Cronus' system: Against the gods

Seraphina lay on her bed, staring at the carvings on the ceiling of her chamber, their swirling patterns illuminated by the moonlight filtering through the window. The faint scent of lavender lingered in the air, a remnant of the evening's incense burning, but it failed to soothe her restless mind. The academy, the chaos, the fear, the secrets buried beneath official statements occupied her every thought.

The news channels had painted a heroic tale: a monstrous beast had attacked the city, and brave soldiers had defended it. General Silas, the stoic protector, had tragically fallen in the line of duty. But the truth was far more harrowing, and she couldn't shake the memories of what she'd witnessed: the shadow of death that had swept through the academy, the terror in the students' eyes, and the sheer force of destruction that even now seemed etched into her soul.

A strange comfort lay in the fabricated narrative. Her father, the calculating patriarch of their family, would have used the attack as a pretext for war against the Voss family, not out of concern for her safety but as a means to settle old scores. She could already envision his cold fury masked behind a facade of righteous indignation, his ambition threatening to engulf all. She loathed the idea of becoming a pawn in his schemes.

"Rex..." His name left her lips in a whisper, tender yet heavy with unspoken gratitude. She had called him so many times before during the chaos, and he had always answered. The thought of him brought a flicker of warmth to her otherwise somber mood. Rex had not only fought for her but had saved her, thrice now. And Magnus, though rough and abrasive had stood by her too. The mere memory of Rex, with his unwavering determination and the way he had defied impossible odds, left her feeling both indebted and profoundly unworthy.

But their date... their one chance at something normal amidst the insanity, had been ruined. Again. By forces that seemed determined to remind her of the fragility of her existence as a noble.

She sighed and rose from the bed, her bare feet touching the cold marble floor. The silken hem of her nightgown trailed behind her as she moved toward the door, compelled by an unnamed yearning. Her feet carried her with an urgency that transcended thought, her soul seemingly guiding her to a place she hadn't visited in years, the Family Garden.

The garden stretched beneath a canopy of stars, its flowers glowing faintly in the moonlight as though touched by the divine. Roses of silver and gold shimmered among an array of fantastical flora, their petals as vibrant as her mother's laugh once was. The gentle sound of trickling water from a nearby fountain mixed with the symphony of crickets, evoking a serene harmony that wrapped around her like a familiar embrace.

It was here, in this sacred place, that she had felt closest to her mother. As a child, she would sit on this very grass, cradled in her mother's arms, while she recounted tales of wonder and heroism. One story lingered above all, the tale of the unyielding Monkey.

Her mother's voice, soft yet vibrant, echoed in her mind. "The Monkey faced gods and demons alike, never bowing, never breaking, because his heart was boundless and his will was his own." Seraphina smiled faintly, remembering how she used to act out the Monkey's feats with a stick in hand, leaping over stones and pretending to defeat invisible foes. The memory brought a pang of longing, the kind that gnawed at the edges of her soul.

As she stood there, bathed in moonlight, she spoke softly to the wind. "Mother, what would you say to me now? Would you tell me to be strong, to stand tall like the Monkey, or would you simply hold me and let me cry?" Her voice broke slightly, and she felt tears welling up in her eyes.

****************

"Yahoo!" Rex cried out, his voice a mix of relief and triumph as he shoved the door to his house open. The weight of exhaustion clung to him like a drenched cloak after a storm. If fatigue had a face, it'd be wearing a neon shirt that screamed, 'I'm Rex, and I'm exhausted.' His legs wobbled beneath him, every step an uphill battle, like a man who had just sprinted a marathon in a hotdog costume for reasons no one would understand, not even him.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

He trudged through the small, sparsely decorated space that barely resembled a home, ignoring the faint creak of the floorboards. Reaching his room felt like winning an Olympic gold medal. With a theatrical flop, he collapsed onto the bed, the mattress catching him like the embrace of an old friend who'd been waiting forever. The softness of the sheets was a balm to his battered body, and sleep circled him like a predator closing in, ready to claim him.

"Ahhh..." Rex sighed into his pillow, his voice muffled but heavy with weariness. "Cronus... How do you think I've been faring in regards to you in your prime?" His eyes fluttered shut, though his curiosity kept him tethered to consciousness. "If I'm honest, I feel like I've been running on fumes and regret."

Laughter erupted in his mind, rich and booming, like thunder rolling across the heavens. Cronus' voice carried the unmistakable weight of ancient authority, but also a smugness that Rex found both irritating and oddly comforting.

"You?" Cronus bellowed, the sound vibrating through Rex's skull and making his bed tremble slightly. "A larvae amongst dragons!" His tone was dripping with theatrical grandeur. "Thou hast not even scraped a percentage of my power, young one! You are but a mosquito to my thunderstorm!"

Rex groaned, rolling onto his back and trying to suppress a yawn. "A mosquito, huh? Well, if you're the thunderstorm, I must be the puddle left behind afterward. And excuse me if I take a nap before my brain figures out I'm still alive."

He barely had time to savor the silence before a faint buzzing sound pulled him back from the brink of sleep. It came from the table beside his bed. He forced himself upright, dragging his legs over the edge as he groped blindly for the source of the noise. His fingers brushed against a smooth, vibrating chip.

"Oh, come on," he muttered, blinking groggily as he held it up to inspect it. "I wonder how much was actually sent this time."

The chip, a sleek, transparent device glowing faintly was his money chip, a piece of tech everyone in the city had. With a system interface similar to his own, it allowed users to receive, withdraw, and manage their funds without ever leaving their homes. Simple security protocols required a fingerprint, voice command, and passcode to access the balance.

When the chip buzzed, it meant one thing: money had just entered his account. Rex tapped a button on its surface, and a holographic screen flared to life before him, the familiar blue interface displaying an alert:

Alert: Money has been deposited into your account! Please input your code to access.

Rex quickly entered his passcode, 0190, then placed his thumb against the chip for a fingerprint scan. The device beeped softly before a voice recognition prompt appeared. "Rex Xander," he said, his voice still tinged with exhaustion.

The screen flashed, revealing his account details:

Account Holder: Rex Xander

Origin: Stellar City

Age: 16

Occupation: Orphaned Student

Amount Available: $501,000

Rex froze, staring at the screen as if it had just declared him ruler of the galaxy. His breath hitched. "Damn it! 500,000?!" His voice cracked as his mind scrambled to process the figure. "Surely, my eyes aren't playing tricks on me, right?" He rubbed them furiously, but the numbers remained stubbornly the same.

Leaping from the bed like a man possessed, he shouted, "I'm rich! I'm rich!" His whoops of joy echoed through the tiny house, loud enough to make his neighbors wonder if he'd finally lost it.

He stopped mid-spin, the memory of his earlier conversation with the General flashing through his mind. "Honestly, when he mentioned sending money, I thought I'd get, like, $5,000 tops! But this?" He waved the chip around in disbelief. "This is a hundred times that!"

To most citizens, $500,000 was a modest sum, barely enough to raise eyebrows. But to Rex? This was life-changing. After all, his expenses rarely extended beyond food and essentials. His mind raced with possibilities.

"Shit!" he exclaimed, still grinning ear to ear. "If this is just the first reward, what about the next one he mentioned? What could possibly top this?"

Any trace of sleep had evaporated, replaced by giddy excitement. Rex bolted to the kitchen, yanking open his fridge with a flourish. Inside was a bleak display of emptiness: a half-eaten pack of crackers and a lonely bottle of water.

He chuckled, patting the fridge door affectionately. "Don't worry, old buddy. You're about to get filled up real soon."