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"Ugh! My head hurts!" Gibson dramatically sighed before collapsing on the couch.
His eyes looked strained and he sported a deep frown on his face from exertion. He didn’t do anything physically exhausting, yet he felt burdened anyway. The main source of it, obviously, was his throbbing head.
Why does he feel this way? Well, it’s because of the crystal orb that they dug out, which contained the formation ’CS’ used to repair and revive the Crimson Womb Chaos Realm.
"Gee, even you, huh?" Urek smiled bitterly seeing his friend sporting a headache.
He wasn’t faring well himself; he too had taken a peek at what that crystal orb kept. He didn’t even reach halfway through it, and he already retreated due to the sheer information overload.
Berk didn’t even try. He’s the only one who wasn’t tempted by the information. He knew himself well enough to know that formations aren’t his thing and probably never will be.
Nick and Pat had seen the whole thing, but even they were rendered speechless. Of course, they didn’t feel the sa headache as Gibson and Urek, but they’re still shocked with how dense the information sealed within that crystal orb is.
"I want to suspect that ’CS,’ I think he’s a guy, might be ssing with us," Gibson stated after a brief silence. "But knowing the sheer amount of information needed just to start learning arrays and formations, I can’t really do that, can I?"
"No, you can’t," Patricia snorted. "I’m no expert myself, but I am confident that he didn’t falsify any information. He wasn’t trying to overload us with details to discourage us, nor has he tried to place any unnecessary information in the crystal orb to prevent us from learning this formation."
"It is really that complicated and difficult," she continued after a sigh. "Such is the way of arrays and formations. There’s a reason why experts on this path are incredibly rare and valuable."
Pat wasn’t exagerrating here, and everybody knows that. Although everybody wanted to tell her that she’s wrong, that ’CS’ was being nefarious and purposefully making this difficult for them, they knew deep down that that’s not true.
Everything they needed to know was written in clear detail and instruction on the crystal orb; it even cos with diagrams and step-by-step instruction for them to follow. So long as they’re thorough enough, they should be able to replicate the Grand Chaos Revitalization Formation.
But the reason why they wished he was ssing with them was because of their reluctance to break down every piece of information written in there.
Following the instructions he left behind wasn’t the hard part; understanding how everything works from the ground up was.
The path of arrays and formations was too deep, too profound; one could easily lose their way in it. The sheer density of information one needed to get started was already overwhelming, even more so the further you go.
Reaching CS’s level in it was like floundering amidst a dense and thick fog. There’s zero visibility at all tis, and they’d be lucky if they didn’t stumble as they wade their way through it.
’CS’ only gave them enough information as to why certain steps must be followed down to a tee, but he didn’t include all the information he knows that would clarify why this grand formation works the way it does.
That part had to co through their own research, and none of them truly feel like doing that because it’d take such a long ti to scour texts and formulas just to unlock basic common sense on the way of formations.
Simply put, he taught them how to create the formation, but he didn’t explain how and why it works...at least not all of it.
If they were to follow his instructions, they might just be able to replicate the sa formation elsewhere. But if anybody were to ask them how and why it works, none of them would’ve been able to explain it.
That’s the part that gets them...
"Nick? You alright, man? You’ve been silent," Urek asked.
The man had been silent since they returned. He had taken a look at the contents of the crystal orb and winced at the sheer density of information within it, but he never said anything afterwards.
It’s like he’s with them in person; his mind and soul were elsewhere.
Nick heard him and the concern in his voice. He smiled softly and said, "I’m good, just feeling a little...peeved, I suppose."
"Peeved?" Urek raised a brow. "Why?"
"Well...it’s ’CS’; we don’t understand anything about him, but he knows us. He’s been watching all the ti, and neither I nor Pat here noticed his presence. Furthermore, he was able to do all of this right under our noses without us even sensing anything," Nick sounded a little bit irritated as he spoke.
"It’s not like I relaxed my vigilance. I’m alert. I know I am because of Reina, you all know how I don’t want to lose her again, that’s why I’m always attentive."
"But even with that, I still didn’t sense any movents." Nick reclined his back into the sofa and stared at the ceiling.
"Deploying this formation couldn’t have been a silent affair. Especially once it was activated. That much activity should’ve alard or Pat over here, but...nothing, there was nothing."
"The only reason why I noticed sothing changed in the Crimson Womb Chaos Realm was probably because I was finally allowed to notice it. But even then, we were already too late. Everything already happened, and our input was never taken into consideration. Hell, I’d even dare say that it’s unwanted!"
Nick sighed and concluded, "It’s just...frustrating, I suppose, to think that there’s an existence out there that could do this. Like, what’s the point of being a Primal Origin Lifeform, standing at the peak of existence and being virtually omnipotent, when the other party could just directly ignore it?"
"It’s he’s telling that being omnipotent was worthless in leiu of his thods. The idea rubs the wrong way."
"I an...I get it. He probably doesn’t an to scare , or us. From the way he interacts with us, I’d dare say that he’s friendly and just trying to help."
"But for the love of and paranoia, I am just not comfortable with the idea that he could do all sorts of things without knowing."
"Sure, he’s not a threat...for now at least. But what if he becos one? What happens then? What if sohow he decides that he’s too bored and wants to cause so conflict and chaos?"
"With the way he easily slips through everything, he could probably do so much damage without us knowing he’s doing it."
"Ultimately, what if he sets his sights on Reina? I...I would probably lose my goddamn mind if I ever lost her again."
"So yeah, I’m just...frustrated. I don’t want to think badly of him, especially since he’s been nothing but helpful so far. And I most certainly don’t want to make an enemy out of him. But I just couldn’t help it."
"Things aren’t the sa for anymore. I have so much to lose this ti, and it doesn’t help that my apparent omnipotence turned out to be false."
This rendered the others silent.
What do they even say about that? Nick wasn’t wrong, and if they were on his shoes, they’d probably feel the sa. But he also got things figured out.
So far, ’CS’ hasn’t presented himself as a threat, and he’s probably not. But it certainly wouldn’t hurt to be prepared just in case he becos one.
"Well, let’s just do what we can," Patricia stated. "Besides, we can still grow. Slowly, maybe. But any form of progress is still an advancent. Maybe one day, we’ll grow strong enough to actually figure out his thods."
Nick sighed and softly replied: "Yeah...I guess that’s all we could really do, huh?"
He relented, only because he really had other options. He didn’t like variables, but he couldn’t account for everything. All he could really do was to keep moving forward and hope that things didn’t get worse.
All the way to the Rising Sun Sector Domain.
’CS,’ the very sa man who’s stressing out Nicholas with all the ’what ifs’ and ’what could’ve beens,’ was currently relaxed on his reclining chair, settling the last few pieces of his paperwork done for the rest of the week.
Cedric had no idea that Nich was being paranoid about him. If he did, he’d probably laugh at his face and apologize for making him nervous.
It wasn’t really his intention. He was just trying to help and ease their burden. The only reason why he’s hiding his identity is because he doesn’t want to be under the spotlight. He likes things quiet and serene just like now.
Hell, his disguise wasn’t even that exagerrated. ’CS’ was quite literally his initials; he didn’t even try hard enough for that!
But yes, it’s never been his intention to scare the big man. He just wanted to help.
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