Transcendent Gene

Gio knew Hekat was right about his body. Even if the stress was caused by phantom pain, his nerves still thought it was real damage.

He sustained physical damage, albeit manifested as muscle weakening and stress. It was best for him to stay bedridden for at least a few days.

'If I had that option, it'd be nice.'

He couldn't stay in the remains of the facility. He also couldn't go to the academy.

As soon as he could, he moved away from the locations that would be searched by the Apocalypse Church and contacted Farrah.

"It was you, wasn't it?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, but I'm tired. Give me a ride."

"Haha…do you think I'm a Lyve driver or something? Am I getting tipped for this, at least?"

"Yeah, in theories. Now open the door already. I'm about to pass out."

"Right away, Mr. Passenger."

Gio walked into Nightreign the moment he heard those words and stumbled towards their usual meeting point.

Farrah found him halfway there and helped him to the door, finally letting him go when they got to the lab.

"You're lucky I'm a workaholic. Otherwise, this wouldn't exist."

Surprisingly, the room they landed in was complete with its own bathroom, a bed, several chairs, a coffee table, and even a small kitchen with a fridge.

"Take some time to yourself. When you're ready, come find me. You tell me what happened down there, and I'll fill you in on the aftermath."

"Deal."

It didn't take much for Gio to accept. Within a few minutes, he was already passed out on the bed.

Another several days would pass before he woke up again. His location didn't remain unknown for long. There were three people in particular who knew exactly where to check to find him.

When Farrah met up with them, they were big bundles of rage ready to let loose on the one who left them behind, but they were unfortunate enough to find him unconscious.

Their rage would have to wait. Perhaps it would wait long enough to fizzle out as they understood why he left them behind.

Regardless, the passing of days led to the progression of the situation.

Within several hours, the Headmaster had cleared up all the beasts in the area. The next day and a half were spent rescuing and securing everyone who was still alive.

The corpses of those who passed were gathered together and prepared for burial. Some were lucky enough to have their bodies intact, while some of those coffins were left empty.

One could only hope that the families of the deceased could feel closure from the ceremony alone.

The news and social media were filled with talk about the Apocalypse Church. The Headmaster, the Federation Council, and many others gave statements, putting up a united front against the terrorist organization.

Still, opinions remained skewed. There would always be those whose thoughts were incomprehensible to the majority; those who supported evil like fanboys.

The overall response in the coming days was better than Gio remembered.

There wasn't as much criticism about the First Institute itself. The Headmaster's quick response and the destruction of the array shut down those conversations.

Most eyes stayed on the higher governments of the world and the cultists who wanted to destroy them. There were big things still brewing, but at the very least, the First Institute and its people had time to recover without being persecuted.

Four days after everything ended, Gio finally found Farrah so they could talk.

And one day after that, he returned to the world as if nothing happened at all.

He didn't have much work to do other than volunteering in the relief efforts. The one who really had to deal with the aftermath was the Headmaster.

There was a lot of investigating to be done in the wake of the disaster.

First of all, it wasn't that easy to destroy the academy's buildings. It was even harder to destroy the foundation of the floating island.

It was only possible if people in high positions aided in the placement of those bombs.

The list of possible suspects wasn't short. The faculty of the institute had to be investigated, but there were also many outsiders who needed to be looked into as well.

The Headmaster and the Deans would have to meet with the board of investors soon to discuss with them how to move forward. A new campus for the academy had to be built as well.

The rubble could be used as a basis, but it would still take at least several months for the island to return to its previous state.

But the Headmaster wasn't ready to let the First Institute fall like that.

He had a plan, and that plan did not involve any breaks.

There was a lot of tragedy in the situation. Over five hundred people still died, including both students and faculty.

However, humanity was at war. This was merely proof that the war wasn't against beasts and monsters alone.

In war, there was no such thing as a break one could take to deal with the trauma of one's circumstances. The only safe place in war was beside one's own comrades.

No other generation ever had to deal with these things, but it was clear that things were changing.

This generation would have to experience many hardships that their predecessors didn't have to face.

Any students who needed medical help were flown to hospitals and treated. Anyone who could be healed through serums was kept in the ruins.

The three islands were brought together to form a semi-solid entity, and the academy ruins were repurposed to create a small settlement where everyone could live.

Outside contact was permitted, but most of the students understood why they couldn't leave.

After everything they'd dealt with in the past few days, it wasn't hard for their minds to make the most grounded conclusions.

There were positives and negatives to anything. When the topic of discussion was a disaster, the negatives were always greater.

"But I want to acknowledge the positives."

The Headmaster sat in his office across from a student he'd been wanting to see for a while now.

"Five hundred and sixty-two people died. Five hundred and fifty-six of them were students. I will remember those numbers for the rest of my life, but still…"

He looked into Gio's eyes sincerely.

"If it weren't for you, those numbers would have been in the thousands."

Gio nodded.

'Five hundred and sixty-two.'

He'd seen the number in the news already. It was hard to see, but he felt light every time it appeared.

'Because in my last life, there was an extra zero at the end of that number.'

"I just did what I could.. If anything, you should be honoring those like Brennan and Asher who played actual important roles."

"Weren't you the one who put them in those roles? Of course, the members of an army receive credit for their achievements, but that doesn't mean their commander doesn't receive his credit as well."

Gio shrugged. He didn't need the fame. It wasn't time for him to become a figurehead of humanity yet.

'People like Brennan are good mascots that people can rally around during these early times when they still approach the concept of heroes so romantically.'

He knew he didn't have the charisma to be the face of humanity.

He knew exactly what his role was, and he was prepared to play his part to perfection. Visit My Virtual Library Empire (MV-LEMP-YR) for more.

The Headmaster raised his brows with a bit of interest.

From the very first time he met Gio, he always believed the boy's eyes were what set him apart from his peers.

His way of talking could indicate that he wasn't around people a lot when he was growing up. Maybe he was socially awkward or maybe he was just a bit of a bookworm.

His eyes, though. His eyes were what turned the awkwardness of a teenager into a weary adult's inability to entertain certain things.

His eyes told a story that the Headmaster couldn't completely fathom, but he knew that in this moment, they were looking far past concepts like glory or fame.

"Are you worried about the cultists?"

Gio refused to explain how he got his information, but he told the Headmaster what he needed to know about the Apocalypse Church.

"If they start chasing me, or worse, if VNGRD gets involved, then it'll be impossible for me to act how I want to."

"And you don't think that's a problem for the others because…?"

"Because you're here."

They both knew Gio wasn't talking about the Headmaster himself. They both knew that the people who would be rewarded and acclaimed as heroes would receive the utmost protection from the academy, its investors, and many others.

'But, with surveillance comes restriction.'

For someone with something to hide, that situation was no different from imprisonment.

"I understand," the Headmaster said.

If he wasn't willing to accept an explanation like that one, he wouldn't have ever granted Gio a month of excused absence beforehand. That wasn't the type of person he was.

"We'll discuss a different kind of reward, then. If you have anything you desire, tell me now."

"Well…"

There was one thing Gio wanted. It was half of the reason he came to the First Institute, in fact.

His original plan never included his actions being discovered by anyone other than those he specifically instructed.

He didn't expect to receive any rewards when the disaster cleared up, but the way the Headmaster was talking…

'…it's possible.'

He opened his mouth, dropping three words that instantly made the Headmaster wrinkle his brows.

After all, those three words in that exact order named something he never expected to hear from the mouth of a student.