The Phantoms.
Everyone knew about the Phantoms, but not everybody had encountered them, even if they were people from the First Ring.
Sure, there were always Phantoms around Adam since he himself was a Phantom and the sa was true for anyone who was associated with Dead Lands.
Thus many people could hear about the Phantoms a thousand tis, see them in the dia, and watch videos involving them, but never et one.
It was mostly just a matter of luck, compared to ordinary people, there were very few Phantoms.
So for a 14-year-old girl to et a Phantom was a great deal of luck, especially considering that this restaurant was in an area far away from big cities.
"Co in again..." Silvana muttered as she watched Ceska and Evor leave the restaurant. The rain had stopped by then, giving way to a calm evening.
From that mont on, Silvana began to study Phantoms, monsters, and Dead Lands more intensely.
Watching her mories, Adam saw that Silvana spent hours on the computer doing nothing more than searching for information about the Phantoms. Finding different things about the Phantoms, reading countless forums, and scrolling through videos.
Naturally, Silvana soon learned not only about Phantoms and monsters but also about Operators, Military, Harvesters, Blacksmiths, and so on.
Like everyone in Silvana's place, for a mont she had a thought:
'Wait... Maybe I can beco a Phantom like Evor?'
Her eyes lit up with excitent. Anyway, all the common people had heard and knew too much about the capabilities and powers of the Phantoms to want to beco one.
However, Silvana's cold temper and calculating mind quickly brought her back to normal. Well, in this case, it was a few weeks.
Silvana continued to study the materials and every few days Ceska and Evor ca to their restaurant.
She waited for them, so she always managed to be the waiter who took their order. Every ti the situation was the sa: Ceska would take one drink and a dessert, and Evor would make half the kitchen work for him to satisfy his appetite.
The first ti Silvana was taken by surprise, but now she realized that it was normal.
'They always co closer to evening, perhaps after training or even a mission... Phantoms need a lot more energy than normal humans, so Evor's appetite is understandable.'
That sa evening, sitting in her room, Silvana sighed heavily and shook her head.
'No, being a Phantom is definitely not for . The powers and unique abilities are certainly enticing, but... I just can't help but think of the risks. Phantom life has a downside...' Silvana muttered, opening one of the videos.
However, these weren't the popular clips from the website everyone knew, where the Phantom was colorfully destroying monsters under a professional edit.
Silvana went to the Mission Departnt website, where anyone could find most of the footage in its original form, without editing, and... with real fights rather than specially selected ones.
Three hours later, Silvana's face was as pale as a sheet of paper, her lips trembling and her eyes deeper, much deeper than a 14-year-old girl's should be.
"Fuck... How could anyone want to be a Phantom after that...?"
In those long, very long three hours, Silvana had seen what happened in normal missions instead of incredibly successful ones and what resulted when Phantoms couldn't defeat monsters.
She saw how the monsters tore the Phantoms apart, how they scread and begged for help, the hellish pain on their faces, and the pleas of their Operators.
At the Dead Lands not only Phantoms were dying, it was a shock to Silvana to see how many military and Harvesters were dying even in missions that were labeled as successful.
Silvana realized that it was a tragedy for everyone, but... for so reason, she felt sorry for the Phantoms the most.
"I can't believe it..."
She whispered pressing her palm to her chest.
"Phantoms... We re humans think their life is paradise, that they enjoy a luxurious life in the Citadel and, in excitent, with wide smiles on their faces fight against monsters killing them effortlessly thanks to their powers. But... this is only the smallest and brightest part of the dark reality."
Back then, Silvana was alone in her room, but since it was a mory, there was now one Phantom standing next to her.
None of this was new or unexpected to Adam, as he himself was the Phantom who had survived several tis in similar situations that most ordinary people would never know about.
Anyone, even a child, could go to the Mission Departnt website and see the missions uncensored, but who would do that?
To find out, one should take the ti to study and watch several long missions with their boring parts.
Most people just want to watch the colorful combat along with other videos while coming ho from work or in the evening to so snack like a short movie.
Therefore, only a person wanting to be a part of so departnt and be associated with Dead Lands would dive so deep into their studies.
Since that day, sothing about Silvana changed. She no longer looked at the Phantoms as heroes or super beings, to her they beca unfortunate souls that were forced to fight, each ti putting their lives at risk.
It also beca apparent to Silvana rather quickly that anything not related to Dead Lands was things of secondary significance.
'It doesn't matter how much experience you have or how many years you've spent studying... If the Departnts and Phantoms fail, if the monsters break through to the Citadel, then there's no point.'
Imrsed in thought, Silvana stood at the counter, waiting for the next custors to arrive at the restaurant.
And... she waited. Your next read awaits at My Virtual Library Empire
Crack.
The door opened as a tall man walked inside, followed by a girl, this ti Ceska was calm and quiet.
"Fuck..."
Evor muttered, holding the cigarette with two fingers and exhaling a thick puff of smoke.
"You can't smoke in here..."
Silvana's eyes went wide staring at Evor whose body was covered in blood and only half of his left arm was left above the elbow, clots of blood from the torn flesh one by one falling to the ground.
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