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Chapter 854: Mad Idea

777 Four Ways

'Sebastian?' Kyle thought in shock. 'How and why is he here? Shouldn't he be in a Secondary or Primary World?'

"I'll explain everything later," Sebastian transmitted, noticing Kyle's shocked and confused expression. "First, I have to deal with her."

Sebastian looked back at the Investigator, who seemed surprisingly calm.

Sebastian's words pulled Kyle out of his shock, and he quickly noticed something.

The amount of Energy the Investigator passively absorbed was much greater than what Sebastian passively absorbed. This meant that the Investigator was a couple of levels above him.

If this were just a random Sage, there wouldn't be an issue. However, the Investigator was a member of the Contrast Empire. Her Laws had to be outstanding.

"Can you win against her?" Kyle asked via voice transmission.

Sebastian just smirked.

"Nope."

Kyle blinked in confusion.

Meanwhile, the Investigator wordlessly readied her sword again. Since one person had arrived to help Descending Mountain, there might be more on their way. It was better to finish this matter quickly and leave.

She wasn't afraid of this newcomer. After all, he was only a First Refinement Sage. As a Fourth Refinement Sage with a Complex Level 5.5 Law, she could easily take care of any First Refinement Sage.

Countless swords of light gathered around the Investigator, and an instant later, they shot towards Kyle and Sebastian.

Sebastian just smiled deviously and snapped his fingers.

BANG!

A humongous hand made of lightning broke through reality and crushed all the light swords.

The Investigator's eyes widened in horror as she witnessed a second hand grabbing the walls of the hole the first hand had created. A moment later, the second hand tore reality apart, and a figure stepped through.

The Elemental Energy in the surroundings turned chaotic before they all transformed into pure Lightning Energy. Space, Time, and Gravity shook as the bipedal figure of lightning descended into the Hell Dimension.

It wasn't made of flesh, bone, blood, hair, chitin, or any other form of biological matter.

This thing was made of pure Lightning Energy.

Kyle realized what this figure was, and his eyes widened.

"What have you done?!" the Investigator shouted in terror. "You brought an Elemental to this place! Are you crazy?!"

"You're one to talk," Sebastian answered with a snort. "You went through the Elemental Dimension without a guide to kill my friend. So what if I summon an Elemental? "

The Investigator just looked at the humongous Lightning Elemental in horror.

This was a Peak Level Seven Elemental! This thing could even fight newly-advanced Spirit Lords!

Kyle's heart rate shot through the roof. Sebastian had summoned an Elemental! Elementals were mindless killing machines!

'And yet, it isn't acting like one,' Kyle thought as he watched the Elemental calmly standing in front of Sebastian. 'Can he actually control it? But how?'

"Anyway," Sebastian said. "I don't wanna find out if you somehow called for help or not. Sorry, but we gotta make this quick."

The Investigator's eyes widened even more as the Space Energy around her distorted.

She was trying to teleport!

But then, her surroundings shook as the Energy fell into chaos again.

The majority of Sages could teleport, but they could only initiate teleportation outside of combat. The reason for that was simple.

Momentum could interrupt teleportation. Of course, it only worked if the Realm and Momentum of the other person were somewhat comparable to the teleporter. A Sage couldn't interrupt a Spirit Lord's teleportation with their Momentum.

When the Investigator noticed that her teleportation had been interrupted by Sebastian's Momentum, she felt some hope. Elementals reacted aggressively towards Momentum. By forcing Sebastian to activate his Momentum, she hoped that the Elemental would attack him.

Yet, all her hope died when she noticed the Elemental ignoring Sebastian and shooting towards her.

The Investigator pulled out her sword and pushed the majority of her Energy into it before firing a terrifying beam of light at the Lightning Elemental.

BANG!

The beam created a humongous hole in the Lightning Elemental, but the lightning, the Elemental was made of, just continued flying forward. Elementals didn't have any Aspects of Power.

They didn't have a Center, mind, Soul, biological body, Core Spark, or even a Beast Core. They were pure and malevolent forces of nature. That was also why it was impossible to control an Elemental.

So, why did this thing ignore its summoner and attack her?!

