Title: The Redemption Auction – Rise of the Marked

Location: Blackwood Grand Auction Dome, Dominion Capital

The auction floor buzzed with tension and greed. Thousands filled the vast dome—surviving rebels seated at the back in red uniforms, while the wealthy and elite gathered at the front, eyeing their climb to greater numbers.

A massive digital screen displayed the countdown:

> "REDEMPTION AUCTION: BLACKWOOD NUMBERS 5 TO 10"

Starting Bid for Number 5: 10,000,000,000 BC (Blackwood Currency)

A sharp chime rang. Silence followed.

Then the voice of Christiana echoed across the dome.

> "Let the bidding for Blackwood Number 5 begin. The holder of this number shall have dominion second only to Blackwood 4. This number will be inherited by your firstborn as 5I, and so on. You will rule your region with absolute power under the God of the Empire."

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Bidding: Number 5

1. Bidder: Marcus Talon

Net Worth: 84 Billion BC

Source: Global Arms Manufacturing

Bid: 10 Billion BC

2. Bidder: Celeste Vorn

Net Worth: 111 Billion BC

Source: Blackwood Tech Holdings

Bid: 10.2 Billion BC

3. Bidder: Nero Alrik

Net Worth: 128 Billion BC

Source: Interstellar Mining Guild

Bid: 11 Billion BC

4. Bidder: Sylva Grell (First Class Rebel turned loyalist)

Net Worth: 19 Billion BC

Source: Energy Systems (Rebranded)

Bid: 13 Billion BC

Crowd gasps.

5. Final Bidder: Emperor Wu-Khan

Net Worth: 210 Billion BC

Source: AI Surveillance Global Syndicate

Bid: 15 Billion BC

Sold. To Wu-Khan.

His firstborn daughter, 5I, stands and bows. A crown of digital code flashes on her head—her birthmark: the number 5.

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Bidding: Number 6

> Starting Bid: 9 Billion BC

1. Bidder: Lady Valencia De'Mir

Net Worth: 67 Billion BC

Source: Pharmaceuticals

Bid: 9.5 Billion BC

2. Bidder: General Ares Trayn

Net Worth: 93 Billion BC

Source: Private Armies

Bid: 10.4 Billion BC

"Let me fight for that number if I must," he growls.

Sold. To Ares Trayn.

His firstborn: 6I, a military prodigy, only 14.

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Bidding: Number 7–10

(Rapid Summary)

7: Won by Lysandra Morn (Luxury Space Yachts) – 8.7 Billion BC

8: Won by Darius Yung (Food & Water Globalization) – 7.9 Billion BC

9: Won by Prince Calderon (Former Royalty, Empire Loyalist) – 7.3 Billion BC

10: Claimed by Nova Ren (First female AI hybrid CEO) – 6.6 Billion BC

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Chris POV – Watching from the Throne Room, unseen

> "Now they fight... not for freedom, but for position. Every year, I'll reopen the auction. And every year, they'll pay to keep what they think they own."

> "Let them auction their legacy. Let them tattoo their children with numbers. I turned rebellion into a marketplace."

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