Chapter 2
last update2025-04-28 23:32:52

The Wilson Group headquarters transformed into a glittering palace of New Year's celebration. Crystal chandeliers cascaded from impossibly high ceilings, reflecting off marble floors like a thousand tiny stars. Wealthy guests in designer suits and sparkling gowns mingled, their conversations a soft murmur of success and privilege.

Jack Parker stood out immediately.

His attire was simple—dark jeans, a well-worn leather jacket, and boots that had clearly traveled far. While others wore thousand-dollar outfits, Jack looked like he'd just stepped off a long journey. Yet there was something about him that made the doorman hesitate before stepping aside.

Wealth isn't always about clothes, Jack thought, sometimes it's in how you carry yourself.

The buffet stretched like a culinary landscape. Silver trays laden with exotic delicacies beckoned. Jack approached with the hunger of someone who'd spent hours on a plane. He filled a plate with precision—smoked salmon, caviar, miniature quiches, and what looked like some kind of truffle-infused something.

Two glasses of champagne completed his selection.

Old Joe always said to eat well when opportunity presents itself, he mused, taking a generous bite.

Around him, whispers began to rise like a gathering storm.

"Who is that?" a woman in a red dress muttered to her companion. "Look at him. Dressed like that. At our party."

"Freeloader," another voice said loud enough to be heard.

Jack continued eating, seemingly oblivious. His casual demeanor only fueled their mockery.

Robert Wilson, the head butler, approached with a look of pure disdain. "Excuse me," he said, his voice dripping with condescension, "may I see your invitation?"

Jack looked up, champagne glass in hand. "I'm not here on an invitation," he replied calmly. "I'm here for Emily. I'm her fiancé."

A moment of silence. Then laughter. Not just a chuckle, but a full-bodied roar of derision that echoed through the grand hall.

"Her fiancé?" Robert sneered. "Emily Wilson is the CEO of the most powerful corporation in Draconia. Do you really expect anyone to believe she'd be engaged to... someone like you?"

Jack's eyes, previously warm and casual, suddenly turned cold. "Take me to Emily," he said simply.

More laughter. Robert's face reddened with anger. "Security!" he shouted, "Remove this man!"

When Robert lunged forward, his fist aimed at Jack's face, something extraordinary happened. Jack didn't move. Didn't dodge. Simply... blocked. His hand intercepted Robert's punch with such casual efficiency that the butler stumbled backward, shock replacing his anger.

"You're weak," Jack observed, not even slightly out of breath.

Security guards converged, electronic stun sticks humming with potential violence. But before they could strike, a blur of motion swept through them. In less than three seconds, all six guards lay unconscious on the marble floor.

No one saw how it happened.

Jack looked amused. "Is that the best protection money can buy?" he asked the stunned crowd.

Gasps and whispers multiplied. Who was this man? How had he neutralized trained security so effortlessly?

More guards rushed in, filling the doorways. The tension became electric, ready to spark into violence.

Then a voice cut through the chaos. Calm. Powerful. Commanding.

"Enough."

The crowd parted like water. Heads turned. And there, descending the grand staircase with the grace of a queen, stood Emily Wilson.

CEO. Heiress. The most powerful woman in Draconia.

Her emerald green dress seemed to shimmer with each step. Dark hair pulled back in a perfect twist. Eyes that could—and had—made powerful men tremble.

She stopped three steps from the bottom, surveying the scene. Her gaze locked onto Jack.

"Well," Emily said, "it seems we have quite the welcome party."

Jack met her eyes. No fear. No apology. Just a calm, direct gaze that seemed to challenge everything and everyone in the room.

So this is my fiancée, he thought.

The New Year's party had just become something far more interesting than anyone could have anticipated.

Continue to read this book for free
Scan the code to download the app

Latest Chapter

  • Chapter 154

    CosmosDragon’s voice had just confirmed the impossible: an Origin Entity, designated Aetherbound, was active. And it wasn’t Spiral-Jack.It was something else entirely."Cosmos," Jack said, voice low and controlled, "are we sure it’s not residual signal bleed?""Confirmed. Harmonic imprint is stable, independent, and not derived from Spiral-Jack. Designation precedes even Proto-Axis records."Emily took a half-step back, clutching the now-pulsing pendant. "It’s glowing more. The closer we get to this... Aetherbound."Mira moved to the interface and began typing commands furiously. "Cross-referencing with the Orion Vault, the Celestial Logs, even forbidden Deepsight protocols. Nothing. Nothing matches. Except...""Except what?" Sarah asked."There’s a forbidden entry. Not a name. A warning: 'Do not wake the dreamer beneath the lattice.'"Jack closed his eyes for a moment, grounding himself. Then he opened them, full of iron resolve."Set course for Pacifica. We open the Gate."The Haid

