Years passed.
More people were introduced.
More conflicts happened.
But in the end, against the rising horde of Specters, only Kiran's group remained stalwart.
He never forced anyone to follow him.
He never vied for resources.
Yet, eventually, everyone ended up in his group for one reason or another.
Things were going pretty well.
Then, the hallucinations happened.
The Nightmare's influence was returning, but only very slowly.
It was very weak in the beginning, but it was growing stronger.
The pressure was ramped up.
Eventually, the group managed to enter a sanctuary that had light.
This area was the only area with some light in it.
The normal humans moved to this place, and Kiran found himself to be the sole provider for over a hundred people.
He had to find a solution to this issue, and eventually, he found one.
There was a powerful Adolescent in the underground city that could grant immunity to the Nightmare's influence.
Naturally, Nick had created this Adolescent.
If his people could work with the Adolescent, they could travel through the darkness.
It was difficult, but Kiran managed to suppress it.
The Extractors worked with the Adolescent.
The first level two Extractors had already been created.
More years passed.
There were now over 5,000 people in Kiran's group.
They had also had their first babies.
The normal people needed to remain in the light, while the Extractors had to traverse the darkness.
Yet, with the presence of light, new problems started to emerge.
Any advanced machine transported to the light area was destroyed immediately by an unknown force.
Anyone sharing secrets from the dark in the light area mysteriously died.
Naturally, all of that was Nick's doing.
New rules were created.
People who wanted to live a normal life could remain in the light, but people who actually wanted to contribute had to traverse the darkness and keep everything secret.
Ten years after arriving in the underground city, Kiran became the first Veteran.
Naturally, Nick was ramping up the pressure by creating Adult Specters through various means.
It was a constant fight for survival.
Almost all of the machines needed Zephyx to function, and Zephyx became more and more important as time passed.
To Nick, ten years was barely any time, but for these people, it might as well be an eternity.
Another twenty years passed.
There were now over 10,000 people in the city.
That was when Nick stopped sending in new people.
There was enough gene diversity in the city to stop inbreeding from happening.
People now had different jobs.
There were people who uncovered the secrets of engineering.
There were people who trained others.
There were people who produced Zephyx.
There were merchants.
The size of the light area was too small, and it was getting overcrowded.
That forced many of the Extractors to live in the darkness, in their own society.
But they were not completely cut off from the people in the light area.
The people in the light area were their lifeline.
They made new humans, and they needed more humans if they wanted to uncover more of the city's secrets.
Another 30 years passed.
The first people who hadn't advanced yet had already died of old age.
The outside world was slowly being forgotten.
This was their world.
Kiran had already become an Expert, and there were also many Veterans who faithfully followed him.
The people unlocked more and more secrets.
Nick watched the city develop, but he also watched the outside world.
In the outside world, the first level two Extractors had appeared.
Technically, there were a few who could already become Veterans, but there was an issue.
The people outside didn't know how to become Veterans.
They didn't know about Zephosis.
Anyone who advanced normally would quickly starve due to the heightened energy requirement.
Another 20 years passed.
There were now several Experts in the underground city, and there were also a few Veterans in the outside world.
"You can start now," Nick transmitted to two individuals.
This would be a dark day, but a necessary one.
After giving his command, many forests appeared all over the world.
At the same time, black blobs started to appear.
The Eternal Hunger and the False Hope had received permission to become active.
The wilderness was consumed rapidly.
Within just a couple of days, the outside world had turned into a wasteland.
The same wasteland Nick had gotten familiar with when he left Crimson City for the first time.
Mass starvation occurred.
Many weak cities were destroyed.
But the powerful cities survived.
More and more Hatchlings were born all over the world.
The Specters ruled the world once more, and humanity had to hide in its cities.
Meanwhile, the people in the underground city had achieved a monumental breakthrough.
The first Barrier had been created, and with it, Kiran could now open many more doors that had been locked to him before.
When Barriers became more common, Nick ramped up the pressure.
He introduced Force Specters.
Since they still lacked the technology to suppress those, the humans had to rely on the few individuals with abilities capable of damaging Force Specters.
Just like Nick back in the day, Kiran was helpless against Force Specters.
Many people died in the underground city.
Another 40 years passed.
Nick had sent Kiran into Starbreaker Base a hundred years ago.
Kiran was ready to become a Specialist, but he couldn't advance yet.
He knew about Consumption, but he also knew how risky it was.
There were Elders around, but Kiran knew that he couldn't consume them.
The reason was simple.
He needed to be humanity's Emperor.
He needed access to an artificial Specter to get the best advancement possible.
He also knew that there were ten artificial Specters inside Containment Units.
However, these Containment Units needed advanced technology to access, and their society hadn't progressed enough to crack the code.
Other Experts consumed normal Specters to become Specialists, while Kiran still remained an Expert.
He was no longer the strongest.
But he was still their leader.
The other Experts and Specialists helped with researching engineering, and 50 years later, they succeeded.
Kiran was already quite old by that point, but finally, they managed to gain access to one of the artificial Specters.
Everyone encouraged Kiran to consume it.
The Specialists and Experts were happy for Kiran.
When Kiran heard their support, his heart warmed.
Without the support of his comrades, he would have never been able to access the artificial Specter in time.
He needed their help.
And if he hadn't been an exemplary and fair leader, he wouldn't have received it.
He had helped them, and because of that, they had helped him.
Kiran was no longer the most powerful person.
If one of the Specialists wanted to take leadership, they could have done so, and they could have also redirected the priorities of the group.
Yet, every single Specialist had believed in Kiran.
Kiran had protected them.
And now, they protected him.
He was their leader.
They didn't want another one.
He was their Emperor.
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