Tales of the Endless Empire

Chapter 492: Deal?

“What is this human thinking? We are gods, and he expects us to go first? Tell her that he goes first—because I won’t,” Solan said, glaring at the trembling goddess in Nyssa’s grip.“Uh… I’m not sure that’s a good idea. My Chosen is already on death’s door…” Ferniel said, hoping for a safer approach.

“Fine. Then tell him this—other gods will soon send Eclipsari into the new universe. Early D-grade ones. And for some reason, they’ll be hunting him. They have purple eyes, which means they’re very powerful. That should be enough goodwill,” Solan huffed.

They watched as the Chosen relayed the message seconds later. At first, everything went smoothly—until she repeated Solan’s last sentence word for word.

“Are you serious? She shouldn’t have relayed that!” Solan snapped. “This makes us look like amateurs.”

“Please, have mercy… she’s already at death’s door, and…” Ferniel tried to justify the mistake.

“Thalion doesn’t even seem to know what Eclipsari are,” Nyssa noted, observing his lack of reaction.

“He probably doesn’t know what purple eyes mean for them. Ferniel, be so kind and have your Chosen explain that little detail to this human,” Solan said with a slight grin.

It took a few minutes for Ricarda to go through all the eye colors, ending with the explanation that dark-eyed Eclipsari were the rarest—and strongest of all.

Still, Thalion didn’t seem impressed. He simply nodded.

“So… a few more things trying to kill me. Won’t really change much in the grand scheme of things. What else are these gods offering?” He paused briefly. “Also, this ‘we can give you access to system events’ thing is pretty useless. Why would they even do that instead of just killing me? What I’m doing right now should be heretical, right?”

“No—no, tell him everything is fine. We are not angry at all,” Solan forced out through clenched teeth.

“Of course they aren’t,” Thalion chuckled. “So how about they start by giving me the location of some good treasures? From where I’m standing, it’s in their best interest. If I don’t get them, one of those elven Chosen definitely will.”

That sparked visible irritation in Solan.

“Who does he think he is? As if I haven’t thought of that… Fine. Give him the item.”

“Uh… Solan, there might be a problem. First, my Chosen doesn’t have hands anymore. And second, she doesn’t have the item. It’s back at her base,” Ferniel said, her voice trembling.

“Oh, damn it. Then tell him where it is so we can move on to the interesting part,” Solan snapped.

Unfortunately for him, Thalion saw things differently.

“Wait—so you’re telling me this item will guide me to treasures, but I have to go get it myself? Also, so far, you’ve done nothing for me. A few Eclipsari coming after me isn’t exactly impressive. You’ll have to do better than that.”

“Well… you’ll also get me and the support of the elven gods.,” Ricarda said weakly. It was obvious she didn’t like being offered like that—but it was her only chance to survive.

“Why should I let you live?” Thalion replied calmly. “I don’t have a faction—and even if I did, what would I do with you? You’d spy on me, report everything back to your gods, and in a fight you’d be useless without your plants.”

That broke her. Ricarda started crying—really crying. Even her patron, desperately trying to calm her, couldn’t do much.

For Solan and the others, this was like losing their only microphone. Without this Chosen, they had no voice in the new universe.

Then Thalion spoke again, as a new idea formed.

“You know… I met a very smart guy earlier. Maybe I’m missing something. So why not bring him into this?”

With that, he shifted into his wyvern form, grabbed the Chosen with his hind claws, and took off into the sky.

On the other side, the gods watched in visible surprise at his transformation.

“Wow, this is so cool. He’s some kind of shapeshifter, right?” Cassandra exclaimed. She had been silent ever since her parents had started negotiating with the human.

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“Seems like it…” Solan growled, clearly unhappy with how things were developing. After hearing from the seers, he hadn’t wanted this Thalion in their faction at all.

Yes, it was the logical move—the human was undeniably powerful—but the problem was that he already had a patron. On the other hand, if that were true, bringing that god under his wing could benefit their new faction greatly.

Everything was moving too fast.

Even Solarion had begun offering his support, and Solan had never trusted him. Their position was already weakened, and the stronger elven gods would likely try to push them down even further.

Still… the human could remain an external asset. Far away from his daughter.

They watched as the once proud elven Chosen hung in the claws of the massive wyvern, her body slowly freezing under the pressure of his suppressed passive aura. If she had been any weaker, she would already be dead.

While the gods observed, Thalion had his own thoughts.

This was actually a good opportunity.

If what the Chosen had said was true, he might soon have access to a divine faction willing to support him. If they could open a portal to integrated space—and with the help of the Chosen he had captured—starting his own faction with these allies suddenly seemed very realistic.

