Nick left Aegis' headquarters.
Death was still paying attention to everything, but it most likely wouldn't attack for a while.
One of the Trio of Destruction was destroyed, weakening it significantly.
Humanity would soon gain new Shields, while the ranks of the Specters had been damaged significantly.
Death's advantage was no longer as great.
'If I were in Death's position, I would try to subjugate another Adversary. Death needs servants to help it in fighting Aegis. There are several Adversaries that are neutral, and it won't be easy to subjugate them, but Death will manage. It just takes time.'
'For now, the two sides are essentially in an armistice.'
Nick traveled to the secret underground base and delivered the news of what happened.
After that, he went to the contained Adversary again to procure more knowledge for the researchers.
His research into Zephyx Manipulation would resume after he became a Fallen.
For the next seven years, Nick listened to the Adversary, taking notes the entire time.
Then, he told the Adversary that he would be taking a small break.
Nick left Crimson City and entered deep underground in an isolated location.
He had gained enough Zephyx to become a Fallen.
At this moment, Nick was around 135 years old.
A Protector at the age of 135 years had never existed.
This was the age when the most talented Extractors were at the Mid or Late Specialist level.
Meanwhile, Nick was about to reach the seventh level.
The seventh level was a major hurdle for everyone, Specters and humans.
Humans could only become Protectors if they managed to absorb a Mid Elder for their Consumption, and Specters needed to be smart and powerful enough to cause enough suffering without getting found. Ṙ𝙖ΝO͍ВЕȘ
If Nick didn't have Aegis' help, it would have taken forever for him to reach this level.
He would have to kill isolated Peak Heroes and not fall into any traps.
That would take centuries.
Meanwhile, there were less than 100 Protectors alive at any given moment.
It was just too hard to consume a Mid Elder.
Too many talented Extractors died trying to overcome that hurdle.
In Nick's opinion, the Consumption was probably the worst and most damaging part of an Extractor's growth.
Zephosis was fine and could be overcome with relative certainty.
Additionally, it also wasn't really dangerous. If one failed, they could just try again.
The creation of a Shell was also a good idea. It just needed time and lots of Zephyx.
That wasn't even a bad thing since this gave Extractors more time to gather experience.
But the Consumption was just bad.
People only got one shot, and if they failed, they died.
On top of that, it limited a human's future significantly.
90% of humans undergoing the Consumption died or absorbed an Initial Elder, making it impossible for them to become Heroes in the future, no matter how much they trained or tried.
Around 9% of Extractors managed to absorb an Early Elder, giving them a shot at becoming Heroes.
Only 1% managed to absorb a Mid Elder, and a big portion of the deaths came from people attempting to absorb a Mid Elder.
If people could try several times, the rate of success would be much higher, and even if they failed again, they could just absorb an Early Elder.
That would still allow them to become Heroes.
Lastly, the Consumption was very costly.
Elders were not common.
All in all, the Consumption was a horrible step on the path to power.
One had to remember that the path to power for Extractors wasn't dictated by nature or their genes.
It was just a method someone had once found, which everyone else adopted.
There had to be other and better ways to become a Specialist.
This was also one of the aspects that the secret research team was analyzing.
Nick had abducted quite a lot of biologists, and these biologists were slowly working to unravel the mysteries of the human body.
If they could find out more about the human body, they could also find an alternative to the Consumption.
However, all of that was in the future.
Right now, Nick focused on advancing.
He slowly gathered all the Zephyx he had absorbed over the years.
While he hadn't been involved in the fight at Aegis' headquarters, his actions had led to that fight.
He had gotten some part of the blame for that incident, which meant he was responsible for some part of the suffering.
Many Protectors died in that battle, and six strongholds were destroyed.
This had given Nick a substantial boost in Zephyx.
Without it, he would have needed at least 15 more years.
The gathered Zephyx inside of Nick came out of his Specter Core and surrounded him.
Now, he just needed to wait.
Just like last time, Nick wasn't completely sure when it would happen.
He just knew that it would happen soon.
Some hours of silence passed.
And then, Nick felt his Zephyx reacting to something.
Once again, the world became blurry.
Nick let himself go, and the world around him vanished.
A moment later, it was replaced with the darkness Nick remembered from the last time.
The Sun was overhead, and Nick could see the countless silhouettes of suffering humans.
This was all the suffering he had inflicted on the world.
However, every suffering human also represented hope.
'Humanity is stepping forward. All the people who are suffering are stones on humanity's path forward.'
'Additionally, most of them are also still alive and have recovered from their suffering.'
'I have changed over a hundred cities for the better, and while there has been a period of chaos following my changes, I know that the changes were positive in the long run.'
As Nick looked at the silhouettes, he also saw two familiar faces.
The Left Arm and the Knife.
They were screaming like all the other silhouettes, but Nick knew that this was just a representation.
The Left Arm and the Knife had willingly given their life for humanity.
They had willingly given their lives to Nick.
Their suffering silhouettes represented their dedication to humanity's future.
And to Nick.
'I will not disappoint you.'
'I will free humanity!'
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