Just leave them be, Adam. The only way people can learn is through pain. No. You, of all people, should know that isn’t true at all—there is nothing to learn from pain but despair and horror.

Adam’s hair danced over his eyes, hiding their glimmer as they reflected the map on his phone. The wind was still harshly blasting across his body.

"Forger, can you tell me about the Agility stat?!"

<Bitch. I am not Alexa. Did you call me just for that?>

"I also need you to find a way to make the crowd go home, just in case they don’t listen to me."

<Baby, just embrace it. Magical. Boom. Disney. Baby.>

"What...?"

<I’m saying you don’t have to be Jesus, darling. Be Walt Disney.>

"I don’t watch cartoons! I don’t know what that means!" Adam shook his head, getting his hair away from his face. "And I don’t want to embrace anything. I’m just... me."

<Uhm... am I supposed to be in this weird call? And who’s the queer-sounding boy?>

Another voice whispered in Adam’s ear—Clementine Rousseau.

<This queer-sounding boy, for your information, is a queen, baby girl.>

<...I’m seriously about to drop this call. What do you want, Adam?>

"I thought maybe you could connect me to the leader of the Church of Administrators?" Adam sighed, sounding a little exhausted and maybe apologetic.

<Oh, you’re calling about that. Yeah, Sylvie and I saw it. It’s... crazy. But what makes you think I’d know who the leader of the largest cult in the world is?>

"...You don’t? I can’t find anything about a leader."

<Of course, I do. Psh. I’ll call him. His name is—>

<Sang Moon Park,> the Forger cut in. <A former North Korean soldier who was able to escape the country when all the shitshow happened twenty years ago. And—>

<Who also happens to be a hidden S-tier Hero. I bet you didn’t have that in your fancy little computer, huh?>

<Ho... Touche, bitch.>

<Anyway...> Clementine scoffed, and Adam could hear rustling from the background as she seemed to scramble around. <...What do you want me to tell him?>

"Tell him I’ll show myself for a moment," Adam said. "But in return... they need to disperse as orderly and as quickly as possible after."

<I’ll try. But I have to warn you, Sang Moon Park is... a very weird individual, Adam.> Clementine’s voice lowered, and her shuffling ceased. <Most cult—sect leaders are highly corrupt and extort their members. Sang Moon Park does the opposite, and rarely accepts any donations, if at all.>

"Huh..."

<And also, to answer your question—for Creeps, Agility is an attribute that helps them fully adapt and control their strength and body.>

"It’s not... speed?"

<It is, but contrary to what a lot of people think, speed is primarily affected by Strength—but you can really only use that speed effectively with the proper agility. Without Agility, you’ll just be a highly underperforming train. Why... are you asking this?>

"It’s... nothing."

<Hmm.> Clementine’s voice trailed. <Anyway, I’ll make the call now. Also, when are you planning on coming back? I miss—I mean, Sylvie already misses you. A-anyway, I’ll call back once I... uh... call him.>

And with that, Clementine hung up before Adam could even thank her.

<Hm, hm. Hm. A billionaire at your beck and call. My, oh me. Oh my. You really have... leveled up in life, Mr. Endless.> The Forger giggled on the other line. <I don’t even know what you need me for, seeing as you can do everything by yourself now.>

"I can’t do anything at all. That’s why I’m calling you." Adam sighed, once again looking at the map. "I... need to rely on people better than."

<Surrounding yourself with people smarter than you. Smart,> the Forger said, the sound of him typing clacking louder. <I’d say that already makes you better than most leaders, darling.>

"I’m not a leader."

<And that makes you better than all of them. I can even say you could qualify as a... Messiah.>

"Stop it. I’m... getting close to the church. And—oh."

<That’s right, darling. You see them?>

Adam landed with a hard thud on the roof of a nearby building. He was lucky—the largest chapel of the Church of Administrators just happened to be in Los Angeles. The structure itself was massive, far more modern than most churches, once known as the Cathedral of Our Lady of Angels near Chinatown.

Now, it had a different name.

The Cathedral of the Administrators.

But Adam couldn’t see it from where he stood. After all, it was still a few miles away. But the people—the people had already filled the streets.

"Shit..." Adam lowered his phone, his eyes widening as he took in the sheer number gathered below. Barricades had been set up to keep the crowd from spilling further, but they were already being pushed to their limits. Even from above, he could make out the police shouting, trying to force people back.

