"My name is Priam Azura. I will be designated as the Champion of humanity by the System after the Reunion."
The vast crowd before him fell into a hushed silence. Despite the distance, Priam's enhanced eyes allowed him to discern the features of each spectator. They numbered over a million, gathered in the square of the Ducal Palace. According to Mercury, his speech was being broadcast directly in seven other domes and delayed in all the rest. No pressure...
Taking a deep breath to ensure he'd be heard, he continued.
"You've followed my Achievements. Lately, you must have heard rumors about me. Let me tell you the unvarnished truth."
Priam locked eyes with an elderly woman standing alone in the midst of the crowd. Her physical frailty was offset by a noble presence. She stood tall, and instinctively, Priam straightened.
"During my quadruple Tribulation, the System forced me to take refuge in a dome to survive. I saved as many people as I could, but there were hundreds of casualties. I don't entirely blame the System. I accept my share of responsibility in this tragedy and intend to pay the price for my mistake."
Priam paused, surveying the attentive crowd. The old lady looked at him with eyes full of sadness. She nodded imperceptibly, as if encouraging him to continue.
"However, there is a fundamental difference between me and the Revenants," Priam continued. "The System offered them the choice to kill other humans to resurrect. That very System forced me to enter the dome to stay alive. They chose to kill, I chose to survive."
The Dome's crowd was utterly silent. Mercury had advised him against this statement, but Priam wanted to be honest. He hadn't killed anyone with his own hands, nor had he sought to face divine wrath. He hadn't triggered a quadruple Tribulation by choice.
Priam wasn't a saint, but he was far from being a demon ready to sacrifice innocent lives for power.Despite the world, there was not a sound in the square. His stomach knotted under the judgment of millions of his peers. Priam straightened and resumed.
"Despite this difference, I do not deny the blood on my hands. I want to atone for this fault. I hereby promise to fight all external threats to humanity." The sentence was a bit demagogic, but the crowd leaned in. They could feel the sincerity of their Champion.
"The Reunion is just the beginning. Great trials await our race. Alien bureaucrats are thinking about the next tax they'll impose on us. Factions are preparing exploitative contracts. Slave traders are putting a price on our heads. Terrible wars are approaching." Fear and fury rumbled through the crowd.
Many had already grasped humanity's place in this new universe. A tiny one.
Priam made a slight pause, letting his Charisma radiate. He didn't want to manipulate the crowd, but rather project his feelings.
"Faced with all these horrors threatening humanity, I intend to take responsibility. For the dead, but especially for the living. Until now, I've been labeled as a Champion. Today, before you, I accept this title. I will be humanity's spear!"
The dome's brightness dimmed, and a faint pillar of light highlighted Priam's silhouette. Seems like Sphinx is having fun.
"I won't lie to you: this new world is unforgiving, and the next few years will be tough. However, I want everyone to know that the Champion of humanity will not abandon his race. I will fight by your side and won't let anyone enslave humanity!"
This was the moment to capture the audience's hearts. In a second, [Moon Mist] conjured the silhouette of a wyvern. Two additional Phoenix wings adorned its back. Infused with Priam's charismatic aura, the ephemeral creation was a marvel of power and majesty. Not a single human could divert their gaze from the creature.
Priam's skill pulsed, and the wyvern roared. "Today, humanity takes up arms!"
Cheers erupted. Hesitating for a moment, Priam raised his fist. Despite his confessions, he received an ovation. The dead were far, and the Champion was with them. As they beheld the draconic species summoned by their Champion, heard his words, and felt his power, the spectators felt hope for the first time in weeks.
CHAR +1
The golden wyvern, soaring to the top of the dome, was the symbol of their Champion's might. By extension, many felt it as the power of humanity.
CHAR +1
The crowd's enthusiasm fueled Priam. Breathing forcefully, he smiled at them. This confession lifted a weight off his chest and allowed him to face the truth: he had made mistakes. Some could have been avoided, and others... others might have been necessary. Priam accepted it, as he accepted his responsibilities in the deaths of New Earth.
CHAR +1
In the face of over a million people, Priam was beginning to feel the weight of his new title. He was the Champion of humanity. It might not bring him any immediate perks, but it offered him a chance at redemption. ŔἁƝȪᛒƐŝ
CHAR +1
With a final roar, the wyvern dissipated above the crowd. The guardian had turned into golden snow, and many tried to catch a few flakes.
About fifty yards in front of Priam, amid the crowd, a little girl on her father's shoulders had tears in her eyes. Her mother was nowhere to be seen, and Priam looked at her.
"We've all lost loved ones," he continued gently. "I'll fight to make sure it doesn't happen again."
The little girl was crying heartily, her eyes shining with hope that Priam didn't want to disappoint.
The cheers grew softer as the memories of the lost ones pressed in. Paradoxically, the bond between the crowd and Priam grew stronger. He understood them, and in return, they understood him. His Charisma whispered to him the concern of a million humans, but another emotion was slowly emerging. Hope.
Priam partly accepted the mantle of Champion because he wanted to repay the debt he owed to the dead. A debt was an unbearable chain for Priam.
As the crowd quieted, Priam felt like a weight was lifted from his chest. He would never be the guardian of humanity. He didn't want to be, and he was too selfish for that. However, he refused to watch men, women, and children die if he could save them.
He wouldn't be the guardian of humanity. He would be its spear.
