"I grew up in an orphanage".

That first sentence alone made Leon secretly narrow his eyes. 'This guy… he's not wary of being vulnerable in front of me'.

'He's either very mentally resilient or he's a psychopath'.

Lucian leaned back on the chair, looking up at the ceiling of the underground facility of Leon's dream as he continued.

"Till I was 12, I didn't know who my biological parents were but I didn't care because living in the orphanage was beautiful". He smiled.

"Then, life was simple and happy".

"The days were bright and lively," his smile turned nostalgic. "I had a lot of friends and I had 2 bestfriends then, Ivy and John".

"Together, we terrorized our other siblings, causing a lot of mischief".

"Then, Sister Mariah was my mother". He chuckled. "She always preferred us calling her Sister Mariah, but to me, she was Mother Mariah".

"According to her, one day they simply found me at the doorstep of the orphanage in a basket. No note, no sentiment, just me".

Lucian shrugged. "I didn't ask, Sister Mariah didn't ask either, she just took me in. Then, I wasn't even a year old yet and the rest was history".

"As I grew up among my siblings in the orphanage, Sister Mariah taught us scriptures of the Holy Records. We learned that our orphanage is an extension of the Reclaimer Church".

"When I was 10, Sister Mariah taught us for the very first time Scripture Fragment 3:7, the Five Aspects of Divine Restoration".

Lucian smiled. "It was my first experience with the divine blueprint. Translated from High Binary by Sister Amaris, it explained what sinners know as the 5 Classes, but we know it as the 5 Aspects of Restoration".

He counted. "The Mechanist- the Hand of Rebuild".

"The NetRunner- the Voice in the Wires".

"The Gene Augur- the Flesh Rewritten".

"The Cyber Gladiator- the Shield of Resolve".

"And the Quantum Shaper- the Breath of the Divine".

"When Sister Mariah taught us, I remember being filled with wonder that day. And on that day, I vowed that I'll become a wielder of the restoration power so I can protect my siblings and Sister Mariah".

Lucian laughed. "Back then I always used to think after I grow up and become an Ascended, I'll prove that I can protect Sister Mariah and ask for her hand in marriage".

"Simple times". He smiled.

"By age 10, most of my closest siblings that I grew up with were already adopted. I didn't want to be adopted. I loved the orphanage, I didn't want to leave but Sister Mariah persuaded me".

"Before my adoption though, I finally learned about my family".

Lucian's expression became impassive. "After investigations, the orphanage found no information about my father and who he was but they found information about my mother. She was a famous prostitute".

"Maybe I'm the son of one of her hundreds of customers".

"I didn't feel anything when I learned the truth. To me, Sister Mariah was always my mother".

"At age 12, I got adopted". Lucian took a deep breath. "And that's when the green phase of my life ended".

"The orphanage always does a thorough background check before allowing adoptions, I don't know how my adoptive father managed to evade the checks. Unknown to the orphanage, he was a slave trafficker".

"After leaving the orphanage, I entered a car and was taken to a big mansion. After that, all I saw was darkness, mold, and hunger".

"I was not alone, there were other kids like me trapped in the mansion. Then, I didn't even realize what was going on". He laughed.

"Later, they took us away from the mansion on buses. I didn't know how long we traveled because we were drugged".

"When I woke up, I found myself inside a subterranean Gene lab". Lucian calmly looked at Leon. "That's where I spent the next 3 years of my life".

"I was kept in that gene lab as a test subject for experiments".

"There were hundreds of other slaves like me".

"We were fed strange food, strange fluids were injected into our bodies, we were tortured and experimented on, and that's where I became a Quantum Shaper," he smiled. "That's where I was also infused with multiple DNAs".

"Out of the hundreds of test subjects, I was the only one who was able to accept more than 2 racial DNAs".

Leon quietly stared at Lucian.

Lucian shrugged. "That answers your question. Don't mind me, I always love telling my story like this to converts who embrace the divine blueprint".

"It reminds me of where I'm coming from".

"It's a story of resilience that no matter what circumstances life throws at you, you can still survive and make it out".

