You start with something you are,
a dog, a plant or driving a car.
Then close one eye after the versus,
the odd one in aeon must be minused.
The answer should be a number in system of eight,
You'll get it after you remove the head of the gate.
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3
I think the answer is:
54
You start with something you are,
a dog, a plant or driving a car.
Start with the word 'LIVING', which you are, as are both a dog and a plant, and considering you might 'feel alive' or 'be truly living' while driving a car at speed...
Then close one eye after the versus,
Remove the I ('eye') which is after the V ('versus'): LIVNG
the odd one in aeon must be minused.
Remove the N (the only consonant in 'AEON'): LIVG
The answer should be a number in system of eight,
You'll get it after you remove the head of the gate.
Remove the G, the first letter ('head') of 'GATE': LIV
What we are left with is the number 54 expressed in Roman numerals (a 'system of 8': I, V, X, L, C, D, M and Nulla). The use of Roman numerals also explains the allusion to 'Empire' in the title.
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$\begingroup$ You're very close.:) re-evaluate "driving a car" portion of the riddle to get the exact starting word. The title itself provides 2 clues. $\endgroup$ – coredump Jun 22 '20 at 11:24
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$\begingroup$ Woot! :) You have an alternative interpretation of "system of 8" that works, too. Original intent is that "empire" and "8th" are 2 separate clues/transformation. $\endgroup$ – coredump Jun 23 '20 at 3:53
