The room was like a whole production headquarters, with people moving around everywhere. Equipment lined the walls, cameras on stands, lighting rigs being adjusted, staff members rushing back and forth with clipboards and headsets.
The energy was quite chaotic.
Before Cipher could even take it all in, a bunch of girls grabbed him and dragged him toward the makeup room. He barely had time to protest before he was pushed into a chair. Brushes appeared from every direction - powder dusting his face, someone fixing his hair, another adjusting his collar.
They worked quickly and efficiently, chattering among themselves about lighting and angles while he sat there, trying not to move.
"Hold still."
"Tilt your head this way."
"Close your eyes for a second."
When they finally finished, Selene came to pick him up. "We’ll be going live in a few minutes. I’ll help you practice some responses to possible questions," she said.
She then helped him practice for about twenty minutes, running through likely topics - his gate clears, strategies, team dynamics, future plans, advice for awakeners. She was thorough, correcting his tone when needed, suggesting better phrasings for certain answers.
Then another person came in, announcing that Skylar was going live. They needed to move.
Selene looked at him.
He nodded. "Don’t worry, I got this," he said before getting up and leaving.
...
Skylar greeted Cipher with a handshake as he entered the frame, his eyes practically glowing with excitement. "Hey! Thank you so much for coming. I’m a huge fan, seriously."
"Thanks," Cipher said, a bit taken aback by the enthusiasm.
"Actually - can I get an autograph?" Skylar asked eagerly.
Cipher blinked, genuinely confused. He’d never had to deal with such a thing before. "Uh..."
One of the crew members coughed loudly from the side.
Skylar cleared his throat, seeming to remember where he was. "Right, right. Maybe later then." He gestured to one of the chairs. "Alright, so you’ll sit here. I’ll greet everyone first, then we’ll cut to your camera before showing both of us side by side. When you see the red light on your camera turn on, that means you’re live. Sound good?"
Cipher nodded. "Got it."
Skylar moved to his position and adjusted his headset. After a countdown from his producer, he looked directly at the camera.
"And we’re live! What’s up, everyone? Hope you’re all having a good day." He leaned back in his chair with a grin. "You’ve probably noticed the different background today, but I bet you’ll never guess where I am right now."
The TTS activated almost immediately. <Hunter Association>
Skylar’s eyes widened in shock. "What? Someone already figured it out? Did someone leak the info?" He laughed and shook his head. "Anyway, today I’m doing something a little different from my usual content. That’s right - I’m interviewing the strongest human."
As he said that, Cipher’s camera went live. Cipher waved at the camera with a sweet smile.
While he didn’t see the people watching, he definitely felt the pressure, especially seeing the speed at which the chat was moving on the monitor beside him. One really needed to be an awakener to handle this kind of audience.
"Hey everyone," Cipher said. "I’m Cipher. Nice to meet you all."
Skylar grinned. "Alright, so full disclosure - I’m not much of an interviewer. I’m just going to wing it and see where the conversation goes. That cool with you?"
"Yeah, that’s fine," Cipher said.
"So," Skylar started, leaning forward, "let’s start simple. How’s your day been?"
Cipher chuckled. "Pretty normal, actually. Trained with a teammate this morning, then came here."
"Training? What kind of training do you even do at your level?"
<What kind of question is that? Does he even need to train?>
"Mostly helping my team get stronger. Sparring, testing abilities, that sort of thing."
Skylar laughed. "Chat’s asking if you even need to train at this point."
Cipher smiled. "Everyone needs to train. Just because I’m strong now doesn’t mean I can afford to get complacent. There’s always room to improve."
"That’s a good mindset to have," Skylar said. "So, why did you decide to join the Association in the first place? Don’t most awakeners hate the Association and prefer freedom?"
He really was just winging it, Cipher thought. He had gone straight for the throat with no buildup at all.
Cipher considered the question for a moment. "To me, it was different. More than freedom, it was about survival. When I first awakened, I wasn’t as strong as I am now. The Association saved me back then. I was grateful, and I decided to join so I could do the same for others who were in the same situation I was in."
He paused. "I get that not everyone likes the Association, but it saved me, and because of that, I like it. I hope people can see this side of the Association too. I’ll work hard to show this view of the Association to everyone."
<W Cipher.>
<W propaganda.>
Skylar cleared his throat. "Ahem, that was quite deep." He glanced at the chat, then back at Cipher. "I don’t really know how to continue from there. You talked about showing a different view of the Association - have you had any success with that?"
"I’m not so sure yet," Cipher said honestly. "But I’m working hard. So is everyone else."
Skylar glanced at the chat again then grinned. "People are curious, so I gotta ask - what’s it like being called the ’strongest human’? Does that title ever feel like pressure?"
Cipher thought for a moment. "It’s definitely pressure. People have expectations, and I try to meet them. But at the end of the day, it’s just a title. I’m still just one person doing what I can."
"Just one person who happens to be way stronger than everyone else," Skylar said with a laugh.
<Built different.>
<He’s so me fr>
They continued talking, the conversation flowing naturally from topic to topic. Skylar asked about Cipher’s team, his thoughts on the future of gate clearing, his favorite party compositions. The TTS occasionally interrupted with comments or questions, and Skylar would either banter with chat or redirect to Cipher, who answered thoughtfully.
After about forty minutes, Skylar glanced at the time. "Alright, this has been going on long enough, and I don’t want to take up too much of the strongest human’s time." He turned to the camera. "So, chat - do you have anything you want to ask Cipher? Let’s open it up to questions."