Kill the Sun

Nick quickly found a Shweeb that he could rent and left the headquarters of the city guards.

A couple minutes later, he left the Inner City and walked towards Dark Dream.

The things that had happened today reappeared in Nick's head one after the other.

It had all started with Nick going into the dark room.

Then, he met Envy and was saved by Riker and Monica.

After that, he talked with the most powerful people in the city and even with a Protector from Aegis.

And he even got a mission.

'But I have no idea how to find Envy's servant,' Nick thought with furrowed brows while he was walking towards Dark Dream.

'Someone in this city must have Envy's servant, but I have no idea who.'

'It could theoretically be any of the four biggest Zephyx Extractors or the city, but there are obviously differences.'

'While Gemini could theoretically suppress and capture a strong Elder, I don't think that it would have been easy, and such a great mobilization of forces must have been noticed by other Manufacturers.'

'Even more, since Gemini would be working with the Specter, the number of new Experts appearing in their company would drastically increase, which would be too conspicuous.'

'While it isn't impossible that Gemini has the servant, the chances are extremely low.'

'For now, I should ignore Gemini unless they suddenly start gaining new Experts rapidly.'

'The chances of the city having Envy's servant is not very high. It's too much of a weak spot.'

'If anyone wanted to get rid of the governor, they would only need to report to Aegis about Envy's servant.'

'For example, Anatomy definitely has some issues with the governor. Additionally, they have many people in the city forces due to their power.'

'It would be much safer for the governor to hand over the servant.'

'That means I can also ignore the city for now, but I should still keep an eye on them.'

'That leaves Kugelblitz, Anatomy, and Ghosty's Lab.'

Nick furrowed his brows.

'It could be any of those, really.'

'Obviously, the most suspicious Manufacturer is Anatomy. They really didn't want to get investigated, and no one would notice it if five of their Experts vanished for a bit to capture a Specter.'

'Additionally, if they suddenly get more Experts, nobody would bat an eye.'

Nick looked to the side as another thought appeared in his mind.

'Although, I am constantly assuming that Envy's servant is a strong Elder when that is actually just the bare minimum.'

'It is very possible that the Specter is actually a Fanatic.'

'It might even be a Demon.'

Nick thought about how powerful a Fanatic would be and compared that power to the Manufacturers.

'Ghosty's Lab only has two Specialists.'

'I wonder, as the oldest Extractor in the city, how powerful is Ghosty? Could he suppress a Fanatic on his own?'

Nick kept walking with furrowed brows.

Eventually, he only sighed.

'It's too early. If I could find the perpetrator by conjecture, Simon wouldn't need me.'

'In the end, if I want to investigate, I have to become a Veteran first. At that point, I can assign myself to the city's forces and investigate.'

'As a member of the city's forces, it would be my job to find criminals and to protect the city.'

Nick looked forward and saw the tall building that was Dark Dream.

'That's something for the future. For now, I have to deal with the things that are in front of me.'

'The two new Specters I will be getting and the new people I will need for them.'

'I didn't expect that I would gain two Adolescents at once. With them, Dark Dream now has five Adolescents.'

'And we only have three Johns.'

Nick released a sigh.

'Luckily, Jonathan and Kiara will very soon become Johns. Constanze, Marvila, and Larry will also become Johns within the next 6 months.'

Nick furrowed his brows again.

'But the Bleeding Lady and the Lover will also advance to become Adolescents within the year.'

'That leaves the Puppy as the only reliable Specter for Newbies, which means Dark Dream can only train three Newbies at a time.'

'We need more Hatchlings so that we can raise more Newbies.'

Nick rubbed his forehead as one problem after the other appeared in his mind.

Being a Chief Zephyx Extractor wasn't easy.

Nick entered Dark Dream and directly went to Wyntor's office.

As soon as Nick entered, Wyntor put everything to the side and looked at him with seriousness.

"I heard that you used the signal," Wyntor said. "What happened?"

Nick sat down in front of Wyntor and sighed.

"A lot."

Wyntor nodded and waited for Nick to tell him what happened.

Yet, there was an issue.

"Sadly, I am not allowed to tell you the details," Nick said.

Wyntor narrowed his eyes. "Why not?" he asked.

"Well, let me phrase it like this…"

"I spoke to a Protector today."

Wyntor's eyes shot open in shock.

"What?" he asked. "Do you know what a Protector is?"

"Yes, Wyntor. I'm not dumb," Nick said with a bit of annoyance. "It was a Protector from Aegis, and I talked to him for quite a while because of what I found in Riker's room."

"The Governor, Aria Light, and the Protector all told me that I am not allowed to tell anyone about what I have seen today, including you."

"I'm sorry, Wyntor. I really want to tell you, but I can't," Nick said with regret.

Wyntor rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Give me a couple of minutes," he said. "I have to think about this."

"Sure," Nick said.

Then, several minutes of silence passed while Nick went to grab a coffee from his office.

"Okay," Wyntor said after taking a deep breath. "I really, really, really want to know, but even my father refused to tell me anything. If even my father doesn't trust me enough to tell me, I can't expect you to tell me."

Nick nodded. "Sorry, Wyntor."

"Please, at least tell me that Dark Dream got something out of this," Wyntor said.

Nick smiled.

"Two very valuable Adolescents!"