Chris observed Dr. Shenice King and noticed she was different today. Her usually well-buttoned shirt was slightly open. Her hair was not as well done as usual, and he swore he could see heavy bags under her eyelids.
"You look tired," he commented.
"I am," she responded, showing some vulnerability. She had to divide her mind into more than 100 million sections to help as many people as possible. This was an incredible feat but also placed quite a burden on her.
"Is the situation so bad?"
"Suicide attempts have risen by 700% in the past few days since the incident."
"So high? I cannot imagine how many people died?"
"Only a few succeeded," reassured Dr. King. It is not so easy to commit suicide in this day and age. The ID Watch on all citizens can monitor an individual's vitals and call for the authority once they reach a dangerous level. If that does not work, the maid golem available in most citizens' households has a similar function.
Furthermore, the government cast a planetary-wide Life Detection Spell to detect the vitals of all citizens in the Empire's territory. If someone tried to take their life, it would be detected, and someone will come to aid them.
"So, the situation is under control?" asked Chris, somewhat relieved.
"You would think so. But it has reached the point that Memory Wiping is being considered as a solution." Too many people cannot get rid of the horror of that gigantic bony palm. Until these days, the Empire citizen knew of the universe's danger but only experienced it a few days ago.
Many people realized some powerful entity could come at any moment and erase their entire civilization from the face of the universe. As a result, a lot of people cannot deal with this fact, resulting in a spike in mental health decline.
The National Bureau of Mental Health has been working non-stop to tackle the situation. They gathered all the trained psychologists and many wizards whose main field involved Spirit or the mind to tackle the problem. Then they officially granted Shenice King the position of Department Chief since she was mainly a foreign adviser.
And one of the solutions to this problem is to remove the experience from these people's minds. The idea is that even if they watched videos of it online or heard people talk about it, they can look at the entire thing from an outsider's point of view–instead of someone who directly experienced it.
"Will that work?" asked Chris.
"I don't… Look at how unprofessional I am. I should not talk about these things with you." Dr. King caressed her temple, feeling more tired. She should not have these kinds of conversations with her patient.
'I'm too relaxed around him,' she thought before reigning in her thoughts.
"How are you doing?"
"I think I'm okay. Shocked at first, but alright."
"And how did you feel…."
Chris spent the next hours in a session. And Dr. King told him everything appeared to be alright so far, but she still recommended a few more sessions.
Chris resumed work but requested to stay home instead of going into the office. One day, while at home, another major news appeared on his TV. It was about a large case of corruption in the government and terrorist activities.
According to the news, all houses in the Empire must include anti-destruction Enchantments to combat earthquakes and other forms of destruction. However, many government agents pocketed the money for the enchantment while using cheap materials and creating flawed methods. And some people neglected these enchantments and did not check and repair them regularly. Additionally, there are suspected terrorist groups believed to have secretly tampered with countless enchantments all over the Empire's territories.
Chris watched in shock as many politicians and government workers were arrested. They all had their faces blurred to hide their identities, most likely to prevent the populace from enacting vengeance on their families.
Chris gritted his teeth in anger. He could only imagine how many people could have been saved if not for these people's greed. He wanted to punch something–even if it was the air. Luckily, a notification from his watch distracted him.
And after reading it, he was again shocked, this time for a positive reason. He received a notification from the government that he would receive the [Honor Citizen Title] because of the woman he rescued.
This title came with a large sum of Arcane Points and 1000 Merit. Additionally, it will grant him many other benefits like higher access to the Arcane Grand Library, discounts on certain products, more job opportunities, and priority for certain resources.
'A 1000 merit. That's all the savings I used on my Aura Training.' Chris did not expect his act of kindness to reward him to such an extent. The next day, he flew to a ceremony with a few others who received the same title.
The event was broadcast to the nation, and Empress Olivier attended the ceremony and even shook hands with everyone: this was a day Chris would never forget.
—-Scene Break—--
A year passed, and today was Chris' graduation. The ceremony took place in Academy City, making Chris very excited to visit the site known as "the cradle of civilization" since ordinary citizens are now allowed to a place like this.
And when he landed, he began to look around. He gazed at the hundreds of towers looming over the entire city. His gaze twinkled as he daydreamed of owning one of these towers one day.
"I will have my own tower," he muttered to himself. He only had a short time for sightseeing, so he did not waste the opportunity. He visited the place he had the authority to. Chris suddenly noticed an increase in the number of undead in this place.
It was not the first time he had made these observations since he had recently noticed them becoming more popular. There are more media, like movies, games, books, etc., about them. And most portrayed them on a positive note.
Chris felt something was fishy. Undead like vampires and ghosts were normal in the Empire. Only creatures like Dementors and Inferi were not as socially accepted. However, recently, there has been a lot of research on the possibility of integrating these creatures into society.
Chris shook his head to continue his tour. The Empire was in a state of mobilization, with an all-out war on the horizon. He did not want to think about these topics. For today, he only wanted to relax.
After the tour, Chris proceeded to the graduation and received his diploma. Nothing exciting occurred. Afterward, he met with one of his friends, his only friend, Jerrard. They had a meal at a restaurant.
Typically. Chris was not the type of person to easily make friends. However, Dr. King warned him about acting asocial like most Arcanists.
"Chris, you never told me if you received any offers?" asked Jerrard.
"I did. I'm going to work for the Military," replied Chris. He found a job programming for the spaceships of the Space Fleet. "It's a hard job involving a lot of secrecy, but it's a high pay and room for promotion." Chris's salary had increased by at least seven times compared to his previous job.
However, what pleased him the most was the probability increase of acquiring more merit. According to his calculation, he only needed 37 years to save enough to buy his potion–and that's only by doing his job and with no other opportunities.
"You're top 30 in the class. I should expect you to get such a good job," Jerrard commented with slight envy.
"What about you?"
"I've got an offer from a small Virtual Reality Game Design Company, and I will take it."
"That's not bad considering your grade." Jerrard was the kind of man who liked to enjoy himself. As such, he missed a lot of classes even though they were online. Luckily, he bonded with Chris over cars while trying to borrow notes.
"Have you heard of the Universe Web?" asked Jerrard.
"No. What's that?"
"It's basically the internet used by the entire universe. It's a prevalent form of communication outside of the Empire. Recently, it has begun to gain traction."
"Is it safe?"
"That, I don't know. What I do know is that it is a method that the Empire cannot monitor–unlike Skynet. So, many people are now using it for this reason."
Chris frowned. He knew the power of the web with data gathering. And when magic and spiritual power get involved, things become even more complex. So, he is weary of this kind of foreign thing.
Yes, the Skynet is heavily monitored. However, Chris can argue that it's being used in the people's best interest. Even if that was not true, so far, there has been no evidence to suggest otherwise.
However, when it came to this Universe Web, he did not know who was in control of it and what purpose they were using it. He knew for sure it was not in the interest of the Empire's citizens.
"What's the government's stand on this thing?"
"Nothing. They haven't stopped or condoned it. They just let it be."
"I'll research it before deciding whether to get one."
Jerrard nodded and did not push the subject anymore. He knew his friend was somewhat of a royalist and quite patriotic. Luckily, he was not one of these patriotic people who refused to accept any criticism of the Empire.
After chatting for a while, Chris returned home, preparing for his employment. He had to pack since the job was on another planet. A week later, he hopped on a military spaceship to his destination.
Time passed, ten years to be exact. Edward had returned home, but it was not announced to the public yet.
(AN: I know I said Chris' story would end in this chapter. But the chapter was longer than expected. It will end in the next. I promise.)