The vision did not begin with light.
It began with silence.
Not peaceful silence.
Ancient silence.
The kind that existed long after civilizations had already died.
Darkness slowly faded.
An endless alien desert stretched beyond the horizon beneath a dying sun whose crimson light barely pierced the endless sandstorm swallowing the world.
Titanic stone arches rose from the dunes.
Monoliths.
Ancient.
Weathered beyond recognition.
Their impossible geometry bent the eye, as though they had been carved before physics itself had decided upon its rules.
Half of each structure had already been consumed by the sea of sand.
The rest stood like forgotten gravestones for a civilization older than memory.
The wind howled.
Countless grains of silver-black sand drifted through the air.
Then—
the vision slowly descended.
Lower.
Lower still.
Until the desert floor came into focus.
Bodies.
Thousands of them.
No—
millions.
The battlefield stretched farther than the eye could see.
Some resembled humanoids.
Others possessed too many limbs.
Too many eyes.
Some appeared mechanical.
Others were crystalline.
Living metal.
Living stone.
Living things that should never have existed.
Golden blood mixed with emerald ichor.
Black oil pooled beside rivers of violet plasma.
Broken wings.
Shattered halos.
Splintered blades.
Corpses lay stacked into mountains beneath the dying sky.
The silence somehow felt louder than any battlefield.
The camera continued moving.
Past endless carcasses.
Past broken banners whose symbols no longer meant anything.
Past shattered titanic skeletons half buried beneath the dunes.
Until—
it stopped.
Standing alone atop the mountain of dead...
was a single figure.
A matte-black humanoid.
Featureless.
Smooth.
Its body absorbed light itself.
Only two tiny white pinpoints served as eyes.
Across its chest—
a glowing blue V.
The exact same symbol.
The exact same entity.
The one that had haunted Niero's dreams.
The one that had beaten him bloody countless times inside Ego-Space.
Its body was drenched in blood.
Not one color.
Many.
Bright crimson.
Emerald green.
Deep sapphire.
Golden amber.
Thick black.
Most of it coated its forearms.
Its hands.
Its shins.
Its feet.
As though every drop had been earned through endless slaughter.
It stood perfectly still.
Watching the horizon.
Watching...
everything.
Then—
a voice echoed through the endless desert.
No source.
No direction.
Simply...
everywhere.
A young man's voice.
Calm.
Melancholic.
Heavy with an exhaustion that sounded older than history itself.
"Are we truly children of the cosmos..."
The wind carried his words across the endless dunes.
"...or merely weapons wrapped in starlight?"
The black figure never moved.
"You were always the fiercer storm between us..."
The voice carried no hatred.
Only remembrance.
"The one who looked into the abyss..."
A pause.
"...and saw not only horror..."
Another.
"...but wonder waiting to be shaped."
The dying sunlight dipped lower.
The shadows stretched.
"So tell me..."
The unseen speaker sounded almost... hopeful.
"What drives your paracausal blood through the dark?"
Silence.
Then—
"Glory?"
Another pause.
"Love?"
Another pause.
"Protection?"
Wind.
"Dominance?"
The storm intensified.
"...or merely the desperate echo of someone trying to prove his worth to the void?"
The black figure remained motionless.
Like a monument carved from absolute darkness.
The voice softened.
Almost becoming a whisper.
"Whatever it is you seek..."
"...I only hope..."
The dying sun finally slipped beneath the horizon.
The entire world dimmed.
"...when the last stars finally burn out..."
A final breath.
"...you find it."
Silence returned.
For several long seconds...
nothing happened.
Then—
the black figure slowly tilted its head.
Not toward the horizon.
Not toward the dead.
Toward...
the unseen observer.
Toward whoever was witnessing this impossible memory.
Toward Niero.
Those two tiny white eyes locked onto him.
Instantly.
Deliberately.
Like a predator finally noticing something moving within its territory.
The sensation was immediate.
It wasn't simply looking at him.
It saw him.
Completely.
A pressure settled over the desert.
The sandstorm stopped.
The wind died.
The endless battlefield became utterly still.
The entity did not blink.
Did not breathe.
Did not move.
It simply stared.
And somehow...
that silence felt infinitely more terrifying than when it had beaten him senseless.
=
=====
=
Darkness.
Then—
♪ I see trees of green... red roses too... ♪
A familiar trumpet drifted gently through the void.
Warm.
Soft.
Comforting.
Louis Armstrong's unmistakable gravelly voice echoed somewhere nearby.
"What a Wonderful World..."
Niero's eyes snapped open.
He inhaled sharply.
"GHHH—!"
For a brief, terrifying second—
he thought he was still impaled.
Still inside the Witch's pocket dimension.
Still staring into the face of that mutated nightmare.
Instead—
he saw...
A white ceiling.
A slowly spinning ceiling fan.
"...?"
His hearing rang.
Everything sounded muffled, as though someone had stuffed cotton into both ears.
Only two sounds managed to pierce through the haze.
A steady electronic rhythm.
Beep...
Beep...
Beep...
And—
Louis Armstrong's voice continuing quietly from somewhere to his right.
♪ And I think to myself... what a wonderful world... ♪
"..."
Niero frowned.
...Music?
His nose twitched.
The air smelled...
Sterile.
Clean.
Ethanol.
Disinfectant.
Medicine.
Not seawater.
Not blood.
Not burnt flesh.
"...Hospital...?"
He instinctively tried to sit up.
Nothing happened.
"...?"
He frowned deeper.
He tried moving his right arm.
It wouldn't budge.
His left.
Nothing.
His torso.
Legs.
Everything felt... restrained.
For one horrifying moment—
his heart skipped a beat.
No...
Did they tie me down?
His pulse immediately accelerated.
His muscles tensed.
Adrenaline surged.
With one violent effort—
"HNNNGGH!!"
CRACK!
A loud snapping noise echoed through the room.
Then another.
CRACK!
KRRRK!
Plaster exploded outward.
Chunks of hardened white cast split apart like eggshells.
Niero finally lurched upright—
only to freeze.
"..."
He looked down.
Then blinked.
"..."
"...Oh."
Every visible part of his body—
arms.
Torso.
Legs.
Shoulders.
Even portions of his neck—
had been wrapped in an absurd amount of medical casts and braces.
Or...
had been.
Most of them now lay shattered across the bed.
"...Oops."
The realization lasted exactly half a second.
Then—
every injury reminded him it still existed.
A tidal wave of pain erupted through his body.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"
The scream echoed throughout the room.
His ribs screamed.
His muscles burned.
His bones felt as though they were trying to argue with one another.
Even breathing hurt.
"...Okay...still alive...still hurts...good to know..."
A tiny gasp interrupted him.
"...Eh?"
Niero slowly turned his entire upper torso toward the left side of the room so he can even see through the head cast.
Standing beside the bed—
clipboard still in hand—
was a young nurse.
She couldn't have been much older than her mid-twenties.
White uniform.
Neatly tied hair.
Professional composure...
completely gone.
She stared at him.
Then at the shattered casts.
Then back at him.
"..."
Her eyes slowly widened.
"...Y-You..."
Niero weakly lifted one hand.
"...Hi?"
The nurse let out the smallest squeak imaginable.
"Eep!"
Then spun around.
The clipboard flew into the air.
She bolted for the door.
"THE PATIENT WOKE UP! HE BROKE ALL HIS CASTS! DOCTOR! DOCTOOOOR!!!!!"
Her hurried footsteps rapidly disappeared down the hallway.
The door slammed open.
Then shut.
Silence returned.
"..."
Niero stared blankly after her.
"...I don't think...that was the normal reaction."
He slowly looked around.
Only now did he truly take in his surroundings.
A spacious private medical suite.
Far larger than any ordinary hospital room.
Warm wooden furniture.
Large panoramic windows letting in afternoon sunlight.
Fresh flowers sat upon a nearby table.
Sophisticated medical equipment quietly monitored his condition beside the bed.
The rhythmic beeping came from a heart monitor.
On a bedside cabinet—
an old-fashioned radio quietly continued playing Louis Armstrong.
♪ What a wonderful world... ♪
"..."
His eyes drifted toward the window.
Dark sky with some stars and clouded moonlight.
No storm.
No burning convoy.
No Black Tide.
No endless ocean battlefield.
Just...
peace.
Niero slowly leaned back against the raised hospital bed.
