Kiran became a Protector by working with the Nightmare.
When he returned, he told everyone that he had found a way for them to become Protectors.
Naturally, the people were exhilarated.
There were several Peak Heroes who were ready to become Protectors.
Kiran led them to an isolated Containment Unit and opened it.
Inside the Containment Unit was a single portal.
This portal was a Specter that gained power by inflicting people with the Nightmare's influence.
This didn't seem very special to any of them.
After all, they were all immune to the Nightmare's influence.
Yet, when Kiran led the Heroes through the portals, they could finally see what Kiran meant.
The Nightmare!
Naturally, this Specter had been created by Nick.
With his Zephyx Manipulation capabilities, Nick could create Specters with custom abilities.
This specific Specter was a Possession Specter that literally just led to the Nightmare's domain.
Of course, Nick had designed this Specter after the dead Fiend of Darkness.
Nick had had plenty of time to analyze the Fiend of Darkness' abilities in the last era, and he had simply grown sort of a replica of it.
From this day forth, becoming a Protector was a rite of passage.
The Protectors would come face-to-face with the true enemy.
They could see what the enemy was capable of.
Protectors were not allowed to share information regarding the true enemy with anyone.
"If we ever want to be free, we have to face the enemy," Kiran proclaimed.
Yet, many Protectors despaired.
The Nightmare was so incredibly powerful.
How could they fight something that could create such a powerful being?
"We are not alone," Kiran said. "The person who created this underground world we inhabit is with us."
"You have seen his statue in the grand halls."
For the first time, Kiran shared with the others that he could hear the Duskbringer's voice.
The Duskbringer was speaking through him.
Of course,not everyone believed it, but it wasn't difficult to prove them wrong.
Kiran just "invoked" the power of the Duskbringer, and the Duskbringer answered.
Kiran simply pointed his staff at one of the impossibly powerful walls, and in the next moment, the wall exploded.
The Protectors were more than shocked.
Nobody had ever managed to even shake these walls!
And now, one of these walls exploded!
Even more, a moment later, the wall reformed again in front of their eyes.
The Duskbringer could destroy and create.
The evidence was irrefutable.
Somebody was here.
Somebody with unfathomable power.
Kiran's status rose even more in everyone's opinion.
He was not only their Emperor but also their spiritual leader.
"There is no more danger in our underground world," Kiran spoke. "Up until now, the Duskbringer has tested us. He created the Specters in this world, and he designed this underground world."
"He wanted to give us adversity so that we may grow."
"We have passed through his trials, and now, we must fulfill our true purpose."
"Freeing humanity."
"Opening up the stars."
The path of advancement was clear.
Becoming a Protector was not difficult.
Almost everyone could become one as long as they kept working with Specters.
Becoming a Shield was a bit harder, but not a lot.
Naturally, Nick had even thought of a way for people to become Shields.
Time passed, and Starbreaker Base grew stronger and stronger.
Over the next 200 years, the people in Starbreaker Base unearthed the majority of the technology available in the Archive.
They could even create powerful Pure Energy generators and create materials that could contain a Peak Adversary.
There were around 500,000 people already in the underground city, and the majority of them were powerful Extractors.
When it was time for Kiran to become a Shield, he traveled to one of the Containment Units.
This Containment Unit could only be opened by him and Nick.
As he stepped in,he saw a normal man sitting in the middle of the room.
"You must be Kiran," the Pure One spoke.
"You are the Pure One, correct?" Kiran asked.
Yes, Nick had relocated the Pure One into Starbreaker Base, and he would use the Pure One's Zephyx to make Shields.
On his own, the Pure One couldn't make Extractors advance since he didn't have any abilities.
However, that was no longer an issue.
This entire system of Specter abilities and advancements had been artificially made by the Amorphous Race anyway.
Over the past centuries, Nick had researched Specters and the machines the Amorphous Race had created.
The restriction that someone needed to work with a more powerful Specter to advance was artificial, and Nick simply changed it.
If one knew how a rule worked perfectly, they could find ways to take advantage of that rule.
Sometimes, they could even change it.
As Kiran worked with the Pure One, Nick created a certain wavelength of Zephyx.
The wavelength synchronized with the Pure One, and the Pure One forwarded the wavelength to Kiran.
A Specter didn't really need to have abilities to allow a human to advance.
The Zephyx Synchronizer just needed something it could copy.
Nick had created an artificial ability, and the Zephyx Synchronizer picked up on that ability.
It copied that ability, and just like that, Kiran advanced.
Advancing in this way had several advantages.
First of all, nobody needed to work with a powerful Adversary. It was enough just to sit in front of the Pure One.
Second, since the Pure One was a blank slate, Nick could make him emit any kind of Zephyx wavelength.
This meant Nick could tailor the abilities an Extractor would receive.
He could create the perfect ability an Extractor might want.
After Kiran advanced, the Pure One told him about the Empire and what they had tried in the past.
This would become another rite of passage.
The Shields would come into contact with the Pure One,who would teach them about the past and put everything into perspective.
Over the next years, many Protectors would become Shields, and all of them would learn from the Pure One.
When a thousand years had passed since the era had reset, Starbreaker Base welcomed its one hundredth Shield.
Meanwhile, in the outside world, there were fewer than a hundred Heroes.
The two sides were worlds apart.
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