The Investigator turned around to flee. If she could escape the area of influence of Sebastian's Momentum, she could teleport! She could still survive!

Yet, that hope also died quickly when she noticed the Elemental's speed.

It was unreasonably fast.

Within an instant, it caught up to the Investigator. Its body turned into a spear made of lightning, which shot right at the Investigator.

When she felt the power behind that attack, she realized that she wouldn't be able to survive. This attack was far beyond her capabilities.

The spear reached her.

BANG!

An ethereal hand made of light grabbed the lightning spear. The Lightning Elemental tried to disperse its form to escape the grasp of the humongous hand, but it couldn't. The hand somehow had the capabilities to contain the Lightning Elemental's essence.

When Sebastian saw that, his eyes widened. An instant later, he pulled out a small token-

The token vanished from Sebastian's hand.

The next moment, reality parted as a new person arrived below the Lightning Elemental. The new person wore a small crown and wore the luxurious uniform of a high-ranking member of the Contrast Empire.

In her hand, she held the token Sebastian had just summoned.

When Kyle saw the new person, his mind went blank.

Only three words appeared in his mind.

'Fuck, it's her.'

"Countess!" the Investigator shouted in shock and elation.

The Countess nodded towards the Investigator before turning to look at Sebastian, the token moving through her fingers playfully. "Do you believe you can call for help in my presence?"

Sebastian took a deep breath but didn't answer.

"Seriously?" Kyle asked suddenly. "You came here yourself?! You're not here because of me, right?"

The Countess glanced at Kyle neutrally. She looked at him for a moment before looking back at the Lightning Elemental above her.

The ethereal hand made of light clenched and compressed the Lightning Elemental until it was as big as a football. Then, the ball moved towards the Countess' actual hand.

The Countess looked at the ball with some interest before glancing back at Sebastian. "I didn't expect that I would meet two geniuses today."

The Countess looked back at the Lightning Elemental. "What an ingenious yet mad idea."

A moment later, the Countess moved her hand into the ball of lightning and took hold of something.

She pulled the object out of the Lightning Elemental, and moments later, the lightning in her hands became much more violent. However, it still wasn't powerful enough to escape.

When Kyle saw the object in the Countess' hands, his eyes widened.

He recognized that object.

"I assume this is yours?" the Countess asked, looking at Sebastian while holding out a small bead of lightning.

Sebastian gritted his teeth. "Using your own Core Spark as a central control system to take control of an Elemental. This can truly be considered madness."

The next moment, she turned to look at Kyle. "As for your question…"

"No, I'm not here because of you."

At that moment, reality warped again as another person arrived.

The author's patreon. If he gets more than 1000 per month, he will increase the number of words in the chapter.

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Comments 35

  1. Online Offline
    + 10 -
    Shit. Fu#k! NO!!! Lord of the Cult, we might need your help with this one!
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  2. Offline
    + 40 -
    Chapter 855 - Pawn

    Reality parted as a new person appeared in front of Sebastian and Kyle.

    When Kyle saw the person, his eyes widened.

    'The Chief Overseer?' Kyle thought in surprise. 'Why is he here? I didn't tell the Array of Stars about my plan.'

    The Chief Overseer looked at the Countess for a moment before looking at Kyle. A moment later, he sighed helplessly. “I'm not sure if I should feel grateful or frustrated,” he transmitted. "You're the most outstanding Disciple I have ever had in my branch, but also the one who causes the most trouble for me."

    "How did you know that I was here?" Kyle asked.

    "Star Genesis told me that you would most likely flee to the Hell Dimension. She watched from a distance and noticed that someone managed to escape. Sadly, she wasn't strong enough to confront this person, which was why she contacted me," the Chief Overseer explained.

    Kyle's eyes widened 'Star Genesis? She knew that I would flee to the Hell Dimension? I mean, yeah, I made a comment about that at some point, but never told her when, where, and if I would use that method to escape.'

    As Kyle thought about Star Genesis, he sighed 'She's still looking out for me.'

    Then, he glanced at Sebastian 'Is that also why he's here?'

    A moment later, the Chief Overseer glanced at Sebastian, who looked back. Based on what Kyle could see, the two of them were conversing via voice transmissions.

