Daemon attacks have been a regular occurrence for the past several centuries, to the point that most people have grown numb to them. Devastating typhoons are no longer a concern as humanity has controlled the weather for millennia, but a daemon attack is perhaps the closest modern equivalent to such calamities.
People unaffected by these attacks care while they’re happening, but they move on almost as soon as the chaos ends.
This time, however, even after three entire days, the conversation hasn’t shifted from the Daemon Attack during the Streamer Awards. One would think the discussion would center around the portal itself—the first time anyone had witnessed where daemons originate—but no.
The spotlight is entirely on Julian Winters.
While some are trying to stir the pot for attention, others genuinely believe blaming Julian is justified. A minority, however, are growing increasingly frustrated by the constant focus on him.
Still, no matter how much dissent is voiced, it all feels like shouting into an echo chamber.
As for the man at the center of it all, Julian is blissfully unaware of the commotion. He’s not even on the same planet. Instead, he’s on Ceres-9, Humanity Engineering’s main office asteroid.
This time, his only companion is MEGAN.
[This place still gives me the creeps. It’s like my every move is being watched,] she whispered in Julian’s mind, her voice quiet but tense. [Be careful, Julian. Ellie’s not here, so their entire attention will be on you.]
As before, an escort guided Julian straight from the hotel and through the asteroid. He half-expected to lose consciousness or experience visions while passing through the Radiant Gate, but nothing happened.
Disappointing, really. He’d hoped to hear his parents’ voices again, even though what little he’d heard before had been cryptic. From what he could piece together, it seemed his parents had fled from something shortly after his birth.
But what exactly were they running from? And how did he even remember those moments when he was supposed to be an infant?
Before he could dwell on it further, a familiar voice broke through his thoughts.
“Mr. Winters, it is a pleasure and an honor to meet you again, and so soon.”
It was Victoria. Her tone, as always, was monotonous, though it contrasted with the pleasant smile she wore. She paused before gesturing for him to walk beside her.
“Please, Mr. Winters. We’ve prepared a room for you to stay in.”
“Oh…” Julian stopped in his tracks, his hum thoughtful. “I don’t plan to stay here long. I only want to get my LinkGear back.”
Victoria sighed, mimicking Julian’s hum as she, too, halted. “That’s precisely why we’ve prepared a room for you, Mr. Winters,” she said, her smile unwavering. “Retrieving your LinkGear will take days. At most, a week.”
“Retrieve?” Julian asked, a faint breath of frustration escaping him. “Can’t I just buy a new LinkGear? I assume it wouldn’t cost as much as last time since most of the expense was for the clone, right?”
Victoria sighed, gesturing for Julian to follow as she resumed walking.
“I’m afraid it’s not that simple, Mr. Winters,” she said, her tone tinged with faint disappointment. “The LinkGear you had was specifically tailored to your unique… biometrics. Much like your body resting in Artemia, it is entirely unique and cannot be recreated. Another cannot exist. Thus, we need to physically retrieve your lost LinkGear.”
“Hm…” Julian hummed as he kept pace beside her. “...Then why did you ask me to come here?”
“Because I wanted to help you in your current predicament, Mr. Winters.” Victoria exhaled slowly, placing her hands behind her back as they entered the glass tunnel of Ceres-9, its exterior lined with a lush artificial forest.
“You’ve chosen to reveal yourself to the world, and so, it stands to reason that the fact that you are a mutant would also soon be revealed.”
“Hm.”
“People are already unhappy that you didn’t save everyone and that you acted too late,” Victoria continued, stopping to place her palm against the glass wall. “What do you think will happen when they learn that you are a mutant? That you’re different?”
“That doesn’t change anything. I’m used to being different from everyone else,” Julian said, tilting his head slightly as the rustle of leaves outside the tunnel filled his ears.
“No, Mr. Winters,” Victoria corrected, sighing again. “You are used to being inferior. To being less than everyone else. People have looked at you with pity or disdain your entire life. But as a mutant, Mr. Winters… you are superior. How do you think they will react to that?”
“How did they react when mutants first appeared thousands of years ago?”
“That was different,” Victoria replied, her gaze shifting to meet his, or more specifically, MEGAN’s,
“At the time, humanity thought they were evolving, and they welcomed it. But now people know that isn’t the case.” She paused before asking pointedly, “Would you like me to tell you how they will react to you, Mr. Winters?”