It wasn’t working.

<Starting to have second thoughts now, hm?> The Forger’s voice came, amused.

"Why... are there so many of them?" Adam muttered, his voice low, almost as if the crowd might somehow hear him from below.

<Because of you?>

"But... why?" He knew the answer. He just didn’t understand the scale of it. "They don’t even know me."

<Because you represent something they desperately need right now, darling.> The Forger’s tone lowered, losing its playfulness. <You are what every church claims to be—hope. The difference is, as that Swedish woman said, you are real.>

"What...?"

<You’re Harry Potter, baby.>

"Huh?"

<The boy who lived. And in a world where death has become spectacle, you represent the one thing they can’t afford to lose—life.> The Forger chuckled softly. <So go on. Guide your flock, Messiah.>

"I’m not—"

<That’s exactly why you are. Now watch this.>

"What are you—"

A low hum cut him off. Adam turned, spotting a drone drifting toward him.

"A drone? Is that... you?"

<Oh, yes.>

A second later, a cascade of tones rose from below. Adam looked down just in time to see hundreds—no, thousands of people pulling out their phones. Almost in unison, their heads tilted upward.

"What did you—"

"It’s him!"

Someone pointed. Then the screaming started.

It spread instantly, rippling through the crowd as people shoved forward, trying to get closer.

"Wait..." Adam’s breath paused as his eyes locked onto a woman struggling to stay upright, a baby clutched tightly in her arms as the press of bodies closed in around her. "Wait!"

And as always, when someone was hurting, he didn’t think.

He just... jumped.

The crowd gasped as he dropped into their midst, and like a ripple through water, the people nearest to him instinctively pulled back, opening just enough space for him to land.

"Everyone, please—don’t push! Give her space!" Adam called out, his voice raised as he pushed forward, not realizing the crowd had already begun to quiet. He didn’t even notice the silence.

He reached the woman and crouched slightly, his eyes flicking to the child.

"Is your baby alright?"

The woman stared at him, frozen.

"Y-yes... she’s fine," she whispered.

"You shouldn’t be here with her. You shouldn’t be here at all." Adam glanced at the large bag slung over her shoulder. "Here—let me hold her for a second. I’ll carry your things. We’ll get you somewhere safer. And all of you, please, go home. It’s not safe here."

"You’re... here," the woman whispered, her hands trembling as she passed the baby to him. "Here... Here she is."

Adam carefully took the child, adjusting his hold instinctively.

"Ma’am, your bag?"

"My baby..."

"Ma’am?"

"My baby has been blessed by the Endless!"

"Huh?" Before he could react, the woman dropped to her knees in front of him.

"Don’t—please, don’t do that," Adam said, instinctively stepping back, careful not to jostle the child in his arms. "Please—"

But it was already spreading.

One by one, then all at once, the people behind her began to kneel. It moved through the crowd like falling dominoes, until the sea of bodies around him lowered itself to the ground.

"Wait... no," he said, his voice quieter now, constrained by the child he was holding.

The drone hovered nearby.

He glanced down and saw the woman’s phone lying on the ground, the live feed coming from the drone reflecting his own image back at him. He stared at himself for a moment, and then briefly closed his eyes and sighed.

"I’m not who you think I am," Adam said, his voice now calm despite the weight pressing in from all sides. "I’m not a god. I’m not a savior."

His gaze swept across them, slower now.

"And I don’t want you on your knees for me. Just because I was born with... a mutation, it doesn’t mean I’m more than you."

He adjusted the child in his arms, almost unconsciously.

"If you’re here because you’re afraid... then go home. Protect your families. Stay alive."

A breath.

"I know that’s not enough. But we do with what we have."

His voice dropped—not louder, but heavier.

"So, please stand...

...rise."

And they did.

Thousands of people rose at once, the sound of it rolling outward like thunder, the ground itself seeming to tremble beneath the collective motion.

[The Administrators like what they are seeing...]

Adam almost ignored the message at first, but then he realized what was about to happen.

"Wait..."

[...and have decided to offer you another gift. Rejoice, Adam the Endless!]

And then came the sharp crack.

Adam turned back, and there it was—a Leak.

"...Put all my free Status Points into Agility."

[Name: Adam | Planet: SS4E | Strength: 100 Agility: 20 Endurance: 1 Perception: 1]

[Free Status Points... 29]