- Oliver -

  unnos raised an eyebrow. "Ignorance be a humble thing," he observed. "But power is not given lightly.”

  "What do you mean?" Oliver asked, his fusion evident.

  "Let me expin," unnos began. However, Athena swiftly raised one of her hands before he could tinue.

  "Be careful with what you're about to reveal," she cautioned. "You don't want to interfere with the Game's rules."

  "To hell with the Game. I'm out of it—and not because I lost," unnos retorted.

  "I sider that you did lose," Athena responded coolly.

  "Of course you do. After the thrashing we gave you, that's the least you could say," unnos shot back, venom in his voice.

  "Say what you will. At least I didn't create the beings that would bring about my own downfall," Athena replied sharply.

  "Ah! Fair point." unnos ceded, a hint nation creeping into his tone.

  The Sn paused for a moment, pting before he tinued. "Alright. Think of it this way: the power that fuels your crystals has to e from somewhere. In this case, it's us—the Sns—who imbue them with energy. However, while we possess powers beyond what you mortals could ever imagihey are not limitless."

  Oliver nodded, indig his uanding.

  "We are bound by rules, limitations, and preferences," unnos tinued. "For example, this old dy here"—he gestured mischievously toward Athena—"she ects best with those who are trustworthy, heroid intelligent."

  "O-old dy?" Athena stammered, her grip tightening on the armrest of her throil fine cracks splintered across the stone.

  "Right," Oliver interjected quickly, attempting to steer the versation ba trad ighe growing tension. "In that case, what do you require?"

  "Hmm, I'm a bit more tricky—my tastes are more refined," unnos mused, stroking his wild beard thoughtfully. "I seek beings wh about growth and renewal. It's not by ce that I'm known as the Father of the Elves."

  "Father of the Elves?" Oliver echoed, eyebrows raised in surprise.

  "Oops," the Sn muttered, realizing he'd said too much. "Wait, how do you not know that? Isn't he the Alpha?" unnos turo Athena, fusion evident in his eyes.

  "No. He isn't," she replied tersely.

  "What?! How was I awakened by someone who isn't even the Alpha?" unnos excimed, a mix of astonishment and indignation in his voice.

  "I don't know. Bad lu your part?" Athena suggested with a shrug. "Perhaps you should ask your beloved Elves."

  "Ah! This is just splendid," unnos grumbled, rubbing his temples as if warding off a headache.

  Oliver stood amid the t ns of the grand hall, his mind awash with fusion. The cryptic exges between Athena and unnos only added to his bewilderment.

  Questions swirled in his thoughts. ‘What is an Alpha? What does he mean by 'Father of the Elves'?’ Yet, he chose not to voice them. He khis pce required some kind of power to be maintained, and his question increased the input ime was of the essence; he o secure unnos's support before the opportunity slipped away.

  "Growth, huh," Oliver muttered under his breath. Gathering his resolve, he addressed the t deities. "If I'm correct," he began, his voice steadying, "you only see and i with those using your crystals. Is that right?"

  "Yes," Athena firmed, her gaze inscrutable.

  "From unnos's rea, it appears you don't know me or my past," Oliver tinued, gng at the horned Sn. "In that case, allow me to introduce myself properly. Perhaps then I vince you to support me."

  unnos shifted on his throne of entwined branches and leaves, his glowing eyes fixed ily on Oliver. "Very well," he rumbled. "Speak."

  Taking a deep breath, Oliver began to ret his journey. He told them of the day the first Wave struck Seoul—the skies darkening as Ork forces desded upoy, destroying everything on its path. He spoke of the terror and fusion, of lives ended in an instant.

  He described the endless darkness of the years he spent i. Trapped in suspended animation, sciousness flickering like a distant star, he had drifted through a void where time held no meaning.

  Oliver shared how he was eventually awakened and emerged into a pletely new world. Old cities y in ruins, societies fractured, and new Houses domihe new Empire formed after the Waves. He spoke of his silent vow to survive, adapt, and find purpose in this new reality.

