to leave the galaxy they were in, the direction they took was random and unpredictable. In this case, 0541 had deliberately given the core a direction and set it free.

The core penetrated every wall and equipment between it and Jiang Fei at two times warp speed, making only a marble sized hole through everything in its path and puncturing solid Namekian alloy like a hot knife through butter, creating multiple breaches throughout the ship in its wake.

BOOM!

Jiang Fei had only just detected an immensely powerful form of energy being directed toward him when the core had already penetrated the cell wall and was already inches away from his face!

Given the size of Braveheart, the distance between the laboratory and the holding cell was tens of kilometers away from each other. But such a long distance meant nothing at two times warp speed as it only took the core one ten thousandth of a second to traverse. The fact that Jiang Fei was able to detect such a phenomenon with his current abilities on itself was applaudable. But attempting a split second reaction toward the oncoming projectile was something that even Level 5 Metahuman masters would not be able to accomplish.

ZOOM!

The energy core’s current trajectory meant that its was to go through Jiang Fei, right between the eyes. And at this speed, even a Level 5 or legendary Level 6 Metahuman was going to have their heads blown up into tiny meat particles, what more a Level 4 like Jiang Fei.

HUMMM!

But just as the core was a mere couple of inches away from penetrating Jiang Fei’s head, another energy core emerged from his forehead in a radiant blue light. It was the Core of Will that Jiang Fei had assimilated with!

Under normal circumstances, energy cores that had been assimilated with would not leave the host’s body unless in the event of death. But this was an exception because the core inside Jiang Fei and the one that was about to blow his head off were two of the same type!

Having had its trajectory forcefully changed and even velocity sped up to an abnormal speed resulted in it being denied entry into subspace. The new energy core was now on a collision course with another one similar to itself which was an event that had never happened before in the entirety of the history of the universe!

This phenomenon was something that even the technologically advanced race of Namekians had only theorized and scientifically simulated but never dared experimented. After all, energy cores were too rare and valuable to even be considered as experimental objects even if it was for the sake of science, like how we humans would not take two expensive pieces of antique china and smash them together for an experiment.

But from their many simulations, the Namekians had concluded that such a collision would result in either one of two possible outcomes. The first one being that the core would shatter and destroy each other, releasing the obscene amount of energy they contained all at once and wiping out an entire galaxy from existence as well as sending massive shockwaves in ripples that would affect the other galaxies close by. The second theorized outcome was that the two cores would merge into one single core like a nuclear fusion. But after that, any theory about the resultant core fusion have been inconclusive.

It was precisely out of fear of the first theorized outcome that ultimately the Namekians stopped pursuing any similar experiments. Should the cores explode, the entire galaxy they were in would be obliterated along with them in it. Unfortunately for them, the entire race had not succumbed to a galactic explosion like that, but had perished instead for messing around with the power of black holes. An ironic end for a race that flourished with science.

As Braveheart’s virtual assistant, 0541 knew of the risks that came with smashing two energy cores together. But he still chose to gamble with everything on the line in order to save his dear friend.

Realistically speaking, there was no way for Jiang Fei to turn his situation around at all. Even if 0541 had chosen to sacrifice himself by going against his core programming and stage a mutiny against the captain, he would at most be able to buy Jiang Fei a mere few minutes as there would not be enough time for him to do anything helpful before the system deleted him. And after that, Akatziris would just release 0542 or 0543 as his replacement. By then, Jiang Fei would not stand a chance against her at all.

So when 0541 had calculated that a new energy core was being formed after noticing that the sun’s black spot had been continuously exploding, he instantly knew that this was Jiang Fei’s last hope. He had bet on everything that the newly formed energy core would be either a Core of Will or a Core of Life because both Jiang Fei and Bella had assimilated either one. As long as the new core was either one of the two, he could then begin to orchestrate a lifeline for Jiang Fei.

Now that 0541 had reversed the tractor beam and fired off the core toward Jiang Fei, the bits and bytes that made up his core data began to crumble. He had gone against his core programming and had committed treason against his captain, and now his data was gradually being erased. A ticking countdown timer had started for the erasure of his existence.

TING!

The two blue Cores of Will finally came into contact with each other.

But the collision that took place in that very moment happened so fast that no one was able to see what actually happened. Not Jiang Fei who was only less than an inch away from it. Not even Akatziris with her superior advanced high definition high framerate android eyes. Nobody there could properly watch and witness this universally historical phenomenon.

WHOOSH!

Bright blue light emanated from the point of impact, instantly filling up the entire holding cell. The light even penetrated solid objects like the ship’s walls, spreading its brilliance further away from its source. Soon, the entire Braveheart glowed blue as if it had lit up itself, but the light did not stop there! The blue glow grew and spread itself across the vacuum void of space, wrapping the sun in its azure light, and then Mercury, Venus, and Earth… And in just one day, gentle blue light had spread across the entire solar system, touching and permeating through everything in its vicinity!

But to Jiang Fei and the others who were at the center of it all, the light did not glow and linger long. To them, the sudden appearance of the blue light was akin to a flash when in reality, its gentle hues had already swept through the entire solar system.

This one thousandth of a second may have been too short and insignificant, and many people would not have realized it passing by. But it was this very instant in time that concluded the birth of a miracle!

The 0.0003% chance that 0541 had bet on had paid off! It turns out that when two energy cores of the same properties collided with each other at absurd speeds, they would fuse! The two energy Cores of Will had combined into one, and the new core formed was half the size of the original cores. It emitted the same brilliant blue glow as the original but was much gentler and milder, and no energy could be felt from the stone as if all of its powers were completely sealed within itself.

“0541! What’s going on?” Akatziris saw the flash of blue light as well as the marble-sized hole on the cell wall where the core had appeared from, but she still had no clue about what had just happened.