"Whatever it was, it made him stronger. Significantly stronger than before."
Micheal’s voice shook slightly.
"Look at how the soldiers are reacting. That’s an A rank Major General looking at Damian like he’s dangerous. A rank looking at a student our age, like he’s dangerous."
The room fell into troubled silence as they continued watching.
None of them had anything else to say.
Challenging Damian Valcor had gone from potentially dangerous to absolutely suicidal in the space of one broadcast.
****
[Student Council Chamber - Stormhold Academy]
Elizabeth Murdock sat in her presidential chair, her violet eyes calm as she watched Damian erge from the portal on the main display screen.
Unlike during the Demon attack, where she’d been panicked and frantically checking possible futures, she appeared completely composed now.
Gareth Cross stood nearby, his massive arms crossed, his expression neutral but his eyes tracking every movent on screen.
Arielle Voss, Liam Evergreen and the remaining council mbers present with the second-years already deployed to their first battlefield mission, watched with varying degrees of shock.
"...You’re not surprised."
Liam observed, noting Elizabeth’s complete lack of reaction to Damian’s ergence.
"You knew he would survive."
"Of course he would survive."
Elizabeth’s voice carried certainty as her mind was occupied with the visions she had regarding Damian in the past.
’He’s soone whose entire existence – both lives – has been engineered by beings so powerful I can’t even glimpse their nature with my seer abilities. They don’t invest that much manipulation and preparation into soone just to let them die in a C grade portal.’
She leaned back, watching Damian’s casual confidence on screen.
"I learned my lesson during the Demon attack. My visions regarding Junior Damian are unreliable at best and actively misleading at worst. So instead of trying to predict his fate through precognition, I trust my intuition."
"...And your intuition said he’d survive?"
"My intuition said he’d thrive... There’s a difference."
Elizabeth gestured to the screen showing Damian radiating power.
"Just look at him... That’s not soone who barely escaped with their life. That’s soone who conquered the challenge and ca back stronger for it."
The council watched in silence as the broadcast continued, showing military personnel’s nervous reactions, the cracked ground, the oppressive pressure.
Liam broke the quiet with a comnt directed at Gareth.
"Well, Senior Gareth. Looks like that guy will be coming for his revenge soon. You ready to face whatever he’s beco?"
Gareth’s jaw tightened but he didn’t respond imdiately.
He was clearly thinking the sa in his mind, comparing what he rembered of beating Damian months ago to what he was seeing now.
The gap had widened... Significantly.
"I don’t know if I can beat him now."
Gareth’s admission was quiet but honest.
Elizabeth’s gaze fixed on Gareth, her expression conveying multiple layers of aning.
’Be careful. He’s grown beyond what you can handle. Don’t antagonize him again.’
Arielle noticed sothing else and spoke up.
"Is Mara alright? She looks..."
Everyone turned to look at Mara Kestrel, the council mber who’d insulted Damian months ago and received his punishnt.
Her face was twisted with venomous hatred, her hands clenched so tight her nails drew blood, her eyes fixed on the screen with pure loathing.
She’d clearly never forgiven or forgotten that humiliation.
And seeing Damian return stronger, more powerful and more untouchable than before only made the hatred burn brighter.
Nobody comnted on it directly, but everyone filed it away as a potential problem.
Hatred that intense rarely stayed contained forever.
****
[Multiple News Networks - Simultaneous Broadcasts]
"BREAKING NEWS: Damian Valcor, the sixteen-year-old Academy student who gained fa fighting Demons two months ago, has erged alive from the portal that appeared in Norrington City!"
The anchor’s voice carried excitent and shock in equal asure.
"Initial reports from survivors indicate that over one thousand Giant warriors were inside the portal dinsion. Previously, all Military analysts had assud all humans pulled through would be killed within days."
"Instead, ten survivors erged, and they claim that Damian Valcor personally eliminated the majority of the Giant force. We’re receiving unconfird reports suggesting he killed hundreds of Giants in single combat!"