Leon stared at Lucian darkly. "How did you escape?"

Lucian calmly looked at him, then he smiled again. "I fought my way out".

He elaborated. "Most slaves were not as lucky as me. They were not resilient enough, most of them died during the experiments but a lot of them also died in the quiet nights together when we dreamt of the world outside".

"Sickness took some, some died right next to me in the cold hard floor where we slept, quietly sobbing in their final moments".

"As for me, the experiments didn't break me, they turned me into this". He grinned.

"The result of their experiments exceeded even their expectations, they created a perfect vessel for God's crusade".

"After I became an E Rank Quantum Shaper, I killed them all, including the guards and escaped".

"When I reached the surface after killing everybody, I saw the Endless Ocean for the first time and I saw the cities in the wall".

"Later, I learned that the prison where I was tortured and experimented on for 3 years was in the territory of the Omnicore Federation".

Leon was taken aback. "You escaped at the age of 15?"

"Yes".

Leon's face turned solemn as he asked. "You became an E Rank Quantum Shaper at the age of 15?"

Lucian nodded. "Yes".

Leon's brain whirred, he hesitated slightly but then he pursed his lips and asked. "How old are you now?"

"19".

"…" Leon shuddered.

He hissed quietly, struggling to keep a straight face.

Leon was stunned. 'The Demon of Ozempic is a 19 year old?'

'Just what kind of world is this? How did this world turn a 19 year old into… into this?' His eyelids twitched in shock and disbelief.

He stared at the middle-aged face filled with scars that was staring back at him, he scrutinized the face that seemed to belong to a man who was in his 40s.

In that moment, he felt sudden rage bubble in him but when this same face aligned with the face that he'd seen in so many live videos, slaughtering people in cold blood, his emotions became complicated.

"Is that why you hate Synths and A.I Constructs so much?"

Lucian shook his head. "I don't do what I do out of personal feelings. After escaping, I was lost and needed redemption so I came to Leviathan Quay and joined the Cathedral of the church".

"I spent a year here in Saint Serena Cathedral, and that was when I received God's calling to be his Prophet".

Getting to this point, Lucian revealed a grimace of pain.

"What?" Leon asked.

Lucian shrugged. "Not everyone understands the sacrifices that I make and the true nature of God's mandate. When I approached Sister Mariah and told her of God's calling, I thought she'd understand me and approve it but she didn't".

Lucian took a deep breath and sighed. "She reported me to the church and even the church didn't understand".

"They reported me to the authorities".

"For Sister Mariah, I don't mind being captured and spending the rest of my life in prison but despite how much I love her, I love God more".

"For God's mandate, I had to escape and do his will".

"I killed all the police officers that came after me but as I was escaping, Sister Mariah held me back, determined to stop me," Lucian sighed. "So I had to kill her".

Hearing that, Leon shuddered as he felt a chill run down his spine.

He blinked. "You killed your mother?"

Lucian looked at him. "It's the hardest thing that I've ever had to do, but for God, I had to kill her".

And in that moment, Leon no longer saw just a tortured, maltreated, and traumatized 19-year-old, instead he saw the Demon of Ozempic.

Leon didn't respond as he just stared at Lucian, his eyes unblinking. 'Ah, f*ck! F*CK! Why am I feeling like this?'

He opened his mouth to talk but then he closed it, he opened his mouth again but just as he was about to talk, the world around him suddenly revealed cracks.

CRKSH!

Lucian looked at the cracks. "Oh, it seems you're about to wake up".

"Thomas Riley, right? Is that even your real name?" Lucian smiled. "I hope as a true divine human, you also understand God's will".

"I hope you join me in my quest to change this world for God".

The world finally fractured and shattered into fragments.

…

Blink!

Leon finally woke up.

When he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was Lucian who sat across him on top a wooden chair.

'We're no longer in the same subterranean chamber'. This was the first observation that Leon made and his heart fell.

They were inside another subterranean chamber.

At this moment, he was tied and subdued with thick and heavy black chains. His teammates were tied up just like him. The 3 Lieutenants- Johnmark, Cormier, and Ryan were already awake before Leon as they coldly stared at the terrorists.

