Waktu terus berjalan.
Dua abad kemudian, Aegis berhasil menangkap Perawat Alice.
Seandainya Perawat Alice mengerahkan seluruh kekuatannya, ia pasti bisa meloloskan diri dari mereka. Ia menguasai ratusan kemampuan berbeda.
Namun, itu akan membuatnya mustahil ditangkap, dan Sang Matahari tidak menginginkan hal tersebut.
Sang Matahari justru ingin Perawat Alice tertangkap.
Lima Peak Shield berpencar ke berbagai penjuru dunia sementara Sang Juara terus mengejar dan menyerangnya.
Ke mana pun ia berlari, seorang Peak Shield akan segera menyusul dan melancarkan serangan tambahan.
Dalam hitungan detik—yang bagi orang biasa setara dengan pertarungan berjam-jam lamanya—mereka akhirnya berhasil memaksanya menyerah.
Zephyx-nya terkuras jauh lebih cepat daripada kemampuannya untuk memulihkannya.
Perawat Alice ditangkap dan dimasukkan ke dalam Unit Penahanan terkuat yang dimiliki Aegis.
Jika mau, Perawat Alice sebenarnya bisa kabur kapan saja.
Manipulasi Zephyx miliknya adalah yang tertinggi di seluruh dunia, sementara Unit Penahanan itu sendiri dibuat menggunakan Zephyx.
Tapi sekali lagi, ia memang tidak boleh melarikan diri.
Para Shield yang bekerja sama dengan Nick juga telah menjadi sangat kuat.
Di antara mereka terdapat satu Peak Shield dan beberapa Late Shield.
Dua ratus tahun berikutnya berlalu.
Aegis mendapatkan dua Savior tambahan.
Pada titik ini, Aegis memiliki total tiga Savior.
Sang Juara juga terus bekerja sama dengan Perawat Alice.
Bekerja dengannya bukanlah hal yang mudah karena selalu membutuhkan pengorbanan, tetapi di Aegis, orang-orang yang rela mengorbankan diri demi umat manusia tidaklah pernah kekurangan.
Jumlah Shield pun berkurang.
Semakin kuat pengorbanannya, semakin banyak Zephyx yang dihasilkan Perawat Alice.
Jumlah Zephyx yang diproduksi Perawat Alice saat ditahan oleh Aegis jutaan kali lipat lebih besar dibandingkan saat ia masih bebas.
Seiring berjalannya waktu, ia juga akan mencapai tahap Early Eternal.
Dan kemungkinan besar, itulah tujuan utamanya.
'Aku yakin jika Sang Juara mencapai Mid Savior, ia bisa membahayakan Sang Matahari,'
Ia menginginkan hubungan yang jujur dengan atasannya.
The Nightmare, The Maw, dan The Null tidak memiliki kecerdasan.
Perawat Alice tidak pernah mencobanya karena terlalu berbahaya.
Nick adalah orang pertama yang melakukannya.
Ia akan menghancurkan ilusi tersebut dan menyingkap kebenaran.
Setidaknya sebagian darinya.
"Sang Matahari," jawab Nick.
Avatar Sang Matahari muncul di hadapannya.
"Trickster," ucapnya.
"Sun," jawab Nick.
"Kau berhasil melangkah sejauh ini hanya dengan mengandalkan kekuatanmu sendiri. Itu patut diacungi jempol," kata Sang Matahari.
"Terima kasih," balas Nick.
"Apa tujuanmu?" tanya Sang Matahari.
"Keabadian," jawab Nick.
Sang Matahari menunggu Nick menjelaskan lebih lanjut.
"Aku ingin hidup selamanya," kata Nick.
"Kalau begitu, mengapa kau tidak tinggal di bawah tanah saja selamanya? Kau aman di sana," tanya Sang Matahari.
"Tidak, aku tidak akan aman," ucap Nick.
"Aku sudah mempelajari banyak hal tentang dunia ini, termasuk apa artinya menjadi seorang Specter."
"Energi Bintang adalah musuhku," kata Nick, "dan aku tahu bahwa dunia luar yang sesungguhnya dipenuhi olehnya."
"Jika umat manusia berhasil mencapai bintang-bintang, Energi Bintang akan kembali, dan aku akan mati tercekik."
"Namun, jika umat manusia gagal dan musnah, aku juga akan ikut mati."
"Itu karena aku tidak akan punya tujuan lagi."
Sang Matahari terdiam sejenak.
Nick baru saja menyebutkan beberapa hal yang cukup berisiko.
Pada dasarnya, ia baru saja mengatakan bahwa Sang Matahari telah berbohong mengenai tujuannya saat pertama kali berbicara dengannya.
"Lalu, bagaimana caramu mencapai keabadian?" tanya Sang Matahari setelah beberapa menit berlalu.
"Mesin ini harus terus berjalan," kata Nick. "Jika mesinnya berhenti, aku juga akan berhenti."
"Bagaimanapun, aku adalah bagian dari mesin tersebut."
"Umat manusia perlu menjadi kuat, tapi tidak boleh terlalu kuat."
"Terkadang, mereka membutuhkan bantuanku."
"Terkadang, mereka perlu diseleksi dan dikurangi jumlahnya."
"Semakin efisien mesin ini bekerja, semakin besar pula kemungkinan keberlangsungannya."
Sang Matahari kembali terdiam.
Kemungkinan besar para alien sedang mendiskusikan jawaban Nick.
"Apa itu mesinnya?" tanya Sang Matahari.
Ini akan menjadi momen paling berbahaya.
Semuanya bergantung pada seberapa banyak informasi yang bersedia Nick ungkapkan.
Jika ia nyaris tidak memberikan apa-apa, para alien akan menganggapnya menyembunyikan sesuatu atau sedang berbohong.
