Transcendent Gene

As the two men in Celestelle predicted, there was a meeting taking place amongst the cult's highest authorities to discuss their failures.

They'd already spoken about the students and teachers they needed to target. They already decided to search for the hidden figure who brought them all together.

They went on to discuss the actual facts of their failure. Before the next time they acted so openly, they clearly had several holes to patch.

Just like their enemies, they were on the lookout for moles, they needed to restructure, and they had a lot to take care of before they could return to normalcy.

The conversation progressed as smoothly as it could when almost nothing could be recovered from the facility or the array.

As they discussed their plans for the immediate future, a member of the council who'd stepped out of the room came back in with a stern expression on his face.

"We received a message from the envoy for VNGRD."

The hall went silent. All eyes went to the man who spoke.

"They are disappointed with our performance this time, but expressed understanding. We were shut down by unknown variables. VNGRD acknowledged the success we would have achieved if they did not exist."

"Enough with the sophistry," another man said, waving his arm through the air.

"What was their verdict?"

"They wish to purchase the Beast Control Array. They are also willing to fund several other projects. Aside from those we are aware of, they only added one new stipulation."

The man looked around the table at his fellow council members.

"They want us to divert our focus away from the youngest mutants. They have asked us to chase greater targets."

"Greater?"

"The Three Federations and the Ten Great Clans. They want us to start targeting them instead."

A great silence spread across the hall as the members of the council considered the proposition.

They would earn more acclaim and accomplish more if they followed VNGRD's wishes, but they'd also be facing much more danger.

It was possible for them to touch upon boundaries that would eliminate their entire cult in an instant if they weren't careful.

"The Ten Great Clans…"

However, the Appcalypse Church was built on malice. If one set aside criminals, djinns, asuras, and outliers, the most corrupt and cruel Sequencers in the world could be found in the Ten Great Clans.

"Relay a message back to the envoy."

A silent vote was cast, leading to an almost unanimous decision.

"We will accept their terms."

The Apocalypse Church would aim for higher boundaries, for greater fruits.

It was only a matter of time before they grew into a competitor to the VNGRD themselves.

The Pope, the Archbishops, and anyone else in the know felt the exact same way.

***

Gio left the Headmaster's makeshift office with a small smile on his face.

'Dammit.'

His thoughts weren't so jovial. Find thе trаnslаtiоn оn МV&LЕМРYR.

Unfortunately, he didn't succeed in getting the item he wanted. He somewhat expected it, but the Headmaster couldn't pull something like that out easily.

"Your contributions here were massive, but you don't want me to publicize them, so I can't justify giving that to you. Your feats are definitely enough to deserve it, though."

The Headmaster was still on his side, but the greatest treasures the academy held were itemized and closely guarded. The vaults they were stored inside were some of the few completely untouched pieces of the ruined academy.

"Let's do it like this. Right now, I'll compensate you in money and a different kind of acclaim. I've seen how you like to grow through real experience, so I'll put you in contact with people who will help you get into the field more often," he said.

"Though all of this has happened, the Academy Exchange at the end of the month has not been canceled. We cannot show weakness to the world, after all."

Gio smiled wryly as he walked away. The condition was as basic as it got, but he preferred it that way. The Headmaster did his best to make it obvious that it was only for performance's sake and wasn't another test on its own.

"Reach top three in the lowerclassman's bracket during the Academy Exchange, huh? It's not difficult, but it's not extremely easy either."

The Academy Exchange was an event where several of the best Sequencing Institutes in Arcadia came together to show off their best talents and compare.

Gio knew how important it was for the First Institute to win after an event this major.

In the past, the Headmaster also decided they had to attend the event, and the First Institute performed miserably.

That performance was one of the final nails in its coffin. It was never the same school ever again.

'This time, we have a lot of talent, even if I'm not included.'

Gio was confident enough in the people he'd saved. There were a few that he wished he'd been there for, but overall, he did exactly what he wanted to.

The people he believed would become crucial to humanity's future were mostly all alive. They now had the chance to grow into true powerhouses.

'Then, other than the menial things, there's one more big problem to deal with…'

He made his way through Celestelle and found the apartment he'd been staying in for the past few days.

Apparently, Farrah got it for him while he was unconscious as a place to stay until the academy was rebuilt.

He was truly grateful for it…

'…but I wish she didn't give the address out so easily.'

He smiled wryly as he opened the door, already having felt the auras beyond.

"Haha…hey, guys," he said with an awkward smile.

"Good to see you again?"

"You could say that, probably."

"Yeah. I bet you're reeeally questioning it, huh? You bastard."

"Hmph!"

Three people sat on his couch with less-than-amused expressions.

He managed to avoid them for a little, but he was bound to face them eventually.

He sat down across from them, not knowing what to say.

"So, um…"

He smiled at them, trying to lighten the mood.

"I'm sorry…?"

"Yeah, we know that already, dipshit."

Serene instantly rolled her eyes.

"If this happened three days ago, you'd be in for something crazy. I know for a fact that she was definitely about to say some insane shit."