He didn’t trust the elven gods. Not even a little.

But even if he never stepped into their territory, the opportunity was still there—for his friends. The gods were interested in him, not them. Killing or capturing his allies wouldn’t serve their goals.

And handing out E-grade items to a few mortals? That should be trivial for beings like them. They probably had piles of them lying around.

With Pikar’s help, he was confident he could secure a strong deal.

It was a shame he couldn’t kill his first Chosen right now—but what he could extract from her was far more valuable.

If one of those treasure locations turned out to be a teleportation formation to integrated space, he could participate in even more system events. That alone would accelerate his progress significantly.

“Hey, by the way—ask your gods if one of those locations is a teleportation formation to integrated space,” Thalion said with a slight grin—though in his wyvern form, it only revealed rows of sharp, elongated teeth.

“Y-yes… t-two… locations…” Ricarda managed to stammer through chattering teeth.

Thalion’s heart skipped a beat.

This was getting better by the second.

Pikar and the other humans stared wide-eyed as Thalion dropped the Chosen onto the deck. The trembling elf had lost all traces of her usual elegance, collapsing like a sack of grain. The humans instinctively stepped back, as if she were death itself.

Thalion shifted back into his human form and landed beside Pikar.

“Now, my intelligent friend… I need a very man to negotiate with the gods behind this Chosen. Think you’re up for it, or should I look elsewhere?”

It was clearly a rhetorical question.

Pikar didn’t even respond. He simply stepped forward, raising an eyebrow as he looked down at the Chosen.

“Tell me everything you told Thalion before. I’m interested.”

Thalion listened as she repeated everything.

“Hmm… quite a few details are missing,” Pikar said calmly. “How many elven Chosen are on this world? Will they cooperate with humans? It also needs to be made clear that Thalion will lead this new faction. And we want full access to high-quality materials in integrated space. Holding those locations will be difficult—we need every possible advantage.”

And so the negotiations began.

Thalion watched closely, holding back a grin. The merchants and the Chel’Kari hadn't given any ground when it came to negotiations, but Pikar was on another level.

The terms unfolded quickly and it became clear that they would become the first mortal vassals in the new universe of Solan and Nyssa’s faction. Both gods were very motivated to support the mortals in the new universe with any means nessacry. For a weak goddess like Ferniel, it was about giving her Chosen a chance to survive. For Solan and Nyssa, however, it was simply about power.

If the Chosen of enemy gods fell in the new universe, their adversaries would lose a major opportunity. Thalion was the perfect tool for that. The elven Chosen would continue to hunt him, since the weaker gods who had received the mission first had most likely already revealed everything to their new masters.

He was also already a known figure across the multiverse. For other gods to hear that this outlier had joined their side would bring prestige to their faction. Not much for now—but that could change as Thalion grew stronger.

And for gods like Solan and Nyssa, supporting an E-grade faction couldn’t even be considered a cost.

Ferniel’s Blessed would join Thalion. The Chosen would construct another portal to integrated space on the island. Materials, builders, alchemists, and smiths would be sent through. Trainers would be prepared in integrated space for all newcomers, and those without suitable mentors would be guided by divine avatars.

In return, they would raise the new faction’s banner over their base and assist members from integrated space in system trials.

For Thalion, however, the obligation applied only to system events held in domains where gods had no influence.

Solan and the others could only enforce this cooperation once every ten years.

Which meant… they could refuse most of the time.

The gods also swore never to capture, harm, or act against them in any way.

Of course, there was more to it—but this was how Thalion chose to sum it up. They had such control over their territory on New Earth that they could even allow Blessed of enemy gods to join their faction.

“Alright, Pikar… this turned out far better than I expected,” Thalion said with a laugh as the final parts of the agreement were settled.

The Chosen was already looking a bit better after downing two health potions. Thalion might have held back his laughter if he could have seen the cold, steel-like expressions on the other side of the connection.

“Since our alliance is formed, we’ll be taking the Chosen with us,” Thalion continued. “I’ve got an island under my control that should work as a temporary base until we locate the teleportation formations. I also have a few friends in the human faction who are eager to join us.”

He paused for a moment, his grin widening.

“But before that, we’ll pay your base a little visit. Free a few humans… and shut down your teleportation network. Should be a lot easier with you doing the talking.”

He gave the Chosen a firm clap on the back.

“Uh… before we go… the Golden Lord wants one answer,” she stammered. “Who is your patron?”

Thalion shrugged.

“Simple. I never had one. So… can we go now?”