Death… And Me

Chapter 4209: Who Was The Favor For?

”Hey there, boys. You did great on your quest to come out of the Werdlem Empire. You liberated all twelve Primordial Demon Beasts, and that caused the collapse of the Bubble,” said Victor. ”Now, let me tell you what you don’t know.”

Victor then explained how the tear in space allowed others to interact with The Echo, and that the Werdlem Empire was trying to take control over it. The twins’ group already knew that, of course. They just weren’t sure. Hearing it from Victor only served to confirm their suspicions.

However, the part that really caught their attention came after it. ”Now that the Formation that was being used to take control of the Great Void broke, that gave me the chance I needed to close the tear for good. So, there is no need for you to worry about the Werdlem Empire using that thing anymore.”

”Ah!” Soul Gem suddenly spoke, and Rean put a pause in the recording to see what Soul Gem had to say. ”The tear! It was closed! That’s why the Werdlem Treasures aren’t working anymore. They were made with the help of that tear and its connection with The Echo! Now that it is gone...”

Black Lotus and Dalquiel weren’t idiots. ”So helping the twins was what caused our Werdlem Treasures to stop working.”

Soul Gem sighed. ”How do you expect me to know it was going to happen? No one knew that the tear in space could be closed at all. It has been there for eons. This guy called Victor was the one who closed it, and I can’t even guess how he did it. You truly can’t blame me for that.”

Soul Gem turned to Rean. ”Who was this Victor anyway?”

Rean shook his head in response. ”We thought he was a member of the Werdlem Empire. At least, that’s how he presented himself. He even worked to help select the next Universe Owner of one of the Werdlem Universes.” Rean’s attention returned to his CD. ”But I guess he will talk about it sooner or later.”

Rean resumed the play of the recording, and Victor continued to talk. ”With the Formation closed, nothing related to The Echo can be used again. Yes, I know you guys call it The Echo. Default will likely be the only one in your Great Void still capable of touching The Echo at all. Of course, there is no need to worry as Default is kind of influenced by The Echo itself. He will never try to use his power to take control over it.”

Default nodded on the side. ”This Victor is really in the know. He is right that The Echo itself prevents me from betraying it, even if it has no will of its own. Still, he seems to know a lot more about The Echo than I do.”

Victor continued. ”You guys have no idea how many problems you prevented from happening now that you helped me close the tear. By the way, if you are interested, the name we use for that tear in space is Ultima Gap. Not that it can be of any use anymore anyway.”

”Now, I guess this is all related to The Echo. So, let me talk a little bit about myself. I’m part of a group called The Arbiters. We attempt to keep the balance of the Celestial Plane, and closing the Ultima Gap here in your Great Void Home falls into the scope of our operations. I’m telling you this because you will eventually hear about us anyway.”

”Don’t try to look for the organization or me, though. Except for a very small number of experts, not even the top power in the Celestial Plane can contact us directly. Everyone knows about us in the Celestial Plane, but no one can use us. As for why intervening with the Werdlem Empire was part of our business, let’s just say that having control over an entire Great Void is quite the boost to any power of the Celestial Plane. That often is followed by the loss of an insurmountable number of lives.”

”I hope you are well, and to thank you for the great help you provided, I’m sending you a gift. You should receive it in the next few weeks. Alright, I’m off to the Celestial Plane. We probably will never meet again, so take care.”

Finally, the recording ended. That left everyone surprised. It was obvious Victor was talking on a scale that far surpassed anything the twins’ group ever dealt with.

”The Arbiters...” Kentucky turned to Default and the other Primordial Demon Beasts. ”You guys had been to the Celestial Plane before, right?”

Roan noticed something, cutting in before Default and the others could speak. ”Victor said that he helped us because he owed someone a favor back in the Golden Palace. We already know that although you can’t stay up there for long, you still went to the Celestial Realm. Default, was it you who contacted the Arbiters?”

Default was taken aback for a moment, and then he laughed. ”Hahaha! I wish I could say that, but no, I didn’t. However, I do believe you are right. Victor probably helped you because of me.”

Turns out that Default also didn’t have any means of contacting the Arbiters. However, that didn’t mean the Arbiters weren’t hearing. ”According to the general belief, the Arbiters have ears in the entire Celestial Plane. So, when I received the warning from The Echo, I paid a quick visit to the Celestial Plane and spread a little rumor in an area far, far away from the Werdlem Empire’s influence in the Celestial Plane. The rumor was simple. The Werdlem Empire was doing something with its entire Great Void.”

”Of course, I had no idea whether the Arbiters would show up or not, so I didn’t comment about it either. The last thing I needed was for any of us to believe in such a low-probability of them appearing. Until Victor spoke about it in the message, I actually had some doubts about whether the Arbiters existed at all. Most think that they are nothing but a legend up there, and as you can see, it is for good reason. Victor is the first real member I’ve ever heard of or seen. Is his name Victor at all? I highly doubt so, to be honest.”

Roan understood. Default had no connections with the Arbiters, but because of his move, the Arbiters found out about the Werdlem Empire’s intentions and intervened. It wasn’t guaranteed, but the favor Victor talked about was indeed very likely to be because of Default’s move before attacking the Werdlem Empire all those years ago. They likely knew it was Default.

But that opens more questions. For example, how did Victor even know what the twins’ group was planning to do? That seemed ridiculous, but it happened. As to whether the twins’ group would find an answer or not, no one knows.