"Wait, you're a higher life form!?" Reluun shouted in shock.
"That's right. Did I not ntion that already?" Alex responded to him, chuckling to himself internally.
That was a little revenge for the 'mischief' Reluun had forced upon him during his short ti journeying with him.
In fact, Alex didn't exactly hide this information from him either, he made no efforts to hide his aura; it was just that Reluun was too weak to even notice it.
And without being asked, like the Grand Cartographer had just asked him, Alex wouldn't bring the topic of his own strength up out of nowhere.
However, a few seconds had passed and Reluun's mood had shifted back to normal.
He clearly had soone of a friendly relationship with the Grand Cartographer of this place, so he wasn't exactly new to being around Higher life forms.
Reluun, oblivious to how close they had all been to disaster, whispered to one of the two gatekeepers beside him. "See? I told you he was interesting, didn't I?"
'When did you do that??' Alex almost wanted to call Reluun on his bluff, but held himself back to save the poor fellow so faith.
Thankfully, the gatekeeper didn't follow up on his lies either.
The Grand Cartographer circled around Alex once, eyes twinkling. "And you ca through that fracture? Tell , what kind of place is it on the other side? Are you an inhabtant of that realm or are you a traveller?"
Alex began recounting the sa information he had relayed to Reluun back on the other side in the Federation's realm, only this ti he could fill in the information about it being in the Warring sector himself.
"Fascinating. The fact that soone like you cos from such a volatile sector… Perhaps the Warring sector is no longer as stagnant as we assud…" The Grand Cartographer mumbled to herself in fascination.
Alex straightened his posture, his thoughts now racing in a new direction.
She was right – his existence may change quite a lot of things. And now, knowing that the mysterious Solari respected higher life forms rather than feared them, it gave him an opening.
A chance to negotiate, perhaps form sothing more aningful than just a temporary alliance.
"Tell , are these fractures stable, permanent fixtures? Or will they disappear with ti?" Alex had one important question he wanted answering before he solidified any of his plans just yet.
"There have been no records of a fracture ever closing upon being opened, so I guess you can do what you will with that information." The Grand Cartographer answered cordially.
'Perfect, this is almost shaping up to be a new budding opportunity for the Federation. And I'm right at the forefront of it.'
The weight of the responsibility on his shoulders made his nerves tickle a little, but it wasn't an oppressive weight. No, it was the kind of weight a man feels when he stands at the edge of sothing vast and unknowable.
A completely new frontier.
Even though he and the Federation didn't always have the best of relationships, Alex didn't hold it against them.
Their shunning and hunting of him stemd from a choice he made, and if he were in that position once again, then he would make that sa decision 100% of the ti.
Even though the Federation practically hated him for that, he respected their choice… In hindsight, of course.
If he were in their shoes, knowing that a single person had the opportunity to completely save the lives of quintillions of human beings… Alex knew he wasn't a saint, he would probably shun, hate or even despise such a person maybe even worse than the kind of hate he suffered.
That was just human nature, nobody was perfect. All humans were flawed no matter how strong they were, no matter if they had ascended to beco an Awakened or higher life form.
That was just the nature of life.
And this ti, he wasn't just a pawn caught up in events he couldn't control. He was fully in control of this opportunity.
Alex allowed himself a small, inward smile.
This was it.
The fracture was no longer just a tear in space to him anymore. It was a bridge, connecting two civilisation's futures together.
"I would like to propose sothing, I wonder what you're answer will be?" Alex suddenly struck up a conversation in an inquiring tone.
"I won't claim to represent all of the Federation – my people can be… complex, and I am not the strongest of us either – but I believe I can act as an interdiary. I have access, influence, and more importantly, a vested interest in succeeding."
The Grand Cartographer raised a brow, intrigued. "A higher life form acting as a Diplomat for a newly initiated, lower race? Unorthodox… but not unwelco. If your people are willing to listen, I will not deny them a conversation."
'Higher life form leading a lower race…? What is she talking about?' Alex was a little confused by this, so he asked her to elaborate further.
"You're surprised by my… surprise on this? In almost all the races I have encountered in my years, almost all of the Higher life forms abandon their lower class race to join the higher ranks situated nearer to the centre of the universe. Are you telling … that such a thing hasn't happened in your Federation?" The Grand Cartographer, and even Reluun and the two gatekeepers listening in at the back sported genuinely confused expressions.
"That's right, we have over 100 S tiers occupying the very top echelons, with tens of thousands of A tiers under them, and perhaps nearly a million B tiers under them as well." Alex took a mont to go over the figures before relaying them to the Grand Cartographer.
However, contrary to the reaction he was expecting, her, and every other Solari in the room's face beca slackjawed upon hearing such information.
"Such power while still tethered to your lower class race is unbelieveable… Just what have you guys been doing all this ti!?" She asked in utter shock.
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