Two weeks after the Echo Retrieval, the government made their move.They announced Project Ascension. A voluntary program to give people Shinigami abilities through "safe, refined procedures based on cutting edge science."They even got volunteers. Hundreds of them. People desperate for power. For purpose. For a chance to be heroes.Baekho tried to stop it. Spoke at press conferences. Warned about the dangers. Shared his own experiences.But the government had better PR. They showed success cases. Three volunteers who gained minor death energy abilities without obvious side effects."See?" Yoon Nari said during a televised debate with Baekho. "With proper scientific oversight, the process is safe. We can create defenders. Protectors. Heroes.""You are creating victims," Baekho countered. "Those three people might seem fine now. But give it time. The power will corrupt them. Change them. Turn them into monsters.""That is fearmongering. You want to keep power concentrated in your hands