"How can all these people survive in the dark?" the Right Arm asked.
"I will show you," Nick said as he moved along the crawlspace in the underground city's shell.
Sometime later, Nick created another entrance, and everyone walked through.
"A Demon?" the Inferno asked, looking at the Fiend of Darkness.
"Follow me," Nick said, approaching the Fiend of Darkness.
He stepped into the Fiend of Darkness, and the two Shields followed.
The next moment, they found themselves in a dark space with almost no gravity.
They could still feel Nick, and they followed him.
After a while, they saw an endless plane of Zephyx.
When they saw that, even the Right Arm lost his composure.
There had to be billions, if not trillions, of tons of Zephyx!
And then, they noticed the corpse in the middle of the plane.
When they saw the corpse, for some reason, it felt familiar to them.
"This is the Nightmare," Nick said.
Once more, the two of them became shocked.
The Nightmare?!
No one knew where the Nightmare was!
"When you attain the Nightmare's ability, you become immune to its influence," Nick answered. "That's how everyone can survive in the dark."
"With your perception, you should be able to see into the Nightmare's body."
The two of them had already noticed the strange contraption surrounding the Nightmare's… Zephyx Synchronizer?!
Several seconds of silence passed.
"Do not speak of this, ever," Nick said. "This is just a small piece of the power that destroyed the Ancient Ones."
"The true enemy," Nick said. "The Sun is part of the true enemy's power, but it is not the true enemy."
"The Enlightened Ones most likely succeeded in destroying the Sun," Nick said. "But they couldn't resist the true enemy."
"Don't stay here for too long," Nick said, motioning for them to leave the Nightmare's domain.
Without saying anything, the two of them followed Nick.
After coming out of the Fiend of Darkness, they went back into the crawlspace.
"Do you understand?" Nick asked.
The two of them remained silent.
"Why didn't you tell us?" the Inferno asked.
"Because," the Right Arm answered with a frown, "that would alarm the true enemy."
"He needs a decoy," he added. "Aegis is that decoy. Also, I believe that…"
The Right Arm hesitated.
"The Champion?" Nick asked.
The Right Arm nodded, and the Inferno looked at the ground.
"What you think is true," Nick answered. "However, he doesn't know it."
"He genuinely believes the Sun helps humanity."
Silence.
This was… tragic.
The Champion believed he was helping humanity, but he was actually working for the true enemy.
"I can see the true enemy," Nick said. "I am the only one capable of taking the battle to the true enemy."
"That's why the Left Arm and the Technician believed in me."
"If I die, humanity's last chance of freedom will die with me."
"Because of that, I can't die."
"As a Specter, I do not age."
"I will be honest with you."
"Humanity will not be able to free itself during this era."
"We are already in the late stages of production, and humanity's true resistance doesn't have enough time."
"The era will end."
"All the Extractors will die."
"But when the new era begins, we will have thousands of years to prepare."
"Our generation must suffer so that our future generations may live in the darkness or the light without fear."
"The humans who are alive today do not represent humanity."
"Humanity represents our spirit. It represents happiness, freedom, and hope."
"We must live without hope so that our future can have hope."
"Because if we choose not to live without hope, nobody will ever have any hope again."
The two listened to Nick.
They understood what Nick was talking about.
After all, they were willing to sacrifice themselves for humanity.
They had already abandoned all of their hopes, dreams, and happiness.
All for the futures of everyone else.
"Are you really a Specter?" the Inferno asked. "You seem more… human."
"I am a Specter," Nick answered. "That is the truth."
"Then, why are you helping us?"
"If humanity doesn't have a future, I don't have a future," Nick lied.
He couldn't be completely honest with them.
"I am a cancer," Nick said. "Humanity is my host."
"If humanity dies, I will die with it."
Silence.
After a while, the Inferno started to laugh.
"A cancer fighting for its host's survival. That's ironic!" he shouted.
"You might be the most intelligent cancer that has ever existed!"
Nick didn't answer for a while.
"What I have shown you is the truth."
"However, I have to alter some of your memories later. You will remember our conversation and what you have seen, but you will not remember my abilities."
"Sure, go ahead!" the Inferno shouted. "Today, I have seen what true hope looks like, and while I won't ever experience it myself, I am glad to know that there are others who will!"
The Right Arm smiled warmly and just nodded.
Nick nodded.
"I won't be doing it here. Do not speak of what you have seen, ever. Not even to each other."
"Yes, yes," the Inferno said casually. "We know about that entire information thing."
"Good," Nick said.
Then, Nick led them out of the city.
He traveled through the underground for many kilometers until he arrived at the Containment Unit he had built for the two of them.
"I will be very different from now on. The veil must persist," Nick said.
The two of them nodded.
Nick opened the Containment Unit, and the two of them were greeted by light.
At the same time, the Right Arm's expression became pained, and the Inferno gritted his teeth.
They acted like they had been under immense torture.
The three of them stepped inside, and Nick closed the Containment Unit behind him.
His friendly smile was already on his face again.
"See? I told you it wouldn't be so bad," he said.
The two of them didn't answer.
"Now, let's talk about some recent topics."
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