Chapter 112: Convergence Talks
In a wide verandah that opened to the view of a small lake littered with beautiful white-scaled swans that made for an overall picturesque visage, an old man sat with a frown on his face. He was focused on the scroll in his hands, re-reading the content with a vacant gaze as his mind went through a whole lot of possibilities.
The boy was truly a Pathfinder. This changed a lot of things... The reason why Maximus was able to go scot free with just a punishment with the way he acted, was because a lot of the Elders, including him, still doubted the authenticity of Zephyr’s Pathfinder status. There was evidence to support it, but it wasn’t enough to fully convince most of them at that time...
Even this letter would not have, if it didn’t have... that mark. The old man looked at the magical symbol that was signed in blood. This was Maximus basically saying he could vouch for the authenticity of everything in the letter with his life. In fact he had done just that.
"—What would you do now, huh Crestwood?! I placed all my bets on you and your family! What are you going to do now?! How are you even sure Florian is going to be chosen?!!" The scrawny old woman from the last Elder meeting snapped at the Old Crestwood.
Crestwood raised his previously unfocused eye to meet hers with a deadly silence that shut her up immediately. "We do not speak that name."
Even before he spoke, she also realized her mistake immediately she spoke the words and quickly retreated into her seat with a squirm. Old Crestwood had reiterated this multiple times. That was a name no one else aside from the five seated here should ever know about.
The other three members seated consisted of two more men and a woman. They all looked on with agitated gazes. They might not have the same guts Melissa—the scrawny old woman, had to snap at Crestwood, but one could tell that they shared her exact sentiments from the looks on their faces.
Crestwood noticed their expressions and had no choice but to pacify their worries. "Relax. Nothing has changed with the plan. We will proceed as normal. He will still be chosen. Not even a Pathfinder will stop that." He assured them, but they didn’t seem to be pacified. "Crestwood I do not doubt you. But this... Zephyr... he has comprehended two—no, three words within the span of a few days interval! Who’s to say he doesn’t comprehend a hundred more before the Convergence arrives...?"
"That is impossible." Crestwood stated matter-of-factly. "That’s not how it works. While I’ll commend his talent for comprehending three words within a few days, you must know that those are basic words. He took just two months and a half to do the same." Crestwood took a sip from his tea as the steam wafted into the cool breeze.
"Is that supposed to be good...?" The other men looked at each other like Crestwood was pulling their legs. "A few days, compared to two months!"
Crestwood nodded. "And without an inheritance in hand too..." He added to their words.
The men kept quiet after seeing Crestwood supporting their statement. They could tell he was trying to drive at something.
Crestwood took his time savoring his tea like the issue on ground didn’t faze him at all. His casual attitude slowly influenced the others, including Melissa—the scrawny old woman, making them relax a bit.
"...That’s why I said you do not understand how it works," he finally said after a while.
"Alright, Crestwood. Make us understand." The man nearest to him spoke with a calmer tone.
"What do the records say about the convergence?" Crestwood asked them firstly.
They recited the standard excerpt— ...And on that day, every heart trembled, every ear heard, every being felt to the depth of their very soul, the voice of the world— They then went on to talk about the other things the records spoke of. Of the seven representatives who were usually selected by the leaders and members of the world... previously. But now, new information has made them know that their promotion into a higher energy universe a few millenniums ago means they now have to follow the rules of higher energy universes. Here, connection to origin was the vital decider. It wasn’t up to the leaders or members of each world any longer.
Origin itself selected each world’s champions...
Old Crestwood nodded at their explanation. "But what you don’t know is that whenever this time draws near, connection to origin gets progressively weaker, especially for Exalted and Half-Exalted who depend mostly on origin for their magic." He explained with a small smirk, staring at them with a knowing smile.
"...Which means aside from the fact that words get more complex the further he progresses, they would also get harder and harder to comprehend the closer to the Convergence we get...?" The other woman seated right across Crestwood completed his train of thought, making Crestwood nod. "Even if he was Ashworth himself. He will still be bound by the same rules." Crestwood took another sip of his tea in contentment.
"Haha! So this is his peak. Regardless of how he struggles, he still will never catch up to Flo—" Melissa quickly corrected herself. "He still won’t pose a problem to us." She smiled wryly as Crestwood stared at her pointedly. "Who knows... he might not even get qualified to be chosen at the end," she added offhandedly.
"No. He will get chosen for sure." Crestwood said with certainty. "In fact he’s the only one in the world that we can confidently say will get chosen. Don’t underweight a Pathfinder. While we cannot accurately tell how much of a connection any other talent in the world has to origin, we at least know that whatever the case may be, they cannot trump a Pathfinder."
His words made them silent and a bit agitated again, and he sighed at their weak minds. "This does nothing to our plan and goal." He said to reassure them, pondering whether or not to add something else. "...in fact I have reason to believe this Convergence is vastly more different than any other we have ever experienced."
They frowned, waiting for him to explain more.
"...our information about high energy universes convergence is not complete," he said. "From here on out, we do not have only seven slots."
Their eyes widened in shock at his revelation. "More than seven slots?!" The man nearest to him exclaimed. "If I’m not wrong, some records say the last convergence we participated in at Tier 6 energy level had tens of thousands of worlds with sentient life participating, right?" He looked around to confirm, and Crestwood nodded in assent, making him suck in a sharp breath at the implication.
"How— How many champions are going to be selected from each world this time...?" He asked hesitantly.
"...At least twelve... from my sources."
"Twelve?!" The man stood up abruptly. Even the others had shocked and puzzled looks on their faces.
"Aren’t the worlds with sentient life in our current universe even more plentiful?! If anything the champions should be less!"
"Who knows..." Crestwood shook his head in thought.
"My goodness," the man fell into his seat. "The number of deaths that will occur would be..."
"How many years would this one last?" Melissa finally asked a sensible question, but Crestwood only shook his head, "We can only guess..."
"The whole thing is puzzling to say the least... why a convergence in the first place...? What’s the aim? What’s the goal?" The other woman asked with a contemplative look.
Crestwood poured another cup of tea for himself and simmered it in deep thought. "...I have my theories about that."