Priam raised his hand and used his aura to silence the crowd. Two female guards stepped forward, lifting Claire's body between them. It was a show to prevent the public from pitying the young Revenant.
[Kinetic Control] prevented Claire from speaking or struggling. For Priam, this speech was just another battle, and he had no intention of losing. He needed the support of the crowd to be a true Champion.
In a deep voice, Priam spoke again. "This young woman is named Claire. She's a Revenant officer who has killed many humans. Some of you may not be familiar with them. One day, some men and women cast aside their humanity. In order to have a chance at a longer life, they accepted to kill or corrupt other humans. Faced with them, you have only one choice: become a murderer in turn, or die. They are Revenants."
Priam let his sentence hang for a moment before pointing at Claire.
"Beneath her innocent appearance lies a Trojan horse. The Revenants bear our faces, our memories, but they are monsters. I personally killed their generals and their leader."
Almost instinctively, Priam's aura transmitted to the crowd the pain, the hatred, the fear, and the despair he had felt during the betrayal. Thousands of dirty looks turned on Claire, who trembled.
"The apocalypse overturned governments and laws. It's hard to know what to do with these Revenants and the other threats that weigh on humanity. Exceptionally, an assembly of men and women from multiple factions, of all ages and backgrounds, discussed the case of this threat," Priam said, pointing to those with him on the stage.
Mercury, Maya, Mirscella, and Prometheus had spent nearly ten hours negotiating with dozens of other representatives. All of them wanted to condemn Claire, but many feared potential abuses if the Champion played both judge and executioner. No one wanted to give him political power, but no one could stop him from taking it.
To speed up the process and limit friction, Priam had stayed away from the negotiations - knowing that Claire would die in the end.
"In less than a week, the Revenants have killed over fifty thousand humans," he revealed. "Each Revenant must convert or kill a human every three days. In light of this information, it was decided that accepting to become a Revenant was a crime against humanity. The penalty is death."
For the first time, the crowd seemed divided. Some expressed their encouragement. Others fidgeted, disapproving of the sentence. For those who hadn't seen the dead or left the dome, the death penalty was hard to understand. Many countries abolished it, and not all humans had accepted the civilizational change.
"If we don't cut off the root of this evil, humanity will perish. Our old laws are now obsolete. Our customs and traditions must adapt for humanity to survive," explained Priam. He raised his hand, and one of Prometheus' men created an illusion.
The first rows of the crowd recoiled, panicked. An Abomination about thirty meters tall now loomed over the square.
"Here is the kind of chimera created by the Revenants. You'll notice the ingredients: human bodies. Terrible as it is, here's worse. The spiritual cement of this creature is made from human spirits torn from living subjects. Not even death can free you from the clutches of the Revenants. Believe me, the death penalty is deserved."
His aura sensed the emotions of the crowd. The Abomination had made its impact: no one wanted to be merged into a monster of flesh and blood. Claire's defenders fell silent before the horror of the Depths. Priam continued.
"I am one of those who condemned the Revenants in general, and Claire in particular. To show you my resolution, I’ll take responsibility for carrying out the sentence. Know that the hand of your Champion will not tremble against those who threaten you."
Priam turned to Claire and lifted her paralysis. "Before all of humanity, do you have anything to say in your defense?"
Forced by a contract, Claire couldn't lie. Shining with rage, her eyes locked onto Priam's calm and peaceful gaze. He didn't feel much for the Revenant anymore.
"Big words to mask a personal vendetta," she spat.
Truth was a powerful weapon. After a speech where he had confessed everything, Priam felt light. He turned to the crowd.
"I'm not afraid of the truth. Claire betrayed me, poisoned me, and almost killed me after gaining my trust. Yet, her condemnation has little to do with that. I would have executed her as a Revenant without even knowing her. I swear it on my Potential."
POT -50
In the sky, thunder rumbled without lightning, confirming Priam's words. There must be no doubt in the minds of the public.
Disregarding the crowd, Claire fixed her gaze on Priam.
"We're the same. You would have made the same choice as me."
Priam closed his eyes. A memory from the Tutorial resurfaced. Henri...
A few seconds later, he shook his head, allowing a smile to spread across his lips. Claire didn't know him very well.
"I would have accepted becoming a Revenant, that's true," Priam admitted. "I respect the desire to want to live. However, the System is always fair: it's possible to become human again by earning an Achievement. I would have staked my life on becoming human again, without killing anyone. I'm not a hero, but I bear my mistakes alone."
"Only three Revenants have become human again. Do you think you're so special? You would have abandoned your ideals. The fear of death does that to people," Claire sneered.
Priam smiled. "True. During my Tutorial, I had the choice between assassinating one of my comrades or risking my life in a grotesque situation. I didn't succumb to the easy way out. That's what allows me to stand here today. We're different."
Claire began to tremble, and Priam's Domain caught the beginnings of tears. An execution was never beautiful, but Priam didn't want the entire humanity to witness an emotional breakdown. [Kinetic Control] froze the Revenant.
Raising his spear, Priam pronounced the sentence. "By becoming an officer of the Revenants and committing multiple homicides, you have betrayed humanity. Claire, I condemn you to death."
With a fluid motion, Promesse pierced Claire's heart. For the second and final time, the young woman died.
Part of the audience applauded, and Priam shivered. His revenge was neither sweet nor bitter, but he didn't want the crowd to lose its humanity.
A ruby-colored drop burst on the ground.
How many more will die by my hand?