Kill the Sun Chapter 987 Duskbringer

A man's eyes snapped open.

The moment his vision cleared, a torrent of memories surged into his consciousness. These were recollections that belonged to someone else—the history of a completely different existence.

Scanning his surroundings, the man's perception rippled outward, encompassing everything nearby.

'The time has come,' he realized. 'The Nightmare has been slain.'

He thrust his arms outward with explosive force.

BOOOM!

The statue of the Duskbringer shattered into fragments, revealing a living man who was the perfect image of the stone monument. A moment later, he descended to the ground, his naked form landing softly on the floor.

Violent tremors were currently ripping through the entirety of Starbreaker Base.

For a brief interval, the man simply inspected his physical form.

'I look like myself,' he mused. 'Or rather, my other self. Nick. I am Nick. I possess every memory of my life and every action I have ever taken.'

As the weight of Nick’s life settled into his mind, an overwhelming wave of remorse crashed over him. He was no Specter; his heart was not cold, and his feelings were not suppressed.

'I have committed such horrific atrocities,' he thought, before a counter-thought struck him. 'No, I didn't. That wasn't me. Nick was the one responsible for those deeds, and I am not him. I am a synthetic human, nurtured within this amniotic chamber for millennia. I am the Duskbringer.'

The Duskbringer clutched his head in his hands.

'That distinction provides no comfort! Logic and emotion are rarely in sync. I am haunted by the memories of crimes I never personally carried out! Why should I feel this crushing guilt for things I didn't do? And yet, the pain is there! Nick! Why did you burden me with these memories, Nick?!'

'I understand that your choices were necessary. I know you sacrificed everything for the sake of mankind. I even agree with your path—after all, I am you! But how does that change anything?!'

The foundations of Starbreaker Base shook with increasing violence. The Duskbringer ground his teeth, caught between fury and despair.

'I cannot waste time drowning in self-pity. The others require my aid.'

In an instant, the Duskbringer synchronized with his purely biological vessel. Unlike the Nightmen, he possessed no genetic connection to the Nightmare. He was untainted—the pinnacle of human evolution.

Channeling his Pure Energy, he tightened his grip. The sensation of this power was foreign to him. His mind remembered the traits of a Specter and the vast strength of the Ninth Realm, but he was now inhabiting an unfamiliar body fueled by an entirely different source of power. Furthermore, his current strength dwarfed his previous limits.

'Thirty percent of all Pure Energy accumulated over the last ten thousand years has been funneled into me. I am the ultimate combatant created by human hands—humanity's final fail-safe. Should the Nightmen ever refuse to coexist with ordinary humans, I am the one who will discipline them.'

The Duskbringer doubled his fists, causing the whole of Starbreaker Base to vibrate in response.

'I have only just been born. My Soul has barely bonded with this flesh, yet the survival of the human race already rests upon my shoulders.'

Despite his inner turmoil, the Duskbringer rapidly mastered his new capabilities. His formidable intellect allowed him to adapt within a mere two seconds.

With a casual motion of his hand, dark garments materialized to cover his body. He then looked down at his right arm, hesitating for a split second before a fist weapon formed over his limb.

'I am not Nick, and I have no desire to be him. However, my only combat expertise involves the use of a fist weapon.'

He tilted his head back, staring at the ceiling.

'This is typical of you, Nick. You left me these memories for a specific purpose. You wanted me to be haunted by guilt so that I would never turn my back on humanity. But it was pointless! I am you! Would you ever betray our race? Do you truly believe guilt is the only thing that ensures a man does what is right? I would have protected humanity even without this curse of memory! Even at the end, you understood nothing. You died believing you were nothing more than an unredeemable monster.'

The Duskbringer was torn by a storm of conflicting feelings. He felt a deep-seated resentment toward Nick for the burden of memory and the weight of destiny, yet he couldn't help but feel a sense of awe for him.

'If I am Nick, then I have fallen prey to my own schemes. I forced countless innocents to endure suffering for the greater good. As a being who has just entered this world, I should be the very definition of innocence. Instead, I am plagued by remorse for sins I have not committed. If I am Nick, then I have transformed myself into an innocent casualty. The pain I inflicted on humanity is now being inflicted on me.'

His thoughts circled in a paradoxical loop. The situation was an unsolvable enigma.

'I despise you, Nick. But I also respect you. I am not you, yet I am you. I know exactly who you are, but I have no idea who I am.'

BANG!

The Duskbringer erupted through the ceiling as if it were made of paper. In the blink of an eye, his form vanished. As a being composed of Pure Energy, he didn't truly disappear; rather, he became completely undetectable to sight, sound, and energy detection. He had achieved a state similar to the thin General.

He reached the surface of the Earth unnoticed. Looking up, he gazed at the genuine night sky for the very first time. At that moment, a colossal detonation occurred in the distance.

'That was the moon,' the Duskbringer realized. 'You did it, Nick. You always demanded that others lay down their lives for the cause, and in the end, you did the same. At the very least, you weren't a hypocrite.'

He launched himself into the atmosphere. As he ascended, he witnessed Daniel strike down the burly General. Seeing this triggered a flood of emotions and memories that weren't his own. He recalled watching Daniel's growth and his rise to power.

Now, a Nightman had given his life for the sake of humanity. Such a sacrifice seemed inconceivable, yet Daniel had made it a reality.

'I wasn't even required,' the Duskbringer thought. 'You should have placed more faith in the Nightmen, Nick.'

The Duskbringer then focused his attention on the thin General, tracking him as he moved through the hidden folds of space. A moment later, the Duskbringer vanished once more.