Tier 3+ - Accidental Champion (Book 7) - Chapter 51 - Where, Exactly, Are You Going With This?

Xavier raised an eyebrow at Palini after the man had just called him a stubborn bastard.

[Where, exactly, are you going with this?]

They were standing in what was formerly The Collector’s grand throne room. The B Grade ruler lay dead, his body cut in half from neck to shoulder by Xavier’s scythe. A Void Being in the form of a naked dragonkin—who, for the most part, looked exactly like Xavier—was trapped in a slower time stream in the air above them, its anger and hate filled eyes locked onto him. More dead were scattered around the throne room. Stars twinkled in the sky above through the glass dome, their silent vigil reminding him of the strange presences he’d felt observing him only moments ago when he’d survived that Soul Energy explosion that should have killed him many times over.

Are they still watching? he wondered. And who the hell are they all?

He shrugged off that thought as Palini responded to his question.

[I’m figuring this out as I go. You’ll have to trust me—like how I’m trusting you.]

Xavier released a silent breath. Well, he supposed he hadn’t known what to say to these people. Surely whatever Palini said wouldn’t make things worse.

“The man hadn’t done anything wrong, hadn’t committed a crime,” Palini said. “Signing the contract, saying his peace, would have cleared everything up and had him out of my interrogation room in a snap. But apparently his ideals are ironclad. Here I’d thought he was just afraid of confessing what he’d done.” The armless swordsman sighed. “I put him in a room where he had no access to his spells. Where gravity was enhanced. Where he was weakened in every conceivable way. Even so, he turned the tables on me. Could have killed me. Could have escaped. Instead, it turns out his ideals aren’t the only thing clad in iron. His balls are too, because he makes me take him to Sovereign Rewke Fouran.”

The mention of Sovereign Fouran got a twitch from the woman who’d frozen—the one whose muscles had braced as though ready to take a beating. Contrastingly, the shaking tank stilled.

“Ah, guess you’ve heard of him,” Palini said. “The sovereign, well, he offered Xavier here far more than I imagined in recompense for the, uh…” He paused. “Misunderstanding. Offered to punish me. Fire me—and worse. I think if things had gone further… Well, honestly, I don’t want to think about what would have happened. Suffice to say, it showed me who that man really was. Sovereign Fouran didn’t care about his loyal subject. He was using me as leverage, offering to punish me because he wanted Xavier to kill The Collector and then become his Sector Warden of Ventorin.”

The two guards gave an audible intake of breath.

“Xavier said no. Told Sovereign Fouran—perhaps the most powerful Denizen in this entire area—to his face, what he thought about his leadership, then Xavier asked not for my punishment, but my loyalty. And, well, I’m here…” Palini looked at the two halves of The Collector’s corpse. “You know what happened next.” The man inhaled. Sighed. “Maybe you’re wondering why I’m telling the two of you this. Suffice to say, I haven’t been in your position. I wasn’t forced into serving my sector ruler—I volunteered. I worked as hard as I could, years stacking one on another, to by the best subject I could be. In my heart, I was as loyal as possible.” He raised a finger. “Because I thought my sovereign was loyal to me. I thought he was loyal to his subjects—his people. Then, I saw how easily we could be used as bargaining chips. Yes, I made a mistake in how I took in Xavier Collins. A mistake I take responsibility for. But I made that mistake out of fear. Fear of disappointing a man I looked up to.”

Palini shut his eyes, shook his head. “Sovereign Fouran is nothing like the man you served. The man you were forced to serve. Nothing like the vile Gregori. But he isn’t the man I thought he was, either. Not the type of ruler I wish to follow any longer. He isn’t honest with his people, not does he have their best intentions at heart as I thought.” Palini opened his eyes and faced Xavier. “Xavier Collins is honest. He told me my loyalty would never be forced. Told me that even if I chose to give him his service, I could question his orders. I could refuse them. The truth contract we signed goes both ways, and it opened a window into his heart. I know for a fact that this man will not harm you. I know his naïve, idealistic intentions are for the good of all. But even knowing that he wanted what was best for everyone and acting in accordance with that goal wasn’t enough to follow him.”

