He is open to the possibility that Hermes and Wrath might be working together to fool him. He doesn't know what they plan to gain from him, but that doesn't mean that there is nothing to gain from fooling him.
He just doesn't know enough, and he doesn't have enough power to protect his life. It is almost like the information broker all over again. He feels like a kid being used as a pawn in a game he doesn't know about.
So no, he can't trust Wrath. He changed the subject by asking, "What else can we gain from our relationship?"
She sighed and said. "There is no rush. You can take your time. I will just remain within the ring, trapped and unable to interact with the world until you are ready. If you become a demigod, you will be able to enter the space within the ring, and I will be able to find the other rings. If you gather all the other rings, you will be able to become god, and together we will build the pantheon."
Kelvin nodded. Then he returned to the matter at hand. "Hermes came to give me an ultimatum. He said I have 15 years to create the pantheon. I think I have enough time."
Wrath rolled her eyes and said, "You are right to think so. The previous paragon was right to think he had 20 years too. But I don't think the next paragon will think they have enough time. The god kings will go through their plan unfailingly by 2200."
She said that cheerfully, as if her previous sadness were a mirage. She was back to being the upbeat shadow spirit that she had always been.
Kelvin shrugged. "That's not my concern. That's for the future paragon and all the demigods to worry about. If they are not worried, then I shouldn't be worried. And if they are worried, they will help me find the rings and give them to me, so there's nothing for me to worry about."
Wrath agreed. "You have a point. Some demigods are indeed worried, but they are divided on what to do. The main causes of the divide are greed, unwillingness to submit, and Raijin."
She explained further, "That last reason is a major one. You have to kill Raijin before you can create the pantheon. That can't be avoided. But Raijin is powerful himself and also highly influential. A lot of people don't want him to die. Those people will stand in your way."
Kelvin didn't care. He said, "At most, I'll die. It will mean I am weak and unworthy of becoming the god king. But they will suffer for all of eternity. I don't know what it means to carry the sky, but if they prefer that over the death of one guy, then so be it. Either I die or they suffer."
Wrayh corrected. "There is a third option. Raijin can become the paragon. If they find a way to kill me, then anyone can become the paragon."
Kelvim was enlightened. "So that's what they are relying on. What are the chances of that happening?"
Wrath considered the question seriously and said, "I don't know. But if I die, so will the current paragon. I will also need the current paragon to be strong enough to protect him. So we are in this together. I only have good intentions for you."
Kelvin said slowly, "But if I die, you will be safe and sound. That doesn't sound like we are in this together. That sounds like I am mostly on my own."
Wrath sighed again. It is all she could do because she didn't have anything to refute that. She hasn't had anything to refute it every time the other paragons have brought it up.
Her situation is caused by a contradiction that she can't avoid. She has to choose people with immense potential, intelligence to solve their problems, and a willingness to do anything to achieve their goal as paragons. But those kinds of people don't trust easily.
They certainly don't trust something that clouded their minds and tricked them to make a promise about something they couldn't comprehend its difficulty at that time. They find it extra difficult to believe her when they are not even sure she is real.
It is reasonable to suspect that she is a figment of their imagination since it is possible that they had gone crazy after awakening their second ability. This is something that has happened to many people.
Mental mutation or breakdown is especially likely to be the case after they awakened a second ability. Maybe the stress of two abilities broke them and made them start seeing and hearing someone that others couldn't perceive.
So only one paragon has ever trusted her wholeheartedly as a partner. He was the guy that could teleport. His ability to escape danger gave him the confidence to trust her.
As for the others, the best they think of her is as a tool that they can use. Most of the time, she is a product of the mutation caused by their second ability.
She is used to it by now. But it is like Hermes said, they are running out of time. The ultimatum isn't for the paragon and demigods alone. It is for Earth-11 as a whole.
If a paragon is not selected by them, one will be selected for them. And while she is no danger from the ultimatum, she doesn't want the inhabitants of Earth-11 to become at the mercy of a tyrant. She was given life to avoid that. So she can't give up yet.
But she also knew that she couldn't force the issue. After all, trust had to be earned, not demanded. So she changed the subject of the conversation to something more pleasant.
"Why don't you show destiny channel 31? There should be something interesting going on there soon."
Kelvin did. He was still in a bad mood, but a twinge of anticipation went through him as he switched to the channel.