Chapter 775 The Order 3
Even though Cassandra's face disappeared in a second just like the others, to Daneel, it felt as if it was transfixed there.
Just like the rest, it had looked more like it belonged to someone dead instead of someone whom he had just seen a few seconds go.
To comprehend the words he had just heard, Daneel actually needed a moment, but after that, the question he was supposed to ask first was clear.
"What choice?"
The voice had seemed very strange: it was almost lifeless, as if it had been reading off of a script, instead of being said by someone who might be looking at him through this strange object.
What the hell was it, anyway? And why the hell had Cassandra's face come on it?
The system was no help, as it had just told Daneel that his senses were completely constricted to his body. Clearly, there were some very, very strong formations at work here, and even the records from the Empire were helpless in deciphering just what it could be.
Seeing the trusty records which he had depended on in many situations so far was frustrating, and it had already happened twice.
Before he could think further about that, though, the voice spoke again.
"The choice that all must make if they pass the test. The choice whether to enter the Order, or leave this place with the false memory that you found nothing. The choice to either become a part of something that is greater than you, or to forego such an opportunity and continue to live in obscurity while the grand scheme of things will forever be veiled from your eyes."
These were ominous words, for sure, and anyone would have been pressured by them.
Yet…Daneel was in a unique situation where he could disregard them.
No matter what choice he made, if another attempt was made to meddle with his mind again, the system would once again simply counter it and make sure that the information he would obtain would stay with him, instead of being hidden as it had been so long.
This was something that only he could do, but he didn't let complacence show on his face, as it would be a dead give-away.
Instead, Daneel made sure that he raised his brows and stepped back, and although this was fake, what happened after that was real.
Cassandra's face appeared again on the mosaic of faces, and this time, he couldn't control his curiosity.
"Why is my commander's face on you…"
He had no idea how to finish that sentence. Was it a face? A body? Or just a trinket, like a speaker, through which someone was communicating?
Thankfully, an answer soon came, giving him respite from the effort of finishing his sentence.
"All those who make the choice to enter the Order will appear on my being. They take up the mantle passed down since the birth of this continent, and the Order is within them, from the moment that they make their choice to that of their death, and in some cases, to even beyond. As the Overseer, I represent the collective Will of the Eternal Battle against those who target us with greed in their eyes. Your commander was born in the Order, and hence, she is naturally a path of it."
So…this eerie sun filled with faces was the body of the thing that was talking?
This brought up more questions than it answered, but Daneel focused on the rest of what it had said.
First, it had just been confirmed that the village that Cassandra was searching for was in this place. This had had a major chance of being the case, but seeing it proven beyond doubt was always preferable.
Second, instead of vague timelines, he now knew when this Order had been established- it was at the birth of the continent.
But, if so…who had established it?
Daneel wanted to find out everything, but it looked like the voice had different plans for him.
"I see the passion in your eyes to uncover everything about the Order. It is not new, and it is something that all those who come here aspire to do. The Path to Power is also the Path to find answers to any questions that anyone might have, and by this point, anyone would be filled with queries that might feel as if they were going to make their head burst. To find out more about the Order, though…you need to first make your choice, and then show that you are worthy of getting the answers that you seek. We shall begin in a moment, after I review your test."
Daneel had been keeping a close eye on his surroundings, and as the voice said this, he saw Cain get a rueful smile on his face.
Hmm? Why did he look like he was someone who had lost a bet?
If he knew that Cain had been given the rudest shock in his life in the past few centuries, he would definitely have been sympathetic to this man who had guided hundreds before him.
Both Cain and Galagor had needed quite a few moments to come to terms with the fact that an Amateur Champion had somehow won against an Exalted one, and that, too, one who was said to stand within the top twenty seeds among the entire continent- counting those both in the Big Four and the Order.
Even after that, they had gazed at each other disbelievingly before finally shaking their heads, as they might never know just how it had happened.
However, that had been followed by different expressions coming on each of their faces.