The words barely escaped as a whisper.
Half relief.
Half disbelief.
Niero's faint smile lingered only briefly.
Then it faded.
His gaze drifted toward the window.
"...Vee."
> ["Oh. Thank the Void you're awake. Yes, Kiddo?"]
"Where am I?"
>[" Since the ambush on the Iron Convoy, rescue efforts was difficult but all the ships manage to dock into West Post-City, USA."]
"So...I actually made it to land."
Niero responded with a sigh of relief.
Then a short silence.
"...and the casualties."
The room suddenly felt much quieter.
"...How bad was it?"
There was a pause.
Long enough that Niero already knew he wasn't going to like the answer.
Vuldyr's voice became noticeably more subdued.
> [" I accessed the post-incident casualty report through ArkNet's restricted emergency records. Current confirmed casualties across the three Bloom Dominion Iron Convoy vessels total approximately 1017 individuals."]
Niero froze.
"..."
"...How many again?"
> ["1,017."]
The number echoed inside his head.
One thousand.
Seventeen.
That wasn't a statistic anymore.
That was...
an entire community.
An entire ship's worth of lives forever changed.
> ["The majority survived with varying degrees of injury, from minor to critical. The second largest category consists of confirmed fatalities. The third was those who remained unharmed. The remaining individuals are currently listed as missing or of unknown status while search-and-recovery operations continue."]
Niero slowly lowered his head.
"...The whole convoy...got torn apart."
> ["Unfortunately Correct."]
Silence settled between them.
He remembered the terrified faces.
The cadets.
The sailors.
The soldiers.
The civilians packed inside emergency shelters.
People screaming over ArkNet before the signal disappeared.
"...Damn."
After allowing the silence to linger—
Vuldyr spoke again.
This time...
her tone carried something gentler.
> ["However... There is another side to that report."]
Niero looked up.
> ["The anomalous artifact embedded within the sea Witch Amaryllis was the true source of the ArkNet disruption. When you destroyed both the artifact and the Sea Witch, the interference field immediately collapsed. Emergency distress signals from the convoy resumed transmission."]
Images flashed through his memory.
The black rhombus.
The impossible energy.
The final swing of God Eater.
> ["Nearby coastal security forces immediately detected the restored emergency beacon. Multiple high-ranking Sororitae responded within minutes. Without that signal restoration, rescue would have been significantly delayed."]
She paused.
> ["Based on projected casualty simulations... the death toll would have increased substantially.]
> ["In short...things could have been far... far worse."]
Niero remained silent.
"..."
He didn't feel like a hero.
He still remembered everyone he hadn't managed to save.
But...
knowing more people had lived because he kept fighting...
made the weight slightly easier to bear.
"...I hope it was enough."
> ["For many people...it was."]
A different thought suddenly entered his mind.
"What about the others? Agent Takeshi? JD? Meilin?"
Vuldyr answered immediately.
> ["All confirmed alive and safe."]
Niero let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.
> ["Agent Takeshi Armitage successfully survived emergency surgery. JD, Meilin, Flick, and the other two, Yumiko, and Gertrude, all sustained only minor to moderate injuries and fatigue. None are considered life-threatening."]
A small smile appeared.
"...Good."
Then Vuldyr added—
> ["However..."]
"...Uh oh."
> ["They also witnessed your berserk episode."]
Niero slowly covered his face with both hands.
"...Of course they did."
> ["Yes."]
"...So they all saw me..."
"...ripping monsters apart..."
> ["Correct."]
"...Eating them?"
> ["Partially."]
"...Can we delete everyone's memories? Is my telepathy level can do that?"
> ["Unfortunately, no."]
"...Worth asking."
Vuldyr's tone brightened slightly.
> ["There is one more matter."]
"...Go on."
> ["This private recovery suite was not arranged by the Bloom Dominion."]
Niero blinked.
"...It wasn't?"
> ["No. The expenses were paid privately before your admission."]
"...By who?"
A holographic receipt appeared before him.
One name highlighted.
> ["Flick."]
Niero stared.
"...Flick?"
>["Correct."]
The rich, impeccably dressed Chinese teenager immediately came to mind.
The same boy Niero had repeatedly teased for acting like an obnoxiously pampered rich kid.
"...Seriously?"
> ["Based upon available records, yes. He specifically requested that you receive treatment in one of the hospital's premium recovery suites besides those with him at that day such as JD and Meilin. Probable motivation of 'thank you for keeping us alive until rescue arrived'."]
Silence.
Niero rubbed the back of his neck.
"...I kinda called him an obnoxious rich-ass twink."
> ["Repeatedly."]
"...Yeah..."
He sighed.
"...Guess I owe him an apology."
Vuldyr chuckled softly.
> ["Probably."]
=
=====
=
[ February 15th, 2088 (Saturday, Morning) ] - [ Room 1708 (VIP Recovery Suite) > Los Angeles' Specialist Medical Center > West Port-City (Los Angeles, USA) > Earth ]
Morning sunlight poured through the wide hospital windows, bathing the private suite in warm gold.
The city beyond was finally awake.
Distant traffic.
The faint hum of aircraft.
Somewhere far below, emergency sirens still occasionally echoed through West Port-City, reminders that yesterday's Black Tide assault had left scars across the coastline.
Inside the room...
Peace.
Niero slowly stretched.
"...Ngh..."
Immediately—
his entire body protested.
Not the unbearable agony from yesterday.
Just...
deep soreness.
Like every muscle had spent the weekend being introduced to a concrete mixer.
He rotated one shoulder.
"...Ow."
Flexed his fingers.
"...Still attached."
Twisted his neck.
Crack.
"...Okay, that's better."
The nurses had already removed what remained of his destroyed body casts earlier that morning.
Thankfully.
Being wrapped like an oversized burrito had not been a pleasant experience.
A familiar blue window flickered beside him.
> ["Morning, Kiddo."]
> ["Physiological assessment complete. Despite your complaints, your recovery is progressing remarkably well."]
Niero rolled his shoulders again.
"...Still feels like I got run over."
She continued.
> ["Your two-day unconscious state provided sufficient time for your enhanced regenerative physiology to stabilize the majority of your internal injuries."]
> ["Bone's hairline fractures have largely fused. Organ damage has regenerated beyond expected human parameters. Residual muscle trauma remains but slowly healed."]
> ["Recommendation: Do not attempt to fistfight another Rank-S monster today."]
"...wasn't planning to."
A tiny pause.
> ["Good."]
Another translucent notification appeared.
> [Passive Trait: What Doesn't Kill You... ]
> [Reward Calculation: Pending.]
> [Analyzing accumulated physical trauma... ]
> [Analyzing survival difficulty... ]
> [Calculating permanent adaptation rewards...]
Niero whistled softly.
"So it's still calculating."
> ["The amount of trauma you accumulated appears... substantial."]
"...I noticed."
> ["Reward quality is expected to scale proportionally."]
Before she could continue—
Another notification appeared—
then abruptly vanished.
> ["Regarding your new Ascension Realm—"]
A loud commotion erupted outside his hospital room.
"...?"
Both of them paused.
"...No, I got assigned Room 1708 today!"
"But I was here yesterday!"
"You always get the handsome patients!"
"Because I'm on this floor!"
"That's not fair!"
"I've spent three weeks treating old ladies with broken hips!"
"I deserve one cute patient!"
"You can't say that!"
"I absolutely can!"
"Isn't the patient...sixteen?"
Silence.
"..."
"...Aww..."
Another disappointed chorus echoed through the hallway.
"So he's actually a minor?"
"Dang it."
"I thought he was in college."
"What a waste..."
"I mean—that came out wrong."
"It absolutely came out wrong."
Vuldyr remained perfectly silent.
Then—
> ["Pff. You have survived the Black Tide. An impossible odds against a Rank-S monster."]
A tiny pause.
> ["Your next greatest trial appears to be against thirsty nurses."]
Niero slowly pinched the bridge of his nose.
A soft knock came from the door.
One nurse entered carrying a breakfast tray.
She appeared to be a Caucasian woman in her mid-twenties with neatly tied blonde hair and a warm professional smile that looked almost rehearsed.
"Good morning."
She carefully placed the tray across his hospital bed.
Breakfast was surprisingly decent.
A steaming bowl of rice porridge.
Fresh orange juice.
A small fruit salad.
Alongside several neatly organized tablets and capsules.
