Transcendent Gene-Chapter 300: Final Truth [8]

The story of Verita’s Nest’s growth was one he’d already seen. The story of its collapse could not be told in this setting.

The hologram who introduced himself eventually as "Q" was not placed in the labyrinth to give a history lesson.

The reason why Vita created this labyrinth and made such criteria for reaching its center was because they had many things to pass into the modern world that they weren’t sure about.

There were research projects they started in the 2600s that they predicted wouldn’t be completed until the 3100s. There were some projects that had to be maintained with care if they were being used in the modern world, and in case their records were erased, they made several contingencies.

And most importantly, there was information Vita possessed that was absolutely vital, and it could only be told to individuals who carried the same mission as them.

’The Scenario Quest isn’t the only way.’

It was one of many contingencies they set up, but it was one of the only ones that held their truest message.

It was possible for it to appear several times, but Gio assumed he was the only person to ever achieve a 95% affinity.

’If I’m not, then the other person decided to hide the things they learned for some reason.’

He couldn’t be sure. Frankly, most of what Q said didn’t deserve attention. Gio could already confidently say that the worries he presented were accounted for.

At the end of the day, humanity wasn’t moving backwards yet. Their slow progress was as clear as day, but it was still progress.

Vita worried about the teleport gates used to move between Strata. They had developed a new mechanism that could improve their sustainability by several times, but they weren’t sure they’d get permission to work on the gates in their era.

They gained that permission about twenty years after this message was recorded. A lot of other issues panned out in similar ways.

Some research was completed by other people, and some inventions came about on their own. Some of them were made by Vita before its collapse, and some were built on the designs taken from its ruins.

For the most part, there wasn’t anything Gio had to note on the technology side.

’If anything, this is telling me to be on the lookout for tech that Q didn’t mention.’

After all, some of the things he listed were projects that were only started a decade or two ago.

’Vita was already planning these things centuries ago. By the time they fell, they had to be planning and creating things that outshine our current technology.’

He was once again reminded that Verita’s Nest was an object of interest to investigate on the outside.

’I think more than actual tasks, what they wanted to pass on was the message. They’re essentially trying to find successors.’

"We have a lot of black boxes around the world and a lot of facilities that nobody knows about. I don’t know how or when we disappeared from your world, but we would have been prepared for it. Look for our traces and find what was left behind. It is absolutely vital that someone in the modern day can carry the torch we left behind."

He wasn’t referring to Vita’s torch. His words implied something deeper that Gio would have to find out later.

"The world is not as simple as it seems. If it’s been a long time since this message was recorded, it’s guaranteed that the world is even more twisted than it is now. Don’t be fooled by anything. Don’t be held down by traditional standards. Expect the unknown, but be warned... by following our trail, the unknown will become the greatest challenge you’ve ever faced."

"The mantle you’ve been introduced to is not one you know yet. You’ll only come to know it if you continue the search as I’ve requested. The legacies we left behind will place an enormous burden on your back, but if you’re willing to carry it, you will become the savior that the human race desperately needs."

Gio frowned.

Why did he speak like he knew the future? Why was he so sure that humanity needed a savior?

"Find the successor and become their sharpest sword. Bring the Nest back into the world and gather those who are prepared to become its limbs. If you are truly someone who shares our ideals with a 95% similarity, then you are the perfect person to revive Verita."

Everything was left vague as a security measure.

’They don’t trust off of a single trial. This is an introduction, but if I want to fill in the blanks in his words, I have to make the effort to follow their trail.’

Gio didn’t believe for a second that Vita would put together a contingency plan that was so heavily dependent on luck.

’But if there’s something else, I also won’t learn about it without chasing the Nest.’

"I’ve pretty much said everything I wanted to say."

He got the important things out of the way and imparted the quest of discovery onto the Sequencer who found the center of the labyrinth.

"If you want to hear more, you know where to go. In Arcadia. Find the ancient tree. There is a path within its roots that will lead you to the next."

Q smiled widely and pointed to the sky.

"Now, then, I’ll give you a second to prepare yourself before this drops on your head. Keep in mind that this will be incredibly painful, but if you lose consciousness, you’ll die. You have to control the energy yourself to see any real benefits."

He stood up and walked over to the glass wall with his hands connected behind his back.

"If you want a solution to the scenario, it’ll be somewhere in that energy cloud. Hopefully, it helps you get strong enough to face the challenges ahead. Oh, and before I leave..."

Gio prepared his mind and body for the storm that would soon approach.

"...thank you. Even if you don’t inherit our legacy, someone with your values will do great things for the world. Thank you for fighting for humanity. Your desire to do so already makes you a hero in our eyes."

As Q turned to face the room with a smile, the massive cloud in the sky rumbled violently.

Lightning began to spark within its depths, chaining from one part of the cloud to the next.

Gio looked up to face it.

And it instantly accepted his challenge.

CRACK!

BANG!

Before the air finished cracking under its pressure, a thick bolt of black lightning shot down from the clouds and crashed into Gio’s body.

His muscles were immediately shocked frozen. Severe burns manifested across his body, covering his skin in a scaly crust. The pain alone was searing and mind-numbing, but the lightning didn’t just pass through him.

It entered his body and coursed through him. The ground was not real. The energy was in a space where it could not find an exit to his body. It instead was forced to find places within him to house itself.

It chose his Aether Core, his Gene Housing, his bones, his muscles, and his Bloodline. The rampant lightning was, at its core, a manifestation of raw energy. His body was overwhelmed by its force, but it was not unprepared to receive it.

"Khhh...!"

He lost his mind for less than a moment before regaining his calm. The first thing he did was take control of his body through virtual energy enough to sit down on the ground.

Without having to worry about being paralyzed in an awkward position, he closed his eyes and focused on the energy within.

RUMBLE!

The clouds above made themselves impossible to ignore. The first bolt of lightning was only a small portion of its energy.

’I have to be quick. If I allow the energy to compound too many times, I’ll be overwhelmed.’

Gio took a deep breath through gritted teeth and went to work.

There was energy in every system that could contain it. He couldn’t address it all at once without somehow spawning ten more brains into his head, but he also couldn’t let the energy rampage elsewhere while he fixed one problem after the other.

"Huu..."

Energy spread through his body following the naturally existing channels within and blossomed outward, engulfing the black lightning.

Voooom!

Gio forcefully pushed all of the existing energy in his body into the halo, pressuring the black lightning and giving it no room to move.

His brows furrowed. He’d have to keep up the halo as he worked, but it would become easier with time.

Every piece of lightning he absorbed would translate directly into strength. Eventually, he would be able to overcome everything with sheer willpower.

’Bloodline first.’

Therefore, it was important to work towards the greatest step he could take first.

He never thought he’d be able to reach for it before leaving the scenario, but he wasn’t one to waste an unexpected fortune.

Origin Level 1-4, the first level of a Stage 2 Sprout...

He was certain he could reach it here and now.