In the case of Cain, he had looked down one last time with deep interest, indicating that he was quite looking forward to just what other surprises they would be getting from the King.
As for Galagor…the fire of competition had been evident in his eyes, and he was notorious for wanting to compete with people and beat them even if it wasn't fair.
As the voice spoke again, Cain noticed that the King was watching him, so he allowed the corners of his mouth to pull up for a moment in an attempt to let him know that everything was all right, before both of them focused on what the Overseer was saying.
"Test result: 99th percentile.
Purge shall begin after the choice.
The choice before you is the same that has been presented to all those who have come to this stage. All you need to decide…is whether you will enter the Order, or not.
It might sound simple, but please take note of the fact that there are very strict rules.
First and foremost, the Order exists for the well-being of the continent. As such, any individual who holds malicious thoughts against it, or who develops them over the course of time will be directly killed due to the Oath that you will have to swear after your choice.
Yes, there is an oath, and I am actually stating everything that you will swear to, so listen carefully.
Secondly, one of the Order's greatest strengths is both the secrecy of its existence, and that of its members.
Let me go into a little bit of detail regarding this.
If you choose not to join, all memories of the Order will be erased from your mind.
If you choose to join, you will give the Order the right to erase your memories, if need be. Please note that this only applies to certain situations which are clearly stipulated in the official rulebook, which you will have access to before you make your choice.
Also note that this is nothing to panic about, as each and every instance of this happening can be reviewed with me. Let me give you an example. You just passed your test in the 99th percentile, which has not been seen in the last 7654 years. This means that you are a once-in-a-millienium talent. If your victory had been in lesser time, your percentile might even have been higher. In such a case, it is natural that news of your incredible power level will attract everyone from far and wide to find out just how you managed it. You will be hounded by Heroes day and night, who will want to find your secrets so that they can pass them down to their offspring and followers. Yes, no one viewed your battle, but just the result will be enough to bring all of this down upon you. Don't you agree?"
Daneel couldn't help but shudder as he heard the words of the Overseer.
Right! That was definitely what would happen if it got out that he beat a top-tier seed who was an Exalted Champion while he was only an Amateur one!
This was an unprecedented feat, and what was even a bit amusing…was that the real time he had needed was just one second.
The rest had been spent by him torturing his opponent, and if he had wished, he was sure that he might even have been able to end his opponent in a single second.
But wait, why was he even thinking about that? It was already bad enough as it was!
This wasn't even something he was facing for the first time in his life. Back in the Olympics, he had displayed power beyond his level, and he had needed Marcus's protection to not have all the Warriors of Angaria come down on him. After that protection had ended, a very dangerous group had arrived, and this was all even in a case where his power hadn't even been that appealing to the Big Four.
But now…even thinking about it made his hair rise on end.
It had been an impulsive decision to go all out, and although he stood by it because of the changes that had occurred inside him and also because it had felt just…right, he realized that he might have landed himself in hot soup.
The Big Four would definitely send their best to apprehend him and study him like a lab rat, and against their combined force…he didn't stand a chance.
It seemed that his expression of panic was enough for the Overseer, because the voice spoke again.
"I see that you do. Fret not, because after you have made your choice, a purge shall begin. All those in the Order who know of your result have sworn the Oath, and the only reason that they were even exposed to this process was to ensure that it would be safe, and that they would be able to stand as witnesses in case something happened. This is explained more in detail in the rulebook. After each test, the information about the power levels of the contender and the result is purged from all the minds of those who know about it. All physical records are also destroyed, and it is so perfect that not a soul on this continent, except you, will know about it. This applies even to me. It is one of our strictest rules, and it is also the main reason why even those who would normally be reclusive choose us, because they know that they can keep their power a secret perfectly if they wish, while only exposing it at select times to select people to get what they wanted. All that anyone will know is that you fought someone picked at random from a pool of contenders, and that your performance was good enough to pass. Yes, if you had lost, too, you might have passed if you had fought well. Otherwise, it makes no sense to make you fight against someone so much more powerful than you. The norms that we use to score test-takers are secret, but they are precise.