    "As expected," the Countess spoke slowly. "You're here, Chief Overseer."

    The Chief Overseer looked at the Countess and sighed "I believed you might arrive, but had hoped that you wouldn't."

    The Countess looked at the Chief Overseer with a cold expression before wordlessly throwing Sebastian's token back to him. Since the Chief Overseer had already arrived in person, there was no point in keeping the token.

    Sebastian caught the token and looked at it for a moment. In the end, he pocketed it again.

    "Descending Mountain is a criminal," the Countess said, "Does the Array of Stars intend to help a criminal?"

    "His criminal status was revoked," the Chief Overseer said.

    "When a person, wrongfully accused of theft, steals something during an investigation, they are still a thief," the Countess said. "While Descending Mountain's initial actions bordered on unlawful, his following actions clearly passed that border."

    "What actions specifically?" the Chief Overseer asked.

    The Countess lifted her right hand and created an image in the air. The image depicted Kyle destroying reception halls and Teleportation Formation Arrays. Then, another image appeared, depicting Kyle killing several Crushers.

    When the Chief Overseer saw the images, he took a deep breath.

    He hadn't been briefed on the details Star Genesis had told him that Kyle might flee to the Hell Dimension.

    The Chief Overseer didn't know what had happened on the Planet with the Teleportation Formation Array.

    "Someone destroyed the Teleportation Formation Array I was using!" Kyle shouted, "I blocked his attacks and told everyone to stop him! He was breaking YOUR rules!"

    The Countess just looked at Kyle with a neutral expression "The Teleportation Formation Arrays are owned by the Contrast Empire. The person you are speaking of was ordered by us to destroy the Teleportation Formation Array. How we treat our Teleportation Formation Arrays is not your concern.

    Kyle's fists clenched in anger, frustration, and hatred.

    'She's not even denying it anymore!'

    The Chief Overseer glanced at Kyle helplessly.

    "What was I supposed to do?" Kyle asked via voice transmission "If I hadn't done anything, I would've been taken away by the Contrast Empire. They would've just killed me in some other way."

    The Chief Overseer sighed again, "I'm not frustrated with you," he transmitted "The Countess is many times older and stronger than you. There was nothing you could've done."

    However, as Kyle heard his words, he disagreed "I could've directly escaped to the Hell Dimension,' he transmitted.

    "Do you believe the Countess just got here?" the Chief Overseer asked.

    Kyle looked with surprise at the Chief Overseer "Wait, she didn't? Then…"

    "She probably came here as soon as their team of Unique Crushers set out to kill you," the Chief Overseer answered.

    Kyle just shook his head in disbelief 'She's a f#cking Immortal! Yes, I am talented. Yes, I am disruptive Yes, we have beef but come on! I’m only a Crusher! She's a f#cking Immortal!'

    "But she didn't know that I was a part of the Array of Stars," Kyle said.

    "She doesn't need to," the Chief Overseer answered "There was a chance that you belonged to someone. Staying here for a couple of hours isn't a big investment. Additionally you have to remember one thing."

    "She's not here because of you. You're not the target. At least, not the primary one. The fisher doesn't hunt the baby whale because of its meat. They hunt it because they might draw out an adult whale."

    "She's here because of me. She's here because of the Array of Stars as a whole or whatever Organization backed you."

    "I’m frustrated because she outplayed me," the Chief Overseer transmitted with annoyance and helplessness. "The situation has become inescapable. No matter what we do, the Contrast Empire will benefit more.”

    "If I help you, the Contrast Empire can claim that the entire branch is corrupt since I represent the branch as a whole. This would force my superiors to make a decision."

    "Assuming they say I worked alone, they will be forced to kill me, which means losing an Immortal. Additionally, the Contrast Empire will accuse them of shifting the blame, which gives them reasonable cause for escalating tensions."

    "Assuming they agree that the entire branch is corrupt, either the Array of Stars loses an entire branch, or they have to grant the Contrast Empire access to the branch."

    "Assuming they back me up, the Contrast Empire can officially declare the Array of Stars a rebellious Organization. This forces us to do one of three things. One, leave the Contrast Empire's territories. Two, stay and lose all legal protection while acting as an illegal business. Three, declare the Array of Stars a political power."