Niero looked at it appreciatively.
"...Thanks."
The nurse smiled.
"Feeling better today?"
He nodded.
"A lot better than yesterday. Still sore everywhere...but at least I'm alive."
"That's always a good sign."
She chuckled.
"Trust me. You gave everyone quite the scare."
Niero blinked.
"...I did?"
"Oh yes."
She laughed.
"You arrived covered head-to-toe in black... well..."
She politely searched for a professional word.
"...Substance."
Niero knew exactly what she meant.
Black Tide blood.
"Washed up, rubbed with medical salves, then they wrapped you in almost a full-body cast."
She demonstrated with both hands.
"You stayed unconscious for two whole days."
Another small laugh escaped her.
"And then yesterday night..."
She grinned.
"You suddenly sat straight up..."
She mimed something breaking apart.
"Crack! Crack! Crack!"
"...and shattered every cast on your body like some kind of screaming, angry mummy waking out of an ancient tomb."
She covered her mouth, trying not to laugh.
"I think poor nurse Emily nearly fainted."
Niero stared at her.
Completely expressionless.
"..."
The nurse's smile slowly disappeared.
"...I...wasn't trying to make fun of you."
"I mean...it was just..."
She began awkwardly waving both hands.
"I-I'm sorry!"
"I didn't mean to offend you!"
"I'll just...go."
She grabbed the empty medication chart with lightning speed.
"I'll be back later!"
The door opened.
Closed.
Her hurried footsteps disappeared almost immediately.
Silence settled over the room once again.
Niero slowly picked up his spoon.
"...Did I really look like a mummy?"
Vuldyr answered without hesitation.
> ["Kinda."]
Another pause.
> ["A remarkably angry one."]
Niero sighed.
"...Fantastic."
Niero slowly stirred the bowl of porridge with his spoon.
"..."
Another spoonful.
Chew.
Swallow.
"...damn hospital food."
He stared into the bowl with mild disappointment.
"It tastes like someone whispered the word 'salt' at it instead of using actual salt."
Vuldyr answered immediately.
> ["That is a fairly accurate description. Most hospitals generally reduce seasoning for dietary and cardiovascular considerations, even for a VIP patient."]
Niero sighed.
"...I miss Madam Xixi's porridge."
The mere memory made him smile.
Rich chicken broth.
Fresh ginger.
Scallions.
Deep-fried fish.
A close kept secret recipe only Madam Xixi knows.
The comforting warmth that somehow made every bad day better.
Compared to that...
He poked the bland porridge again.
"...This is edible wallpaper paste."
> ["Exaggerate much?"]
"...Slightly."
As he continued eating—
Vuldyr's holographic interface unfolded before him.
Several translucent windows materialized one after another.
-
<<<[ STARGOD SYSTEM: POST-ASCENSION STATUS ]>>>
-
A golden notification expanded into dozens of new lines.
-
<[ Ascension Status ]>
> Ascension Realm: 2nd Realm — Disciple
> Ascension Phase: Phase I — Foundation
> Ascension Level: Level 31 → Level 36
> Stargod Status Growth: +5 Ascension Points awarded
> Astra Force Evolution: Stage I (Ember) → Stage II (Nova)
Newly Acquired Boons:
+ Trinity of Self-Supremacy Aspect I — Body (Tier II)
• Enhanced Physiology
• Enhanced Regenerative Healing
+ Supernova / Vhas-Kha: First Form (×5 Combat Amplification)
+ Ragna-Kha (Passive Ultimate Skill) - Extreme trauma or death triggers temporary hyper-adaptation, accelerated regeneration, and exponential combat evolution.
> Equipment Unlocked:
Astra Kavacha (Mk-I) - Standard Stargod Battle Suit. A sleek full-body combat suit composed of an unknown metaphysical programmable material. Highly resistant to conventional weaponry. Grants significant protection against anomalous and paracausal phenomena.
Astra Arm: God Eater (The Outsider)
-
A new image rotated before him.
The massive cleaver.
The brutal silhouette.
The graffiti-like lettering carved along its spine.
Then—
the weapon expanded.
Its energy blade erupted outward.
Transforming into the enormous greatsword he had used to cleave apart the Witch's artifact.
-
God Eater - A divine Astra Arm born from indomitable will and overwhelming rebellion.A weapon created to tear through impossible forces. Its true form manifests as a colossal energy greatsword capable of unleashing catastrophic god-slaying output.
-
Niero blinked several times.
"..."
"...Holy..."
He looked between every window.
"...I gained..."
"...5 levels?"
"...And a new Realm."
"...A new Astra Force stage."
"...A supersuit."
"...And..."
He stared at the rotating projection of God Eater.
"...my first Astra Arm..."
> ["Correct."]
A grin slowly spread across his face.
"...That...is so cool."
For a moment—
he looked exactly like the sixteen-year-old he actually was.
Excited.
Wide-eyed.
Unable to hide it.
Vuldyr smiled faintly.
> ["The growth is unusually substantial. However, it was earned through extraordinary circumstances. Due to your ascension, you have greatly ascend, or in your words, level up. With the defeat of the rank-C turned into rank-S sea witch, it grants you a massive leap in power."]
The holograms shifted again.
A battle replay silently played before him.
His breakthrough.
The fight against Amaryllis.
His death.
His resurrection.
His transformation.
The destruction of the black artifact.
> ["Multiple factors contributed."]
She began counting them.
> ["First. You successfully achieved your first major Ascension breakthrough, advancing from the Student Realm into the Disciple Realm."]
> ["Second. You experienced complete biological death at the hands of Amaryllis before Ragna-Kha activated."]
Niero winced.
"...When you phrase it like that..."
> ["It remains factually correct."]
> ["Third. You destroyed both a Rank-C Witch and an unidentified anomalous artifact possessing power well beyond her own capabilities."]
> ["Fourth. Your willpower successfully synchronized all four Stellarion Cores for the first time, and make a breakthrough into a new ascension realm."]
Another pause.
> ["These events occurring simultaneously generated an unusually large Ascension reward yet with a powerful bcaklash for something this powerful for the fisrt time...."]
The excitement slowly faded.
Niero quietly looked down at his hands.
He flexed them.
Opened them.
Closed them again.
He could still remember it.
The coral spike.
Piercing through his chest.
The sensation of dying.
The cold.
The helplessness.
"..."
He spoke softly.
"...I almost didn't make it."
> ["Frightningly so."]
"...If it wasn't for the Stargod System..."
He looked toward the city outside.
"...I'd be dead."
Another pause.
"No...actually...I wasdead."
Vuldyr nodded.
>["Briefly."]
Silence settled between them.
Finally—
Niero smiled bitterly.
"So...I'm basically immortal...with a giant asterisk."
Vuldyr winses.
> ["An appropriately sized asterisk. I have to remind you that your current immortality is exceptionally effective against conventional means of death. Gun fire, explosion, hostile environment, aging, radiation, etc. However..."]
The word hung heavily.
>["Paracausal and anomalous forces remain capable of bypassing aspects of your protection, hense you gain great reistance instead of immunity for the time being. In other words, you are not invincible, just extraordinarily difficult to kill."]
Niero nodded.
"...Which means..."
He remembered the black rhombus.
The mutated Witch.
The impossible energy.
"...There are things out there...that can still kill me."
> ["Essentially yes."]
"...Good."
Vuldyr blinked.
> ["...Good?"]
Niero leaned back in the hospital bed.
"If I start believing I'm invincible...that's the day I stop surviving and possibly get careless."
He looked at the morning sunlight pouring through the window.
"I nearly died because I underestimated how dangerous this world really is."
"Fighting stronger enemies is exhilarating and freightingly...exciting... but I can't afford to make that suicidal mistake twice."
For several seconds—
Vuldyr simply watched him.
Then, a faint smile crossed her face.
> ["That conclusion... is precisely why you reached the Disciple Realm. Not just rebelling impossible odds but also...becoming wiser."]
Niero had barely finished choking down another reluctant spoonful of hospital porridge when a thought struck him with enough force to freeze him solid.
"..."
His spoon stopped halfway to his mouth.
"...Oh."
His eyes slowly widened.
"...Oh, no."
Vuldyr looked up from the floating status windows.
> ["What?"]
Niero stared blankly ahead.
"...I...haven't called home."
A beat.
"...For three days since before the ambush."