She glanced at Neriah as she continued.

"But you lucked out. You ended up asleep, so we had nothing to do but help with the relief efforts."

Right. It was impossible for them to not understand him. They'd seen the remains of the academy for themselves.

"I get that we're weak right now. It probably would've been risky to bring us, but really? You just left out of nowhere. We had no idea what happened until we found you with Dr. Sinclair."

Shiro nodded strongly.

"I wanted to fight, but that's not the important bit. We're more mad because you treated us like strangers back there. It felt like everything we've been through this past month was for nothing."

Gio sighed a little. Their feelings were entirely valid. He would have been equally annoyed if they had left him behind in a similar fashion.

"I understand how you guys feel. If you want to rage at me, I'll take it. I'm not going to sit here and deny accountability."

That much was true…

"…but at the same time, leaving you guys like that was necessary for multiple reasons. I wouldn't do it the same way again if I could go back, but there's a lot you don't know."

He kept them in the dark about a lot in the past.

'Maybe I can start telling them a little bit more.'

Farrah denied them. Even if Gio wanted them to go, it would have been impossible.

Gio didn't want them to go because they were safe in the airport. He didn't want them to die.

But at the same time, even their presence in the airport was a part of his alibi. If his name was ever suspected, he could use the excuse of still being a two-day flight from Celestelle.

He filled his three comrades in on some parts of his past. The missions he did with the Blue Steel Squadron, his relationship with the Apocalypse Church and VNGRD, and more were properly explained to them so they could see the big picture.

And as they said, their anger faded easily. Their annoyance and frustration stemmed from a place of worry, and while his explanation didn't soothe their worries at all, it helped them understand his actions.

"You've been living like that? It sounds like something straight out of a movie…" Shiro commented.

"Yeah, that's…wow," Serene followed.

Neriah stayed silent, seemingly contemplating something as the other two faced Gio with hardened eyes.

"If you're telling us about this, you're willing to let us help, right?"

Gio looked at Shiro and then at Serene and Neriah.

'These three…'

With his help, they could become great.

They were showing him that they were comrades worth trusting in life.

Until they proved otherwise, they were people worth letting into his life.

"…yeah."

He nodded after a moment of silence.

"If you grab my hand right now, there's no going back. We're in it till the death of us."

He held his hand out and grinned at them.

"If you're willing to accept that, then yeah. I want you guys to help me save the world."

An atmosphere of anticipation filled the room as Gio's three party members looked at his outstretched hand.

Until the death of them. It was a promise that couldn't be made lightly.

Yet, all of them felt more inclined to make it than to not.

The title of "Savior" didn't fit any of them very well.

But they would become the people who defined what that title meant in the future.

***

The cleanup didn't end in a week. Any immediate relief efforts and attempts to bring a sense of normalcy back into the world were either reaching their end or finished, but there was still a long battle ahead.

'My part isn't over yet, either. There's still a few more things I need to do, and I now have a goal for the Academy Exchange coming up.'

Both were important jobs, but Gio had his priorities in order.

First, it was the Scenario Quest, and then came the academy disaster. His name was bound to spread into the right circles soon.

'And while I let my reputation as a Sequencer grow on its own a bit, I can look towards the other side of the coin.'

The research summit that Farrah organized hadn't been rescheduled. It wasn't in Celestelle, so there was no need to.

New people that Gio needed to meet would undoubtedly be present there.

'Farrah can work on gene research, but I need people for more than just that.'

He needed to contact engineers and researchers, astronomers, and more in order to create everything in his mind.

'And if it's a matter of astral tech, even the smallest boundaries are still massive leaps for humanity.'

Things were being expedited. That was one thing Gio realized for sure during the disaster. As long as he continued to mess with the timeline, the timeline would respond to his actions.

'If it's impossible to stop it from accelerating, then I can only fight fire with fire.'

He'd also accelerate. He'd take humanity to levels that the world couldn't catch, and then they'd finally be able to stand at the top of existence.

'Grand aspirations, but it all starts here.'

In less than a week, the summit would begin.

There, Gio would finally enter a brand new battleground.

***

To anyone who has been following this book actively, I'm sorry, and thank you for the support.

My mental health has hit the gutter in the past few months, and writing on a daily schedule is only making it a whole lot worse.

It sucks to have to put another book on hiatus like this, but I'm sure the one chapter a day release schedule this past month made it obvious how difficult it is for me to keep going. The only reason I was even able to get to three hundred chapters is because I didn't want to leave you guys in the middle of an arc.

Once again, I'm not planning to drop this book, but it probably won't get updated for a long time. I'm going to take a considerable break and write offline. Maybe when I have a bunch of chapters together, I'll post them in bulk just because I want to write this book, but it definitely won't be getting any releases worth paying attention to for a while.

I wish I could say something more hopeful, but I really don't know how long it'll be before I focus on this stuff again. All I know is that I'll be back… eventually.

Once again, thank you all for the support, and I hope I'll see you guys again in the future.

:)