" { Not the bet I wanted to make, but, perhaps, this is fine. } "

Once the last message sunk into Ben's seal, the shadow figure began retrieving the final bit of imprint that allowed them to remain here.

Despite making this choice and following up on it, this existence still felt a growing pressure to the desire of forcefully ascending Higgs.

Yet, rather than persuading them, this tension increased their baseline dread. They feared it, but this unnatural fear allowed them to understand Ben's choice better.

" { At this point, it's meaningless to be too bothered. But I didn't expect this, to be jealous. No wonder you sealed those conclusions away. } "

Once they felt this growing conflict, they also began more forcefully self-controlling, a dangerous balance game, trying to optimize for survival.

Due to those complications, they tried to leave as soon as possible to avoid breaking their vows. So, after finishing the retrieval, the shadow began teleporting away.

Their survival depended on leaving Ben behind like he promised since Pel wouldn't take a vow lightly. Since they had a long history of overseeing, they also knew how to preserve their position of power.

The last thing they wanted was to involve themselves with such wild characters and taboos. Even less now since they felt death was near. Yet, they couldn't avoid such direct contact either, so the best they could do was to minimize the damage.

Even being this curious was too dangerous for their tribe. Any further misstep might nullify their long-term preparations for the next successor.

And that would be their end.

" { I'm sure you wouldn't like that either, right? Too attached. Anyway, goodbye. } "

The vague figure sunk into space, causing a whirl around their prior position. This violent shaking of the fabric of space collided with Higgs, breaking his body even further.

Now alone, Ben didn't react immediately. Pieces of his dried flesh floated around, but his core remained fixed.

But, slowly, something did brew deep inside him, and a last short thought eventually formed.

" "

---

Outside Ben's reach, four magical pillars stabilized a fist-sized black sphere.

The floating orb didn't change, but something spaghettified out of it.

The flowing-out matter took the shape of a strangely yellow human-shaped-looking golem, but it remained on the floor without life signals.

Their mission was not easy, despite their high achievements as an overseer. So, Pel, the All-seer, was observing the event outside the pillar perimeter, waiting for his time to help.

At first, he stared at the deformed shape until its existence stabilized.

But once the deformed yellow golem disconnected from the black orb, Pel moved toward it and placed his hand on their forehead.

While he helped, Pel kept staring at the sphere, looking to see if any changes would happen.

He only calmed down once the yellow bipedal began to move after recovering. Pel knew the first few moments after the disconnection was the most dangerous, so the moment Link woke up was also the turning point for his plan's success.

While outside, Pel could see all his possible futures and past, but he couldn't see what Link would do while inside. Instead, he could only take the most measures to push tomorrow toward what he wanted.

But even then, he dreaded leaving his odd best friend in the hands of someone they didn't trust.

Nonetheless, he knew that had to happen. Otherwise, Higgs' seed state would forever feel like hell since there was no way for him to break free from the overseer's control by being passive. The authority over their domain was too fundamental.

Therefore, this was a crucial step, more critical than his descent and meeting with Higgs. And because of its importance, the waiting was excruciating. The longer Link took to get out, the more the overseer was waiting and observing Higgs. And Pel worried they might eventually find one of the ways to break out of his precautions.

And he knew it was possible. So, even if he did everything he could to be cautious, he still feared one of his nightmarish visions turning true.

Pel might be infamous for being the All-seer, but most also judged him to be a clown due to his eccentric behavior.

Like right now, the first thing Link saw after waking up was a beaming and crying Pel.

So, they stared at the seer. Yet, despite doing their best to understand this seer, they couldn't. Link couldn't fathom how it was to see every way things could go wrong and right. But after seeing how every incredible seer lived, he wasn't envious of them either.

"How was it?" Pel asked excitedly.

"No soul, very little hoarding, mostly unwavering matter."

"TOLD YA! TOLD YA! TOLD YA!" Pel screamed.

"Focus on not allowing me to die!" Link replied fearfully since Pel's emotional swings affected the healing.

"No, no, no. Don't worry. I won't let you die. Not yet! You must bring his brother out first."

"Only you to uphold relationships from inside bubbles."