Vuldyr blinked.
Then quietly closed her eyes.
> ["...Oh."]
Silence.
Niero's face gradually drained of color.
"The convoy left on the twelfth, we got attacked on the thirteenth, I was unconscious for two whole days..."
He slowly looked toward the charging smartphone resting on the bedside table.
"...Mom probably thinks I'm dead."
Another pause.
"..."
> ["Statistically speaking... there is an eighty-seven percent chance your family has been experiencing acute psychological distress."]
"Oh, gee. Thanks, Captain Obvious."
> ["You are welcome."]
"...That wasn't a compliment."
Without another word, Niero practically lunged across the hospital bed.
His still-sore muscles protested immediately.
"Agh—!"
He gritted his teeth, reached the side table, snatched up the phone, and almost dropped it from how sweaty his hands had become.
"...Come on..."
Battery.
Ninety-three percent.
Good.
Signal.
Full bars.
Good.
He immediately opened the family contact list.
Mom ❤️
His thumb hovered over the video-call button.
"...Please pick up..."
He pressed it.
Ring.
Ring.
Ring...
Every second felt like an hour.
Niero's knee bounced anxiously beneath the blanket.
"...Come on..."
Ring...
Then—
Click.
The screen flickered.
Instead of Mom—
a familiar little face suddenly appeared.
Messy chestnut hair.
Bright amber eyes.
Still wearing oversized bunny pajamas despite it being morning.
"Daisy?"
The little girl blinked.
For nearly three seconds.
She simply stared.
As though her brain refused to believe what it was seeing.
Niero smiled weakly.
"...Hey, Little Hopper. I made it. I'm in Los Angeles, Hollywood is somewhere nearby...I think..."
Silence.
Then—
"..."
"...BIG BROTHER?!"
Her entire face crumpled.
Huge tears instantly welled in her eyes.
"MMMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMM!!!!!!!!!!!BIG BROTHER NIERO'S ALIIIIIVE!!"
Her scream nearly blew out the phone speaker.
She burst into uncontrollable sobbing.
"He called!! HE CALLED!! HE'S ALIVE!!"
The phone immediately began shaking violently.
Footsteps thundered somewhere off-screen.
"What?!"
"Move!"
"Give me that!"
"Niero?!"
"Daisy, don't drop the—"
The camera spun wildly.
For one hilarious second it pointed directly at the ceiling.
Then someone's forehead.
Then half of a couch.
Then Pumpkin the enormous orange tabby lazily staring into the camera before wandering away completely uninterested.
Finally—
Five familiar faces crowded the screen at once.
"Niero!"
His mother, Emmy.
Her beautiful face looked exhausted.
The skin beneath her eyes was dark.
Her eyes themselves were red and swollen.
She had clearly been crying.
The instant she saw him—
another wave of tears spilled down her cheeks.
"My baby...My baby BADGER...You're alive..."
She covered her mouth.
Unable to stop crying.
Niero felt something twist painfully inside his chest.
"...Sorry, Mom."
She shook her head rapidly.
"No. No. Don't apologize. You called. You're alive. That's enough."
She smiled through tears.
"I'm just happy you're alive."
Beside her—
Aunt Alura leaned into frame.
Hair a complete mess.
One eye half-open.
Still holding what suspiciously looked like a whisky can despite it being morning.
She blinked.
"...Hah. Told ya. My nephew's too stubborn to die, JUST LIKE HIS MOMMY."
She sniffed dramatically.
Behind them—
Sophie appeared.
Normally calm.
Normally composed.
Instead—
she immediately burst into tears before laughing at herself.
"You idiot..."
She wiped her face.
"...You absolute idiot. We've been trying to call you for days."
Niero rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.
"...Yeah...My bad."
Little Daisy had already climbed onto Emmy's lap, still crying openly while repeatedly reaching toward the phone.
"I thought...I thought I never going to see you again..."
Niero's smile softened.
"Now you know I'm safe and sound. So wipe those tears, will ya?"
She sniffled loudly.
"I know...but I'm extremly happy you're safe."
Then—
A large rough hand suddenly entered frame.
Father Creed.
The old priest's weathered face appeared beside everyone else.
His thick gray beard twitched slightly.
"Dear lord...."
He looked Niero up and down.
"...You look terrible."
Niero laughed.
"...Thanks, Father."
"We were very worried since your communication went dark on the 3rd day of the journey. Your mother tried to call you each day but no luck. When the news about the ship's ambush, she nearly collapsed but he still holds on hope you are still safe."
Another long look.
Then—
the old priest nodded once.
"...God answered. I've been praying for your safe return every day. And thank goodness the prayers were answered"
Niero lowered his head slightly.
"...Thank you."
The old man simply grunted.
"Next time. Choose quieter transportation."
"Like what, Father? A Submarine?."
That earned a soft chuckle from nearly everyone.
Even Mom managed one between tears.
For the first time since waking—
Niero finally felt something inside him relax.
The fear.
The guilt.
The uncertainty.
It melted away.
He was home.
Not physically.
But emotionally.
The people waiting for him were still there.
Still smiling.
Still crying.
Still arguing.
Still loving him.
Vuldyr quietly watched the scene from beside the bed.
She folded her arms.
Her expression softer than usual.
> ["...they were truly relief that you are alive."]
Niero smiled without taking his eyes off the screen.
"...Yeah. They're pretty great."
Across the call—
Mom finally wiped her tears and composed herself enough to smile.
"So..."
She tilted her head.
"...Tell us everything...starting with why you look like you got hit by a freight train."
Niero stared at the camera.
"..."
He glanced down at the hospital gown.
The cracked remains of his body cast sitting in a pile beside the bed.
The IV stand that had clearly been ripped out when he'd woken up.
"...It's...kind of a long story."
=
=====
=
Mom Emmy completely loses the composure she had been barely holding together.
She had listened quietly.
Too quietly.
Every sentence Niero spoke only painted a clearer picture.
The communications disappearing.
The convoy shaking.
The monsters climbing aboard.
The screams.
The soldiers fighting.
Children fighting.
People dying.
By the time he finished describing the third day—
her face had gone completely pale.
"...Mom?"
She simply stared.
Like her brain refused to process everything at once.
Then her shoulders suddenly trembled.
"N-No..."
Her voice cracked.
"...No..."
Tears spilled down her cheeks again.
"My baby..."
She covered her mouth.
"My baby was in that..."
She couldn't even finish the sentence.
Her breathing became uneven.
Almost hyperventilating.
Aunt Alura reacted first.
"Oh hell."
She uncapped the whiskey bottle she had been nursing since the call began.
"Here."
Mom glanced at it then swiped it from Alura's hand, and start chugging it.
Then another.
Then another.
Niero blinked.
"...Mom?"
His mother, who normally lectured everyone about moderation—
had already emptied nearly half the bottle.
"..."
Father Creed slowly looked toward Alura.
"...You know, normally I'd object."
"...But?"
"...Carry on."
Even he looked disturbed.
Sophie quietly wrapped an arm around their mother.
"It's okay, Mom."
"No it isn't..."
Emmy whispered.
"My sixteen-year-old son...was fighting monsters...while I sat here...unable to do anything..."
Her voice finally broke completely.
"I told myself sending you to the Academy would help you chase your dream...But..."
She buried her face into Sophie's shoulder.
"...What kind of mother sends her son into something like that...?"
Niero immediately shook his head.
"Mom."
"No."
"Don't."
"You didn't send me there. I chose it. I knew there were risks. I wasn't dragged there. I signed the application. I boarded the ship. I made that choice."
Emmy looked up through watery eyes.
"...But you're still my baby."
"..."
"...You don't stop being my son just because you're wearing a uniform."
The words hit harder than any punch he had taken aboard BDV Iron Convoy #015.
For a moment...
Niero couldn't find an answer.
Instead, Daisy suddenly climbed onto Emmy's lap and pointed accusingly toward the screen.
"Big Brother."
"...Yes?"
"You scared everyone."
"..."
"You made Mommy cry."
"..."
"You made Auntie drink more."
"..."
"You made Pumpkin stop eating."
That one actually shocked him.
"...Pumpkin stopped eating?"
The orange tabby had exactly three priorities in life.
Food.
Sleep.
And more food.
If even Pumpkin refused dinner...
"...Okay...I think I owe everyone an apology."
Daisy nodded with all the seriousness a thirteen-year-old could muster.
