In the remote conference room of Solendel and Aegis Industries, the atmosphere was heavy, as if an immense pressure was bearing down on everyone's shoulders. The central hologram screen no longer displayed the blueprint of the 'Runic Gate,' but was now filled with images of chaos from the planet Aerysia...
News feeds from every outlet blared with headlines designed to incite terror: "Mysterious Man Goes Berserk! Uses Unknown Power to Burn Down City Bar!", "A New Threat? Super-powered Humans Are Real!", "Government Demands Explanation from Aegis Industries After Perpetrator is Identified as Former Employee."
The social network feeds were even worse... The clip of Marcus's incident was shared millions of times, accompanied by conspiracy theories and comments filled with hatred. "They're demons!" "Round them up and experiment on them all!" "This is the end of humanity!"
"Fear spreads faster than a virus," Lina reported, her voice tense. "Public confidence in new technology has dropped by 73% in less than three hours."
"We're becoming public enemies... without even having started anything," Karess murmured from behind his mask.
Silence fell... everyone knew this was a crisis that could destroy everything they had built in the blink of an eye.
The Decision: Flipping the Board
"We cannot retreat," Sylvester Polaris said, shattering the silence. His voice was cold and decisive. "The more we stay silent... the more fear will consume the people... Since the fire has been lit... we must be the ones to control its direction."
He turned the screen to face Zen directly. "Zen... you are the face of Solendel. You are the one who must speak to them."
Zen looked up. The confusion that had been in his eyes was now replaced with a firm, unwavering resolve. "I agree, sir... We won't let the media paint us as villains... We will 'hold a press conference' ourselves."
Zaria looked at the man she loved with understanding. "Are you going to tell them the whole truth?"
"The truth... in a version they are ready to hear," Zen replied. "We will give them hope... not fear. We will give them a way forward... not a dead end."
A plan was formulated with lightning speed through the thought-waves connected by Sora... It was a reckless and incredibly risky plan... but it was the only way to turn this crisis into an opportunity.
...A few hours later, every communication channel on Aerysia and its surrounding colonies... from the galactic news stations to the holographic billboards on the streets... was hijacked by an emergency live broadcast from Aegis Industries.
The image that appeared was of a young man in simple, clean white clothes... Zencal Kaelen... He stood alone on a minimalist stage, but behind him, the emblem of Solendel Corporation shone with a dignified light.
"Good evening... citizens of Aerysia," Zen began, his voice calm and sincere. "My name is Zencal Kaelen... President and Founder of Solendel Corporation."
"I know that many of you are confused... and afraid... about the incident that occurred last night, and from the images you have seen through the media. Today, I am not here to make excuses... I am here to 'explain the truth'."
"Several weeks ago... my team, along with 185 other personnel working on a new planet... experienced an unexplainable phenomenon... A blinding flash of light covered the entire planet... and when we awoke... we were no longer the same... We had 'awakened' with powers beyond our understanding."
He paused for a moment, letting the shocking information sink in.
"We were afraid... no different from how you feel right now. But instead of drowning in fear... we chose to study and understand it... We created the 'Sora System'... not to control... but to be a 'map' and a 'compass' for this new journey."
A hologram appeared beside Zen, displaying the familiar interface of the Tier and Rank system.
"And today... we offer this 'map' to every one of you."
"From now on... our society will have a 'Mission System'. For any ordinary citizen who needs help... whether it's something as small as finding a lost cat, or something as big as hiring a bodyguard for interstellar travel... you can register a 'request' through the Solendel application or the Sora System."
The hologram changed, showing an easy-to-use quest creation screen, complete with rewards and difficulty levels.
"And for the 'awakened,' or anyone who wants to help others by using their abilities to aid them... you can register with us as a 'mission taker'... When you successfully complete a mission, you will not only receive compensation... but you will also receive 'reputation' and 'honor' through our Tier system."
"And the higher your Tier, the more access you'll have to new technologies and information that we will be offering."
The screen showed the mission taker's interface, where they could browse nearby quests. And most importantly... next to the mission taker's name, was their 'Rank' (e.g., G, F, E...) and their Tier (e.g., Rookie, Agent, Operator...).
"You can always check the 'Rank' or 'Tier' of a mission taker, for your own safety and peace of mind... The higher their Rank and Tier... the more credibility and experience they have."
"This is the new society we will build together... a society where the powered and the powerless are not divided... but a society where we can help and rely on each other... Power is not a curse... it is an 'opportunity' to make our world better."
Then, the image cut to Sylvester Polaris, standing on the other side of the stage.
"In the name of Aegis Industries," Sylvester said with a firm voice, "we hereby certify... that Solendel Corporation and all the systems they have created... are transparent, secure, and built for the true benefit of the public... We will invest in and fully support this project."
Zen stepped back to the center of the stage.
"We didn't choose for this to happen... but we choose to face it with hope... Come, build this new future with us."
The live broadcast cut out... Silence fell over the entire planet of Aerysia for a moment... ...before the sound of change began...
On the screen of the Solendel service center... the first mission request appeared: "Urgent! Need help getting a balloon that floated up to the top of the Aegis tower down for my son... Offering 50 credits!"
At the same time... in a small rented room somewhere... Marcus, who had been sitting in despair before his holo-cam... had seen the entire broadcast... The emptiness in his eyes... was slowly replaced by a spark of 'hope' for the first time... He looked at his own palm... the power that had once brought fear... now... might just become his path to 'redemption'.
The world may not have been ready... but it had already begun... with a new hope, lit amidst the ashes of fear.