Elijah had previously warned of the consequences of the emergences and the resulting convergence.

The last two times, it was catastrophic.

The first was worse than the second.

The first time was worse because Merlin was the only one capable of putting a stop to it, but he wasn’t even around. He was off-world.

Vlad and three others were the cause. However, they were still rather new, so they were not powerhouses at the time.

Humanity only managed to hold out until Merlin returned, barely, where Merlin put a stop to it.

The second time, things were just as harsh.

Merlin was also off-world. However, this time, humanity had help from someone else. Granted, this person was off-world for a bit as well. He did, however, make it back earlier than Merlin, so he was able to drastically turn the tides.

There was also a now-master mage in Vlad present.

The other emergences from the prior time all did their best.

Things would suddenly change when one of the two off-worlders arrived.

This was Solomon.

After he arrived, everything seemed calmer.

Not long after, Merlin himself made his appearance.

Merlin single-handedly put a stop to it all again.

The issue now.

This current emergence.

Christopher was narrating.

All of this was a picture he was trying to paint for Roe. He was trying to explain why humanity was cooked.

"I’m sure you know this as a student of Merlin. You know he can no longer combat."

Roe did not know. He just thought Merlin chose not to.

"Yeah, I do," Roe lied.

"So who’s going to protect the regular folks?" Christopher asked.

"What? Wait. Hold up. You mean you’re planning to save humanity?

"Why approach it in the most sketchy means possible?

"We thought you were the bad guys," Roe proclaimed.

"Yeah, no. We’re not bad guys.

"The plan is to empower people with this new faith power. This way, when it hits... the punishment... the average man would be able to protect what’s important to him.

"It’s a shame we all can’t awaken, right?" he teased.

"Yeah," Roe responded.

He knew Chris was taking a jab at Merlin, but that didn’t matter.

Not right now.

Merlin’s staff and his sub-staffs were the only ones capable of unlocking individuals’ mana pools.

His staffs were used all around the world to awaken. It was a common criticism that Merlin’s staffs contained his will and, by virtue, were biased.

Some people who didn’t awaken would circle back and blame Merlin for this.

Their own failures.

They would blame a man who knew nothing of them.

The council was especially concerned with the fact that Merlin’s staffs were required to awaken.

It’s part of the reason they were so keen on maintaining some sort of power balance.

If Merlin was gone, then what happened to the future of awakenings?

"Do you really think your solution can hold up?" Roe asked.

"Honestly, I don’t think so," Chris responded.

"I mean, you saw those guys, the ones who made it out. They’re all incompatible with the power.

"It’s not going to work," Chris said.

"Then come with us. Join our circle. I’m sure Solomon and Merlin could figure it out," Roe said.

"Well, there’s that.

"But what about my crimes? My own sins? I don’t want to get locked up or something.

"That’s why I’m taking this approach."

Just then, a foul wave swept past Roe.

It wasn’t an actual breeze. It was just something inside Roe.

"What do you mean, crimes?" Roe asked.

"What have you done, Chris?"

Roe was thinking Chris had just done something to Lot and the others.

He had not.

Roe’s reasoning was simply because they had not made it to this room yet.

"You never asked me about my origins," Christopher said.

"Excuse me?" Roe asked.

Christopher wasn’t loud or clear enough the first time.

"I said you never asked me about my origins."

Roe heard him this time.

He was going to ask, but Christopher started anyway.

"We made our way into a B-rank rift. Everyone knows it’s stupid. No one enters a rift and survives, except if you’re one of the Merlin mages.

"We did anyway.

"I guess we were just ambitious.

"We’d been mages for a year now.

"I was formerly a C-rank. My friends were also just a mix of C- and B-ranks.

"We encountered fierce terrains unlike anything Earth has seen. Unlike anything we as humans could even imagine.

"Many of my friends died in the journey," Chris said.

’This doesn’t make sense,’ Roe thought.

This other realm was destabilizing.

This destabilization was the cause of the harsh fields and climate.

"Myself and Quentin were the last two alive. The other six were no more.

"Both of us sank. The earth swallowed us not too long after we had just lost the last guy.

"Down to two.

"We aren’t even given time to grieve.

"We fell. It was like a cave-in.

"We traversed this new environment. It was just some rocky ecosystem. It didn’t seem to yield any life or anything, for that matter.

"It was nothing but rocks."

Roe listened attentively.

"We reached a point.

"We wanted to give up.

"There was no point anymore.

"We wanted to, but I didn’t.

"I didn’t give up.

"I continued on, but sadly Quentin said he was going to stay back.

"He’d already given up.

"I continued deeper into the cave.

"That’s when I found the realm’s core.

"It fused with me.

"It was just some ball of light.

"I had only stretched out my hand to receive its warmth.

"It looked warm. Whatever.

"It fused with me.

"I returned back.

"I was feeling weird.

"That’s when I saw it.

"Rocks everywhere.

"There was another cave-in.

"Right where Quentin lay to rest.

"He was no more.

"Smashed to pieces from the quake.

"I didn’t know what to do.

"I did something.

"I..."

Chris was going to say something but he stammered and stuttered. It was too much.