Mom wiped away her tears before taking another, much smaller sip of whiskey.
"...Niero."
"Yeah?"
"...How many people...?"
He froze.
He already knew the answer.
1,017 casualties.
He could still remember Vuldyr saying the number.
But that figure was classified.
And even if it wasn't...
He couldn't bear to tell her.
"...I don't know."
It wasn't entirely a lie.
"The official numbers haven't been released."
"I've only heard rumors."
He lowered his eyes.
"They're saying most survived..."
"...a lot were injured..."
"...some were killed..."
"...some were left unharmed..."
"...and others are still missing."
Silence.
"..."
Emmy closed her eyes.
"...That's already too many."
Nobody disagreed.
Father Creed pats on Mom's shoulder softly to calm her down.
Then he looked directly into the camera.
"Niero. You've done enough. You don't need to convince us you're brave. You've already proven that. What you need now...is rest."
Emmy nodded repeatedly.
"Please. Just... rest. We'll talk again tomorrow. And don't you dare try sneaking out of that hospital."
Niero scratched the back of his head.
"...I wasn't planning to."
Alura immediately narrowed her eyes.
"That hesitation says otherwise."
"..."
"...Maybe a little."
"I knew it."
"The food here suck! Can't I even go out to get an Astro Cube burger?"
Sophie sighed.
"You're impossible."
Only then did the atmosphere finally soften.
Not because everything was alright—
it wasn't.
But because, despite everything that had happened...
He had made it on shore.
Even if only through a screen.
As the family said their goodbyes and tells Niero to get well soon, the call ended.
The screen faded back into the dark reflection of Niero's own face.
For a few seconds, he simply stared at it.
The room was quiet again.
No screaming monsters.
No collapsing dimensions.
No impossible battles against creatures that should not exist.
Just a hospital room.
A warm bed.
A half-eaten bowl of bland porridge.
And the lingering sound of his family's voices still echoing in his mind.
"..."
Niero slowly placed the phone back onto the table.
His fingers lingered on it for a moment longer.
He had expected anger.
Maybe disappointment.
Maybe his mother crying and blaming herself.
But seeing their faces...
Seeing Daisy crying because she thought she lost him.
Seeing Sophie trying to hide that she had been crying.
Seeing his mother looking like she had aged years in a single day.
That hurt more than any wound Amaryllis gave him.
A strange silence followed.
Then—
> ["You know, for someone who claims to be a genius, your emotional intelligence is surprisingly terrible."]
Vuldyr's voice echoed inside his mind.
Niero looked toward the ceiling.
"...Really?"
> ["Yes. Really."]
He looked down at his hands.
Hands that had torn apart monsters.
Hands that had held the God Eater.
Hands that had punched through the Black Heart of a Witch.
Yet somehow...
Those same hands struggled to press a simple button to call home.
"I didn't want them to worry."
> ["Congratulations. You achieved the opposite result."]
A small smile formed on Niero's face.
Despite everything...
Despite the nightmares.
Despite the fear.
Despite almost dying.
He was alive.
He was here.
And his family knew.
That alone felt strangely powerful.
His eyes moved toward the window.
Outside, the unfamiliar skyline of West Port-City stretched endlessly.
The city lights.
The distant beach and ocean.
A distant walls build in the ocean to protect the West Port-City.
The massive civilization built on the remains of a broken world.
A place he had spent years wanting to reach.
Finally...
He was here.
But the journey had already shown him something.
The world outside Sector 13 was not some grand adventure.
It was dangerous.
Cruel.
Filled with things stronger than him.
Things that could ignore his immortality.
Things that could kill him.
The Stargod System could give him power.
The Astra Force could help him fight.
But none of it changed one simple fact.
He was still Niero Ripley.
A sixteen-year-old kid who is yet to survive in this cursed Earth.
"..."
A notification suddenly appeared.
-
<<< [STARGOD SYSTEM] >>>
[Pending Trait Reward Available]
[Origin Trait: What Doesn't Kill You...]
[Calculating survival achievement...]
[Calculating physical trauma endured...]
[Calculating psychological resistance...]
-
Niero blinked.
"Damn. Takes a while to calculate."
Vuldyr responded immediately.
> ["Your body survived circumstances that should have killed you multiple times. The system recognizes extreme survival events as growth opportunities. You still need to recover back to 100% to reap the benefits, just as before."]
He sighed.
Then he leaned back into the hospital bed.
"I know but...if only there is a way to instantly heal..."
His body still hurt.
His muscles still screamed.
His entire existence felt like it had been put through a cosmic meat grinder.
But for the first time in days...
He felt calm.
Because somewhere out there—
His mother was probably still crying, albeit less than before.
His sisters were probably arguing over who got to call him first tomorrow.
Aunt Alura was probably drinking.
Father Creed was probably pretending he wasn't worried.
And Pumpkin was probably sleeping somewhere, completely unaware that his favorite human almost died fighting an ocean demon. Yet the thought that the cat stopped eating for a while being flip some red flags. As if it worried about its favorite human.
A small laugh escaped him.
"Yeah..."
Niero closed his eyes.
"Definitely Mom's son."
> ["Because you are too stubborn?"]
"Because I'm too stubborn to die."
A pause.
Then Vuldyr replied.
> ["Technically inaccurate. You have died once already."]
"..."
"Shut up."
> ["Haah."]
=
=====
=
The room was quiet.
Too quiet.
Compared to the chaos of the Black Room—the screaming waves, the endless monsters, the sound of tearing flesh and breaking bones—this silence almost felt unnatural.
Niero sat on the medical gurney, his hospital gown loosely hanging around his shoulders while the nurse carefully examined his condition.
The cast was gone.
The wounds were mostly healed.
But the evidence remained.
Dark bruises covered parts of his arms, shoulders, and torso. Even after two days of unconscious recovery, his body still carried the memory of everything that happened.
Being impaled.
Having his organs pierced.
Fighting beyond his limits.
Breaking through his own mortality.
The nurse applied a cooling medical gel over his bruised muscles.
"Try not to move too much," she said gently. "Your body recovered surprisingly fast, but that doesn't mean you aren't injured."
Niero nodded.
"Yeah. I've heard that before."
The nurse helped him remove the remaining buttons of his hospital gown, carefully applying the gel across his back and shoulders.
Normally, Niero would have ignored it.
He had fought monsters.
He had faced things that shouldn't exist.
A medical examination was nothing.
Until—
Something changed.
A familiar sensation.
A whisper.
Not from outside.
From inside.
His eyes widened.
His Psionic Metatalent activated.
Telepathy.
And suddenly—
Then, the static in Niero's mind snapped into focus.
His Psionic Metatalent flared to life, unbidden and violent.
He heard many voices, thoughts, possibly within his versinity.
It gave him some headache as its been a while he practice his telepathy more than his psychokinesis.
As he focus his telepathy and tune it like radio, he heard a voice...
Her voice...
Dear Empress, he's actually just a kid?
The voice echoed in his head, breathless and hungry, as if something breathing under his neck.
No way. Look at those lines. He looks like a college athlete, maybe older. How is he this toned?
Niero stiffened as her hands moved to his back.
The physical sensation of the rubbing was now overlaid with a mental projection of raw, desperate longing.
The nurse wasn't just treating him; she was starving, like one starving while preparing a meal.
Her thoughts were an explicit, frantic blur of sensory deprivation.
He could feel her internal desperation—a woman who seemed to have never even held a man's hand, now projecting a vivid, sexual hunger onto the patient beneath her palms.
I just want to press my face into his back.
She thought, her breathing hitching slightly.
I want to feel every muscle. But he's so young, but yet...
The thoughts became more graphic, more visceral, filling Niero's consciousness with a level of intimacy he had never consented to.
He had faced monsters and survived nightmares, but this—the unsolicited voyeurism into a stranger's libido—with him as the main star—was a different kind of horror.
Niero's eyes widened, his body locking up like a statue.
He stared blankly at the white wall, his face a mask of absolute neutrality, while internally he was screaming.
He didn't know how to react.
He couldn't tell her he could hear her, and he couldn't exactly tell her to stop thinking about his body while she was literally touching it.
For the first time in his life, Niero found himself wishing he were back in the middle of a battlefield; at least there, the enemies had the decency to announce themselves before they attacked.
Before he could process anything—
Knock. Knock.
The door opened.
