LOWKEY INTERSTELLER CAPTAIN

Cheno Bo sat in the Academy’s medical bay; his knuckles wrapped in bandages. His body ached from the fight, but the pain was nothing compared to the rage simmering beneath the surface.

Xian Ren had cheated.

Again.

And no one had done a damn thing about it.

The Academy turned a blind eye to the powerful.

He clenched his fists, ignoring the dull sting. If they thought he would back down, they were sorely mistaken.

Aeliana’s Accusation

The door slid open with a soft hiss. Aeliana stormed inside.

Her violet eyes burned with anger, not concern.

“Cheno Bo,” she spat, crossing her arms. “Why do you always have to embarrass yourself?”

Cheno narrowed his eyes. “Embarrass myself? You saw what happened. Xian Ren cheated.”

Aeliana scoffed. “And? You think whining about it changes anything? You should have known better than to challenge him.”

Cheno’s jaw tightened. “So, I should just let him walk over me?”

Aeliana smirked. “You’re already beneath him.”

Her words cut deeper than any wound.

For a moment, Cheno just stared at her. The woman he had once loved, the one he thought had stood beside him, was now mocking him.

Something was wrong.

“Why are you even here, Aeliana?” he asked coldly.

She flipped her hair over her shoulder. “To tell you to stop being pathetic. You’re embarrassing yourself clinging to something that’s already lost.”

Before Cheno could respond, the door opened again.

And the truth unraveled.

The Noble’s Leverage

Xian Ren strode in with his usual arrogant smirk, his uniform pristine as if he hadn’t just been beaten into the dirt hours ago. Behind him stood an older man—his father, Admiral Xian Fei.

The air in the room turned suffocating.

“So, this is where the fallen heir licks his wounds,” Ren taunted. “Not bad, considering your background.”

Cheno stayed silent, watching Aeliana’s reaction instead.

She didn’t move.

She didn’t even look surprised.

Something cold twisted in his gut.

Xian Fei smiled, but there was no warmth in it. “Cheno Bo. You’re quite troublesome. If you had just kept your head down, things could’ve been... easier.”

“Easier for who?” Cheno asked, voice sharp.

Ren’s smirk widened. “For Aeliana, of course.”

His blood ran cold.

Aeliana finally turned to him, but she wouldn’t meet his eyes.

“I... I didn’t want it to happen like this,” she whispered. “But —”

Cheno stood up sharply. “Tell me it’s not true.”

She didn’t answer.

The silence was louder than any confession.

Ren chuckled. “Poor Cheno. Did you really think she was with you because she loved you?” He took a step closer, his smirk widening. “She was with you because you have higher noble status than her. Because you had status. The moment your family fell, she was already in my bed.”

Cheno’s mind reeled, every memory, every stolen moment now tainted by deceit.

Aeliana’s lips parted, but there was no remorse in her eyes—only cold amusement. “It’s true. You were useful for a while, but after your family fell, what could you offer me?”

Cheno’s body trembled, not from weakness but from sheer, uncontainable fury. “You... were playing me this whole time?”

She sighed. “Ren told me to. His father had plans for your family, and we needed you complacent.” Also, my family will also benefit and rise in status.

Ren’s father nodded approvingly. “Your father was a stain on the Empire. He didn’t deserve his title, and your family’s destruction was inevitable.”

Cheno’s breath hitched.

His family, all of them, wiped out. He had always thought it was misfortune, bad luck, or political shifts. But now...

Xian Fei had orchestrated it all.

Ren chuckled, crossing his arms. “You know what’s funny? If you weren’t in the Academy at the time, you’d be dead just like the rest of them.

Cheno’s blood ran ice cold.

He had lost everything.

His family. His home. His pride.

And all this time, Aeliana had been laughing behind his back.

His fists clenched so tight his nails dug into his palms. He had smacked Xian Ren earlier because this was the Academy. Here, the rules of nobility didn’t apply completely. Outside these walls? He’d already been dead.

Ren saw the look in his eyes and grinned. “Oh? Do you want to hit me again, Cheno? Go ahead. See how far that gets you.”

Cheno smiled.

A slow, dangerous smile.

Ren’s smirk faltered. “What?”

Cheno stepped forward. “You think I don’t know how your family works? Corruption, bribery, silencing those who stand against you?”

His voice was cold as steel. “You’re afraid of me.”

Ren flinched.

Xian Fei narrowed his eyes. “Watch yourself, boy.”

Cheno only smiled wider. “No. You watch.”

Aeliana scoffed. “Pathetic.”

Cheno turned his back on her, on all of them.

He wasn’t going to leave.

He wasn’t going to be buried.

He was going to rise higher than any of them.

And when he did—

he’d burn everything they stood for to the ground.

System Awakening: A New Path

As Cheno walked out, his vision flickered.

[System Notification: New Directive Calculated.]

[Path of the Void Sovereign—Unlocked.]

His body tense.

The Void Sovereign.

The system had mentioned it before, but now it was fully within reach. Power unlike any other.

His heartbeat quickened. If he was to challenge the Xian family, the Academy, and everything standing in his way—

He would need more than just skill.

He needed power.

And now, finally, it was within his grasp.