Liam looked at his hands with a blank expression. His gaze turned to Zancorix below him before focusing on his hands once more. They were perfect. From his fingernails to the proportions of his fingers, it was the pinnacle of a human form. Yet, he now felt that they weren’t enough. He felt as if he could be better. His perception enveloped the planet as he took in all of humanity at the same time. Every word spoken, every movement made, every emotion felt. Before, this was everything to him. It reminded him of what he fought for and what he should protect. It reminded him of where he had come from and where he wanted to go. Now, however, the scene was… Strange.

What is happening to me?

Ever since he and Cassandra decided to keep a bit of distance between them, he started spending more time alone. They still met and talked, but her focus was obviously on searching for purpose. Liam still had other people to turn to. He could spend time with Luweth, who was powerful enough to talk to him while curbing all of Salazar’s plans simultaneously, or with Arthur, his oldest friend. There was a multitude of others in his inner circle with whom he could further foster his relationship. In spite of all of that, he didn’t feel like talking to any of them.

His trembling eyes watched humanity’s behaviors on Zancorix. It felt foreign.

Floating in the void of space, completely alone, the Emperor of Humanity contemplated himself. He found no answers to any of his questions.

…

Liam stared at the scene in front of him with a hardened expression. He floated in the air, watching everything from above with clenched fists. Luweth stood next to him with experienced calmness, glancing at him from time to time.

Below, thousands upon thousands of humans fought against large beasts. They varied in size and shape, but they were all mindless, without exception. They were cannon fodder meant only to wear humanity down.

After their victory over the Valk and the Lampier, humanity threw itself at another war in less than a month. It happened both with the intent to test the knowledge they had acquired from Luweth and the Drakkhan and out of sheer desperation. The realization that Liam would die soon spread among his inner circle and caused their decisions to shift. Because of this change in the upper echelons, it was as if humanity had gained another layer of urgency.

Most people don’t have any idea why we’re trying to expand so hurriedly.

It meant that they weren’t as willing to fight. Their hesitation affected their actions. They didn’t know what they were fighting for, so self-preservation took over in full force. The number of people willing to die for a cause that was unknown was small. Virtually all of them were people who had developed blind faith in Liam. Luweth spoke.

“There are more people than I expected.”

Liam slowly nodded.

“They know I’m here.”

Liam’s mere presence was enough of a driving force to move the thousands of human soldiers. His perception zeroed in on an injured human. The woman was fighting against a several-meter-long wolf-like beast. Liam’s gaze effortlessly pierced through her armor, seeing the injuries beneath them. If left alone, she would bleed to death. She heaved as if she were on her last legs.

Liam blinked. Black Aura enveloped her body unnoticeably. Her injuries healed as if they were a lie. A smile appeared on her face. Her spear pierced forward with newfound might, digging into the animal’s left eye. It howled in pain. Luweth’s voice reached Liam’s ears.

“Are you sure that you want to keep doing that?”

“I’m not letting even a single human die.”

“You know that’s going to create bad habits. They’ll grow complacent. They will take your help for granted.”

“So be it. I’m already making a concession by allowing them to be injured at all. That’s as far as I’m willing to go. Nobody’s going to die.”

Liam’s perception enveloped the battlefield in its entirety. Every injured human was brought back from the brink of death. Soon, it became more than obvious that humanity’s numbers weren’t decreasing. The beasts roared and wailed but were mercilessly cut down. Mikhail’s flames and Olivia’s frost tore through their armies at an astonishing pace, while Alexander’s sword light killed hundreds of enemies per swing. Liam’s gaze was turned to the sky above the battle, a few kilometers ahead of him. Space bent as a ship appeared through a wormhole. Luweth chuckled.

“Looks like the masters finally arrived.”

The beasts were mere animals bred for battle. They weren’t part of the species humanity was trying to either conquer or exterminate. Tens of thousands of soldiers came spilling out of the ship. Liam took in their appearances with a blank expression. Around four meters tall each, the enemies were covered in gray armor, with helmets hiding their features. Their bodies were muscular and looked powerful even at a glance. It was obvious that they belonged to a species with much higher base stats than humanity. If they were allowed to run rampant, humanity would be defeated. Though none would die, they would make no progress whatsoever. In their current state, humans were unable to deal with those soldiers.

Liam sighed within his heart. Slowly, he waved his hand. The ship and soldiers simply disappeared. There was no shockwave, storm of Aura, or even any trace that they had been erased. They were turned to nothingness in complete silence. The man looked at the hand he had waved with a smaller emotional turmoil than he expected.

It’s getting easier.

He had already murdered droves of enemies several times. He had even annihilated entire species. The burden he felt should have increased the more he killed, and it did for a while, but no longer. Luweth glanced at him with wise eyes.

“…I’ve been thinking about this for a while now, but it’s a matter of course.”

Liam looked at him inquisitively. His eyes displayed his irritation. A matter of course? He didn’t wish to grow increasingly less sensitive to the lives he took.

“What do you mean?”

“Think about yourself. I mean it.”

“…I don’t get what you’re trying to say.”

Luweth shook his head.

“Your Perception has increased to unprecedented levels. Your power is so far above your own species’ that you can be considered an abnormality. Yet, for all this time, you remained human. You clung to your humanity desperately, trying to stay true to your roots. Your appearance changed, your power developed, but your emotions were never dulled.”

It was true. Liam was never gazed upon as if he were a stranger. In fact, because of Luweth’s efforts, he was considered to be the most human among humans. The essence of humanity, a man who was just as human as anyone else. It was an important image to maintain, especially in a universe filled with alien species.

“…You’re saying that’s changed.”

“What I think… Is that your Perception increased by too much.”

Liam opened his mouth but closed it again. The current conversation carried a mundane ton and happened in circumstances that didn’t allow for all of Liam’s attention to be focused on it, but the implications were great. Liam turned to the only one who could answer the question he now had.

Ulvir. Is it true?

A female voice rang within his head as its intentions were conveyed before the words were even spoken.

[The time you spent as a fictional being is clearly something you hold dear, and it composes the vast majority over your lifetime, but right now, you’re closer to reality than to fiction. Because it hasn’t been a long time since your Perception reached the value of 600, the consequences didn’t show themselves, but it looks like it’s finally happening.]

So this is something you expected?

Endless voices reached out to him.

[Do not be disheartened.]

[We accept your indignation and anger, but you must realize it is only natural.]

[Your perspective is changing.]

[The closer you get to your true self, the more distant you will feel from the world around you.]

Liam’s soul shivered. Ever so slowly, a complex mix of feelings pooled within his innermost depths. He felt as if everything around him had been frozen in time. The changes within him were instantaneous, as were the messages back and forth. Liam was lost in his own thoughts.

As if the realization that all of his relationships were “fictional” wasn’t enough, now he had discovered that the more powerful he became and the more time passed, the more estranged he would feel from them. His friends, his comrades, the love of his life. His relationships with them were now doomed.

I don’t want to become like the First Star and the Chaos beings.

From his mortal perspective, they were emotionless. He knew that they looked at reality the same way that Liam looked at a comic book, but even so, humans reacted to fictional worlds. They cried, rejoiced, and felt anger once they came in contact with different stories. The First Star and the Chaos beings seemed to feel nothing at all.

Liam rubbed his temples as time seemed to flow again.