“Wait, what?” Nick asked. “It’s not a fairy tale?”
“It is a fairy tale,” the governor said. “All these things about replacing the Sun and vanquishing the Eternals is just a story. However, the Champion of Light himself is real.”
“He’s humanity’s champion, the leader of Aegis, and the strongest human that exists.”
Nick felt like his mind had been hit by a bombshell.
The strongest human!
The leader of Aegis!
“He’s the only human with a Zephyx Synchronizer attuned to the Sun,” the governor said.
Attuned to the Sun?!
That was possible?!
‘That’s even crazier than being attuned to the Null!’ Nick thought.
At that moment, several thoughts shot through Nick’s mind.
‘So, he has the Sun’s ability.’
Nick thought about the story about the Champion of Light again.
‘He takes all the hopes of the despairing humans and ushers in a new tomorrow.’
‘The story has been designed to be memorable and easy to retell.’
‘So, this story has been spread by Aegis.’
‘The more people that know about it, the better.’
‘Does this mean that the Champion of Light gains power by people believing in him?’
‘But if he has the power of the Sun, doesn’t that mean that the Sun most likely has the same activation condition for its power?’
“Does that mean that the Sun gains power by being seen and known by people?” Nick asked.
“You’re quite fast,” the governor said. “Yes, Aegis believes that the Sun’s power is the opposite of the Null’s power.”
“The Null doesn’t want to be seen by anyone.”
“The Sun wants to be seen by everyone.”
“Aegis even suspects that the Sun has a hand in the Nightmare’s creation.”
“Where there is darkness, there is no Sun.”
“The more dangerous the darkness, the more the people want to be in the Sun, and the more they are in the Sun, the more they pay attention to it.”
“The Champion of Light becomes more powerful the more people know him and the more often they think about him.”
“Many years ago, Aegis used to constantly post pictures of the Champion of Light in all the cities while reminding everyone of him.”
“Ironically, that ended in people getting annoyed by him, which made them hate him, which made them not put their hopes in him.”
“The damage was devastating, and the Champion of Light had been weakened during that time.”
“I still remember that time.”
“Eventually, they just told the cities to bring the fairy tale of the Champion of Light to the people.”
“The older people who remembered the pictures of the Champion of Light got annoyed, but the young people enjoyed the story.”
“Eventually, it just became normal, and only older Extractors remember the time before the fairy tale.”
“The story has shown remarkable success, and today, the Champion of Light is at his most powerful.”
“The only reason why humanity’s greatest enemies haven’t eradicated us yet is his presence.”
“The enemy Adversaries can only use guerilla warfare. They can only poke us before running away again and hiding.”
“None of them can fight the Champion of Light on their own.”
“If they banded together, they might have a shot at winning.”
“However, Specters are inherently selfish, and they would rather continue growing at their normal rate instead of risking their lives like this.”
“Additionally, time is on their side.”
The governor became silent for a while.
“The Champion of Light doesn’t have much longer to live.”
“He’s an ancient man by now, the oldest one in existence.”
“He will die within this century.”
The governor frowned.
“We don’t know if we can resist the Adversaries when that happens.”
Nick’s heart rate had been elevated for quite a while.
The things the governor was telling him were crazy.
It was like the governor was telling Nick about the approaching end of humanity.
“Is there nothing humanity can do?” Nick asked.
“I don’t know,” the governor said. “I know of the problem, but I don’t know what Aegis is doing to solve it.”
“The things I’m telling you are known by everyone that’s involved with Aegis. None of these things are considered secret.”
“It is simply discouraged to tell people who are not involved with Aegis since it could start a panic, and nobody would benefit from that.”
Nick just looked at the governor, unsure.
Sure, these things were no secrets, according to him, but it was still strange that the governor took the time to tell Nick about them.
“Why are you telling me about these things?” Nick asked.
The governor looked at Nick before looking back at the square in his hand while tapping on it some more.
“Because of how Simon Francium treated you after your conversation with him,” the governor said.
Nick was reminded of Simon Francium, the Protector who had talked with him after Nick had met Envy.
Nick had told Simon about his power, fully expecting that he would be put to death.
Instead, he had received a foreign piece of Zephyx, which he could access to end his life in an instant.
In the end, Simon made sure that nothing would happen to Nick and that he would receive appropriate compensation for his services.
“Aegis does not usually get involved in the cities’ local politics,” the governor said. “The fact that Simon Francium made sure that you were properly rewarded was very unlike a representative from Aegis.”
“It is very obvious that Aegis is interested in you, and they are most likely keeping an eye on you.” 𝘪𝑎.𝘤𝑜𝘮
“I do not know what you talked about, and I don’t know why they are interested in you.”
“But the fact is that they are.”
“In some way, you are involved with Aegis, and that is a good thing for you and for me.”
“Every governor of every city is also an agent from Aegis. While the governance of every city is up to the governor, the purpose of the cities’ existence is to further humanity’s power and survival.”
“This means we are working for the same team.”
“It means that we are allies.”
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