They also stared at Leon with complicated looks on their faces; it seemed that they knew that Lucian entered his dream to communicate with him.

Standing behind Lucian were his 4 Holy Champions. This time, they were not wearing masks as they revealed their faces in front of them.

Lucian smiled at him and introduced. "Thomas, this is Xena". He pointed at the only female terrorist among his Holy Champions, the E Rank NetRunner.

"This is Ramirez, Jake, and Blake".

"According to what I know, you and Jake already met each other before".

Leon quietly stared at them, taking in their appearances then he asked. "Where's my other companion?"

"Oh, the girl?" Lucian casually looked around. "She's here somewhere. According to Xena, she's somehow hiding in plain sight in the data streams of my gene laboratory".

"Compared to you guys, transporting her here with us was a bit more tedious but Xena managed to do it".

Leon took a deep breath to calm his raging emotions, then he asked. "What do you intend to do to us?"

Lucian's face became calm and impassive as he said. "I'll spare you but as for the others, they're the next piece in my plan to convert this city for God".

"I'll make another live video around 9am and that's when it'll happen".

Leon didn't look at them but he could feel the hidden anxiety coming from his teammates though they didn't want to show any weakness in front of the terrorists.

And again, Leon confirmed that he wasn't talking with a wimpy 19-year-old but the Demon of Ozempic.

He bit his lips and looked at the thick chains restraining them. It didn't exactly lock their ADE, but it suppressed them from exerting any force or power.

It was impossible to escape.

Leon raised his head with difficulty and looked at Lieutenant Johnmark.

The Lieutenant didn't show any clear emotion on his face but Leon could tell that deep down, he didn't want to die.

'F*ck!' He thought.

His brain whirred, thinking of different ideas but shackled by the terrorists, no plan seemed feasible. 'F*CK!'

After a few minutes of thinking as the terrorists conversed among themselves in hushed voices, Leon looked at Lucian and asked. "What is the time currently?"

"12 minutes past 6".

"Lucian," Leon suddenly called, then he hesitated. "Did your God really tell you to be doing all these and killing people?"

Lucian calmly looked at him. "Sinners are stubborn. Sometimes to convince them, you have to use violence and force".

"They don't realize that I'm trying to save their souls". He shook his head in lamentation. "It's repent or die".

Lucian stood up to leave.

Seeing this, Leon gritted his teeth then he blurted out. "What kind of a God is your God?"

Lucian looked at him and smiled. "He's benevolent, he's all-powerful, he's…"

"What kind of benevolent God pushes you to kill?" Leon retorted. "What kind of benevolent God makes you kill your own mother?"

"Can't you see the contradiction in your belief?"

"If he's truly all-powerful, why doesn't he just overpower the world and make everyone his believers? Why does he need you to kill people you love? Why does he need you to commit homicide?"

Lucian looked at Leon, then he answered seriously. "Because he's God and because it's his will".

"F*ck!" Leon cursed and as Lucian turned to walk away, he laughed. "You God is a pathetic and puny God".

"Heresy!" Xena flared up in anger as her ADE erupted but Lucian calmly stopped her with a raised hand.

He smiled. "Leave him, he'll come around. We just need to teach him".

As Lucian walked away, Leon laughed again. "And here I was thinking you're deserving of redemption".

His voice turned deep as he growled. "I'll kill you myself, I promise".

Lucian was unfazed. "Goodluck doing that".

Leon smirked. "You think those racial traits of yours are going to protect you against me? You truly underestimate me".

As Leon spoke, his grayish white ADE suddenly flared and instantly, the terrorists except Lucian tensed up as they stared at him.

Lucian looked at him and smiled in an amused manner. "What are you doing?"

"Guess," Leon smiled back at him.

When Lucian could not guess, Leon yawned and said. "Are you dumb? I'm trying to escape".

Unfazed, Lucian said. "Goodluck".

With that, the terrorists left but knowing that they were definitely being watched, the soldiers didn't engage in any conversation.

They simply awaited what fate had in store for them.

…

Hours later, the terrorists returned and the live video started!

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