Nick woke up in the Technician's room and looked around.
"Already done? That was fast!" the Technician said.
"Yes, I'm done. How long was I gone?" Nick asked.
"Like three seconds," the Technician said. "Your eyes closed, and you basically opened them up again. It was like a very slow blink."
Nick frowned. "I felt like I was gone for at least 30 minutes."
"What did you see?" Ghosty asked as he deactivated his machines again.
Nick stood up and told them about the paths.
The most important thing was that Specters didn't just get new abilities but that the Sun most likely granted them.
"The suffering I caused in my life turned into the energy necessary to create my path," Nick said. "After a couple of times of walking back and forth, I also noticed that the weaker humans turned into white dust that combined with the dust of the stronger humans."
"That explains the quantity and quality requirements," Nick added.
"Interesting," the Technician said. "What about the abilities?"
Nick told them about the many different abilities he had seen.
"That's quite a privilege," the Technician said. "Humans can only choose abilities based on a fitting Specter, but we can't know for sure what we will actually get. We only know that it is related to the Specter's powers."
"The ability to directly see what your ability will be is a huge advantage. You also don't need a fitting human or Specter to gain it."
The Technician sighed.
"No wonder all the Specters have such congruent abilities. They all fit together so well, while most of the Extractors have different abilities that you essentially have to use separately."
Nick nodded.
When he came to the part where he could choose to increase his intelligence,the eyes of the two scientists widened.
"You can do that? I'm pretty sure humans can't do that," the Technician said. "That's crazy!"
Nick nodded. "It increases the speed at which I can calculate things and makes some complex matters rather obvious to me, but it's not what I chose."
The two were surprised. "Why not? I can't see what could be better."
"You need hands to operate a weapon, but without a weapon, you're weak," Nick said.
"You're saying intelligence without strength is meaningless?" Ghosty asked, feeling a bit called out.
"If you can rely on the strength around you, intelligence is the most important," Nick said.
"But I don't have that luxury."
"I am operating on my own most of the time. Heightened intelligence helps me a lot, but there is only so much I can do with a limited number of tools."
"Instead, I chose something that allows me to use all the tools humanity can provide."
"On top of that, it might give me an opportunity to achieve something that seemed impossible in the past," Nick added.
"What is it?" the Technician asked.
Ghosty also looked at Nick with interest.
"This," a different voice said.
The Technician and Ghosty looked at the new person in the room.
It was the Technician!
A second one!
Where Nick had just been was now the Technician.
"You can change your appearance?" Ghosty asked.
"Yes, but that's not everything I can do," Nick said, still disguised as the Technician.
Nick approached a random gadget in the room and touched it.
The next moment, the device turned on.
The Technician's and Ghosty's eyes widened.
This machine could only be operated with human Zephyx, and Nick didn't use his Barrier to interact with it.
"I can change my appearance into whoever I want," Nick said with an icy and serious tone as he assumed the appearance of the Left Arm. "My mannerisms and the tone of my voice also automatically change, assuming I know the person I am imitating."
Next,Nick turned into a sick cripple with a deformed face. "I can also change into a new appearance. I have never seen this person before."
"My aura as a Specter also vanishes, and I can even turn my Zephyx into human Zephyx, allowing me to use human technology again without any restrictions."
The next moment, Nick released a breath.
"I can even imitate the insides of a human, including all their organs."
"All my Specter Zephyx moves back into my Specter Core. Any Zephyx that leaves my Specter Core can transform into human Zephyx. If I shroud my Specter Core in human Zephyx, I can even escape detection by devices that can sense Specters."
The more Nick talked about his ability, the crazier it seemed.
There were devices that were specifically created to sense Specters with an ability that allows them to disguise as a human.
"But you can still be sensed by advanced sensors, right?" the Technician asked.
"I don't think so," Nick said. "I know how they work, and I don't think they would be able to unveil my real identity without literally injecting a needle into my Specter Core."
"We gotta test that!" the Technician shouted as he grabbed several devices.
The Technician did his best to uncover Nick's identity as a Specter with his devices.
But all of them failed!
Every single one!
Even the most advanced one!
"Of course," Nick added as he watched the Technician work, "Without an intricate knowledge of Zephology, Spectology, biology, and Zephyx Manipulation, I wouldn't be able to pull that off."
"However, I know how our sensors work. I know how Specters work. I know how Zephyx works. And finally, I know how human bodies work."
Nick narrowed his eyes as he turned into himself again.
"With this, my new ability can compete with heightened intelligence. However, there is one more aspect to it, which puts it slightly above heightened intelligence."
The Technician and Ghosty became interested.
"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you the details," Nick said to Ghosty. "This involves secret matters."
Ghosty became disappointed and sighed, but he understood.
The next words, Nick directly transmitted to the Technician.
"I am not sure if I am capable of it yet, but the existing powers of Specters also increase as they advance. My current ability of disguise might not be able to pull it off yet, but with more power, it might be able to."
"If I can create a perfect human body, I might be able to take advantage of having a human body in the most critical moment of humanity."
The most critical moment?
The Technician could only consider the assault on the aliens as the most critical moment.
More specifically, Nick's destruction of the alien base.
And then, the Technician realized what Nick meant.
"You might be able to become immune to Star Energy?!" the Technician transmitted back with shock.
"It should be possible," Nick transmitted. "This is not just a simple disguise. I am changing the very fundamentals of my existence with the exception of my Specter Core."
"As far as I know, Star Energy does not damage humans. It might even improve them. It might even be more beneficial than Prephyx or Zephyx."
"If I can change my existence enough, I might even be able to store Star Energy in my body."
"That would allow me to survive in an environment that only has Star Energy and no Prephyx."
"I might also unlock the ability to disguise myself as something that is neither human, nor Specter, nor animal if you know what I'm referring to."
The aliens popped into the Technician's mind.
If Nick could perfectly imitate the aliens…
The possibilities were endless!
With access to Star Energy, Nick could even use the aliens' technology!
"On top of that, I can hide from certain humans in case they might decide that I'm becoming too dangerous," Nick transmitted.
Naturally, Nick was referring to the Champion of Light.
Even if Aegis betrayed him in the future, he could stay hidden from them.
Nick's survival was the most important thing right now, and this ability ensured that he would survive.
Nick could assume the identity of a Specter when he was amongst Specters, and he could assume the identity of a human when he was amongst humans.
He could even hide his whereabouts and actions from Aegis.
Nick now had the best of both worlds.
He had the powers of Specters and humans.
Nick assumed the appearance of the long-dead Julian and smirked deviously.
"And lastly, I can infiltrate the Corruptors again," he spoke out loud.
True to his words, Nick had received all the tools.
He was not constrained by identity anymore.
He had all of the identities.
And if everyone who knew him died, he would have no identity.
"Alright," Nick said as he turned into himself again. "Now, about my other abilities…"
"Right!" Ghosty shouted. "I always think of you as human whenever I look at you. I forgot that you are a Specter and that your other abilities also improve."
Nick nodded. "All of my abilities improved."
"First…"
Kill_the_Sun_fastes