  He detailed his arduous jouro the Academy. There, he learned more about the ongoing war between Humans and Orks, a brutal flict that spanned tless worlds. He reted his battles, the foes he faced, the allies he made, and the relentless drive that pushed him to evolve beyond his limits.

  Finally, he described how he arrived at this moment and received the rare Z Crystal that served as a duit to unnos. "This journey led me to you," Oliver cluded, "and perhaps to a ce at turning the tide in this battle."

  Silence hung heavy in the hall as unnos pted Oliver's words. The Sn's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "Iing," he mused. "Those meddlesome Elves... Still, they have ected me to someone who isn’t the Alpha."

  Oliver saw unnos muttering to himself, his tone indig his evident frustration. Sensing an opportunity, he decided to adjust his approach.

  "Sir," Oliver addressed him respectfully, "I know what it's like to be trapped in darkness, asleep for only the gods know how long. The tedium, the despair of wanting to escape that prison..." Memories of his time i surfaced—lonely, desote images that had haunted him. "I barely fathom what it must be like for you, slumbering for decades or turies until someone finds your Z Crystal, especially one as rare as yours."

  unnos's expression softened, his gaze being more focused on Oliver. He seemed intrigued, perhaps even touched by the empathy in Oliver's words.

  "I offer you the closest thing to freedom possible," Oliver tinued early. "If you lend me your power, I keep you from returning to that endless sleep. But if that's not enough, I remove the Crystal, and you'll go back to slumber—perhaps fes untold."

  To underscore his siy, Oliver took a deliberate step back, distang himself from the Sn's thro was a small gesture but ohat signified his willio send unnos back to the darkness.

  The great Sn was silent, his eyes studying Oliver with a depth that seemed to pierce through yers of reality. An air of ptioled between them.

  "I think I uand what you see in him," unnos finally remarked, turning his gaze briefly toward Athena. "He possesses a certain quality."

  Athena remained silent, her expression unreadable as she observed the exge.

  unnarded Oliver thoughtfully. Finally, he sighed and raised his arms in a gesture nation. "Very well, boy," he rumbled. "You leave me with no choice." He leaned forward, the a wood of his throne creaking softly. "You are not among my sons and daughters, so our e will not be easy. We have two options: diminish the power I offer you or impose certain limitations. Since I prefer to see you grow, I think it will be more eaining to pe straints on the power you will receive."

  "Agreed," Oliver replied, accepting the terms.

  unnos tinued, "The first limitation is the simplest. You ot use my armor for more than ten mi a time. This is the most basic restri; currently, your body wouldn't withstand more than that anyway. tio grow stronger, and perhaps I will remove this limitation."

  "Uood," Oliver affirmed with a nod.

  "Sed," unnos said, his tone grave, "no human or ork must know that a human has access to these powers."

  "Why?" Oliver asked, frowning.

  "All Pieces and Sns believe that I am still slumbering," unnos expined. "I would prefer it remaihat way. My sons and daughters already have access to my powers. For someoside my lio wield them would reveal that I have awakened."

  Oliver didn't fully grasp the implications but se could cause unnos problems. "I see," he said thoughtfully.

  "Third and finally," unnos decred. "After using my powers, you must feed my crystal with one week of your Energy produ. Until you do this, you won’t be able to use my pain."

  "Challenging but acceptable," Oliver ceded.

  "Excellent." unnos leaned back, a hint of satisfa in his expression. "Then, boy, you have my blessing to use this Z Crystal." He paused, a subtle glimmer in his eye. "But before you retur me make a small improvement."

  With a swift motion, unnos snapped his fingers. Instantly, a translut notifiaterialized before Oliver, h in mid-air.

  | New Ranger on avaible

  | Twin Daggers added

  “This on will suit you better," unnos remarked with a sly smile.

  GCLopes