"Niero."
A familiar voice.
The nurse immediately stopped.
Standing at the doorway was Agent Takeshi Armitage.
Or rather—
A heavily injured Agent Takeshi Armitage.
The man was sitting in a wheelchair, wearing a hospital gown, his remaining left arm resting casually on the chair.
His missing right arm and left leg were impossible to ignore.
Yet somehow—
He was still smiling.
"How's the wild child doing?"
Niero stared.
"...You look terrible."
Takeshi laughed.
"Funny. I was about to say the same thing, you little shit."
The nurse looked confused.
"Excuse me, sir, but visitors aren't allowed without—"
Takeshi calmly raised a digital identification badge.
A holographic symbol appeared.
B.D.A.A.A.
Bloom Dominion Anti-Anomaly Agency.
The nurse immediately froze.
"BDAAA Agent Takeshi Armitage. I have private matters to discuss with this patient."
He glanced toward Niero.
"Also."
His expression became slightly more serious.
"Please stop touching the boy and get something nice for us to drink like hot chocolate or something."
The nurse blinked.
"What?"
"Privacy please."
A pause.
"...Right."
The nurse awkwardly stepped back.
Another medical assistant helped Takeshi fully enter the room before both nurses exited.
The door closed.
Silence returned.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then—
Takeshi looked around the luxurious medical suite.
"Wow. VIP."
He whistled.
"Didn't know your family was this filthy rich to afford something like this."
Niero frowned.
"They aren't."
"Oh?"
"One of my cabinmates paid for it."
Takeshi stared.
"..."
Then he sighed.
"Great."
"What?"
"You have rich friends."
"I wouldn't call him a friend."
"Still."
Takeshi pointed at him.
"Your rich roommate paid for a private hospital suite."
A pause.
"Kid, I'm starting to think your life is somehow more complicated than mine."
Niero looked at the heavily injured agent.
"...You lost an arm and a leg."
"Exactly."
Takeshi nodded.
"And somehow you're still the confusing one."
Niero had no response.
Because unfortunately—
He couldn't argue.
The room fell into silence again.
Only the quiet beep... beep... beep... of the heart monitor accompanied the distant melody of some pop music drifting softly from the radio near the window.
Agent Takeshi Armitage sat in his wheelchair with surprising ease despite everything.
Right sleeve empty.
Left pant leg neatly folded and pinned.
Yet somehow...
...he still looked like a man who had walked into a café instead of surviving a maritime apocalypse.
Niero stared back.
Neither spoke.
Five seconds.
Ten.
Fifteen.
Finally—
Takeshi cleared his throat.
"So...you gonna address the elephant in the room?"
Niero blinked.
"...You mean that one?"
He pointed toward the opposite wall.
A framed painting of an elephant sketched in abstract charcoal hung above a decorative plant.
Takeshi followed his finger.
"..."
He stared at the picture.
Then slowly looked back.
"Huh. I didn't even notice that was there."
Niero shrugged.
"I mean..."
"You literally said the elephant in the room."
Takeshi rubbed his forehead with his remaining hand.
"Yeah. I kinda walked right into that one."
A brief silence followed.
Then both of them chuckled.
Only for Takeshi to immediately wince.
"...Ow. Shit. My ribs."
Another silence.
This one far more deliberate.
Takeshi's expression gradually lost its joking edge.
His single visible eye settled on Niero.
"No."
His voice became quieter.
"I meant...whatever the hell happened back there."
The atmosphere immediately shifted.
Niero already knew what he meant.
The Black Room.
The Sea Witch.
The impossible transformation.
The glowing armor.
The oversized cleaver.
The berserk rampage.
Everything.
Takeshi rested both elbows on the wheelchair's armrests.
"I've worked anti-anomaly operations for..."
"...hell..."
"...almost twenty years."
"I've seen Hollow outbreaks."
"Witches."
"Possession cases."
"Anomalies."
"One guy who somehow exploded into bees."
"...another weird, long story. Don't ask."
"I've seen Sororitae."
"I've seen Bloom Dominion experimental weapons."
"I've seen things that make therapists retire."
He leaned forward slightly.
"But...I've never seen anything like you."
Silence.
He pointed directly at Niero.
"And that armor. The glowing sword. That...thing."
"I've searched my memory for two straight days. Nothing. Absolutely nothing."
Niero quietly looked away.
"..."
Takeshi watched him carefully.
"I'll make this simple."
"You don't owe me classified information. I know what that looks like. And frankly...I don't particularly enjoy paperwork."
A small grin appeared.
"But I need something. Anything. Because whatever happened inside that Black Room...saved my life."
He tapped the side of his wheelchair.
"I lost an arm. A leg. Nearly got turned into seafood. But I'm alive. Because of you."
Another pause.
"So. What...are you?"
The question hung heavily in the room.
Takeshi's question lingered in the air.
Yet the room fell quiet once more.
Only the rhythmic beep... beep... beep... of the cardiac monitor disturbed the silence.
Niero scratched the back of his head.
"...What do you mean?"
Takeshi gave him an utterly unimpressed look.
"The elephant."
"..."
"What elephant?"
"The one we've been dancing around for the past five minutes."
Niero blinked innocently.
"...Maybe you hit your head harder than I thought."
Takeshi deadpanned.
"I know exactly what I'm talking about."
Niero tilted his head.
"Could've been a hallucination."
"..."
Takeshi slowly inhaled.
Then exhaled through his nose.
"No. I know what hallucinations look like."
"I've been drugged, taken some gnarly weeds, and had some major fatigue before. Hell. I even got trapped inside an illusion once."
He pointed at Niero with his remaining hand.
"But you and I both saw that crazy shit inside that Sea Witch's Black Room."
The joking atmosphere evaporated.
Niero didn't answer.
Instead, he quietly scooped another spoonful of bland porridge into his mouth.
Chewed.
Swallowed.
"...Hospital food still tastes awful."
Takeshi sighed.
"Nice try, kid."
Another silence settled between them.
The veteran agent slowly looked toward the door.
Then the windows.
His single eye carefully scanned every corner of the private suite.
No cameras.
No recording lights.
Satisfied—
he leaned forward.
His voice dropped to barely above a whisper.
"...Kid. I've had a gut feeling about you ever since I met you back at that alleyway."
Niero's spoon paused.
"A year ago. Mega Ark-City One. You remember?"
"...Yeah. You were the weird bearded guy that tried recruiting me. You called me 'interesting. I thought you were trying to sell insurance or some sort of pervert."
Takeshi snorted.
"...fuck you, kid."
Then his expression became serious again.
"I thought you had potential."
He looked directly into Niero's eyes.
"But...what you showed me...potential barely even the right word anymore."
He shook his head slowly.
"I know my fair share of Metatalents. I've spent nearly twenty years hunting anomalies. I know Mana and its Mana Arts, Psionics Metatalents, maybe even some Dark Script from the catalogued Witches. Not to mentioned the those who mutated into a Redborn from an unknown alien plague, those weird fungus that turn people into Dreamdivers, or even those who gain powers from their bonded Anomalous objects as Relicbound."
He tapped the armrest of his wheelchair.
"What you used...doesn't fit any of them. At all."
Niero remained silent.
Takeshi noticed.
A tired smile crossed his face.
"I know. You don't trust me. I probably wouldn't trust me either."
He chuckled softly.
"I'm BDAAA. The government. Practically everyone's favorite source of paranoia."
Another pause.
"But after everything that happened...I don't think you've realized something."
He lifted his remaining hand.
"I walked into that Black Room fully expecting to die. I lost an arm."
He glanced at his empty sleeve.
"A leg."
His gaze shifted to the neatly folded blanket covering the missing limb.
"And very nearly became seafood."
Despite the grim joke, there was no humor behind his eyes.
"But...I'm still breathing."
His voice softened.
"Thanks of you."
Niero slowly lowered his spoon.
Takeshi continued.
"I watched you stand back up after getting buried under enough monsters to flatten a truck. I watched you blast apart an army. I watched you kill a Rank-C Witch. I watched her come back as something far worse."
His expression darkened.
"I watched you get skewered...and somehow...you still stood back up."
His eye drifted downward.
"The armor. The sword. The light. The way reality itself seemed to bend around you. I don't know what any of that was. And honestly...I don't think the Bloom Dominion knows either."
Silence.
Takeshi let out a slow breath.
