"It's… wide."
"Much emptier than I thought it would be."
"Stop being a hater."
"I'm… not?"
The Heroes were now being toured around the ship by Sisa and her team. Although, no one was really listening to the explanations anymore. Most of them were busy doing their own thing, with some taking photos and videos of the interior while others wandered around with open curiosity.
The IBAA wasn't worried about information leaking out, however. The vessel itself prevented any unnecessary signals from entering or leaving the hull. They had expected this sort of reaction from the beginning, and honestly, no one could blame them.
S-tier Heroes had seen their fair share of strange and fantastic sights through the countless Leaks they had been sent to investigate. Most of those worlds, however, offered little to no technological wonder at all.
It was... sort of sad.
Perhaps there were civilizations out there far more advanced than humanity. But among all the worlds Earth had encountered so far, only the bellethers had truly surpassed them in that regard. Sisa's species had as well, but they were all but gone now.
For the moment, humanity remained one of the most technologically advanced civilizations they knew of. And with the knowledge left behind by Sisa's people, they would continue advancing.
The ship they were standing in was proof of that.
The moment they entered, every one of them had been scanned automatically. Their identities were confirmed instantly and with pinpoint accuracy. Even the walls served multiple purposes. They realized this after noticing a virtual assistant following them through the corridors, its image moving seamlessly across the surfaces while providing information Sisa and her team had skipped over.
"...That's Beatrice's voice."
Adam blinked several times as he glanced toward the speakers.
"Is she here?"
"No." Sisa looked back at him with a smile. "But she provided the voice."
"It suits her," Adam said, letting out a small snicker at the announcement. "She always did sound robotic."
"She does. We actually thought your species had androids the first time we met her."
Sisa slowed her pace and walked beside Adam and Sylvie as they arrived at some sort of bridge connecting two sections of the vessel.
"If you could look over there."
She pointed down toward the left side of the bridge.
Everyone stopped.
Beyond the railing was an enormous empty space that seemed to stretch through the ship's entire height. Massive square pillars of metal rose from floor to ceiling, evenly spaced throughout the chamber.
"What is that?"
Both Adam and Sylvie leaned forward slightly to get a better look. The others behind them followed suit. It was hard not to stare when such a vast space suddenly opened up in the middle of the ship, looking completely different from everything else they had seen so far.
"It is the vessel's gym, Adam," Sisa answered.
"A gym?"
Adam squinted.
He searched the floor for exercise equipment, but couldn't find a single machine. In fact, there wasn't anything there at all. Just an enormous empty chamber filled with towering metal pillars.
There were only giant metal pillars, each one almost as tall as a building. More than anything else, they reminded everyone present just how gargantuan the ship truly was.
Adam was about to ask where the exercise equipment was when he realized there probably wasn't any gym machine in existence capable of supporting the strength of S-tier Heroes.
"This is also the part of the ship with the strongest reinforcement," Sisa explained.
Sylvie, who had remained quiet beside Adam for most of the tour, finally spoke up.
"This must have taken a long time to build," she whispered, her eyes tracing the pillars. "And even longer to hide."
"Yes. As with all things of high quality, it took years to build." Sisa nodded. "Unfortunately, not fast enough. We have not had enough time to properly test everything."
She paused before looking around at the gathered Heroes.
"Fortunately, everyone present could probably survive even if the ship exploded in space."
"No, they won't," Sylvie immediately replied. "They could survive the explosion itself, yes. But none of us have any experience being exposed to the harsh environment of outer space. C'est une mission suicide."
"Well…" Sisa sighed. "Such has been the story of our lives ever since the Game."
She lowered her head slightly. Her species lacked eyelids, but somehow she still looked as though she were holding back tears.
"Now, if you would follow me, I will lead you to your quarters."
The group didn't have to travel far. In fact, the living quarters were directly beside the gym.
"The rooms all have your names on the doors," Sisa said as she turned toward the group. "We will enter the bellethers' detection range in approximately forty-nine hours. During that time, all of you will be familiarized with operating in zero gravity."
One of Sisa's assistants stepped forward and handed her a small device. She placed it over her nose and mouth, covering most of her face.
"You will also be provided with one of these." Her voice became slightly muffled through the mask. "This is a breathing device."
She then raised a tiny canister no larger than a crayon. "And this is your oxygen supply."
Several Heroes immediately leaned forward to get a better look.