    "In all cases, the Contrast Empire will get something they want," the Chief Overseer explained.

    When Kyle heard that, his heart shook. It was not hard to find out which possibility was the most likely one.

    Most likely, the Array of Stars would abandon the Chief Overseer, execute him, and tell the Contrast Empire that he was a rogue agent.

    In truth, Kyle had often felt frustrated about the Chief Overseer's passiveness. As their Disciple, Kyle was in trouble, and instead of helping him, he had been abandoned.

    Yet, when he heard the Chief Overseer's explanation, he realized something.

    'If the roles were reversed, what would I do?' he thought. 'A talented Peak Mortal or Transcendent needs my help. Would I sacrifice my life for them?'

    Kyle sighed. 'If I knew them very well, I might be willing to risk my life, but I wouldn't sacrifice myself.'

    Kyle gritted his teeth 'I'm just a pawn. The Array of Stars wants to get me to the end of the board so that I may turn into a valuable piece The Contrast Empire sees this and threatens me. If they protect the pawn, they will lose a knight or a rook without anything in return. If they abandon the pawn, they will lose a pawn.'

    'There's no way out'.
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      + 30 -
      Chapter 856 - The Difference Between Both Sides

      "How things will go are not as clear as you might believe," the Chief Overseer transmitted, noticing Kyle's hopelessness, "If they were, I wouldn't be here."

      "How can they not be clear?" Kyle asked with a hopeless and skeptical voice.

      "Cost and benefit," the Chief Overseer transmitted "You do not only represent yourself. You represent all of our talented Disciples. Your reputation has become too great. The Array of Stars can't erase your identity from history."

      "Assuming we abandon you, the Contrast Empire will act differently from what you would imagine. Instead of saying that they have killed a criminal, they will say that, after further investigation, they had prematurely executed an innocent person."

      This took Kyle by surprise. "Why?"

      "Cost and benefit," the Chief Overseer repeated "The cost is losing a small bit of trust and goodwill from the public, but it's worth the benefit. They will say that they would have noticed your innocence in time if the Array of Stars had fought for you. Sadly, since the Array of Stars immediately handed you over, the proceedings finished unusually quickly."

      "Many people will hear of this, and their impression will be that the Array of Stars immediately abandons their talented Disciples at the slightest sign of trouble. If the Array of Stars abandoned someone like you, how could any less outstanding Disciple believe that the Array of Stars would protect them?"

      "Metaphorically, the Contrast Empire will cut off a finger so that we may lose an arm."

      "These schemes do not target one individual Seeker. These schemes target an Organization's health, millions of years into the future. Fewer outstanding Disciples now won't immediately affect our strength, but our future strength. A war between the Contrast Empire and the Array of Stars might result in an inconclusive result right now, but if the schemes pay off, it might change."

      Kyle felt like the situation was far too complex and muddy. Sure, on a base level, he understood everything that was explained to him, but he couldn't determine the specific values.

      By how much would the number of new Disciples lower? What was too much? How much would this loss in Disciples in the present affect the Array of Star's power a hundred thousand years from now? How much would a war cost? How far would the Contrast Empire push things? What could the Array of Stars do? What was their current plan?

      "What's the decision?" Kyle asked.

      "The decision is not in my hands," the Chief Overseer transmitted. "My superiors are currently talking to the Countess' superiors. My Avatar is waiting for instructions."

      "Avatar?" Kyle asked.

      "One of the necessary steps to become an Immortal is to create at least one Avatar," the Chief Overseer explained "An Avatar is a copy of yourself, a clone, if you will."

      Kyle blinked a couple of times "Wait, So, is your Avatar his own person?"

      "We share one mind," the Chief Overseer transmitted. "You can see an Avatar as a second pair of arms and legs, except that it's an entire body. I can control my Avatars just how you control your arms."

      'Bro, what? Immortals have several bodies? I have so many f#cking questions!'

      Kyle glanced at the Chief Overseer 'However, I don't think this is the right moment. Although I do have one question that's relevant'.

