Tier 3+ - Accidental Champion (Book 2) - Chapter 65 - The Silver River Sector

A bright light filled the stone room. Colours blossomed from this light, just as they had blossomed from the Spirit of Protection when he’d summoned it.

Who will I be communing with this time?

The brightness of the light dimmed until a figure could be seen. The figure was smaller than the last spirit he’d summoned. It looked humanoid and wore pristine white robes. Like the spirit before it, its features were obscured beneath a large hood.

Greeting, Denizen, the spirit’s voice sounded within Xavier’s mind. What insight do you wish to receive?

Xavier held his thoughts in. There was likely a way to distinguish the thoughts he wished it to hear from the ones he wished only for himself, but he didn’t know how to do that yet.

I wish learn about the sector that my planet, Earth, inhabits.

He could have had a more specific question, like asking where he should go with his Sector Travel Key, but he wanted to get a lay of the land first. He also had no idea what type of limitations this spell had. Surely, he couldn’t simply learn anything?

The figure bobbed slowly up and down where it hovered. It nodded its head and spread its arms wide. Its hands were hidden beneath its voluminous sleeves. It looked like some holy monk about to spout he wisdom of the gods. Perhaps that wasn’t too far off.

Xavier’s vision went black. The world shifted around him, like he was in a rising elevator or on a roller coaster slowly inching to the top of its climb.

He sensed the drop coming before it did. It was a strange sensation, but he’d had a similar one before. His consciousness was being split from his body. This was something that he’d done on purpose, when using his Willpower Infusion spell.

Having it forced on him was not pleasant.

His consciousness… plummeted. It was as though he were travelling through space and time. A second or an hour or a million years could have gone by before he was stopped.

His mind could see, somehow, even though it didn’t have eyes, and what he saw before him was a little blue planet, with a single moon revolving around it.

Earth. This… this is Earth.

Your world, Earth, is at the very edge of integrated space in your sector.

Xavier’s consciousness plummeted again. He was moved through space faster than the speed of light until he was looking at a sea of stars, floating out in the nothing amongst them.

Earth is a part of the Silver River sector. The Silver River sector’s earliest integrated planet was 9,748 years ago. The slow but inevitable crawl of the System has integrated more than a quarter of the galaxy since then.

There are over three hundred million viable planetary candidates for System integration within the Silver River sector with over seventy-five million of those planets having already been integrated.

The Silver River sector is considered a young sector, and as such has been the site of great upheaval. Since its integration it has been purged twice, with billions of Denizens from millions of planets being extinguished from existence.

The most powerful Denizen in the Silver River sector is the Empress Larona, a C Grade known for her ability to see into the future.

The Silver River sector is in danger of another purge.

Xavier’s consciousness violently snapped back into his body. He stumbled, the world suddenly no longer frozen, the spirit that had been hovering, cross-legged in the air before him, was gone.

He touched a hand to his head, feeling vertigo. With how damned high all his attributes were he didn’t think he’d ever be able to feel vertigo again.

Siobhan strode across the stone room and put a hand on his shoulder. “What is it? You used your other spell. What did you learn?”

Xavier shook his head. He’d thought Earth was the only thing that had been in danger. The only thing he needed to worry about. Apparently, he’d been wrong. “Our entire sector is at risk of being purged.”

“Purged?” Howard said. “What does that mean?”

“That… doesn’t sound good.” Justin gripped the hilt of his sword, not that there was anything to fight right now.

Xavier explained to him what he’d seen—which, admittedly, wasn’t a hell of lot—then what he’d learnt about their sector.

“It’s been purged twice before?” Siobhan asked. Her eyes were a little wide. “Who… what would do that?”

Xavier shook his head. “I’ve no idea. It didn’t exactly provide much explanation.”

He could sense the spell was on cooldown. He checked how long it would take to cast it again. This time, he would ask for a more specific insight.

Otherworldly Communion currently has a cooldown of 1 month. It cannot be used for another 29 days, 23 hours and 57 minutes.

“Really?” Xavier swore under his breath.

“What?” Howard asked.

“The spell has a month-long cooldown! I felt like it barely gave me any information at all. At least, no context for the information!” He sighed. “But I think I know who might.” He shut his eyes and cast Willpower Infusion. A surge of purple mist flowed from him. He raised his arms as he felt the mist rise. He’d never used the spell on this many enemies before. He could use Soul Strike to kill all the goblins, but he didn’t want to accidentally take out the floor boss.

He split his consciousness. Floor by floor, he felt the mist enter the goblins, take control of their weak minds. He commanded them to fight each other. Commanded them to die. A minute, maybe two, went by before every enemy but one remained. He harvested every available soul, bringing his soulkeeping reserve back to full.

“Tell the prince what he needs to know to save his father from being sacrificed, then get out of here,” he said to Howard, then turned to Siobhan. “Teleport me down to the exit. I have someone I need to talk to.”

~

Xavier burst into the tavern. A few heads looked up. He recognised many of them this time, after the contracts he’d set up and the many he’d handed away. He ignored them, looked at the barkeep, and strode across the tavern toward him. “What do you know about this sector being purged?”

Sam had been cleaning the bar, pristine as it was. He dropped the cloth he’d been using and stared at Xavier. There was recognition in his eyes. “Purge?”

