Nick traveled to the underground city.
The first thing he did was to delete the memories of the Ice Maiden and Piercing Heaven Base from everyone's mind, including Samar.
Then, he disconnected Piercing Heaven Base from the city.
After disconnecting it, Nick built a Zephyx generator and shoved the underground city far deeper underground.
It needed to be as hidden as possible.
Then, Nick moved Piercing Heaven Base further to the surface and moved it far away from the underground city.
It had to be relatively easy to find.
If it returned to its old position so far underground, Nick wouldn't be able to find an explanation for how he found it.
When he finished moving the base, Nick entered and deleted all evidence of human presence.
He also replaced the Zephyx generator with a different one that had a lower output.
The stored Zephyx had dropped quite a bit, and Nick needed to make it seem like the output of the generator was consistent with the new level of Zephyx stored.
Finally, he entered the Containment Unit.
When he saw the Ice Maiden, his eyes narrowed.
"Oh, you're back," the Ice Maiden said.
Nick exploded forward and destroyed her body, only leaving her Specter Core.
"Remember when we first met?" Nick asked.
At that moment, Nick realized that his ability wasn't working.
The Ice Maiden refused to let her memories be deleted.
"If you refuse, I will kill you right here," Nick said. "Remember when we met for the first time?"
Again, his ability failed.
"You are willing to sacrifice yourself for humanity?" Nick asked.
The Ice Maiden couldn't answer.
"Then, sacrifice yourself! I am doing this for humanity! Remember when we first met?"
Nick gritted his teeth.
He opened the Containment Unit and left with the Ice Maiden's Specter Core.
Finally, he traveled to Deep Core Base and entered the Pure One's Containment Unit.
Nick threw the Specter Core into the Containment Unit, and the Ice Maiden recovered.
"I will not risk the Empire's safeguards!" the Ice Maiden said with conviction.
The Pure One looked at the Ice Maiden and sighed.
"We are doing this for humanity," he said.
"Did he delete your memories, too?" she asked.
"No," the Pure One said. "This idea was my plan."
"Why? Why does he want me to forget everything?" she asked.
The Pure One took a deep breath. "The Caretaker broke out and refuses to tell him anything. The Caretaker refuses to believe in humanity anymore."
"A sacrifice is necessary."
The Pure One explained everything to the Ice Maiden.
When the Ice Maiden heard that, she looked at the ground.
This was human behavior that she had internalized.
"So, I will die no matter what I do?" the Ice Maiden asked.
"I wish there was another choice," the Pure One answered.
"If you had just complied," Nick said, "you could've died in peace. You wouldn't even know what happened."
"I am doing this for humanity!" Nick added. "The Pure One already knows everything about engineering, biology, and energy."
"He will be the central knowledge repository."
The Ice Maiden glared at Nick.
"You're ruining the Empire's hope!"
"I am keeping the Empire's hopes alive," Nick answered. "I am the only one who can infiltrate the enemy. If I can't infiltrate them and we kill the Sun, the entire planet will be destroyed."
"Every human on Earth could know everything the Enlightened Ones knew. We could have a hundred level-nine Extractors. We could have a hundred level nine humans working with Pure Energy."
"And it wouldn't make a difference!" Nick shouted.
"We would destroy the Sun, kill the warriors of the enemy, and you know what happens then?"
"They will launch a weapon made by the Ancient Ones at Earth, killing everyone!"
The Ice Maiden still glared at Nick. "You don't know that! You haven't seen that weapon!"
"No, but I'm sure it's there. It would be stupid not to have one," Nick answered.
"Then, how can you be sure?" the Ice Maiden asked.
"I can't," Nick said, "but are you willing to take the chances? Do you want me to try to infiltrate their base without the knowledge of energy manipulation? The chances of me being found out are way too high. Infiltrating their base early would be too risky."
"We have to be absolutely sure that nothing will go wrong! I can't take any chances!"
"Humanity's fate rests on my shoulders!"
"I do not have another choice. You will die! If you refuse to let your memories be deleted, I will kill you before alerting the Sun!"
"Fine, then do it!" the Ice Maiden shouted. "If you are truly human at heart, this will weigh on your conscience. You just don't want to feel any guilt for killing me."
"That's incorrect, and you know that," Nick said. "If the Sun finds you, the danger I, and by extension Nurse Alice, will be much greater. If I kill you before the Sun finds out, it won't have an impact."
"And then," Nick said as he looked at the Pure One, "I might also need to sacrifice him."
"This has to have a significant impact so that I don't have to sacrifice more. I have to make every sacrifice count!"
The Ice Maiden gritted her teeth.
"Icy," the Pure One said. "It's for humanity."
The Ice Maiden looked at the ground, unwilling.
"But… the Empire," she said.
"Will live on," the Pure One said. "The Empire never had a chance since it never knew about the location of the enemy. He knows the location. He knows what the enemy is capable of."
"Even without our knowledge, his chances of success would still be higher than the Empire's."
"Because the Empire never had a chance to begin with."
"It's time to trust in the new Emperor."
The Ice Maiden looked to the side.
Several seconds of silence passed.
Then, a conflicting expression appeared on her face.
"I will sacrifice myself for the Empire."
"It's not like I have a choice."
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The author's . If he gets more than 1000€ per month, he will increase the number of words in the chapter.