THE ARCHITECT OF STARS: SEASON 1
ARYO PURNOMO SAGA
CHAPTER 13: THE PERFECT FLAW
World News, Morning Broadcast.
The world was in uproar.
On the giant screens of Times Square to Shibuya, images flashed of Baron Wei dancing at a charity gala—a man who, just a week ago, was diagnosed with permanent paralysis. Beside him, Madam L appeared without her veil, her face pristine and radiant, possessing the beauty of a movie star, stripped of the rare skin disease that had once consumed her.
They announced an open alliance with the "Mysterious Tech Provider" known as Aryo.
The effect was instantaneous. A logistical blockade against the Obsidian Council began. Madam L's cargo ships refused to transport weapon supplies for mercenaries. Baron Wei cut power to several data centers belonging to Obsidian shell companies.
Among the mid-tier global elite—the trillionaires not within Obsidian's inner circle—mass panic ensued.
"Who do we side with?!" shouted an oil tycoon into his satellite phone. "If we side with Aryo, Obsidian will kill us with missiles. If we side with Obsidian, we die of old age and cancer! Aryo has the cure for mortality!"
This confusion created a "power vacuum." They fell silent, too afraid to fund Obsidian, yet too terrified to send aid to Aryo.
***
Obsidian Council Room.
"They are hesitating," Mr. V hissed, striking the granite table. Their revenue graphs were stagnating. "We are losing our grip of fear. If the world's elite no longer fear us, our power is finished."
"We need a demonstration of force," the General interjected. "Now. Destroy Aryo's fortress and drag his corpse before the public. Show them that 'immortality' is useless in the face of absolute death."
Mr. V turned to Dr. Thorne's screen. "Launch Nemesis. Now."
"He isn't stable yet!" Thorne protested, though his eyes gleamed with madness. "His Neuro-inhibitor is still in beta. He could rampage indiscriminately!"
"Launch it, or we put you in that tube!"
***
Sanctuary - Aryo's Fortress.
That afternoon, the sky above the Kalimantan forest turned suddenly dark. Not from clouds, but from a stratospheric cargo plane belonging to Obsidian streaking by at high speed, dropping a massive black pod.
BOOM!
The pod slammed into the earth about 500 meters from Aryo's fortress gate, creating a massive crater and a shockwave that flattened trees.
In the command room, alarms screamed wildly.
"Master! Massive heat signature detected!" Alia shouted. "It's not a machine... it's... a living organism."
From the smoking crater, the pod opened. Out stepped Nemesis. A monster standing three meters tall, a fusion of genetically engineered flesh and black metal bones. The red visor on his face lit up.
He didn't walk. He exploded into a sprint.
The Citadel defenses reacted. Dozens of Tesla turrets and automated laser cannons fired in unison.
ZRRRTTT! DHERRR!
But it was futile. Nemesis was too fast. He leaped in a zigzag pattern like a wild beast, dodging the lasers. The shots that did hit only singed his outer skin slightly, which regenerated instantly within seconds.
Nemesis reached the fortress wall. With bare hands tipped with Adamantium claws, he tore through the 30cm thick steel wall as if it were cardboard.
"He breached the inner perimeter!" Alia reported in panic. "Master, automated systems are ineffective!"
Aryo was already standing, wearing the Phantom Suit and injecting the Berserker-X serum into his neck. His eyes dilated, pupils shrinking. Pain vanished; the world slowed down.
"I will face him," Aryo growled, his voice heavy from the serum's effect. "Alia, prepare tactical support."
***
The Battle: Man vs. Monster.
Aryo leaped out of the hangar, hovering with jet thrusters on his back. He fired his Railgun rifle straight at Nemesis's chest.
BLAM!
The hypersonic bullet pierced Nemesis's chest, blowing a massive hole. The monster staggered back.
"Got you," Aryo hissed.
But Aryo's smirk vanished as he watched the hole in the monster's chest close up rapidly, flesh and muscle knitting themselves together accompanied by a sickening crunching sound.
Nemesis roared, a sound that shattered the glass of nearby buildings. He leaped toward Aryo.
Aryo tried to dodge using invisibility mode.
But Dr. Thorne was right. Nemesis didn't see with eyes. He smelled pheromones of fear and heard heartbeats.
SMASH!
Nemesis swatted the empty air where Aryo was. The impact sent Aryo flying, his stealth mode failing instantly. Aryo crashed into a concrete pillar, shattering it.
"Cough!" Aryo spat blood inside his helmet. His ribs were cracked, despite the bone-hardening serum. "So strong..."
Nemesis gave no pause. He lunged again, grabbing Aryo's leg and slamming him into the ground repeatedly like a rag doll.
"Master!" Alia screamed. A swarm of Vespid drones attacked Nemesis's eyes, but the monster merely swatted his hand, destroying dozens of drones at once.
Aryo, with consciousness barely held together by the serum's adrenaline, unsheathed a plasma blade from his wrist. He sliced Nemesis's leg clean off.
The monster fell. But before Aryo could breathe a sigh of relief, the leg grew back—this time larger, more muscular.
"Instant adaptation..." Aryo retreated, limping. His breathing was ragged. His heart screamed in pain from the Berserker-X side effects. He was overwhelmed. No technology could kill something that refused to die.
Aryo was cornered against the hangar wall. Nemesis walked closer slowly, savoring his prey.
***
Dr. Thorne's Laboratory (Remote Observation).
On his monitor, Dr. Thorne watched the battered Aryo. He should have been happy. But instead, his brow furrowed.
"No... no..." Thorne muttered in disappointment.
He replayed the footage of Nemesis regenerating his leg.
"The regeneration process consumes too many calories. Look!" Thorne pointed at the thermal data. "Nemesis's body temperature spikes drastically every time he heals. In 10 minutes, he will overheat and explode before he can even kill Aryo."
Thorne laughed hysterically, but it wasn't a laugh of victory. It was the laugh of a perfectionist seeing a flaw in his work.
"Nemesis is a failure! He wastes too much energy! He is just a stupid, hungry beast!"
Instead of helping the fighting Nemesis, Thorne abruptly turned off the battle monitor. He no longer cared if Nemesis won or lost. to him, Nemesis was already scrap.
Thorne picked up his digital sketch tablet. His eyes were wild.
"I need something more efficient. Something that doesn't just rely on muscle..."
Thorne began drawing a new sketch.
"Not one big monster... but thousands of microscopic monsters. Or perhaps... a collective consciousness?"
His fingers danced rapidly.
"Yes... Project: HIVE."
Thorne grinned terrifyingly.
"Aryo might be able to beat back Nemesis, who is about to explode anyway. But let him enjoy that small victory. Because when I am done with this... he won't know he's being attacked until the inside of his skull is eaten from within."
Meanwhile, on the battlefield, Nemesis began to emit smoke. His body glowed red-hot, the sign of overheating that Thorne predicted. Aryo saw the opening. Though his body was broken, his genius brain was still working.
"Alia..." Aryo whispered over the radio. "He's overheating. Prepare the entire reserve of Liquid Nitrogen in the lab... we freeze him into eternal ice."