“What’s going on?” Esopp asked, dropping his cheerful tone.

Wagner opened his mouth to explain but Keynes was quicker.

“Before we dive into the issue at hand, I’d like to discuss something else. Perhaps even more pressing and important than the other matter.”

Wagner snorted mirthlessly but gave Keynes go ahead. Columbus and Esopp stared expectantly at Keynes who recounted his story to them, including his reasoning and discoveries. At first, there was resistance within Keynes to share knowledge. Some of it came easily from others or Alice, but there were bits that had cost Keynes dearly like [Chaos Aura]. But holding off information from his business partners who were Keynes’s shield against the external world didn’t seem like a sound idea. Though Keynes believed he’d soon be able to grow past them, they still needed each other.

Disappointingly, his talk didn’t seem to convince Columbus, and Keynes already knew Wagner’s opinion. Esopp however looked ecstatic and tried to make others see merit in Keynes’s words.

“This isn’t how we operate,” Columbus said. “In the past, levelling was simple, but now it has become a job in itself. I have several squads that constantly rotate between delving rifts and doing their proper jobs.”

This was something Keynes couldn’t deny. Levelling was time-consuming but a middle ground had to be found. A few ideas popped up in Keynes’s head but he didn’t like any of them. Still he pressed the other men.

“I can’t waste my time as long as I’m leading the resistance.”

“Likewise, there’s no one to look after our company in my absence,” Wagner added.

Their insistence on calling the levelling a ‘waste of time’ irked Keynes. But he resisted an urge to storm out of the meeting.

“My commitments aren’t that huge, so I delve a little,” Esopp said with a smirk. “I’m actually halfway to Level 8.”

“So while we work hard you laze,” Wagner said. “Typical.”

Keynes wanted to kick Wagner’s ass. He was missing the point. Unsurprisingly, the topic went nowhere and Keynes would have to come up with arguments that Wagner and Columbus understood.

“It’s time we tackle the main reason for our meeting.”

For Keynes’s benefit, he added, “Recently, there was a call for peace between the World Government and the resistance but presence of the White Masks complicated matters and kept the world on edge until the outbreak, which shifted the focus and took away a lot of tension. It could be said that by causing another outbreak, you have ended the uprising that was about to turn very bloody. People now have a better outlet for their frustration -- monsters. But there is another side of the coin. One which is slowly becoming apparent. The rise of new powers refuelled fears of the return of pre-World Government times and this is something we don’t want. So, these powers got together and seemed to reach a consensus.”

“This consensus is what bothers us,” Columbus said. “Because there is another agenda behind it.”

With everything that so far had happened, it wasn’t difficult to figure out what the other agenda was. It felt like it had never changed since the first outbreak. They all wanted Keynes to open rifts for them. The only unclear thing was who were the recipients of this consensus. Judging by Columbus’s reaction, the resistance was still in opposition to the World Government. Did it mean the rest of the world banded together and stood against Keynes and his business partners?

“So they betrayed us?” Esopp asked.

“More than that.”

Wagner launched into explanation.

A day ago the head of the Ministry of Geneva, André Turtelli, met with Wagner and presented him with an offer he believed Wagner would not be able to refuse.

The World Government not only convinced everyone to join them but an idea was born from their cooperation. Something greater than the World Government.

The Solar Council.

A secret organisation created to control the World Government and the world. And their idea wasn’t without merit. They understood something Wagner and Columbus seemed to forget. The world was about to become a place where individuals would be wielding an unheard power. Without an authority that could keep things in a tight grip, the world would fall apart and regress into chaos. It was supposed to be the World Government’s job but being led by a single person, that worldly organisation was prone to the whims of a single mind who had not always understood the needs of all stakeholders. The Solar Council wasn’t a new idea but in the age of Windsor Freeman, nothing like this could exist.

But Windsor Freeman and his closest allies were no longer part of the current iteration of the World Government. With the obstacles gone, the Solar Council was born. They were going to control the rifts, markets, levelling, spells, everything. All to save humanity from their own greed and foolishness.