Jika ia memberikan terlalu banyak, mereka akan melihatnya sebagai ancaman.
Nick sedang mencoba sesuatu yang belum pernah dicoba oleh Eternal mana pun sebelumnya.
"Sang Matahari," jawab Nick.
"Akukah mesin itu?" tanya avatar Sang Matahari.
"Bukan, Sang Matahari. Bukan dirimu."
Time continued to pass.
Two centuries later, Aegis captured Nurse Alice.
If Nurse Alice had used her full power, she would have been able to escape from them since she knew hundreds of different abilities.
However, that would make her uncapturable, and that was not what the Sun wanted.
The Sun wanted Nurse Alice to be captured.
Five Peak Shields scattered across the world while the Champion kept chasing and attacking her.
No matter where she ran to, a Peak Shield would quickly catch up to her and launch more attacks.
Over several seconds, which was the equivalent of several hours of fighting for normal people, they eventually managed to force her into submission.
Her Zephyx was draining faster than she was recovering.
Nurse Alice was captured and put into the strongest Containment Unit Aegis had.
If she wanted to, Nurse Alice could escape.
Her Zephyx Manipulation was the highest in the world, and the Containment Unit was made with Zephyx.
But, again, she wasn't supposed to flee.
The Shields Nick was working with had also become quite powerful.
There was one Peak Shield amongst them and a couple of Late Shields.
Another 200 years passed.
Aegis received two more Saviors.
At this moment, Aegis had three Saviors in total.
The Champion also continued working with Nurse Alice.
It wasn't easy to work with her since working with her required a sacrifice, but there was no shortage of people who were willing to sacrifice themselves for humanity in Aegis.
The number of Shields dropped.
The more powerful the sacrifice, the more Zephyx Nurse Alice produced.
The amount of Zephyx Nurse Alice produced while being suppressed by Aegis was millions of times higher than when she had been free.
With time, she would also become an Early Eternal.
That was also most likely the goal.
'I believe if the Champion became a Mid Savior, he could be able to endanger the Sun,the Sun's avatar appeared in front of him.
"Trickster," it spoke.
"Sun," Nick answered.
"You have managed to come this far by relying on your own power. That is admirable," the Sun spoke.
"Thank you," Nick answered.
"What is your goal?" the Sun asked.
"Eternity," Nick answered.
The Sun waited for Nick to explain.
"I want to live forever," Nick said.
"Then, why do you not just stay underground forever? You are safe there," the Sun asked.
"No, I won't be," Nick said.
"I have learned a lot about the world, and I have learned about what it means to be a Specter."
"Star Energy is my enemy," Nick said, "and I know that the real outside is filled with it."
"If humanity reaches the stars, Star Energy will return, and I will suffocate."
"However, if humanity fails and dies, I will also die."
"That's because I don't have a purpose anymore."
The Sun remained silent for a while.
Nick had mentioned some risky things.
He had essentially said that the Sun had lied about its purpose when it had talked to him initially.
"Then, how do you reach eternity?" the Sun asked after several minutes.
"The machine has to keep running," Nick said. "If the machine stops running, I will also stop running."
"After all, I am part of the machine."
"Humanity needs to become powerful, but not too powerful."
"Sometimes, humanity needs my help."
"Sometimes, humanity needs to be culled."
"The more efficient the machine is, the higher the likelihood of its continued existence."
The Sun remained silent for a while.
The aliens were probably discussing Nick's answers.
"What is the machine?" the Sun asked.
This would be the most dangerous moment.
It all depended on how much Nick gave away.
If he gave off almost nothing, the aliens would think he was hiding something or lying.
If he gave off too much, they would perceive him as a threat.
Nick was attempting something no Eternal had attempted before.Chapter 947 – Honest Relationship
Time continued to pass.
Two centuries later, Aegis captured Nurse Alice.
If Nurse Alice had used her full power, she would have been able to escape from them since she knew hundreds of different abilities.
However, that would make her uncapturable, and that was not what the Sun wanted.
The Sun wanted Nurse Alice to be captured.
Five Peak Shields scattered across the world while the Champion kept chasing and attacking her.
No matter where she ran to, a Peak Shield would quickly catch up to her and launch more attacks.
Over several seconds, which was the equivalent of several hours of fighting for normal people, they eventually managed to force her into submission.
Her Zephyx was draining faster than she was recovering.
Nurse Alice was captured and put into the strongest Containment Unit Aegis had.
If she wanted to, Nurse Alice could escape.
Her Zephyx Manipulation was the highest in the world, and the Containment Unit was made with Zephyx.
But, again, she wasn't supposed to flee.
The Shields Nick was working with had also become quite powerful.
There was one Peak Shield amongst them and a couple of Late Shields.
Another 200 years passed.
Aegis received two more Saviors.
At this moment, Aegis had three Saviors in total.
The Champion also continued working with Nurse Alice.
It wasn't easy to work with her since working with her required a sacrifice, but there was no shortage of people who were willing to sacrifice themselves for humanity in Aegis.
The number of Shields dropped.
The more powerful the sacrifice, the more Zephyx Nurse Alice produced.
The amount of Zephyx Nurse Alice produced while being suppressed by Aegis was millions of times higher than when she had been free.
With time, she would also become an Early Eternal.
That was also most likely the goal.
'I believe if the Champion became a Mid Savior, he could be able to endanger the Sun,
He wanted an honest relationship with his employer.
The Nightmare, the Maw, and the Null weren't intelligent.
Nurse Alice didn't attempt it since it was too dangerous.
Nick was the first one.
He would be breaking the illusion, exposing the truth.
Partially.
"The Sun," Nick answered.
"I am the machine?" the Sun's avatar asked.
"No, the Sun. Not you."
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