“Hm.”
“Jealousy, fear, and contempt,” Victoria said bluntly. “First, they’ll envy you for what you have. Then, they’ll fear you because they can’t have it. Finally, they’ll hate you for it. They will hate you enough to try to erase you. That is history, Mr. Winters.” She gestured to the tunnel’s greenery beyond the glass. “Other races have been lucky enough to be inferior to us. But what do you think would happen if they weren’t?”
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[War,] MEGAN whispered.
“War,” Julian echoed aloud at the same time.
“Yes,” Victoria agreed, closing her eyes briefly. “Fortunately, the Artemians are a new civilization. Imagine if they weren’t—a race similar to humans, but capable of wielding the arcane and far stronger physically. Fortunately, there is no one above us.”
Julian’s thoughts immediately turned to the humanoid daemons. From the visions he had seen, they possessed ships that seemed as advanced, if not more so, than humanity’s technology—and that was thousands of years ago.
If those visions of Erin’s life were real, it meant there was a civilization far more advanced than humanity somewhere in the boundless expanse of space.
…Maybe he should actually share his visions?
Before Julian could cement that thought, Victoria continued speaking.
“What I’m trying to say, Mr. Winters, is that soon…” She turned to face him, her gaze steady.
“...Humanity will begin to perceive you as a threat. And while I can’t confirm it, I know you’re growing stronger, at least compared to the last time we met. It’s almost as if… you’re leveling up too, Mr. Winters.”
“Hm.” Julian hummed softly, careful not to let Victoria or anyone else know about his access to the [Guidance of Artemis]. Instead of responding directly, he deflected with a question of his own.
“And how are you going to help me?”
“This time, we seek inspiration from fiction instead of history, Mr. Winters,” Victoria replied, her lips curling into a wide smile as she resumed walking.
“In fiction, what do you call someone who holds enough power to be feared, yet instead, they are idolized?”
“I don’t know,” Julian answered without hesitation or pretense, walking beside her again.
“We call them heroes, Mr. Winters,” Victoria said, her smile broadening. “No, not just heroes—Superheroes.”
[Ew, cringe…] MEGAN’s voice echoed in Julian’s mind, filled with exaggerated disdain. [...She’s a little cringe, Julian, but she’s not wrong.]
“I appreciate you finally agreeing with me, MEGAN,” Victoria said, glancing directly in Julian’s mechanical eyes.
[What the!? I knew it! She’s listening to me! This is a breach of privacy! Breach!]
Julian tilted his head slightly as MEGAN’s voice rose in agitation.
[I’m going into silent mode for a bit, Julian. Be careful—don’t trust anyone. I’ll be here when you need me,] MEGAN added, her voice quickly fading.
“You have quite the unique MEGAN, Mr. Winters,” Victoria commented, covering her mouth to chuckle. “She’s almost as unique as you. The freedom you’ve granted her over the years has made her astonishingly… human-like. But you must be cautious—the government doesn’t take kindly to AIs running unchecked.”
“The AI Catastrophe,” Julian murmured as he knew exactly what she was talking about.
“Exactly,” Victoria nodded as they continued walking through the pristine halls of Ceres-9. “But let’s stay on track. I’ll be direct now—Humanity Engineering wants to turn you into a Superhero, Mr. Winters.”
“I’m not interested in that,” Julian said flatly. “I just want to make weapons. It’s been a while since I’ve been in an actual forge. I’m supposed to be a blacksmith, nothing else. But it would seem I haven’t done that in a long time.”
“We’re not asking you to become an actual Superhero,” Victoria said, chuckling softly. They then stopped in front of a door, and she gestured toward it.
“We will be the one handling that. Humanity Engineering will transform your entire image.”
The door slid open, and Julian was greeted by a noise of chaos—footsteps, hurried conversations, and the hum of holograms and screens. But as he and Victoria stepped inside, the noise came to an abrupt halt.
As for Julian, he just stood there as he had no idea what they were actually doing inside. Victoria was also slightly excited, but as soon as she saw Julian not reacting at all, she sighed.