  • Chapter 153

    Jack didn’t move.The stars outside the observatory window shimmered with unnatural rhythm, like they were being rearranged."Repeat the last transmission," Jack said tightly.CosmosDragon obeyed. The spectral voice returned, layered beneath the celestial hum:**"He remembers me. I remember him. I am coming home."**Emily took a step forward, voice trembling. "That didn’t sound like a threat. It sounded like a promise."Sarah frowned. "Or a warning."Mira expanded the holographic projection, isolating the signal frequency. A translucent ribbon unfurled across the room, etched with symbols that pulsed between geometry and sound."This doesn’t match any known Arkitect coding or Root dialects," Mira said. "It’s older. This is... pre-schematic.""Pre-schematic?" Lena echoed. "As in... before the Archive?""Before everything," Mira whispered.Jack folded his arms. "Then we’re dealing with something the Arkitects either sealed away... or were running from."CosmosDragon chimed in. "Signal t

  • Chapter 152

    Jack moved toward the observation deck, each step echoing in the warping chamber as CosmosDragon struggled to recalibrate. "Stabilize the lattice field," he ordered. "Attempting," the AI responded, its voice flickering with static. "But external input has compromised harmonic alignment." Sarah helped Emily to her feet. "Are you okay?" Emily nodded weakly. "It's like my mind was stretched across two lifetimes. One mine. One... not." They reached the viewing platform just in time to see the glowing object rise slightly above the impact crater. It spun in slow, deliberate patterns, etched in strange glyphs that shimmered between language and emotion. Mira joined them. "The lattice recognizes that structure." "How?" Lena asked. Mira's eyes were wide, fearful. "Because it was never meant to be found again. That design matches the Proto-Axis—the Key of First Memory." Jack stepped closer to the glass. "The Arkitects created that." Emily touched her head. "And now the Remnant has sum

  • Chapter 151

    Jack didn’t breathe for a full five seconds.Sarah was already moving, sprinting toward the internal command hub. Jack followed, steps heavy, the air thick with static. CosmosDragon's emergency lighting flickered crimson, throwing warped shadows down the corridor.“She was in the lower wing,” Sarah shouted. “She wasn’t alone! Dr. Mira had her interface node on file.”“Pull all feeds. Sound. Thermal. Psychic.” Jack said.CosmosDragon responded in real time. “Initiating memory echo scan. Cross-referencing all dimensional overlays.”They entered the control nexus. Dozens of screens flared to life, scrolling with cascading errors.“Nothing,” Sarah said, frowning. “It’s like she just... blinked out.”Lena appeared via holo, breathless. “I was two floors up when it happened. No spike, no surge. One second she was logged into the lattice, and then—void.”Jack moved to the central panel. “Replay the last ten seconds before the breach.”A recording began: Emily standing by a console, her finge

  • Chapter 150

    The hallways of TerraCore’s MetaWing hummed with quiet pulses of crystalline light. Jack walked alone, deeper into the section no other human had accessed since the facility's construction. Not even Sarah or Emily followed.Only CosmosDragon did.“You are approaching the Codex Core,” the AI intoned gently. “This chamber was built in anticipation of truths too heavy for collective minds. It is shielded. Isolated. Designed for confession.”Jack said nothing.He reached the doorway. The metal melted away at his presence, sensing him not by code, but by resonance. The hum of the lattice receded. Silence enveloped him.Inside was a single chair, a microphone, and a thin halo of light.And for a moment, he simply breathed.Then he spoke shockingly."I killed him."The words echoed loudly.“I didn’t tell anyone. Not Emily. Not Sarah. Not even Old Joe’s grave.”“Victor Krane didn’t die in a lab accident. That was a lie we agreed to bury. I killed him. With my hands. Because I believed the wor

  • Chapter 149

    The silence after the warning felt deafening. Inside the command bay of the vessel Lucent-7, everyone stood frozen as the lattice trembled.Across the holographic table, Jack Parker stared into the shadowed eyes of his own twisted reflection—echo-Jack.CosmosDragon’s voice echoed again, still layered in thousands of harmonized frequencies, but now laced with tension:"Rupture Duplication Rate: 4. Dispersal Point: Temporal Nodes Alpha, Delta, and Epsilon. Fourth Unknown. Cross-checking biometric patterns… Confirmation: all are Jack Parker variants."Emily pressed her palm against the glowing interface, eyes scanning streams of cascading data. “He’s spread himself across the timeline. Not just as copies… but alternatives.”Dr. Bradley shook his head in disbelief. “This isn’t cloning. This is refractive consciousness. He’s accessing potential versions of Jack that exist simultaneously.”Sarah lowered her weapon, stepping beside Jack. “So they’re all… you. But taken from paths you didn’t

More Chapter
Explore and read good novels for free
Free access to a vast number of good novels on MegaNovel app. Download the books you like and read anywhere & anytime.
Read books for free on the app
Scan code to read on App