Palini stepped over to where the two halves of The Collector lay and stared at them with a tilt of his head. “Ideals. Intentions. These aren’t enough. He had to back all this up with power to show he was worthy.” The man raised his chin, gazed at the empty throne. “The kind of power he demonstrated today.” Palini turned on his heel. Faced the two B Grade guard who, to Xavier’s surprise, no longer had their heads down. They still weren’t looking at Xavier, but they were now looking at Palini.

“So no, our experiences are not the same,” Palini continued. “I was never treated as the two of you have been, and the mistreatment I spoke of by my sovereign was entirely theoretical, never coming to pass. But I do know what it’s like to have your view of the universe shatter into pieces and leave you feeling lost. And I know what it feels like to take a leap of faith, to put trust in a total stranger, and to ultimately be found again. That is why I told you this little story: Your lives, such as they have been, have been shattered by the death of The Collector. Ultimately, this is a good thing. But right now, it won’t feel like it. Yours, and the lives of everyone in this entire sector, are about to be turned upside down. A power vacuum will form, and even though Xavier is strong enough to fill it, he can’t be everywhere at once. There will be much pain. There will be more death. There will be struggle.” He raised his chin. “But the two of you, and everyone else still standing in this room? You can be of service. Your help will mitigate that pain. Will prevent more deaths. And will smooth the transition of power in the Ventorin sector.”

Palini frowned, suddenly looking unsure about what he intended to say next. He glanced at Xavier, and though he didn’t communicate what he would say, Xavier offered an approving nod. The man cleared his throat. “But as helpful as your service would be, Xavier Collins will not command it, nor force it in any way. The damage The Collector has done to you both, to all of you, is more than I could ever imagine. You have been stuck in this life for so long, your decisions made for you, your life not in your own hands… Know that while Xavier will graciously accept your volunteered service, he does not require it. You deserve to rest. To heal. That choice will be respected. However long that takes, and your service won’t be expected in the future. And if you do volunteer, he will not bind you with a death-contract, a System-loss contract, or level-loss contract. Your loyalty will be of the heart.”

The B Grades were no longer cowering or frozen in fear. Xavier still sensed fear wafting off the two of them. That kind of fear isn’t something that simply goes away with the death of an abuser and a story from a stranger about another stranger. But he could see that Palini’s words had opened their eyes, if not their hearts, to the possibility that something had changed.

It was the leather-clad, many-dagger-wielding woman who spoke first. Xavier had never heard a B Grade with a voice so small. “You…” She swallowed. “His Majesty would sign a truth contract to—” Her voice caught, but she pushed on. “To this affect?”

“I would. And please, stop calling me Majesty. My name is Xavier. I’m not a king or an emperor. I just want to make a difference.”

Though Xavier spoke in what he hoped was a gentle voice, his words made both B Grades twitch. He supposed he understood why. The man who’d tormented them for almost five times longer than the United States had been founded, starting all the way back when the Byzantine Empire was still a major power, had just been dispatched by Xavier with what must have looked like incredible ease. He was stronger than that man—why wouldn’t they fear him?

Even so, it frustrated him. He wanted to help them. Wasn’t that clear yet?

After an awkward silence, the tank opened his mouth. “What—” The massive man bit his lip. His gaze shifted to the Void Being. “What about that?”

Xavier glanced at the Void Being. “Oh. I’ll deal with that,” he said, though he wasn’t sure how to yet, considering how strong it had felt.

“Why does it look like you?” the woman asked. Her eyes widened and she clamped her mouth shut, as though worried she’d spoken out of turn.

Palini chuckled. “You know, I just asked him the same thing.” His words once more helped ease the tension.

Xavier sighed. “That isn’t relevant right now.” He glanced over at the Time mage. The woman might not be moving quite as fast as them, but she was the only other person in this room—except, perhaps, for the Void Being—currently able to discern their conversation. She was giving him a curious, hopeful look. “Here.” Xavier sent the two B Grades a truth-contract. One that went both ways, and one that didn’t require they answer a question, only that when they decided to speak to him, they spoke the truth.

Though they had plenty of time within the time dilation field, Xavier was hoping to speak to every Denizen in the room before facing the Void Being.

