Aphosis spoke first.
Even though he's just a phantom and a very weak one at that, the world seemed to come alive with his voice.
"You exceeded my expectations."
While it sounded like a praise, Aphosis only intended to express his opinion in the most truthful manner.
Varian pursed his lips and moved his gaze to the old man sitting on the far right.
"It's funny because Keeper Equilius exceeded my expectations. Even sending an asassin for me after I conquered Lionar, tsk. I can't believe a lord who rules over an empire had to depend on a pseudo divine."
A silence pervaded the hall as Aphosis glanced at Equilius with a neutral gaze.
"He has a significantly more chance of success in defeating the God Emperor than Immortal. We have to support him. It's the way with the most success rate." Befitting his nature, Aphosis spoke in a logical manner.
"Give me a break!" Equilius slammed the armrest of his chair. "Unlike those two avenues which are flawed, ours is perfect. We don't have a third path. We are special. So are our slivers. They don't have fused slivers, we do.
Once we have the slivers back, the God Emperor can be defeated. Maybe it'll take ten thousand years or a millenia. But he will be defeated.
There is no need to depend on Immortal. That child was never ours. His loyalty, his roots and his gaze are with Genesis and Mors.
He won't even be able to win. And let's say he did, it still won't do us any good. We will only go from one dictator to another. Worse, unlike the previous dictator, this one would see no value in our existence and might very well slaughter us all.
And coming to Varian. He's the same as Immortal. He's not one of ours. He's not loyal. What makes you so sure that he won't abandon us if the God Emperor threatens him to?"
The two-fold argument was interesting.
The first argument about the divine pathw as true.
Sage had soul and Creator had gravity. Indeed, only the Ruler Avenue didn't have a third path.
Was it really the uniquess of the Avenue? Since divine paths were foundational to universe itself, it's not easy to dismiss the words of Equilius.
On a grand scale, what would be the implications for this fundamental difference?
Secondly, if Immortal could defeat Jai Emperor, then it'd also mean he's the strongest in the cosmos.
With the threat of God Emperor gone, would the Alliance still remain? Of course not. Immortal would unify the two Empires and set his sights on the 'outsiders'.
The most obvious target in such a scenario would be Nexus. The tribe sharing the same origins as Vita and Ativ would not be allowed to exist lest it challenge their legitamcy.
If Immortal was as clever as he's ruthless, he'd exterminate Sera tribe to ensure that no future threat would rise from them, just like how Immortal rose against God Emperor.
The same applied for Varian. At least they knew Immortal a little. But this man was a complete stranger.
No matter how one thought about it along these lines, there's no way Nexus would come out on top with Aphosis' plan.
"I do not agree." Aphosis was firm in his stance. "Even if what you said is true, there is a negligible probability that things will go as you hope. The remnants of Ares had the slivers for so long but they do not rule the cosmos today.
And even during the days of the tribes, we were equal to the other four, not superior or inferior.
The so-called uniqueness could not emerge even when the gods were alive to guide the tribes. That happening now is just leaving too much to fate."
Equilius clenched his fists and veins bulged on his forearm. But he quickly relaxed and leaned back in his chair, playfully tapping his armrest.
"Any big decision needs to be approved by the council. Aridamn and I vote to strip him of his slivers. We can decide what to do with the slivers later. And it's ridiculous that you have come here, Varian."
The old man turned to the sliverholder with a cold smile.
"You should've hidden yourself to live for at least a bit longer. With the war going on, I wouldn't have come after for you for at least a few weeks."
Varian sneered, showing no hint of fear. "Even if I remain hidden, I can't hide from a mid rank 2 who decides to be a dog and sniff out my traces. Since we're going to meet anyway, I'd rather meet you in the presence of the other two so that you don't try anything funny rather than meet you when you come to hunt me down."
"Arrogant!" Keeper Equlius laughed with a disbelieving expression. "How arrogant?! Do you realize your tone and words?"
Varian gave a cheeky smile. "I'm sorry, people from my place don't really feel the need to show respect to those who are determined to kill them. You should thank me for not abusing your nine generations of ancestors. I know I'm kind, but a thank you won't hurt, would it?"
"…"
The palace seemed to freeze at the provocate words. But other than narrowing his eyes, Keeper Equilius did nothing else.
Varian wouldn't have dared this in front of even a low rank 2 Genesis or Mors powerhouse.
While they were supremely intellegent, they still had the base of emotions influencing them. Things like ego, image, happiness mattered for them.
But these guys? They're too rational.
They wouldn't let a harmless abuse that wouldn't spread outside the palace walls to affect their decision.
As expected, Aphosis raised his hand. "My vote is to support Varian. Aridam, what about you?"
"I vote to strip the slivers from him." Equilius responded. "Aridam?"
"…"
The young man sitting in the middle of the boy and the old man became the focus.
But he wasn't looking at them at all. Since the start, he had been staring at Varian with an intense gaze.
"Test." He pointed at the sliverholder.
"Huh?" Varian tilted his head.
Aridamn rested his chin on his palm, an amusing spreading on his face. "Aphosis' assessment is correct that you are the better bet than Immortal. Equilius was not wrong when he said your loyalty is questionable.
But what I seek is something else. Are you ruthless enough for this job?
You're young, too young. The deaths you've seen might be great considering your rank but honestly speaking, it is not even the tip of an iceberg compared to what a typical divine ranker experiences.
When you acquire enough power to fight the God Emperor, know that our battle could potentially wipe out half of the life in the known universe.
It might be from our side or their side. But no one would be spared. The good men, women and of course, the innocent children.
If you take this step, you'll eventually stand at a point where you'll have to bear the weight of countless souls.
Are you up for the job?"
Varian nodded. "I wouldn't have stepped into this place if I wasn't. Bring it on."
"Don't worry, it's a simple test." Aridam smiled.
It was a chaotic, insidious smile.