"I'm not asking because I'm your handler. I'm not asking because I want to arrest you. I'm definitely not asking because I want more paperwork."
He grimaced.
"I hate paperwork."
That earned the faintest twitch at the corner of Niero's mouth.
Takeshi smiled faintly when he noticed.
"I'm asking because..."
He placed a hand over his chest.
"...I owe you my life."
The words carried no exaggeration.
No theatrics.
Just quiet sincerity.
"I can't repay losing an arm. I can't repay losing a leg. But I can at least say this."
He bowed his head slightly.
"...Thank you. From the bottom of my heart. Because of you, I get to live to see another day."
Another long silence settled over the room.
Outside, the morning sunlight filtered softly through the curtains.
The melody of K-Pop music continued drifting from the old radio by the window.
Takeshi finally looked back up.
His expression was calm.
Patient.
"I won't force you. If you tell me it's classified...I'll leave it there. If you tell me to forget what I saw...I'll try."
A faint grin tugged at his lips.
"Probably won't be easy. But I'll try."
Niero remained silent.
For a moment, he simply stared at the blanket covering his legs.
Then—
"...I'm sorry."
Takeshi raised an eyebrow.
"Hm?"
Niero looked back at him.
"I should have done more."
His voice was quieter than before.
"Your arm. Your leg. If I was stronger, if I reacted faster..."
He clenched his fist slightly.
"...you wouldn't have lost them."
For once, Takeshi didn't immediately make a joke.
He simply looked at the teenager sitting in front of him.
Then he sighed.
"Kid. You really are something else."
Niero frowned.
"What?"
"You just fought a mutated Sea Witch inside a pocket dimension. You got impaled. Your body was basically turned into a human kebab. Yet you somehow broke out some kind of impossible power limit, killed the thing, rescued me, then came back and ripped apart an entire swarm of monsters while barely conscious."
He gestured toward himself.
"And you're apologizing because I lost a couple of limbs?"
Niero looked away.
"..."
Takeshi shook his head.
"Listen. My arm and leg weren't because you failed. They were because we were caught by surprise by something that was stronger than both of us. It could have happen to any of us outside these walls. Simple as that."
He tapped his wheelchair.
"And besides..."
A small grin appeared.
"The alcohol helped."
Niero stared.
"...The alcohol?"
"Yeah."
"I was in so much pain, so my brain was too busy enjoying the whiskey's smoky tasted until the painkiller in my MARS suit administered. Extra shot of mind-numbness"
Niero sighed with a smile.
The he looked down at his missing limbs.
"But don't worry about this. The BDAAA medical coverage is pretty good, a curtesy from the all-mighty Bloom Dominion. Once I'm cleared, I'll get replacement cybernetics."
He lifted his empty sleeve slightly.
"The cool-ass military-grade stuff. Full neural integration. Enhanced strength. Better reaction speed. Maybe even a custom interface for my sword."
A confident smile formed.
"Honestly? Kind of excited."
Niero tilted his head.
"Excited?"
"Yeah. Think about it. I get a new arm, new leg, getting upgrades..."
He leaned back.
"Technically...it cost me an arm and a leg."
Agent Takeshi said it...with a smile, waiting for an applause.
Silence.
Niero stared.
Takeshi stared back.
A few seconds passed.
"..."
Niero slowly narrowed his eyes.
"Really?"
Takeshi tried to hold his expression.
"What?"
"Really? You were waiting to use that joke, weren't you?"
"No."
"You absolutely were."
"Maybe."
"Takeshi."
"Come on."
"What?"
"You lost an arm and a leg less than a week ago. And your first instinct is to make a pun?"
Takeshi shrugged.
"What can I say? I saw the opportunity."
"You took it."
"Exactly. Jokes and puns comes naturally when dread finally flushed out from your system."
Niero rubbed his forehead.
"That is probably the worst joke I've ever heard."
"Wow. Harsh. Debbie Downer."
Niero looked at him.
"...Did you seriously just call me Debbie Downer, shitass?"
Takeshi grinned.
Niero looked away, trying to hide the small smile forming on his face.
The room became quiet again.
The only sounds were the rhythmic beep... beep... beep... of the medical monitor and the faint jazz melody drifting from the radio.
Niero leaned back against the hospital bed.
"So..."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"What did you tell them?"
Takeshi raised an eyebrow.
"Who?"
"The BDAAA. The people who are probably already digging through every piece of information they can find about me."
The agent went silent.
Then he smiled.
"...You're smarter than you look."
Niero gave him a deadpan stare.
"Thanks. I think."
Takeshi chuckled.
"Relax. I gave them the standard report."
He raised his remaining hand, counting with his fingers.
"Black Tide ambush. Scuba-Scum assault. Ship casualties. Civilian protection. Sea Witch Amaryllis confirmed eliminated. All the boring official stuff."
Niero nodded slowly.
"Okay. That sounds reasonable."
Then Takeshi added:
"...With some adjustments."
Niero immediately stopped.
"Adjustments?"
"Heavy adjustments."
A bad feeling formed in Niero's stomach.
"What kind of adjustments?"
Takeshi leaned back.
"Let's just say...I may have enhanced my role in the story."
Niero stared.
"...What?"
Takeshi placed a hand over his chest dramatically.
"I presented myself as the brave, handsome, extremely skilled agent who fought through impossible odds...protected the injured teenager...and personally delivered the final blow against the evil Sea Witch."
Silence.
Niero blinked.
Once.
Twice.
"You stole my entire victory."
Takeshi shrugged.
"I prefer the term...strategic narrative management."
"You mean lying."
Takeshi pointed at him.
"Exactly. And you know exactly why."
Niero opened his mouth.
Then stopped.
Because he already knew.
Takeshi's expression became serious.
"Because the truth, as they says, stranger than fiction."
Takeshi lowered his voice.
"I've worked with anomalies for years."
"I know what happens when something unknown appears. People panic. Organizations investigate. Scientists dissect. Military groups weaponize."
His eye focused on Niero.
"And you? You are currently a giant question mark walking around wearing a teenager's body."
Niero frowned.
"...That's a little harsh."
"But it's also accurate."
A pause.
"But after what happened..."
Takeshi looked down at his missing limbs.
"...I don't care."
Niero looked at him.
Takeshi smiled faintly.
"You saved me. Simple as that. You were not obligated to. You didn't know me. You didn't owe me anything."
"But when things went to hell...you still came back."
His expression softened.
"So yeah. I can afford to make you look less suspicious."
Niero remained silent.
For once...
He didn't have a sarcastic response.
After a moment, Niero spoke.
"...What about the rampage?"
Takeshi's smile faded.
"Ah. That."
The atmosphere shifted.
"The cameras? Destroyed. Thankfully. Giving anyone who viewed it a very limited narrative."
Niero sighed in relief.
"But..."
Takeshi raised a finger.
"Your friends saw it."
Niero froze.
"Your cabinmates. JD. Meilin. Flick. and the other two; Yumiko and Gertrude. And..."
He paused.
"...Sororitae Hyperia."
Niero immediately covered his face.
"Oh fuck."
"Yeah. That's going to be difficult to explain."
Takeshi nodded.
"Extremely. Because from their perspective..."
He gestured toward Niero.
"You went from exhausted injured kid...to a black-blood-covered wild animal tearing enhanced Scuba-Scums apart with your bare hands."
Niero looked away.
"...I wasn't exactly in control."
"I know."
Takeshi sighed.
"And honestly? I believe you."
Niero looked surprised.
"You do?"
"Kid. I've seen enough things in my career to know the difference between someone losing control...and someone choosing to become a monster."
He tapped the side of his wheelchair.
"You saved people. Even when your brain was probably screaming to stop. So I'm not judging you."
A small pause.
"But other people? Different story."
Takeshi looked toward the window.
"When you return to the Academy...expect questions. From instructors. BDAAA observers. Maybe even Bloom Dominion officials and authorities."
Niero frowned.
"Because of the Black Room?"
"Partly."
"Because of Amaryllis?"
"Definitely."
"But mostly..."
Takeshi pointed at him.
"Because your combat ability makes no sense."
Niero raised an eyebrow.
"How bad?"
Takeshi laughed.
"Kid. Your physical evaluation from M.A.C.01 already put you way above what a normal candidate could achieve. That was before. Before the glowing armor. Before the god sword. Before you punched a Sea Witch strong enough to survive a naval disaster."