The broadcast shifted to show footage of Damian’s ergence, ground cracking beneath his feet, pressure radiating visibly.
"Look at that display of physical power! Military consultants are saying the pressure he’s radiating exceeds what most B rank awakeners can produce, despite Valcor being only C- rank according to Academy records!"
"This young man has now survived two encounters that should have been fatal. The Demon attack on his train. Two months trapped in a hostile portal dinsion with one thousand enemy warriors. Both tis he not only survived but eliminated the threats!"
Another network cut to analysis panels with forr military officers and awakener specialists.
"What we’re seeing here represents a fundantal shift in our understanding of what young awakeners can achieve with proper motivation and survival pressure."
"Damian Valcor turned sixteen years old while trapped inside that portal. Sixteen years old and already displaying combat capabilities that rival veteran hunters. This is unprecedented in modern Federation history!"
"The question everyone’s asking now: What are his limits? How strong will he beco given more ti and experience?"
The broadcasts continued, every major network covering the story with millions of people across the Federation watching replays of Damian’s ergence.
His na was trending across every social platform. His image appeared on every news site.
Analysis pieces were already being written about what his sudden rise ant for the future of human awakener developnt.
Damian Valcor had beco, without seeking it, one of the most famous people in the entire Federation.
****
[Unknown Location - Secure Office]
The room was elegant but understated, expensive furnishings arranged with taste rather than ostentation, walls lined with books and artifacts from various periods of post-portal history.
A middle-aged man sat behind a massive desk, his appearance was completely unremarkable – average height, average build and forgettable features that made him blend into any crowd.
But his eyes carried weight that spoke of decisions affecting billions of lives, and his presence radiated authority that had nothing to do with physical power.
He watched the holographic display showing Damian’s ergence, his expression thoughtful.
"Gia. Is this the sa child who fought those Demons on the train two months ago?"
The air shimred, and a translucent holographic figure materialized – a woman’s form composed of light and data with her features hidden.
This was Gia, the main consciousness of the Admin AI that maintained surveillance and data analysis across the entire Earth Federation.
"Indeed, Chairman. That’s Damian Valcor. Sixteen years old. First-year student at Stormhold Academy. Adopted son of Alaric and Lyandra Valcor. This is his second major incident in two months."
The Chairman leaned back in his chair, fingers steepled beneath his chin.
"Two major incidents. Both involving Monster species that shouldn’t have been able to reach him. First, Demons managed to breach portal dinsions to attack a civilian train route. Now a new portal forming in a city center for the first ti in years, specifically in the location where he was traveling."
"The probability of random coincidence is statistically negligible. Analysis suggests deliberate targeting or manipulation of events surrounding this individual."
"Yet you’ve detected no specific actors responsible for these incidents."
"Correct. Whoever or whatever is orchestrating these events operates beyond my detection capabilities. That alone suggests involvent of entities at the highest power tiers."
The Chairman studied Damian’s image on the screen, noting the confidence, the power and the complete lack of fear despite being surrounded by military forces.
"He’s also the student who’s been causing disruptions at the Stormhold Academy. Building a criminal organization across the Central region as well. Challenging Noble authority and creating alternative power structures. The Imperial families have been asking to intervene."
"Do you intend to?"
A slight smile crossed the Chairman’s unremarkable face.
"No. The Imperial families have had unchallenged control for too long. They’ve grown complacent, corrupt and inefficient. A disruptive elent forcing them to adapt or fail serves the Federation’s interests better than maintaining stagnant hierarchy."
"Even if that disruptive elent becos a threat himself?"
"If he becos a genuine threat to humanity’s survival, we deal with him then. But forcing the Nobles to actually compete, actually prove their worth instead of coasting on family nas? That’s healthy for society as a whole."
The Chairman continued watching as Damian requested clothing with casual disregard for military protocol.
"Besides, his adoptive parents are the Twin Terrors. That connection alone provides significant political insulation. Nobody wants to provoke the military by targeting their son without overwhelming justification."
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