There was a part of him that thought it would be easier to simply talk to every Denizen at once, but it was wiser to do it slowly, as they were. To do this right, he didn’t want these people feeling threatened by him. Didn’t want them feeling afraid—even if fear was unavoidable, he could work to minimise it as much as possible. He also didn’t want their decisions to be influenced by the decisions of those around him. If he spoke to all of them at once, if any of them felt unsure they might simply agree because that was what they were used to doing, and that was what everyone else was doing.

He also didn’t want the worst-case scenario to happen—what if, all of them gathered together, turned that fear into a decision to fight him? Such shift to mob mentality would only take a single instigator. Someone angry enough to act. And these people certainly had reason enough to be angry.

No, it was better to go slow.

The truth-contract was signed only a second after he sent it. Xavier restated what Palini had said. As he spoke, the two B Grades became increasingly comfortable and began asking further questions of him. In the end, they both volunteered not only their service, but their loyalty. They tried to take a knee while doing this, but Xavier sighed and asked that they stand; a request that to his great relief didn’t make either of them flinch.

Encased in a time dilation field, Xavier and Palini made their way around the room. In ones, twos, and threes, they spoke to every Denizen there and, to Xavier’s surprise, Palini’s little story—becoming smoother with each telling—eased the fear and tension in their tortured souls and helped them open up and become receptive to what Xavier was offering.

Even more surprisingly, every single one of them volunteered their service and loyalty to him under a truth-contract.

When Palini saw Xavier’s look of confusion as the final Denizen—the Time mage herself—volunteered her service, the man spoke to him through their linked Communication Stones. [You’re wondering why they all agreed to serve you?]

[I hoped they would… That was why I wanted them to see me kill The Collector, and why I didn’t want any of them to die.] Xavier’s attention grazed the twenty-one corpses of Denizens who hadn’t deserved their deaths. [I failed to free them all, and yet those who remain still decided to follow me. To genuinely follow me. I expected some, but all of them?]

[Yes, some of them died, and I find that as regrettable as you do, but the rest? You freed them from the horror that was their life. Freed them from the complete and utter lack of agency they’ve experienced for too long. They want to believe in a better way. Anyone who still holds a shred of decency in their heart wants that, even if it’s hard to contemplate what it would look like. After what you’ve shown them, why would they not choose to follow you?]

Xavier sighed inwardly. He was being watched now—not just by the unseen observers he’d sensed, but by every Denizen in the grand throne room. They were gathered together, looking to him. Going to them all as he had, gaining more glimpses into the unfathomably traumatic lives they’d each led, had opened his mind and heart to their suffering. He wanted to help these people. His gaze shifted from the Denizens to the Void Being. It had moved a bit more through the air, and something strange was happening with the power it radiated—Xavier wasn’t sure, but he thought it might be adapting its speed, changing somehow so it could compensate for the time dilation field it was outside of. It had flickered twice in what should have been a fraction of a second for it. The flickers weren’t the same as he’d seen earlier, when he’d called Rhaalir here to ask the elven spirit about the Void Being. These flickers appeared somehow more intentional. Each time they happened, a wave of powerful energy emanated from the Void Being.

Xavier was aware there were different planes of existence—it was to one of those planes that he was able to “phase” into. In some of those planes, time flowed differently. Not in the normal stream of a typical universe, but in a more chaotic amalgamation of shifting and opposing currents. If the Void Being were able to access those planes, it could very well circumvent the time stream it was currently hindered by…

The thought made Xavier shudder.

He turned his gaze back to the gathered Denizens, though he kept a part of his mind, utilising his spiritual sense and Farscope ability, constantly focused on the Void Being and aware of its every movement. The former C and B Grade guards of Gregori The Collector gazed back at him. It wasn’t only former guards among them, either. Several of the women in the room had been a part of his “personal harem”—another thought that made Xavier shudder. The Collector had violated what should have been the immutable, basic rights of every single person in that room in varying and horrifying ways.

A part of Xavier thought the man’s death was far too swift.

Xavier stepped forward, in front of the throne. The Void Being loomed above, but from the perspective of those gathered Denizens he paid it no mind. Xavier pointedly glanced at the throne, at the pieces of its former owner, then faced those gathered. Though Xavier had come to terms with his desire to rule, and most certainly had the means, he still wasn’t accustomed—nor entirely comfortable—with standing in front of a crowd and talking to them as their leader.

He raised his chin and spoke.