Chapter 438 - A Discovery
As the Shadow Guardians were pushed to extinction, Varian, in the disguise of Dreamer was attending an unexpected call.
"A Sovereign and abyssal ruler meeting began half an hour ago and just ended. Sovereigns shared the tracker with Abyssals. They're coming after you." Sovereign Irene Nial said with a concerned expression.
The man in white on the golden throne didn't look surprised though. Given his mask, all she could see was his eyes. And those eyes never fluctuated.
"Archduke already attacked us," Varian said lightly.
"Heavens…" Irene gasped. She knew that Dreamer wasn't a Sovereign. So, she was worried. But since he looked fine, she calmed herself down.
"Just stay safe." She finally said.
Looking at her genuinely concerned appearance, Varian couldn't help but say. "Don't you have any questions about my choice of supporting Enigma?"
Irene Nial fell silent for a moment before she sighed deeply. "I don't know much about you. But I can remember clearly your emotional state when you asked me to save the cluster cities.
Every bit of your anxiety, fear, and tension, I could feel them. So, I trust that your decisions will be in the best interests of humanity.
So, if you save Enigma, I believe it's for the greater good."
Varian fell silent for a moment before laughing. "Hahaha. I'm glad we have someone like you."
Irene shook her head. "Every Sovereign is only doing what they think is the best. If they had the same experience with you, they'll likely think the same."
'Except Kreo and Julius.' Dreamer narrowed his eyes.
"Without Enigma, I couldn't have saved Valos. To be honest, a lot of her merit goes unnoticed." Varian said, glancing at the silvery-white-haired girl in the room.
She sat quietly, gazing out into the dark space.
His words didn't elicit any response from her, but they did from Irene.
"…I wish I could help." Irene sighed. "The public narrative is set. The media is pedaling the narrative and the public is buying it. The military has even planned an emergency response plan in case Enigma's race invaded the solar system."
Varian's lips twitched.
"The Tracker…I heard it's made by Dr.Thomas, a very famous but low-key scientist. Somehow, he managed to give it to Enigma's subordinates. Be careful of her subordinates." She said in a worried tone. "And if there's anything I can help with, don't hesitate to ask."
"Sure. I'll contact you if I need any help." Varian nodded.
Irene nodded and was about to end the call when Varian suddenly frowned and raised a brow.
"Sovereign Irene."
"Yes?"
"When was the Sovereign meeting convened again? The exact time."
"05:03 EH."
"The tracking was shared with abyssals after?" Varian's expression turned serious.
"5: 15 EH."
"…Before the meeting started, they didn't have the sharing, no?"
"Obviously. And what were these for?"
Varian took a breath and smiled. "I'll inform you later. Thanks for the information."
Irene looked at him in doubt but didn't choose to ask further. "Take care."
"You too."
The call ended and Varian slumped on the couch.
Blue Flash walked out of the ex-prison plus medical room and sat on the opposite couch.
Without a word, she removed the mask revealing a beautiful and mature face. Now that he looked at her again, her blue eyes and small nose reminded him of Kyle.
Of course, seeing her blue hair and blue eyes, he wondered if her title caused her to dye her hair or vice versa.
"How bad is it?" She asked, leaning forward.
"Is it so obvious?" Varian raised a brow.
"Your face is screaming 'This is terrible' and 'I want blood'. It's kinda obvious." Blue Flash answered with a smile.
"Well, we're attacked at 5:02 EH. One minute before the meeting started." Varian rubbed his forehead.
"Did you perhaps make mistake in timezone conversions?"
"Don't be kidding. AI doesn't do such mistakes and for your assurance, I already checked thrice."
Blue Flash's calm expression collapsed instantly and she clenched her fists. "Then…"
"Yep. Abyssals already have the tracker, which is apparently a recent technological breakthrough device. Haha." Varian laughed dryly.
Blue Flash couldn't laugh. "So, the one provided the tracker is likely…"
"Abyssals." Varian finished her sentence and added. "They did it under the pretext of a new scientific breakthrough. Since the scientific community isn't dumb, they won't accept Tracker appearing out of nowhere or without any prior research."
"So, probably, this scientist knows a bit or two about the Tracker. Of course, the same fucker gave it to the two traitors who attacked Enigma."
"Traitors…" Blue Flash's expression turned complicated before she finally said. "Yes, traitors."
"Great." Varian raised his arms. "We now have to deal with humans, abyssals, and an evil scientist?"
"…if we let the public know, then they'll ease on Enigma, probably.." Blue Flash muttered with hopeful eyes.
Of course, there'd be a public outcry. But—
"It won't be enough." Varian shook his head. "They'll simply kill the scientist and announce that abyssals found that Enigma is an alien earlier than humans and wanted to get rid of her. The public narrative against Enigma won't change much. If anything, it'll turn more negative."
"…" Blue Flash's mouth twitched. "Then what do we do? Keep silent?"
Varian smiled nonchalantly and waved his hand.
Dozens and dozens of holograms started playing.
Some showed the interaction between 'Dreamer' and 'Enigma'. Others showed the contribution of Shadow Guardians in fighting off Chaos families and Shadow Order.
Especially, a certain bald man—Seth and a man with long white hair—Rudolf.
"These are some of the collections I have." Varian waved his hand and they all disappeared.
"They'll show how much Shadow Guardians paid for their safety. But it still won't be enough." He said lightly.
"Uh-oh." Blue Flash nodded, without realizing that she was passive in the conversation.
"Public operate under emotions, especially mobs." Varian narrowed his eyes. "Fear, the oldest emotion, is driving their stance towards Enigma. We need to take out that fear. If they aren't scared of Enigma, things will get better."
"But how do we take away that fear?"
Varian stood up and grinned.
"By breaking it down."