Keynes could clearly see the reasoning behind the idea. Some people were not suited to wield power, like Windsor Freeman, and without an overseeing authority, things would get out of hand. For this reason alone, Keynes was willing to hear Wagner out. But as Columbus had said, the Solar Council had another goal. A darker one, they wanted Keynes Kid.

Granted, they weren’t as crude and barbaric as Windsor Freeman and sought to strike a deal with Keynes. But there was an issue with the deal. It leaned too much toward the Solar Council and too little toward Keynes’s company. It was because their rivals viewed Keynes’s ability to open rifts as something that belonged to everyone, not only Keynes and his business partners. Before today’s meeting, a part of Keynes thought it too. But then he heard how expensive the rune and formation licences were. Shouldn’t those be shared among the people as well? It sank the remnants of naivety that Keynes had. Nothing was free in this world. Yes, he once rebelled against keeping all the knowledge from the public but that was when he was too young to understand the perils of careless sharing. With all the power contained within rifts, things had to be shared responsibly.

And the same applied to the Solar Council and rifts. Did they think that Keynes would happily open rifts for them, no questions asked? They were even ready to give some of the rifts he was going to open to him. What a generosity.

Even still, the Solar Council didn’t act in vacuum. They seem to bring to their side everyone but their company and the resistance, which was rapidly crumbling without having Windsor Freeman as the common enemy. In other words, the Solar Council controlled nearly everything, including the two off-planet colonies: Mars and Venus. They were mildly surprised that the Saels and the Nishimuras had left the resistance and had joined the Solar Council. The only major house still on the resistance’s side was the Ravencroft and only because of the death of their heir and grief it caused.

“They offer a seat at the council’s table.”

Silence followed the statement then Esopp spoke up.

“In exchange for our only advantage.” To Keynes’s surprise, the other man didn’t sound gloomy or depressed, on the contrary. There was a note of amusement in his voice. “How fitting.”

“And yet, what other choice do we have?” Wagner asked. “With Geneva aligned against us, we lose our access to the market. They will starve us.”

“I can’t ask my soldiers to die in the name of our profits either,” Columbus added. “Most of them rebelled because of Windsor Freeman. Now that he is gone from the government, their ‘motivation’ has started to erode.”

They looked over expectantly at Keynes. Did they want his blessing? Acknowledgement? Permission? Either way, they weren’t getting any. Actually, Keynes struggled with an answer. He didn’t know what to say to that. Suddenly, a part of him yearned to leave the city and flee back into the wilderness. There was comfort in being on his own. He squashed the thought, not liking where it was leading him.

“What’s the deadline?” Keynes asked eventually.

“Six days.”

“Fine. Tell the Prime Minister you’ll deliver the answer in person,” Keynes said, then added. “Also, I need a location of the closest Level 3 rift.”

***

André Turtelli glanced at a clock. Wagner Zimmermann was about to teleport in from his house with an answer. Why couldn’t Zimmermann do it over the videoconference was beyond André but he didn’t care enough to pry into the minds of fellow High Levels. Maybe Zimmermann festered murderous thoughts of assaulting André. Thoughts that would lead the other man to his untimely demise. With the ascension to Level 7, André became much stronger than pre-rift Level 7s. And on top of that, there were twenty Level 4 rift essence ascenders ready to barge onto the balcony at André’s signal.

Even though the balcony had the anti-teleport runes deactivated, watching people teleport in filled him with unease. So many precautions were necessary nowadays with all those spells available.

Wagner Zimmermann and Kristian Carl appeared a few metres in front of André as had been agreed. Without a prompt, Kristian Carl left the balcony. For some reason, Zimmermann wished to talk here. Did their offer shake him so much? Serves them right for usurping rifts!

When both men remained alone, André said, “It took you a whole lot longer than we anticipated.” The Solar Council made sure to not give Wagner Zimmermann, Columbus Curt, Esopp Earl and Keynes Kid any other choice.

“We had our reasons.”

