"You two are the first people in a long time who managed to generate four Law Sparks, and that gave me hope," she said.
"Oh, these are these four weird specks, right?" Kyle asked.
The Duchess of Twilight nodded.
"What exactly do they do, except strengthen my Aspects of Power?" Kyle asked.
"They also increase your Affinity for the category of Laws they belong to," she said.
"Anything else?" Kyle asked.
"That's everything," she answered.
Kyle blinked. "What if I become a Transcendent? How will they change?"
"They will vanish, and you will condense a Core Spark like any other Standard Transcendent," she said.
Kyle's brows rose. "So, they do nothing?"
The Duchess of Twilight nodded. "Not in the Transcendent Realm or any future Realm."
"There are three ways in which you can advance a Realm. You can try to cheat your way into the next Realm by comprehending a Half-Law. In that case, you have ruined your future."
"The second way is to fulfill the actual criterion, in which case you may go all the way to the top."
"The third way is to fulfill the criterion and go even further. In that case, you also get a bonus for the Realm. You can view it as a reward for producing exceptional results."
"Huh," Kyle said. "That sounds a bit… unrewarding. I thought my Law Specks would also make me different from other Transcendents."
The Duchess looked at Kyle. "In that case, the fate of everyone would be decided within their first century. If it were like that, powerful monsters, who are thousands upon thousands of years old, would have their future forever limited because of something they had done within the first percent of their life."
"Why demand perfection from the very moment you exist? Humans make mistakes, and they deserve a chance to try again."
"When you make a mistake or a rash decision borne out of necessity in the future, you will be thankful that you get a chance to recover."
"You might not have the advantages other powerful people have, but you can slowly regain your relative power to others."
"I have only condensed two Law Sparks. In other worlds, condensing two Law Sparks makes me just above-average."
"But now, I am a Fulfilled Transcendent, which puts me in the top 1% of all Transcendents. Being a Fulfilled Transcendent is even rarer than condensing four Law Sparks."
"I have received another shot, and my past failure has given me more power than a success would have given me. "
"I have learned how it feels to lose your edge over your peers, and I have clawed my way back to the top."
Kyle just scratched the side of his head.
Yeah, all of this sounded good and all, but he still felt like he had been scammed out of some kind of supreme foundation that set him apart from others.
"Does every Realm have something like that?" Kyle asked.
The Duchess of Twilight nodded. "Usually, having an advantage in your current Realm makes it far easier to gain an advantage in the next Realm as well."
"Despite the possibility to climb back up the ranks, 95% of people never manage to do so. After all, they are already in a disadvantaged position."
"Yet, there is always a way."
Kyle sighed.
'I guess it makes sense,' he thought.
"Alright, back to the topic," Kyle said. "You want me to be the Overseer, correct?"
The Duchess of Twilight nodded.
"I have to remain here and protect the world against the Cult of Final Fate until somebody else comes along who willingly wants to take my place, right?"
She nodded again.
"In exchange, I get to learn as much as I want for as long as I want. In essence, as reimbursement for helping the world defend against the Cult of Final Fate, I get more time in the Transcendent Realm than basically everyone else."
She nodded again.
Kyle took a deep breath.
'Actually, the payment doesn't sound worth it. Yes, it's unlimited time or whatever, but I've never even scratched the limit of my longevity. Also, plenty of other Transcendents manage to become this powerful without the extra time.'
'It sounds really unnecessary. It's like working for a company that offers to let you drive with their office car, but you don't have a driver's license.'
'I really don't need that.'
Kyle sighed.
"I accept," he said.
'But what am I supposed to do? Officially, I am an Enforcer Trainee, and I am supposed to become the Overseer. I refuse to believe that the company Magic Lady works for doesn't have some kind of policy or measure to deal with employees who refuse to do their job.'
'I mean, Magic Lady's company is probably super powerful. If I refuse this position and ascend, Magic Lady might just arrive herself to kill me or something. After all, I broke the agreement, which probably means she wouldn't even damage her Karma by killing me.'
'I really don't want to become an Overseer, but I have to. I don't have a choice.'
When the Duchess of Twilight heard Kyle's confirmation, she also took a deep breath.
"I will hold you to your word," she said.
Kyle just nodded.
"You may stay in my Duchy for as long as you like and comprehend as much as you want," she said. "The other Transcendents are not allowed to enter, but I will not protect you."
"You may treat this as your home, but I would advise you not to rely on me. Adversity creates power."
"I know," Kyle said.
He knew how important Momentum was and how much True Battles had helped him.
"You may leave," the Duchess of Twilight said.
Kyle nodded. "Thank you for your help."
"No, I have to thank you," the Duchess said, her voice sounding more relaxed. It was almost like a heavy burden had been lifted off her.
Kyle just smiled and walked out of the room.
Meanwhile, the Duchess of Twilight looked out of the window again, and a small tear rolled down her left eye.
Finally.
After such a long time.
Finally, she could advance and continue her journey.
At the same time, Kyle just scratched the back of his head and sighed.
'Yeah, well. Guess I've fulfilled my duty.'
'I sure hope the company doesn't fuck me too hard.'
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