After about a minute, the door opened again.
Nick entered the Champion of Light's big hall for the second time in his life.
Just like back then, everything was bright and majestic, and Nick could also see the impressive throne at the back.
The only real difference was that no one was sitting on the throne.
Instead, Nick could see the shining figure of the new Champion of Light standing in a circle with all the other Shields, his back turned to his throne.
Nick looked around the holograms.
Naturally, the Technician had already told him everything important about the other Shields.
According to the Technician, the Wall was a jolly and relaxed fellow who enjoyed helping people.
The Knife was apparently a shrewd and clever woman who acted like a child so that others might lower their guard.
The Technician said that the Right Arm was a natural-born leader and that he was Aegis' public face since the Champion of Light couldn't leave the headquarters. He was charismatic, strong, reliable, and had an impressive talent for encouraging people.
As for the new Champion of Light…
The Technician just said that he was the most powerful person in the world and the leader of Aegis.
That was it.
In short, the Technician barely said anything about the new Champion of Light.
It wasn't apparent, but Nick had been in the political and societal game long enough to see the hidden message.
An absence of information was information.
Sadly, the absence of information was not very accurate information.
Nick could only tell one thing.
Something was up with the new Champion of Light.
However, Nick couldn't tell what it was.
It could basically be anything.
He could be a Specter, a greedy human, a genuine ally, an animal, whatever.
Nick could only be sure that something was up with him.
Nick stopped outside the circle.
Since he wasn't a Shield,he couldn't join the circle.
Everyone else looked at him.
Naturally, all of them could feel Nick's true nature.
A Specter.
He was actually a Specter.
"Greetings," Nick said respectfully with a short bow. "My name is Julian Winter."
The Left Arm and the Technician didn't react to Nick's name.
Naturally, Nick couldn't use his old name anymore.
The Technician had told Nick that his meeting with the original Champion of Light was secret.
The only people who knew about this meeting were the dead Champion of Light, the Left Arm, and the Technician.
The original Champion of Light went back into stasis until the new Champion of Light appeared, while the other two kept everything to themselves.
The only other person who knew about the meeting was Simon Francium, but he only knew about the meeting and Nick's first job as Liaison.
In the database, Nick Dusk was still listed as Liaison.
The last entry was that he had been taken by the Maw and had been missing ever since then.
Naturally, Nick Dusk was very likely dead.
He died to the Maw.
If Nick used his real name, the other Shields would most likely search for the name in the database and would find someone with the same name.
That would unveil his true identity as a former human.
So, Nick took on a completely new name.
In the end, he decided to combine the two biggest influences in his life into a new identity.
In someone's life, their parents had the biggest impact on them.
Nick didn't have any parents as far as he was concerned. After all, he didn't even remember them.
The two people in his life who had left the biggest impression and impact were Julian Nergiar and Wyntor Melfion.
It was also quite fitting that one of them was a human and the other a Specter.
It was also impossible to trace the name to his old identity.
There were hundreds of Julians all over the world, and Winter also wasn't an uncommon last name since it was a common concept.While Nick's true identity would remain Nick Dusk, he would only go by Julian Winter from now on.
Yet, he would never forget the name he had received from the original Champion of Light.
Dusk.
The lowering of the Sun.
Nick was someone from the humblest of origins. He hadn't even had a name and eventually received his name because every poor person in the Dregs kept referring to him as Nickname.
In Nick's mind, his names all had meaning to him.
The name Nick represented his beginning.
The word Dusk represented his goal and, hopefully, his future.
The word Winter represented his first friend, who had given him a shot at changing his destiny.
The word Julian represented Nick's teacher, mentor, and enemy.
Julian Winter was born, but Nick Dusk wasn't dead.
He was just hibernating.
One day, Nick Dusk would return, and Julian Winter would die.
"How did you get that name?" the Politician asked.
"I gave it to myself," Nick answered.
"How did you come up with that name?" he asked.
Naturally, the entire conversation about the name seemed pointless.
However, the Shields could tell that the Politician was testing Nick.
Lying in front of a Shield was extremely difficult for someone several levels below one.
The Politician wanted to catch Nick off-guard by asking unnecessary questions to see how he would react.
Any kind of uncertainty could create holes in a disguise.
"The first part comes from someone who taught me that Specters don't need to oppose humanity, and the second part comes from the first person whose life I infiltrated. When I came into contact with either of them, I was still young."
"I am responsible for both of their deaths," Nick said.
The Right Arm glanced at Nick. "Do you regret that they died?"
"No," Nick answered.
The Right Arm's brows furrowed. "Why not? They sound important to you."
"They were my enemies," Nick answered.
"Who else is your enemy?" the Right Arm asked."It-"
"I think we are getting sidetracked here," the Wall said with a calming laugh. "It was the Champion who asked for Julian's presence."
The Right Arm and the Politician glanced at the Wall before turning to the Champion.
They indicated that they were done with their questions.
The Champion of Light hadn't said anything during that time.
He just kept looking at Nick.
"Your aura is familiar," the Champion spoke slowly in his deep voice.
Nick didn't answer.
The other Shields looked with surprise and interest at the Champion.
Nick looked calm, but deep inside, he was nervous.
'I've never seen this guy before,' he thought.
"You were one of the Specters I pushed when I ascended the throne," the Champion of Light spoke.
Nick remembered the Champion's speech and the following attack.
He wanted to sigh in relief but kept his actions under control.
"I remember," Nick said respectfully.
"Where were you on that day?" the Champion asked.
"I was in a cave outside Water Pillar City," Nick answered.
The Barriers of the Shields appeared and disappeared in an instant.
They all checked where Water Pillar City was.
"That is one of the cities he liberated," the Technician said.
"He?" the Politician asked suspiciously.
"Yes, him. Who else?" the Technician asked in confusion.
The Politician was slightly annoyed, but nothing showed on his face.
"Since when do we assign genders to Specters?" the Politician asked.
The Technician groaned. "Who cares how I refer to him? I've been working with him for a while. He sounds like a guy, looks like a guy, and kinda acts like a guy. I just instinctively went for he."
The Politician looked at the Technician for a while longer but didn't pursue the inquiry any further.
"Tell us about Water Pillar City," the Champion ordered.
"It's a relatively big city that used to be controlled by Gluttony. 90% of people were almost dying of thirst, while the remaining 10% swam in pools.The strongest Specter in the city is the Water Pillar, and it consumes water to become more powerful," Nick said.
"How did you gain control of the city?" the Champion asked.
"I systematically assassinated every owner of the companies trading with water with a repeating demand that their water prices had to drop significantly if they wanted to continue living. After that, I kept causing damage to the biggest Manufacturer to such an extent that they didn't have any other choice but to acquiesce. Lastly, I weakened the biggest Manufacturer and incited a conflict between them and the remainder of the city," Nick explained.
"I have a detailed report," the Left Arm added, sending a report to everyone else.
The others read through the report in an instant, which was much longer than Nick's short summary.
When Nick summarized everything, it sounded so simple and logical.
It was almost like a random child could come up with that.
Yet, after reading through the actual report, they could tell that the plan was actually extremely precise and thorough.
"You've assassinated a Hero as a Mid Fanatic?" the Knife asked with a surprised expression.
"How did you get this powerful?"