Chapter 82: The Architect of Eden
The silence in the living room was so thick that the low hum of electronic devices in the background could be heard. Rei Todoroki, who had spent most of the night like a statue of ice, finally let her barriers fall. Her hands, marked by years of suffering and patience, trembled visibly in her lap. She looked at Aoi with eyes that carried the fear of a lifetime of losses.
"Son..." her voice came out as a broken whisper, laden with a pain that made Shoto clench his fists. "Is there really no other way? I spent years watching my family being treated like a project, like something to be molded. Now you're telling me we're going to space... I don't want my grandchildren and my children to live isolated on a planet that sounds like a titanium prison. I don't want you all to live like fugitives, hidden in the shadows of the universe."
Aoi felt a tightness in his chest. He realized that, in his pursuit of tactical perfection, he had forgotten to translate the beauty of his vision to those he loved most. He stood up, walking slowly to his mother, and knelt in front of her, holding her cold hands between his. The warmth of his skin, radiant with the vitality of the New Race, seemed to calm Rei's trembling.
"Mom... forgive me." Aoi smiled, and this time it wasn't the smile of a calculating genius, but that of a son who loves deeply. "I was so focused on showing you all the defenses, the walls, and the security that I made our new home sound like a cold fortress. But Jupiter won't be a prison. We won't be fugitives hidden in a dark, radioactive hole. What I'm planning isn't a cell... it's the greatest work of art the universe has ever witnessed."
Rumi, Nemuri, and Ryuko exchanged knowing glances. Rumi, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, let out a vibrant laugh, breaking the remaining tension.
"I knew it!" exclaimed the rabbit hero, with a spark of excitement in her eyes. "My idiot genius is just being overly cautious, as always. No one here is going to blame you for wanting to keep us alive, Aoi. But for God's sake, stop talking like a military strategy manual for a second!"
Nemuri approached and placed her hand on Aoi's shoulder, feeling his dense musculature.
"Yes, Rumi's right. We appreciate every shield, every protective cell, and every orbital calculation. But don't carry the weight of creating an entire world just as a duty. We're here with you. Let us see what your heart—and not just your brain—has planned for us."
Ryuko nodded, her golden eyes reflecting the room's light.
"We're your partners, Aoi. The father of our children. You don't need to hide your dreamy side from us. If you say Jupiter is our chance, we believe it. But show us why we'd want to be there, beyond mere survival."
Aoi felt a wave of gratitude flood him. He stood up, feeling lighter than ever. Shoto, trying to lighten the mood, tapped the table and leaned forward.
"That's true, brother. You talked about apples that weigh like wood and water that heals to death. But where's the fun in that? Where's the dream world you promised?"
Aoi laughed openly, a rare and genuine sound. With a wide gesture, he gave a mental command to Morgana.
"Morgana, initiate the visual simulation of Project Genesis—the one previously designed for Mars, now adapted to Jupiter's scales. Disable the safety filters and show them the final ecosystem rendering."
The room was suddenly plunged into darkness, only to be filled with a vibrant, pulsing light. Ultra-high-definition holograms began to expand, piercing the walls and transforming the living room into a window to infinity. Jupiter, the gas giant, began to transform before their eyes into a visual masterpiece that defied any previous description.
"Welcome to our future." Aoi began, his voice now charged with contagious passion. "If I'm going to build a home for our lineage, Shoto, I'm going to build the Garden of Eden for the New Race."
He pointed to the colossal forests emerging in the hologram, where trees of impossible colors—violets, silvers, and emeralds—grew at visible speeds.
"The Monumental Nature: Imagine trees that aren't measured in meters, but in kilometers. Trees 10 km tall, with trunks so vast that entire cities could be carved inside them. Jupiter is immense, Mom; its scale allows nature to express itself with a grandeur the Earth could never support. We'll have lakes larger than terrestrial continents and oceans of crystal-clear water so vast that the blue planet would seem like a small pearl lost in their depths."
Aoi shifted the projection to the Jovian sky, where the impossible unfolded.