"This little thing is not merely a canister. It is a complex apparatus capable of producing enough oxygen for six hours. Each of you will be issued ten of them."
She raised a finger. "Do not lose them. "If you have any questions, you may ask V, the ship's AI assistant. That concludes the tour."
"That's... it?"
"What about the rest of the ship?"
"We've probably only seen, like, five percent of it."
Sisa looked at them but didn't answer. Instead, the wall beside her lit up.
A small fairy appeared on the surface and waved enthusiastically.
The Hero immediately straightened.
"N-no. Thank you."
"Okay. That's creepy as shit." The Hero looked around for a bit. "Is that thing going to be watching us the entire time?"
"You didn't read the fine print, did you?" someone immediately replied. "It literally says all of our movements are monitored for safety reasons."
"F-fuck. Isn't that a breach of privacy?"
"Would you rather the entire planet get destroyed?" another Hero scoffed. "You've seen the pictures of Sisa's world."
The crowd quickly broke into smaller conversations. It didn't last long, however. Most of them were eager to see their rooms, and one by one they began heading toward their assigned quarters.
"Adam," Sisa called out. "Your quarters are at the very end of the hall. We reserved the largest one for you."
"You… didn't have to do that. I could sleep anywhere." Adam raised an eyebrow. "Where will you be sleeping?"
"Our people do not require sleep," Sisa replied, shaking her head. "We will remain on the bridge and operate the ship."
"Then I'll probably spend most of my time there after I get settled." Adam shrugged. "I don't really need sleep, either."
"We would be honored to have you there, Adam."
Sisa lowered her head, and the rest of her team immediately followed suit. "We will prepare refreshments for you."
"That—"
Before Adam could refuse, Sisa and her team quickly hurried out of the passageway. The only thing Adam could really do was watch them disappear around the corner.
He sighed and shook his head before making his way toward the end of the hall. To his surprise, Sylvie was already standing outside his quarters.
"Sylvie," he called out. "Did... you need something?"
"No," she answered quickly, stepping aside and pointing at the door. "There must have been some sort of mistake."
Adam looked at the door and immediately saw what she meant. Written on the nameplate were two names.
His. And Sylvie's.
"...Did we run out of rooms?" Adam blinked. Before he could even turn around to look for Sisa, the wall beside the door lit up. The ship's AI, V, emerged from it and cheerfully answered the question for him.
"...Beatrice."
"W-what...?" Sylvie blinked several times, her eyes darting between Adam and the AI. "That... can't be right? Right…?"
Adam, meanwhile, simply sighed. Somehow, this felt exactly like something Beatrice would do.
He stepped forward, and the door slid open automatically.
The two stared inside. And there it was—a penthouse suite. The far wall displayed a vivid image of a tropical beach, complete with moving waves and a bright blue sky. There was a large island counter, a sofa, an open wardrobe already stocked with their belongings, and, most noticeably of all, a massive bed covered with a red duvet.
"I..." Sylvie awkwardly looked away. "I can sleep on the sofa and—"
"No." Adam shook his head. "I'll probably spend most of my time on the bridge anyway."
"Oh." Sylvie glanced toward the artificial beach wall. "That... Okay. Then I'll just—"
Before she could finish, the door behind them suddenly slid shut.
The two instinctively looked toward the closed door before slowly turning back to each other.
"Oh..." Sylvie blinked.
"I suppose..." Adam rubbed the back of his neck. "We should strap ourselves in for now?"
***
At the same time, somewhere in the middle of Manila, an old man was buying groceries when he suddenly stopped and looked toward the entrance. His eyes widened.
"What's wrong, babe?" His partner placed a hand on his shoulder, but the old man didn't respond. "Gerald? What's wrong?"
The old man was Gerald—the First Hero of Earth and one of its X-tier Heroes.
"Get to the car. Now." His voice was calm. Far too calm.
"Wh—"
He lightly pushed his partner toward the exit before he could even say anything else.
"Drive as far away as you can. Call Angela and tell her to do the same. Take her husband and Maria with you."
"Th—"
"Now!" Gerald's shout thundered through the supermarket, causing the shelves to rattle and carts to shake. The cart his partner had been pushing tipped onto its side as several nearby shoppers stumbled in surprise.
"Call the IBAA, too," Gerald demanded, his voice much quieter now. "Tell them to evacuate the entire city."
His eyes never left the entrance.
"...It's them," he whispered as the air around them started to crack.
"The Emperors are coming."