----

'Cyrus holds a chance?' Lucian thought, finally moving his eyes away from the ceiling. However, the light within his eyes hadn't recovered. Once again, it was his brother who was at the forefront of a possible blessing.

Meanwhile, Doctor Arc continued to leak more of his inner thoughts.

"There is no other explanation as to why it is currently reacting the way it is. The repeated activation should be a rather unique circumstance; activating 4 times in one year is absolutely unheard of!" Doctor Arc exclaimed with passion.

Usually, the Fractured Monolith would only activate once per year. And, during that time, approximately 500 to 1,000 Guardian candidates would be called. However, this year alone, it drew in more than triple those numbers.

Even the governing powers couldn't create explanations for this situation. It reached a level that left them no other choice but to appease the thoroughly curious population. They revealed that their knowledge pertaining to the Fractured Monolith was limited.

While a lot of the information they possessed was withheld from the public, if they didn't address this matter, it would lead to civil revolt. After all, when signs of danger or change appeared, it was within human nature to react accordingly.

"It's calling for people?" Lucian muttered. At the same time, he felt an odd static signal crackling in his brain all of a sudden. It was reminiscent of when old dial-up television service lost signal. Except, the interference in his mind was soundless, it just drowned out all other noise with it.

"That's what I just said, are you listening? Hello? What's with that blank look?" Doctor Arc repeated, waving his hands before the unresponsive Lucian. His blank expression deepened, followed by the stiffening of his body, frozen in place.

Even when receiving a message from the Monolith, this never happened. Generally, the message appeared as a coaxing urge, enticing the individual to relinquish themselves to the Monolith.

Meanwhile, inside Lucian's mind, an entirely different situation unveiled itself.

[Remember, paths to power are buried within the Fractured Monolith. When your eyes betray, your heart will know. They are coming, and they will release their restraints. Before that happens, understand your fate so that you may guard your world. Once the Initial Merge begins, the rifts will overtake all. Enter it, boy, you have been summoned to the Fractured Monolith, Guardian.]

Lucian was stupefied once the message in his mind subsided.

That message wasn't the only thing given, but he just couldn't understand what this presence was revealing to him. At best, it sounded like an indecipherable bundle of signals. Similar to hieroglyphs of the past, images were left in his mind.

This matter didn't provide answers but produced a multitude of questions instead.

Even though he regained control of his senses, he still didn't reply to Doctor Arc. The aftereffect the message had on his mind was too much of a shock. 'Was that the Fractured Monolith speaking to me? A-...and I have been chosen to become a Guardian? Me? A supposed F Rank?'

No matter how he tried to look at it, it didn't make sense. Why would they select an F Rank to become one of the Guardians of a world? While he understood from the history lessons that their planet was involved in an upcoming struggle, something didn't add up.

'They never said who our opponents will be. Will an F Rank's power even suffice? After learning of my lacking ability, I don't think I'm fit to take up this role. If I enter that place, I'm bound to experience challenges like no other,' Lucian muttered. Due to the repeated blows to his mind, he began doubting his worth.

"Ahem, why the blank, sulking look? As I was saying earlier, the Fractured Monolith I-..."

"There's no need, I understand," Lucian interjected, cutting Doctor Arc's words short. Despite being unresponsive, Lucian could recall Doctor Arc's words seamlessly, hence there was no need for him to repeat them.

After dealing with a great deal of pain, Lucian then swung his body around, hanging his legs off the side of the bed, "Where is Cyrus?"

"Hmm, the last I heard, he was downstairs getting a full evaluation. By now, he's most likely in the conditioning room. It's more than likely that he is becoming acclimated to his current strength," Doctor Arc said after a moment.

"Thank you," Lucian nodded before walking off towards the elevators.

When Doctor Arc realized his actions, he widened his eyes, "Wait, you don't have clearance to operate that. Hold on! I will guide you, silly fool." While yelling, Doctor Arc followed right behind him. In addition to that, he was also surprised by the fact Lucian was walking fluently.

'Could he be a defensive-type? If his Mana is running amok, only a sturdy vessel would allow him to perform his current actions,' Doctor Arc inwardly thought.