"There is no mystery in that! It only depends on the relatives' decision. Don't you also choose your family?"

"Perhaps."

"The kid will surprise you," Pel laughed maniacally.

"You're raising my expectations."

"HA, you can't fathom what the future holds!"

"Neither can you."

"Your smart-ass is so right," Pel replied.

Then, he quickly removed his hands from Link's forehead.

"It's done!" He added.

"I get why you're so fascinated by him. He has the instinct you lack."

Link slowly got up and began to check his body. The damage was frightening, but with Pel's help, he did indeed descend and ascended back one last time successfully.

"Truly, an Oddity, right?"

"Will he wake up again, though? Or is that selfless?"

"I don't know. I can't see it," Pel replied quickly, almost tangling his words.

"Alright, I'll leave. You don't need to kick me out with your eyes," Link replied, extending his hands toward Pel, waiting for their payment.

From the tip of his fingers, Pel emitted some of his intent. And that solidified into a long and thin black string.

The lines flew into Link's open hand and sunk into it.

Once he received his payment, Link began to walk out since he had a lost soul to find.

"To be clear, I'm erasing a few things I heard, and I'm happy you aren't throwing more shit at my plate. You might've guessed right, but I would rather not know. And I hope you don't push my tribe into extinction after I'm gone."

"I won't. But perhaps, you should tell your son the truth if you truly want him to care about them. But even then, you cannot remain static. If Ginn wants to reach so far into the future that I cannot see him, then your tribe must adapt."

"That won't be my job. It will be theirs. But I'll keep that in mind and pass the free warning forward," Link said as he turned around again and left.

Link quickly disappeared as he flew into space, leaving Pel alone in this middle-sized celestial body.

Once Pel couldn't sense the presence of the running overseer, his agitation finally died off.

The contrast was stark, as all the euphoria immediately disappeared, leaving behind only a numbed expression.

The lack of potential chaos made him feel safe. Since, in his eyes, all the near futures began to collapse into whatever he would choose, which gave him a sense of clarity and peace.

So, having a small window to relax, Pel looked at the sky after taking a deep breath.

His eyes weren't aimless. He stared at the monumental and magical artifact in the distance that had taken the shape of a tree.

The celestial body under his feet remained suspended like a fruit attached to a mind-blowing branch.

A regular sight for Pel, who was tired of it, but one that he knew his friend wouldn't ever see personally.

"You would miss this sight," he whispered.

"But if it's a single glance, maybe I can attach it to some trash that might eventually interest you. Anyway, who knows what the far future holds."

"I hope you don't hate me for this. And I blame you since I'm just following your great advice."

Pel's voice kept changing, and his mood swung as if he was talking to Higgs in different lives.

'If you're getting out of such a cycle of bullshit, you can blame me. Just stop bothering me about absorbing you. You lived for this long and didn't do shit, so why do you think your baggage would be the answer to this curse. You might be a trapped fly, but you don't need to act like one.' The most probable responses from Higgs echoed loudly inside Pel's chaotic mind.

However, this echo was different from the regular and overwhelming mess. Higgs' answers were concise to the point of almost blending perfectly.

And because of this strong contrast, Pel smiled.

"Behold, the shitty tree!" Pel yelled as he extended his hands toward the sky.

Then, he closed his eyes.

And after finishing his stunt, he focused on the black orb again.

The light of his eyes gradually dimmed as he entered an automatic mode.

A book appeared in his hands, and his whole body began chanting a sequence of miraculous intentions.

The prior clown was gone, and his mastery began to shine.

As he walked closer to the orb, the floor shook, the pillar cracked, and the area slowly began to be isolated from the rest of reality.

" " Pel chanted.

With the connection with the outside cut precisely on time, Pel smirked robotically.

In front of him, the scheduled fluid drop appeared and acted as if falling due to gravity. However, it didn't align with this celestial body's gravity. Instead, it pointed toward the base of the colossal tree.

Pel ignored the strain on his existence and sat by this black drop forming on the black orb's surface.

Before the fluid dripped, he placed the book as if to catch it. And as the first drop fell, the object in Pel's hand transformed into a bowl.

There, Pel remained focused, waiting for the black matter to leak out and free his friend.