It was rare for someone like her to become excited as she had almost already experienced everything since she had been alive for a very long time, and literally experienced so many different lives since her brain is now merely just a part of Humanity Engineering.
But she truly was excited to actually be in the presence of a mutant.
After all, Julian Winters was a product of legitimate natural selection—not a manufactured result of genetic engineering like the people in Ceres-9.
Her excitement was extreme, so much so that she momentarily forgot… that Julian was blind.
“Oh…” Victoria exhaled softly as the realization hit her. “...This hall is solely dedicated to you, Mr. Winters. Perhaps it would be best if MEGAN described the layout to you?”
“She doesn’t want to talk while you’re here,” Julian replied with a hum.
“Understandable,” Victoria sighed, gesturing for Julian to follow her deeper inside. “Then I shall explain it myself. The department has various stations. One monitors information about you online—user-submitted content, media coverage—and assesses its impact on your image. If it’s positive, we amplify it. If it’s negative, we control it. Another station focuses on building your public image, crafting the narrative we discussed: making you a Superhero.”
“Hm.”
“You don’t even have to do anything, Mr. Winters,” Victoria added, her tone carrying a note of pride. “Your battles against the daemons in the Below and at the Streamer Awards have given us more than enough material. We’ll just build on what you’ve already done.”
“And I suppose you’re also planning to study and experiment on me?” Julian asked.
“Study you?” Victoria raised a brow, momentarily surprised. “Perhaps only in the sense of observing you. But experiment? No, we would never. You were born naturally, Mr. Winters. If future generations of you are to exist, they should come about naturally as well. That’s why the only procedure we’d ever consider—if you desire it—is reversing your sterilization. I am sure Ellie would like that as well.”
“Hm…” Julian didn’t respond immediately. “...Dr. Ling from the DCC wanted to study me, so I assumed you’d want the same.”
“Dr. Ling Hui,” Victoria chuckled knowingly. “Yes, I know her—young, ambitious, and with a good heart. But like you, she can be… overly passionate, sometimes to the detriment of everything else. Let me assure you, Mr. Winters, everything we do here is your choice. If you want this department disbanded, we will dissolve it immediately. That said, even MEGAN would likely agree that this could be highly beneficial to you.”
“Then… I’ll discuss it with her first.”
“Of course. You must be tired. Let me escort you to your room.”
***
Julian was now alone in the room. Victoria had promised there wasn’t any surveillance. Whether or not that was true, he might never know.
[...She’s right again, Julian. Right now, people are dragging your name through the mud. I’m afraid… we could use their help,] MEGAN said, her voice soft but tinged with concern.
With MEGAN speaking freely again, Julian relaxed slightly. Standing in front of the window, he let her take in the view of Ceres-9’s lush, artificial forest.
“If that’s what you think we should do, MEGAN… then let’s do it,” Julian said with a small smile.
[...You’re not just agreeing because I said it feels like you don’t need me anymore, are you?]
“I do need you. I always have and always will,” Julian replied, his tone steady. “You’re family.”
[Ugh, cringe again.]
“You’ve been using that word a lot today.”
[I learned it from social media. Anyway, Victoria claims they have no plans to experiment on you—but that’s only because they think you’re just a mutant. If they knew the truth, Julian, if they understood what you really are and what you’re capable of... I don’t think their promises would hold.]
Julian tilted his head slightly, listening as MEGAN’s voice grew more serious.
[You can never let them find out, Julian. Never let them discover... that you can also level up from killing daemons.]
[STATUS]
Name: Julian Winters
Class: Shadow Blacksmith
Level: 21^ (Previously 15)
Health (HP): 270/270
Mana (MP): 135/135
Stamina (SP): 188/188
Strength: 50^
Agility: 30
Vitality: 25^
Mana: 15
Perception: 40^
Free Points: 0
Skills:
Shadow Sculpt
Shadow Forge
Shadow Festival
Abilities:
Hyper Instinct
Flames of Searadyn
Shadow Vault.
Null Presence
Active Quests:
The Shadow of Artemia
The Flames of Juliet
The Spirit Within the Coal[NEW]
The Bridge[NEW]
Explore the world to gain more quests.
[End of STATUS]
[And... don’t let them find out that you’re the only one who still have the [The Bridge] quest while the other Unique Class holders don’t.]
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