In the year 2025, the Roman Empire never fell. Its marble forums rise beside glass towers, its aqueducts run past neon billboards, and its legions march with both gladius and drone-mechs. Ritual and circuitry entwine in an empire that has ruled for two thousand years.For sixteen-year-old Harrius Brandtos, entering the legions is not only duty-it's survival. Every Roman youth must give four years of service, but Harrius carries a heavier burden: his father, once a decorated centurion, was branded a traitor and declared dead. That disgrace stains Harrius's name before he ever sets foot in Rome.At the Ludus of Mars, Rome's elite military academy, Harrius is forced into the spotlight. Surrounded by rivals and weighed down by suspicion, he faces his fiercest enemy in Marcus Varro, heir to the man who destroyed his family. While Marcus receives every advantage, Harrius is tested, punished, and isolated. Yet through the crucible of training-sword against steel, drone-mech against mech-he begins to carve out respect of his own.But the empire is not as eternal as it seems. Whispers of conspiracy rise in the Senate, shadows lengthen across the frontier, and loyalties are tested in blood. When Harrius's first mission in Nova Roma (current day USA) reveals truths Rome would rather keep buried, he finds himself caught between obedience and rebellion, honor and survival.In a world where gladiator arenas beam across orbital colonies and betrayal can topple emperors, Harrius must decide not just who he will fight for-but who he will become.