André blinked. The voice didn’t belong to Zimmermann! In fact, Zimmermann stood silently watching him, his mouth remaining sealed.

“Who--”

Another person emerged from darkness. André froze, his fingers brushed the alarm button but didn’t press it yet. They would be foolish to attack him in his own house!

The intruder took off the hood of his dark purple coat. Wait a minute, I know this apparel, this face! That’s…

“Keynes Kid in flesh.”

André relaxed. The boy wasn’t a threat to him, although his presence here was a surprise. If André didn’t know better he’d have alarmed his guards and taken Keynes Kid prisoner but it hadn’t worked out very well for Freeman.

“That’s unexpected but a pleasant turn of events,” André said. “I see you understand the severity of our offer.”

“No,” Keynes Kid replied. “We don’t accept your offer.”

Was the boy not right in the head? Why did he speak in Zimmermann’s place anyway?

Ignoring him, André looked over at Zimmermann. He was growing impatient with the other man’s silence.

“What’s the meaning of this, Zimmermann? Have you failed to inform your associates about--”

“He did not,” Keynes Kid interrupted him once again.

André had enough of the boy’s prattling. He was going to… wait a minute. I can’t sense him. André unleashed his spiritual aura and slammed it into the boy. He needed a lesson.

But it was like hitting an impenetrable wall. André’s eyes widened. What Level was he to stop him like this? André’s spiritual aura could reduce any Level 4 to a mumbling retard and there was no way the boy had outlevelled André already.

Keynes Kid made a step forward. An invisible wall moved with him, pushing André’s aura away with uncanny ease.

“How?”

“So little you know,” Keynes Kid, his eyes cold and merciless. “And yet, you believe yourself superior to others.”

Suddenly, André was on his knees, his spiritual aura collapsed. How was the boy generating so much spiritual energy?! How?!

André raised the alarm device, he needed his guards here. He couldn’t defend himself while being reduced to this--an invisible power yanked the device out of his hand.

“You won’t be needing this,” Keynes Kid said. “You’d only kill those guards waiting inside. And I don’t want to be a murderer because of you.”

“Do you have any idea what you’re doing?” André said, feeling strained. The spiritual pressure didn’t ease.

“Do you? You and your friends assumed, I should open rifts for you and be happy about it. But this isn’t the way this deal is going to work.” Keynes Kid made another step. André’s spiritual aura was completely squashed. “Our company will get a seat at your council, I will open rifts for you but each one will cost you a rift orb of corresponding level and you will pay us twenty percent of revenue generated by each rift I open. For ten years.”

Keynes Kid went down to one knee next to André.

“And don’t assume you can fight me. I have access to all the rifts out there. You think you can starve us? We’d simply grow too strong to handle, while you … run around like headless chickens. I will be in touch.”

Keynes Kid stood up, put the hood on and, dear god, he flew away.

The spiritual pressure vanished immediately and André jumped to his feet. His first reaction was to attack Zimmermann who stood by the stone railing watching him carefully. André calmed himself, his spirit ached. The boy must be Level 10, at least!

“Zimmermann, what was that?” André snapped, keeping still boiling rage on the verge.

“That was Keynes Kid. A boy you should take seriously. Now, if you could call Kristian here. I’d like to take my leave.”

“Do you think you can just leave after assaulting me?”

“I didn’t assault you but I stood here watching how you attacked Keynes Kid and he merely defended himself. In terms of power, Keynes Kid is already beyond our reach. You should remember this when you tell our associates about the meeting. I expect a call soon.”

André huffed. Such impertinence! They’ll regret it. Not today but one day certainly.

***

Keynes smashed into a mountainside. His stamina hit the bottom. Despite entering the Superior stage, handling a Level 7 wasn’t something he was ready for. When André Turtelli’s spiritual aura hit him, Keynes knew he was on a very short timer. But it didn’t matter now. Keynes smiled, lying face down in snow. His stupid plan worked. The Solar Council would fear him now. His job was to live up to the expectation.

It was time to begin real training.