'The ignorant are fearless' went a saying.
When he first came across it, Varian dismissed the saying as drivel of a stubborn old fool. That firm opinion began to crack as the time trickled away.
"Do you want to visit our business district next?" Aion stroked his long white beard and asked with a relaxed expression.
Shortly after his status changed from a lab slave to a guest, the old man took him out and personally showed him the city.
For someone who's madly obsessed with research and spent no time cultivating any relationships, this was something out of line.
Elder Aion himself was very famous for rejecting invitations to social events. If any Heaven tribesman were in Varian's place, they might be flattered.
But Varian only felt anxious.
[6 hours left]
He didn't know if the Neveah would start attacking the moment the clock hit 00:00 but he didn't want to bet on their kindness to wait.
Varian thought he'd see clues to Heaven's extermination. Maybe there was a traitor? Maybe there was a secret organization? Maybe there's a coup?
Nothing. He checked everything he could check. He even used the power of slivers subtly while hiding it from Aion. And he found that Heaven were only more powerful than the old man showed.
So, why in Eden were they defeated?
"I would like to see the advanced products sold." Varian spoke, gaze slowly turning heavy.
He already spent a few hours touring around the city, visiting residential areas, public spaces and scenic attractions.
While they all held secrets that were lost in the passage of time, they weren't worth mentioning compared to the tribe itself that was about to be destroyed in a few hours.
"I sense a business opportunity here, hoho." Letting out a pretentious and fake chuckle, the elder said with confidence.
Inwardly, Aion was satisfied with Varian's performance.
From the dismissive attitute at first when he visited the civilian areas to the gradual solemity after learning the deep technology used for these buildings and his subsequent attempts to appear dismissive and failing each time.
'Good, good. He's realizing how advanced we are compared to his tribe. Maybe we don't even need to slaughter them. If his status is high enough, he might just ask them to submit on their own.'
What Aion didn't consider was that the young man in front of him was a crazy deciever. He once fooled an entire kingdom that he's the arrogant young master.
Today, he put on a very convincing act of a young master who's shocked by the advancement of his enemy tribe.
Poor Aion was completely fooled.
With much more enthusiasm than usual, he took Varian to the business district and introduced all the prominent stores.
"-ting fillux, once you use it, dreams will turn into nightmares and will temper your soul. While every Heaven tribesman awakens only in the path of time, we are researching a way to overcome that and have had some success.
Of course, having a stronger soul gives a more refined control of time power. So, this is a popular product."
Aion returned the product to the storekeeper while throwing a smirk at the silent Varian.
Fulfilling his role, Varian nodded with a stiff, difficult expression as if he's crushed by the reality of how far the Heaven were.
Gritting his teeth, he took a deep breath and spoke. "C-Can we discuss an alliance between the tribes?"
His tone was a little polite, voice a little soft and the words a lot more political. Alliance was merely a face saving term in this situation.
Aion knew that no matter how dumb the 'young master' was, he'd know alliance was only possible when there's a give and take. If one was only giving and the other was only taking, sooner or later, it'd turn into a bond of master and servant.
'He's being polite all of a sudden. No longer babbling about the future and past nonsense.'
Aion's lips curled up, his opinion of Varian and the Ares tribe only affirmed by the latter's reactions.
Noticing the old man's silence, the youngster waited for a while before probing. "E-Err, Elder Aion?"
"Ah! Ahahaha! I was just thinking about the latest experiment, pardon my absent mindedness." Aion waved his hands, words apologetic, expression uncaring.
The tour of business district took longer than expected. Maybe Aion decided to crush the remaining pride of Varian and showed off advanced products, even the ones that were not yet open to general public.
Varian behaved appropriately, showing the conflict between a young master who valued his pride and the realist who must seek refuge in this powerful tribe.
"What more places would you like to visit?"
As the day drew to an end, Aion put his hands behind his back, looking over a small lake filled with precious divine water and asked lightly.
The wind blew gently, ruffling his and fluttering his clothes. The crowd on the streets had diminished to less than a tenth during the popular hours.
The wind was filled with the fragrance of delicious potions made at homes to be consumed at rest. Heaven tribe abandoned the mortal concept of food long ago.
In the peace of silence, Varian finally pushed his agenda. It's for this that he put on an act to decieve Aion and waste so many precious hours.
"Elder Aion, I am grateful for everything you've shown me. I've never seen a more refined, more sophisticated technological advancement anywhere in Eden."
The praise in a flattering tone was the right opener in this situation. Even though it felt cheap, Varian didn't let it bother him.
Aion leaned on the guard rails, with his back facing him. The smile on the old man's face after hearing his words grew wider and he concluded that this matter had ended.
There's even no need to wait for a few days. Just tomorrow, he could send a delegation to Ares tribe.
This youngster could try persuading his tribesmen to surrender. If they didn't, Aion was sure he'd rebel and tell their secrets to the tribe of Heaven.
Even though Heaven saw themselves as overwhelmingly superior compared to Ares, completely slaughtering Ares involved a risk.
The sliver of chaos might be lost in the heat of war.
An insider would minimize that risk. And if he could persuade them to surrender, that's for the best!
As he's about to turn around and call it a day, he heard Varian continue in a shaky tone.
"But you should've sensed my unease. Perhaps it is due to what I've been through in the past few days."
Aion's brows furrowed. 'Huh? If you had even an iota of political sense, you shouldn't talk about that stuff.'
"Or perhaps it's due to the prophecy of City Lord. But I am scared of the coming invasion."
Aion raised a brow and said in a careless tone. "They're all gonna die. The stories you told me are just getting to your head."
"Maybe they are." Varian nodded. "The past, the future and the extermination of Heaven. My mind refuses not to believe even after everything I've seen."
"Are you cra—"
"I want to convince it. Can I see the defense measures you've prepared for Neveah? That, more than anything will persuade me there's no way Neveah can ever win against you, much less push you to extinction."
Aion turned around soundlessly and stared straight into Varian's eyes for a few seconds.
The complacency in his eyes at having persuaded a simple-minded youngster was reduced by a few notches.
Perhaps he began to sense that Varian was not what he showed himself to be.
With a hint of solemnity for the first time, he said. "Follow me."