Unbeknownst to Doctor Arc, following his summoning, Lucian's body felt numb. It wasn't that he was ignoring the pain, he just couldn't feel it. Based on that, it wouldn't be long until he was completely summoned.

Unlike during the Priming, the Fractured Monolith was, in a sense, beyond fully operational. During that time, everyone was summoned elsewhere, the monolith only served as means of travel during that period.

However, when it restarted years later, when additional Guardians were made, their bodies entered an odd state, courtesy of the Seed World benefit. Their vessels entered a sensitive condition, so to speak.

The exact process was different for everyone. It depended on the scope of their abilities.

Once they arrived downstairs in the conditioning area, Lucian witnessed his brother training with metal alloy robots. Their hardness seemed beyond that of titanium, yet based on their movements, it was lighter in comparison.

'Nimble opponent,' Lucian mused, watching behind a glass screen. Quietly, he continued to witness the exchanges of Cyrus and the training bot. However, most of his attacks failed to touch it. As for the strikes that managed to pass through its evasive maneuvers, they made Cyrus wince.

"This crap is hard…" Cyrus grumbled with a frown. Be that as it may, he still punched even harder.

On the other hand, Doctor Arc clapped merrily. "Marvelous. That is a Class C Training Android. It is outfitted with artificial intelligence and numerous operation patterns. It seems his starting point turns out to be a Rank D+."

"It looks as if he's really pushing himself," Lucian replied, focused on the glaring signs of fatigue his brother showcased. Despite his heavy breaths, Cyrus continued. Not just that, there were also multiple pools of sweat on the ground, depicting just how long he had been engaged in combat training.

"He has to. He is hellbent on advancing quickly. His potential isn't bad, so it may be possible. If he wishes to get things done, the only way is to be ruthless to himself," Doctor Arc said.

Although his words made sense, Lucian couldn't accept that. If his brother did this day in and day out, it would come a time when he ran his body into the dirt. After all, if you weren't classified as an S Rank by default, then you didn't possess the ability to transcend humanity's current limitations.

Moments later, Lucian turned away, he had seen enough. Furthermore, because of this sight he had made his choice. "When he finishes, tell him that I returned home. But, more importantly, tell him to take his time. He doesn't need to rush."

Depending on how one looked at his statement, it could possess more than one meaning.

With that being said, Lucian left immediately after. He changed out of his hospital robes, back into his usual clothing—a simple pair of black jeans and a white t-shirt with ordinary sneakers.

Unlike before, he caught public transportation home. The ride was fairly short, just 3 hours long as the trains were capable of reaching a standard of 250 mph.

----

Inside his residence...

Lucian gazed into the mirror. The longer he refrained from entering the Monolith, the more the glyphs in his mind produced a sonorous tune. It was manageable in the beginning, but it only worsened from then on, reaching a height capable of disorienting Lucian.

Ultimately, Lucian gave in, another message popping in his mind.

The only difference from earlier was the fact that the message now gave the option of accepting or declining entry. Since he had made up his mind before coming home, declining wasn't an option for him.

'I couldn't accept it in the presence of all those people, but I can do so in my home. Now, let's see if this Monolith holds a solution for all the issues that plague my life,' Lucian thought, affirming his decision.

He sat back on the couch before uttering his response with a firm expression, "Accept."

A tempest of ethereal energy encased Lucian's body, yet despite the disturbance, the items within the room were untouched. The tempest's main focus was his body, continuing to shrink until it disappeared, dragging Lucian along with it.

Unbeknownst to Lucian, his summoning was unique, he escaped the radar of many.

An individual donning a masquerade mask, hiding all their features except enrapturing golden eyes, could be seen tapping a desk while gazing into numerous screens.

"Intriguing, indeed. This bunch may possess what it takes. I'll notify the Overseers to pay close attention," the person spoke, completely unaware of an anomaly taking place in the rightmost screen.

Nevertheless, they moved forward with their actions.

[Verified! Multiple Chosen-level candidates detected. Now activating the hidden protocols of the Monolith.]