Where the End Begins, and the Beginning Starts.

    "Live life fully. Do not regret the choices you make. Each decision, good or bad, shapes who you are. Success or struggle, joy or pain, they all teach you many things. What makes us human is not intelligence, nor the capacity to feel, for all beings can do that. It is the ability to learn from our past mistakes."

    This phrase has been repeated many times by Nike Barca to the entirety of Earth. Nike Barca was like a god on Earth, being able to settle things all by himself. His words were considered sacred; his belongings were national treasures, and his actions on Earth will never be forgotten in the far future. He was the most important man on Earth. This is Nike Barc, the master strategist of planet Earth.

    In his life, he was credited with winning three world wars, forty-three civil wars, and negotiating more than 500 peace treaties. He is a world-renowned war technician on modern-day Earth with no one to outclass him. His mastery over global tactics and creation of over 300 different new war strategies made him a legendary figure worldwide. He is the one who shaped countries and stabilised continents with just his words. With intellect alone, he became a man who could steer the fate of the entire world.

    However, the very countries he saved eventually turned against him, viewing his unmatched knowledge as a threat to society. Betrayed, he had to turn to robots and technology to help him fend against all his enemies, and he actually managed to survive for another 10 years. He defeated over 100 countries, beat more than 2 billion soldiers, deactivated more than 10 billion robots, and foiled more than 10 thousand plans to kill him by top world leaders. His death was due to old age, not by his enemy killing him. This shows that if the world is against him, he could very well thrive over them all. Yet he refused, for ruling the world was never his desire; he wished only to improve it.

    As Nike's final moment approached, he wrote his final words before departing:

    "Peace... is nothing but a fleeting illusion. I spent my life waging wars, crafting strategies, and forging treaties... yet in the end, the world I tried to save betrayed me.

    If this is the road you go, follow through with it, but do not regret it later. Reflect on your mistakes, and let the knowledge I impart guide you toward improving the world. If we do not learn from them, we have no humanity.

    Why do you cling to life? What purpose drives the beating of your heart? What does justice mean when stripped of pride, fear, and ambition? And when the time comes to act, will your convictions remain words, or will you embody them through your deeds?

    To whoever reads this—ponder these questions. Answer them honestly. If you can, you will become more than a leader; you will become the force that shapes the future.

    Take the coin in the letter. It is made of the strongest material I have created. If you ever forgot my words or are in battle, this coin may prove useful.”

    By the time he was done putting the coin in the envelope, he felt a sharp pain tearing his head apart. His mind blurred, and he felt such agony that his screams did not make a single sound. It was as if his body and mind were being divaricated apart by an unimaginable force of pain that could not be stopped.

    After what felt like an eternity of hellish torment, he felt his mind mending back together with a body. He felt that he had changed both in mind and body. Something unexplainable just by words. It was as if his mind had transferred into another body.

    As he was recovering from that pandemonium of pain, he heard someone scream in a foreign language, "Wake up, Recruits!" As soon as he heard that phrase, he instantly knew he had been transmigrated based on the experience he just had. However, he has a burning question in his heart that he could not get a concrete answer to. Which is how he was transmigrated? And how can he understand this foreign language?

    He slowly opened his eyes and saw a white room filled with bunk beds and the stench of sweat. Based on muscle memory, he counted the number of people in the room with him. Right as he finished counting, right in the corner of his eye, he saw his uniform folded neatly, a strange-looking coin and a note on the desk next to him. He opened the note with caution and saw random scribbles that looked more like a doctor you would get on Earth. Shockingly, he could understand it, and it read:

    “I’m so tired of being chained to this AI. It has no creativity and no feelings. Even if I don’t hate AI, I can’t understand why I’m still here. With robots doing all the labour and AI handling every strategy, what purpose do I even serve?

    The government keeps insisting that we control AI, but I see the opposite. People rely on it for everything and trust themselves with nothing. Social media has become AI sludge with no originality left. Even in sports, people wear smart glasses that predict where the ball will land—how is that fun anymore?

    Please… let there be someone who can change the fate of Astra. I call upon Deus Belli—bring forth a soul who can save us, no matter the cost.”

    After finishing the note, he got up from bed and got ready. As he went to see a mirror, he saw a young 16-year-old boy. He has a very charismatic face with black hair and unique dark blue eyes.

   Even though he was the last one to get up, he was also the first one to finish. Just as he was about to talk to the person next to him, the same voice he heard when waking up shouted, “Private Oorlog, please tell your peers how you get ready so quickly!” It was the commander and teacher of this platoon; he had short black hair, wore an eye patch, and wore many badges on his spotless uniform.

    Seeing that no one is saying anything, he knew his last name was Oorlog. After that thought, he immediately said, “Sir, Yes, Sir! I first clean my uniform the day before, so once I wake up, I will have a clean uniform to wear. Then I also do not mess up my bed, therefore I can clean it fast. That is it, Sir!”

    “That is how you become the top student in military school. Got that, everyone! At ease!”

    “Sir, Yes, Sir!” said the rowdy, unorganised students.

    As soon as the commander left, the school bell rang, indicating the start of Nike's new beginning.