He shook his head.
"Whatever you are...you're not a normal Rank B-."
Niero looked down at his hands.
The hands that had held God Eater.
The hands that had torn monsters apart.
The hands that had almost failed to save everyone.
The two sat quietly.
For the first time since the Black Room...
Neither of them felt like they were fighting for survival.
Just two people recovering from something impossible.
Then Takeshi smiled.
"Still. There's one thing I gotta admit."
"What?"
"You looked pretty damn cool."
Niero stared.
"..."
"The armor. The sword. The whole glowing transformation thing."
Takeshi nodded.
"Very dramatic. Very heroic. Like those Tokusatsu masked heroes in TV. "
Niero looked away.
"..."
"...Thanks."
Takeshi smiled.
"Still think my report was way better. Maybe I should write a power fantasy webnovel, movie script or something."
"No. Absolutely not."
A moment of silence.
Yet a small chuckle came from both of them.
Niero watched as Agent Takeshi maneuvered his wheelchair toward the door.
The conversation had grown unexpectedly... pleasant.
Or at least—
as pleasant as two people could be after surviving an eldritch sea witch, losing limbs, dying once, and arguing over elephant paintings.
Just before reaching the exit, Takeshi suddenly stopped.
"...Ah. I almost forgot."
He turned the wheelchair around with practiced ease.
"Kid. You still have that BDAAA card I gave you a year ago?"
Niero blinked before reaching into the drawer beside his hospital bed.
His fingers found the familiar matte-black business card with build-in animated screen.
The silver emblem of the Bloom Dominion Anti-Anomaly Agency shimmered faintly beneath the room's lights.
"...Yeah. I still kept it."
Takeshi grinned.
"Knew you would. I was half expecting you to throw it away."
"I thought about it. You do looked suspicious back then."
"I'm suspicious...yeah, okay. Fair enough."
The veteran agent scratched the back of his neck with his remaining hand.
"Anyway. Give me a call within the next couple of days. By then both of us probably be discharged."
He tapped his own chest.
"And you'll be heading to G.S. Military Academy."
Niero nodded slowly.
"I'll call when I had the time."
Takeshi's grin widened into something almost boyish.
"You know...I've been thinking."
Niero immediately became suspicious.
"...That's usually dangerous."
"It is. But hear me out."
The veteran pointed dramatically at himself.
"You."
He pointed at Niero.
"Me."
Then jabbed a thumb proudly toward his own chest.
"Commissioner Gordon."
Another finger toward Niero.
"Batman."
Silence.
Niero stared.
"...You're making yourself Commissioner Gordon?"
"Obviously. But you know...younger, handsome, a ladies man."
Takeshi folded his remaining arm proudly.
"So. You do the impossible. I pretend not to notice. You call. I complain. I occasionally hand you classified toys...It's a beautiful professional relationship."
Niero couldn't help letting out a tired laugh.
"This sound...very illegal...."
"Possibly..."
His joking expression softened.
"But seriously. If your... gift..."
He deliberately chose that word.
"...can really do what I think it can...then there are things I might be able to quietly help you acquire. Equipment. Field intel. Sanctioned anomalous artifacts. Maybe a prototype or two if the paperwork accidentally disappears."
He winked.
"I know people."
Niero looked at him for a long moment.
"...Thanks. I appreciate it."
Takeshi simply nodded.
Then another thought crossed his face.
"Oh. Speaking of appreciation. My referral bonus."
Niero tilted his head.
"The recruitment commission?"
"Yep. The one I was supposed to split with you. I've been thinking about percentages."
He pulled out his SmartCom.
"I can transfer your cut after—"
"Forget it."
Takeshi blinked.
"...What?"
"You need it more than I do."
The veteran stared.
"You lost an arm. A leg. You'll be adapting to cybernetic rehabilitation for months. I still have my family supporting me as well as possible part-time jobs. So..."
Niero shrugged.
"Keep it."
For several seconds—
Takeshi simply looked at him.
The joking expression slowly disappeared.
"...Kid. Do you have any idea how much money that is?"
"No. And honestly...I don't really care. You earned it. You were the one who kinda got me into the program in the first place. So keep it."
Silence settled over the room once again.
Finally—
Takeshi let out a slow breath.
"...You're a strange kid."
"I get that a lot."
"I would've fought you over it. But...I'm not stupid enough to argue with someone who punched a Sea Witch to death."
Niero gave him a deadpan stare.
A warm chuckle escaped Takeshi.
Then he extended his remaining hand.
"I'll accept it. But."
He fixed Niero with an unusually serious gaze.
"That means I owe you. A big one. If you ever need anything. Information. Equipment. Backup. Someone to bend the rules a bit. Or just somebody to help hide a body—"
Niero raised an eyebrow.
"The last part is a joke."
"...Right. A joke."
Takeshi coughed awkwardly.
"The point is...you've got a favor. You can cash it in anytime." Some questions asked ad hopefully not illegal or treasonous in nature."
Niero reached forward and firmly shook his hand.
"I'll remember that."
The two exchanged one final smile.
Then Takeshi pressed the nurse call button beside the bed.
A soft chime echoed through the hallway.
"I should probably leave before the nurses think I kidnapped their favorite cute patient. They already seem disappointed they can't fuss over you anymore."
Niero groaned.
"Please don't remind me."
The veteran laughed.
"I'll see you around, Batman."
Niero sighed dramatically.
"...Drive safely, Commissioner."
"Damn right."
"...and don't drunk drive, okay?"
"Fuck off"
With one final salute with a small smile, Agent Takeshi Armitage turned his wheelchair toward the doorway.
The automatic doors slid open with a quiet hiss, with a nurse come to the doorway, then procceeds to assist Agent Armitage away..
He rolled into the corridor without looking back, humming What a Wonderful World as he disappeared from sight.
The room became quiet once more.
Only the steady beep... beep... beep... of the heart monitor remained.
Niero glanced down at the black BDAAA card resting in his hand before slipping it carefully back into his wallet.
Somehow...
He had the strange feeling this would not be the last time their paths crossed.
He knows one thing for certain.
If he ever wants to be a Marauder...
...then he had to be stronger.
Stronger than the horros beyond the walls.
Stronger than he was onces before.
Stronger...as a Stargod.
=
=====
=
━━ ✦ [ STARGOD SYSTEM ] ✦ ━━
<<<[ STARGOD SYSTEM: POST-ASCENSION STATUS ]>>>
< Ascension Level (LV) > ===== <031 ---> 036>
=====
=====
> Unused Ascension (leveling) Points: 15 Available (+5 Ascension Points, Lv. 36 post-leveling)
> Unused Stargod Boon Roll: 2 Available
> Unused Empyrean Reliquary Boon roll: 2 Available
=====
Astra Force:
+ Astra Force's stage: 1st stage (Ember) ---> 2nd stage (Nova)
-
New boon:
+ [Golden Eye (Tier II)] - Enhanced appraisal ability, granting additional details appraisal data and greater peer into supernatural and anomalous phenomenon.
+ [Trinity of Self-Supremacy - Aspect 01: Body (Tier II)] - Enhanced physiology, enhanced regenerative healing, increase durability.
+ [Supernova / Vhas-Kha (First form: x5 Combat Amplification)]
+ [Ragna-Kha (Passive ultimate skill)] - Extreme trauma or death triggers temporary hyper-adaptation, accelerated regeneration, and exponential combat evolution.
-
New Equipment:
+ Astra Kavacha (Mk-I) - Standard Stargod full-body Battle Suit, with each designs are unique to each Stargods. A sleek full-body combat suit composed of an unknown metaphysical material that acts similar to a programmable material. Highly resistant to conventional weaponry, granted near-invincibility to conventional forms of damage but grants great resistance to anomalous and/or paracausal phenomenonbased damages.
+ Astra Arms: God Eater (The Outsider) - one of the manifested weapons born from the willpower and associated abstract concept with the cosmic power of the Astra Force, granting the wielder the divine weapon on their hands.
God Eater is a cleaver-like weapon with ultra-sharp edge that bring brutality against impossible force, ravage away anything against its path. Capable of transforming into a 2-handed greatsword with an energy blade that delivers god-killing output that destroy worlds.
-
New Loots:
+Omnia Matter (x1170)
+
+
+
=
=====
=
<<<[ Chapter 34 - END ]>>>