Another consciousness appeared suddenly and interrupted their discussion. It invaded this unreactive part of the universe without any effort. This consciousness had a dark, chilling, and harrowing presence. Its aura made Legion shiver involuntarily.
The fourth consciousness screamed in anger. "Who the heck just did that? Let me see who is responsible for almost destroying the universe."
The roar brought with it an extra impact of pressure. Legion felt like fainting. He has not felt like losing consciousness naturally since he was a mana entity. He has felt like losing consciousness before when he was weaker but those were from unnatural causes and are signs of dying. This situation is also unnatural and he might as well not survive it.
All three consciousness blasted at the intruder. "You are not welcome here."
They spoke the same sentence for the first time. Their agreement create a powerful Union of will that slammed into the fourth consciousness.
The intruder didn't care. It shrugged off the blow and continued yelling. "I am here for my pound of flesh and I must have it. I will not back down until the source of this calamity is eradicated. I hate these vermin at best but this one has gone too far. The entire universe was literally at stake. I must have him."
Legion almost fainted there and there as the waves of the scream lashed at him. It was not the blow of sound waves but something like psychic pressure. It was not intended to harm him either. The fourth consciousness is only talking at a higher wavelength. It is his fault for being unable to keep up and comprehend information at that level.
The three consciousness had to shield him from further damage from the exposure to a higher-order information state. Then they rebuked the intruder.
"Enough."
"Rules are rules."
"No matter what you think."
"No matter what you wish to do."
"He will be rewarded."
"Those are the rules."
The fourth consciousness finally relented. Even it can't flaunt the rules. Plus it is a stickler for rules. It would prefer not to break rules if it can't because no matter your best efforts, chaos begets chaos. Breaking rules leads to the breaking of more rules which will lead to the universe finally unraveling.
It said to them, "Fine. But I must have him when you're done with him."
"That's none of our business."
"You can get him as long as you can catch him yourself."
"We will do our job."
"And only our job."
"We are not obligated to hand him over."
"Those are the rules."
The three refused to bend. They will do their job and only that. They certainly won't do something to sabotage their purpose. Legion has shown potential so there's no way they are going to hand him over.
The fourth spoke calmly this time. "I am not forcing you to hand him to me. I want you to do me this favor for the sake of the universe. Think about all the good that will be done to the universe if this disruptive vermin is removed."
All three of them said at the same time. "No."
"You can't be serious. This dangerous brat should be eliminated as soon as possible. Who knows what he will get up to? Do this for the void universe, not for me. How about it?"
They refused. "We refuse."
"We reward."
"That's our job."
"You punish."
"That's your job."
"Do your job."
"And we will do ours."
Watchers reward those that break a rule of the universe because they believe that it is necessary to achieve the aim of the universe. For their mission to be achieved, the rules of the universe have to be broken. They believe that you can't create new from old unless you sacrifice the old. Creation from destruction. Life from death. It is the cycle of existence. They represent the chaos of the universe.
Protectors on the other end hate breaking the rules of the universe. They enforce it seriously and hunt rule breakers to stop the spread of chaos in the universe. The greater the offense, the greater the hunt. They represent the order of the universe. They don't care for the greater aim of the universe only for its stability.
The three consciousness refused to change or bend to the will of the fourth. They will do their job and only that. They certainly won't do something to sabotage their purpose. Legion has shown potential so there's no way they are going to hand him over. The fourth consciousness is stubborn and so are they. They were created this way and for this purpose. Nothing can change their mind except the creator itself.
The fourth consciousness fumed silently. It turned its attention to Legion and directed a focused stare of hatred at them. There are no eyes or body parts in this world but Legion understood the concept of an intense stare nonetheless. The understanding that this fourth consciousness will like nothing more than to end them settled on their already addled mind without much difficulty.
It probably did it to scare Legion. Unfortunately for the fourth consciousness, Legion can't get more scared and afraid for their lives than they already are. There is only so much fear that they can produce and they have reached that limit sometimes ago. So Legion simply received the intimidating glare with resignation.
The fourth consciousness huffed when it noticed its efforts going to waste.
It said to the other three, "Get this over quickly then. I can't wait to start the hunt for the little troublemaker."
The three consciousness resumed their judgment after his urging.
"In light of the current situation."
"And for the sake of the universe."
"The most appropriate reward is the origin flame."
The fourth consciousness interrupted again with a shout of surprise. "What?"
"I understand that you have to reward him, but the origin flame?"
"You're giving him more POWER. Are you kidding me?"
The three consciousness sighed in dismay. It seems that they will be here for a long while.