“I’ve just learnt that the Silver River sector has been purged twice since it was first integrated into the System. Millions of planets extinguished. Billions of Denizens dead. And that the sector is threatened by another purge. You said the person you work for plays the long game. What game is that, exactly?”

“There are things that I can say, and things that I can’t—”

Xavier shut his eyes. Sighed. “I’ve been patient with you. Honest with you. Now it’s your turn to be honest with me.” He remembered the name of the Denizen his insight had told him was the most powerful in the sector. Something clicked within his mind, the pieces coming together.

The presence that observed me… The person Sam is working for…

He stared at Sam, observing his expression closely, then uttered the name, “Empress Larona.”

Sam’s eyes widened. He rested a hand on the bar. Shook his head. “How’d you learn that name? Where did you hear about the purge?”

Xavier sat at one of the barstools. “You work for the most powerful Denizen in the sector. A C Grade.”

Sam nodded slowly.

“What does she want from me?”

Sam bit his lip. Shut his eyes. Then he let out a long sigh and leant heavily on the bar, staring at Xavier. “For a hundred years I’ve been looking for you. Sent from one instance of the Tower of Champions to the next. Again and again I’ve seen Progenitors fail to live up to even the most meagre of expectations. Not a single one of them has been enough. Not a single one of them has been a True Progenitor.” He shook his head again. “But you. You’re not what I expected. You’re like nothing I’ve ever seen. Something tells me you’re like nothing anyone has ever seen. I’m still in shock about you grade. That you advanced to E Grade already. It’s insane. If you were anyone else I wouldn’t believe you. But you’re…”

The barkeep pulled an unlabelled bottle of dark liquid from beneath the counter. Two tumblers appeared as though from nowhere, hovering in the air. He let go of the bottle, but it didn’t fall. Instead, it moved as though still being held by him, pouring its liquid into the glasses. Xavier had never seen the barkeep use telekinesis before.

One of the glasses came to rest in front of Xavier.

“Drink,” said the barkeep.

And drink Xavier did. He downed the entire contents of glass. Slapped it back onto the counter. “You still haven’t said what she wants from me. She’s C Grade. She could crush me like a bug.”

“I told you, she plays the long game.”

Xavier pushed the glass forward. The bottle poured him more. “The long game. I’ve become strong enough to protect Earth, haven’t I?”

“Yes, I think so. Though you getting this high level so quickly… it will have consequences you won’t like.”

Xavier frowned at that, but moved past it for now. “But saving Earth, that’s not going to be enough, is it?”

“Not even close.”

Xavier grabbed his glass, downed it again. “The long game. She can’t protect the sector, can she? As powerful as she is, she feels defenceless?”

Sam looked away. “There are things in the Greater Universe that are more powerful than you can imagine. Things that can wipe out entire planets with a snap of their fingers. Beings that can eat whole galaxies. Sectors as young as ours…” He sighed. “I shouldn’t be telling you all this.” He put a finger to his lower lip. “The System should be stopping me from telling you all this.” He shrugged. “I guess you’re more ready than I thought.”

Xavier leant back on his stool. He considered having a third drink, but he knew that wouldn’t actually help. Besides, the drink wasn’t near strong enough to give him even the slightest buzz. “What am I supposed to do with this information?” The words came out in an angry growl. For a moment he wasn’t even sure why he was angry.

I just caught up. Got strong enough to protect Earth. And now I hear the whole damned sector is in trouble? How, exactly, does that responsibility fall onto me?

He shut his eyes. Thought of Queen Alastea. Of the Lord of the Endless Horde he’d just defeated.

I’ve already changed the fate of one sector… what’s one more?

Except that sector was weak compared with this one. And how could he fight a threat that could purge millions of worlds?

“What do you want to do with the information?” Sam paced behind the bar. “Do you want to leave the sector? Because you can, you know. Maybe not yet, but in time, you’ll be able to afford to do something like that.”

Xavier was taken aback by the question. “What? Leave the sector? Why would I do that?”

“To avoid the threat,” Sam said. “Other, older sectors are more established. Threats like these… don’t happen. Many have a single ruler, or several strong rulers, who keep relative peace and stability. Our sector is splintered. Empress Larona is the most powerful, but she does not rule everything. If she did, your planet would be in a very different situation.”

“I wouldn’t need to save it from being destroyed or enslaved?” Xavier asked.

Sam chuckled darkly. “No, Xavier. You wouldn’t be ableto save it.” He raised a hand, forestalling Xavier’s next words. “Your people wouldn’t be enslaved, but a ruler of her choosing would be installed. Someone who could guide your people. All of your people.” He shrugged. “But making peace on an entire world can be difficult work, especially when they’ve been as fractured as the people of your world have, already a militaristic culture.”

Xavier took in what Sam was saying. The Empress Larona, were she in charge, would take over Earth? Rule it by proxy? How would that make her any different to the Lord of the Endless Horde?

He lowered his head in thought. The politics of the sector weren’t his current concern. “I’m not going to flee the sector.”

“Why not? Now you know it’s in danger?”

“Because I wouldn’t be able to take Earth with me.”

Sam smiled. “You are who she’s been looking for.”