      "So, any kind of battle between you two would be meaningless right now?" Kyle asked, referring to the Chief Overseer and the Countess.

      "One of my Avatars is in the Immortal Dimension, in our headquarters. Her other Avatar is also in the Immortal Dimension. Most likely, she's in the Imperial city. She can't silence me, and I can't silence her," the Chief Overseer explained. "There is a way to kill all the Avatars of a Seeker at the same time, but neither the Countess nor I have that power."

      Kyle looked back at the Countess Ever since she had declared Kyle's status as a criminal, she hadn't really said much else. Most likely, she was also waiting for orders.

      As Kyle looked at the Chief Overseer, he got the feeling that asking more questions was not appropriate. 'Most likely, he's just as nervous as I am.'

      Kyle sighed as he remembered how he had felt when the Investigator had pointed her sword at him. 'For f#ck's sake! l was all filled with acceptance and shit! Then, this shit happened! I f#cking hate that my life is in the hands of people I've never even seen before! I don't even know what they're talking about right now!'

      Several seconds of silence passed.

      Nobody said anything.

      Until...

      "So, how's it going?" Sebastian asked Kyle via voice transmission "I asked the guy beside you, but he just says that everyone's waiting for orders have no idea what's happening."

      Kyle thought for a moment about what he should tell Sebastian and what he should keep secret. After all, there was probably a reason why the Chief Overseer didn't tell him anything. Additionally, he wasn't sure if the two Immortals could overhear their voice transmissions.

      "Well, it doesn't look good," Kyle transmitted "The Array of Stars and the Contrast Empire are currently deciding our fate, and to be frank, no matter what decision is made today, the Array of Stars will get the shorter end of the stick."

      "They have to decide what to sacrifice. The overall health of the Array of Stars, the Chief Overseer, the branch, or us. Something like that."

      Sebastian looked at Kyle with a raised brow. "That doesn't sound like a decision that needs deliberation"

      Kyle sighed "I think so too."

      Neither the Countess nor the Chief Overseer showed any signs of being able to overhear their voice transmissions, but that didn't say a lot.

      "I think it's pretty clear," Sebastian transmitted. "Think about it. What's the difference between the Array of Stars and the Contrast Empire?"

      "One's political while the other isn't?" Kyle answered, not sure if that was what Sebastian meant.

      "Yeah, that plays a part, but that's not what I mean,” Sebastian said. "Listen, there's one important difference."

      "I've talked to many men who are willing to die for their country."

      "I've yet to meet a single guy who would die for his employer."

      Sebastian's words echoed through Kyle's mind.

      After some seconds, Kyle sighed.

      'I see,' he thought.

      He remembered how the Countess had defended that one guy who had destroyed the Teleportation Formation Array. That guy was dead, and the Countess could have probably denied any involvement without any negative repercussions.

      Instead, she had said that the guy had attacked the Formation Array under their order.

      She had defended him.

      Kyle also remembered how hard the Contrast Empire had tried to deal with him.

      Was it really only because of his power, talent, and allegiance?

      Or was it also because he had killed their people?

      'One is a strictly monetary bond, while the other one is a bond of identity and emotion.'

      At that moment, the Chief Overseer took a deep breath and closed his eyes

      Kyle looked at him.

      "I’m sorry," the Chief Overseer said, looking at Kyle neutrally. Even though he was trying to seem cold and detached, Kyle could tell that the Chief Overseer felt pain, frustration, and regret deep inside.

      "The Contrast Empire has evidence of you killing people in a safe zone," the Chief Overseer said to Kyle before turning to Sebastian. "As for you, the Contrast Empire has evidence of you trying to murder an Investigator during their duties."

      "The Array of Stars is not a political party. Because of the clear evidence, the Array of Stars has decided to end its relationship with the two of you."

      Kyle just looked in disbelief at the Chief Overseer.

      His mind only recovered when he felt his Communicator shooting out of his Soul Space, which landed in the Chief Overseer's hands.

      Even though Kyle understood all the reasons behind the decision...

      Even though Kyle knew that the Array of Stars couldn't sacrifice millions of Seekers just for him.

      Even though Kyle had joined the Array of Stars as a Parasite.

      He still felt betrayed.