"The World of Biological Magic: There won't just be ordinary animals. I'll use New Order and biotechnology to create what humanity calls myth. We'll have intelligent, sentient creatures capable of speaking and reasoning like Principal Nezu. We'll have dragons that shape mountains and phoenixes that maintain the planet's thermal balance. Imagine 30-meter-tall elephants, 10-meter tigers, and 400-meter-long killer whales leaping in oceans of healing water under the light of Jupiter's moons. It will be a world where adventure never ends, where every forest hides an ancient secret and every mountain is a challenge to our strength."
Fuyumi touched the hologram of a flower that seemed made of pure light.
"It's... it's beautiful, Aoi. It looks like you took all the fairy tale books and made them real."
"Exactly, Fuyumi." Aoi smiled. "And at the center of it all, above the clouds and eternal storms..."
The hologram zoomed in on a mountain piercing the atmosphere, rising 10,000 kilometers high. At its summit, something shone with divine intensity.
"The Crystal Palace: There, at the top of the world, we'll build our Palace. It will be made of minerals I transmute myself, shining with our family's genetic signature. It will be Jupiter's beacon. I'll take all Earth's animal species there, but give them the necessary 'upgrade.' They'll be giants, strong, and finally free from human cruelty."
Aoi turned to Rei and his partners, his eyes shining with an unbreakable promise.
"For Earth's humanity, Jupiter will be a terrifying myth, a place of monsters and radiation. They'll look to the sky and fear what we've built. But for our children, Mom... for our children, it will be an infinite playground. They'll grow up in a world where beauty is as vast as the power in their veins. They won't be 'aberrations' who need to hide or 'heroes' who need to apologize. They'll be the heirs of a paradise."
He approached Nemuri and Rumi, gently placing his hands on their bellies.
"I'm not creating a prison. I'm creating a Kingdom. The place where the Tiger can finally run without fear of breaking the ground, where every breath is freedom and every horizon is ours. Jupiter is our gift to them."
The room remained silent for long minutes after the hologram faded. The feeling of wonder was almost palpable. They no longer saw just a escape plan or a war strategy. They saw hope. They saw the love of a man willing to rewrite the laws of the universe just to ensure his family could smile without fear.
Aoi leaned back, exhausted but at peace. He knew the path would be difficult and the work monumental. But looking at his family's illuminated faces, he was certain every drop of sweat on Jupiter would be worth it. He finally took a sip of water, tasting the victory yet to come.
"Now..." said Aoi with a mischievous glint in his eyes, "who wants to know how we're getting internet up there?"
Everyone smiled at that. Nemuri said, smiling:
"You'd better solve that as soon as possible. I don't want to go without internet."
Rumi said, smiling:
"I don't care. I just want to kick some dinosaur asses."
Ryuko said, smiling tiredly:
"Rumi, behave yourself. Okay? You're pregnant."
Aoi smiled and said:
"Now I just need to get Star and Stripe's blood."
Shoto said seriously:
"Brother, that's not going to be an easy task. She's escorted by the government itself. They even send military jets to protect and assist her. It won't be easy at all to get her blood for the plan to work."
Aoi laughed and said:
"I'm not going after the current Star and Stripe."
Nemuri asked curiously:
"Then what are you going to do?"
Aoi smiled and replied:
"When she was a child, a villain attacked her city. She was saved by All Might. That's why she's a fan of his. But that's not important. The main thing is that she must have gotten hurt in that incident, meaning she needed medical attention. So her blood should be stored in that neighborhood hospital that treated her. The chance of that blood being forgotten in some old file there is very high. If it is, I get everything I need without fighting anyone. Next Saturday, I'm taking a flight to the United States, after Morgana investigates where the accident happened and which hospital treated her."
Ryuko said:
"Yes, that's a very good plan. If you can find the blood there, we can proceed with the rest of the plan."
Rei said, smiling:
"Come on, enough important discussion. Who's hungry here?"
Rumi said, smiling:
"I am!"
Aoi, looking at this happiness, smiled and thought:
"This is why I'm going to build our world. I won't let anyone take this happiness from my family."