Understand that to ensure this, it is necessary to have the second condition of the oath."
"…"
Daneel couldn't believe his ears when he heard this.
It was…so f*cking perfect!
What more could he want?!
Although it remained to be seen whether the words of this strange and eerie thing could be trusted, it was a fact that it did make sense that this policy of secrecy must have been very appealing to those who might have wanted to train in seclusion.
Had he finally gotten a stroke of luck after being unlucky for so long?
Thinking in this way and controlling his enthusiasm, Daneel continued to listen to the voice.
"The third and final stipulation is that if it is absolutely necessary, you must swear to give back all that was given to you by the Order. This is for times of war, when vital weapons might be needed to empower those going against the enemies of the continent. That is all."
The final one…was strange.
Why was there no oath to forcefully conscript all those who were in the Order to fight, if there was a war?
Was it too much of a dealbreaker to ask people to fight for their continent, even after they had sworn that they would have no ill thoughts against it?
Hmm…perhaps it was.
Right as Daneel was about to deeply analyze the oath, a large tome appeared in front of him.
"That is the rulebook. You can check it, and then make your choice. Take all the time you need."
Curious, Daneel walked up to it and started to act as if he was going through it carefully.
However, on the inside, he had asked the system to scan it and check whether there was anything that stood out.
He had simply been looking for hidden rules, like the TnC on Earth which made people practically sign over their souls using the 'art of the fine-print', but what he found…made him almost gawk like a peasant who had just been told that the world was much larger than he had thought it was, following which he had to try hard to hide his emotions.
In fact, it was so disturbing that Daneel even froze while staring at a page, making Cain even curiously glance over to check just what was so interesting on that page.
If he could have somehow heard the system's message, too…he would have understood why the King's blood was suddenly rushing to his face which had started to flush with anger.
[Rulebook scanned. Multiple points of interest found. Sorting according to internal priority list.
List sorted. Outputting first item on the list.
Rulebook is in the form of rules and information, followed by commentary by many people throughout the millennia.
There is one piece of information that has attracted the most commentary in recent times, and it is the one that has been chosen to top the list.
It is titled: "The Topic of Amorality of the Order."
Most prominent commentary:
"All of us know of the amorality of the Order and its Overseer, which makes it choose the greater good when taking into view the welfare of the continent. There are both major and minor instances of this. Minor instances are where it is considered perfectly logical by the Overseer to make children go through things like the murder of their parents or even rape if it means that they will Awaken their hidden power, which might end up saving many in the event of a war. In front of the possible outcome, the other act, no matter how wrong it feels to many like me, is perfectly fine! As for major instances, there is one which will come to mind to all those who read this- the Apocalypse. After Emperor Fenoras used the Grand Inheritance to drive back the enemies, the Overseer judged that the best course of action was to excommunicate all those at or above the rank of Champion. It could have led the Warriors to sneakily kill these individuals by exposing their weaknesses, but it chose not to as it was too risky to allow the Warriors, who would grow into the next hope of the continent, to undertake such a task. It forcibly imprisoned all those who had talent, and it even closed its doors to outsiders who could have used its perfectly protected areas to save themselves. It deemed it too risky, and hence…many millions more died than was necessary. Even at the time of rebuilding, it remained hidden, as it had judged that there was still a chance of the enemy returning, in which case it was better if it was concealed. It was only after it was perfectly established that there was no chance of this happening did it finally stop its imprisonment, and even after that, it took no proactive role and only settled back into the organization which would be there to protect Angaria, instead of standing up as something which could have led Angaria into a new age. Some day…I fear that all of us might also be killed, if it means that that will serve the greater good. Many call me a fearmonger and curse at me saying that all I speak is nonsense, but before making your choice, think of this, and beware.]