      When the Chief Overseer saw Kyle's expression, he looked away and sighed again.

      A small smirk appeared on the Countess' lips.

      And then.

      They exploded.

      Where the Countess and the Chief Overseer had once stood was now a deep red mist.

      Kyle's mind hadn't even recovered when he witnessed three black and white lines materializing in the red mist.

      Karmic Lines.

      Within less than an instant, a red pulse traveled up the Karmic Lines before vanishing.

      At the same time.

      Inside a meeting room, inside the headquarters of the Array of Stars...

      BANG!

      A person exploded into red mist.

      Inside an advanced Law Well inside the headquarters of the Array of Stars…

      BANG!

      A person exploded into red mist

      Inside a grand hall in the Contrast Empire's imperial city...

      BANG!

      A person exploded into red mist.

      Several powerful Immortals and Lords from both parties looked at the red mist in shock.

      "Took you long enough," Sebastian commented with annoyance.

      Kyle shook his head and looked at Sebastian in shock.

      But then, he looked back at the red mist as a silhouette stepped out of it.

      "Karmic Causality" the silhouette said, "Every Avatar is linked via Karma. Understanding Karmic Causality means understanding Karmic Luck."

      Kyle's eyes widened as he recognized the voice of the person inside the red mist.

      "Losing and gaining large amounts of Karmic Luck is the best way to comprehend Karmic Causality," the person said.

      A polite smile appeared on her face.

      Her red hair had the same color as the bloody mist.

      "We meet again, Mr. Freeman," the Red Witch said.
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      1. Offline
        + 11 -
        What the fu*********kkkk
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      2. Offline
        + 00 -
        God daaaaaaaamn man, I couldn't have evere imagined that THIS is how her knowing about Kyle would work out
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      3. Offline
        + 00 -
        Holy f#cking shit
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  3. Offline
    + 00 -
    Chaps will be late today (legitimately this time) because Aa is not at his dorm. Or maybe they won't be late who knows man. Not me.
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  4. Offline
    + 00 -
    how the hell can karmic weight affect a realm. i doubt uniques need spirit lord level karmic weight to become legendary
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    1. Offline
      + 10 -
      I think its more like he has done things that are so bad that even a spirit lord would have gotten a True Sin Aura.
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    2. Offline
      + 00 -
      I think it's just a base multiplier for karmic luck. I think scale isn't always properly calculated with normal luck because there's a massive difference between a dude murdering one planet that isn't very relevant to the universe overall and a dude who completely disrupts multiple primary organization's ability to become more powerful. Both would probably have the same karmic luck because one was very blatantly against the "rules", while the other wasn't necessarily breaking any rules, he was just causing harm second hand. That difference should be what karmic weight is. Kyle has done things that are relevant to Spirit Lords so his Karmic weight should be higher than when he was the overseer of a tertiary world. It's probably why killing a transcendent with a true sin aura gives a lot less karmic luck than killing a crusher with a true sin aura.
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  5. Offline
    + 10 -
    Has the time come for AOS to do something? This Karmic Weight feature would've been pretty cool if the Karmic Luck system wasn't a mess
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  6. Offline
    + 30 -
    Kyle this is very good opportunity to sign sebastian as member to cult
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    1. Offline
      + 00 -
      it should be aos
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  7. Offline
    + 40 -
    WHATS HAPPENING, WHRE DID ALL THIS PEAK CAME FROM wish wish wish
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    1. Offline
      + 20 -
      warma cooked it
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  8. Offline
    + 30 -
    I'm assuming she wants to make a deal with the Chief Overseer. What they'll get from sparing two Geniuses that the Array of Stars have invested on is much greater than killing them. Maybe?

    Also, Sebastian is really as crazy as Kyle. No wonder they hit it off pretty quickly back in the Tertiary World.
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  9. Offline
    + 70 -
    At this point we should just randomly summon Shang and Alex here because why the fck not. Then we could have Nick yoink Kyle out because 'reasons'.
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  10. Offline
    + 40 -
    Core spark to control elemental
    Hopefully he'll at least live even if it's destroyed all these damn people contrast empire really would be wiped off if these guys lived today
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