He focused on the star that represented Hensen's prayer. It was…fading. Not imminently, but he was sure that it was somehow weaker than yesterday.

Filing away this detail for later, he let the star's brilliance wash over him, and a scene played out. A top hat on his lap, Hensen sat there with his eyes closed and hands clasped, murmuring, 'Oh, Lord Axiom…'

Vern involuntarily glazed over the pretentious preamble, instead fixating on the details of the environment around Hensen. Or lack thereof.

He knew this was a scene from the Nexus, but the visuals of the prayer made it impossible to figure that out. Everything other than Hensen and his immediate surroundings was hazy. Another interesting detail which he left for himself to analyze later.

Hensen's seemingly sane voice continued, 'Grant me insight to reconquer the Third Rune…For this burden is beyond mine talents and threatens my very being. Guide me through its tempest…'

Before even attempting to try and see if he could respond to this prayer, he folded his arms and replayed it again and again, analyzing each and every one of the words carefully.

So, he wants Axiom's help in reconquering the Third Rune. Not conquer it for the first time? This threw him for a loop. Didn't this mean that Hensen had just recently lost control of the rune and was proficient in its use previously?

"Could it be…" he trailed off.

It was a bit presumptuous of him, but he could only think of one event that had the capability to mess with the workings of something on the order of the Third Rune.

"Duskfall of Sorrows…"

And what happened beyond time, he added in his mind. Surely, this has to be a result of him sharing the derivative rune with me. Then, what exactly went wrong with his counterpart?

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A sense of unease enveloped Vern as he explored the possibilities and their repercussions. Hensen's warning at Eleonora's archive still ringed in his mind to this day. The man had made it more than clear that he would chase Vern through the ends of the world.

And this is the side-effect of that?

He even wondered if the Hensen from beyond time wanted things to play out exactly like this. Where only an inconvenience as massive as the current one would force a Hensen, who didn't know about Vern's derivative rune, to do everything to chase after this mysterious leech.

Vern couldn't help but shudder at the ruthlessness of the man from that night. This further solidified the seriousness of the death sentence that was waiting for him if Hensen managed to track him down.

Seconds turned into minutes, and he spent all of them analyzing this situation from many angles.

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Soon, he came to a conclusion, "I shouldn't contact him without a proper plan."

Coming in contact with Hensen was a risky business from every angle. However, not doing so was even worse. Who knew how far Hensen had reached in tracking him down? What if the madman was waiting for Vern to slip up just one more time?

If he wanted to safely use Third rune ever again—and not just as a last resort suicide ground, then he needed to know. Know everything there was about this rune in his head.

It reminded him of the classic saying, and he spoke it out aloud, "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer."

That's exactly what I need to do. Because Hensen wasn't the only threat. Even if he decided not to touch the Third Rune and kept Hensen at bay in that fashion, a larger threat loomed like a guillotine over his head.

The Cryptic Constructor.

He remembered Hensen's words, 'Every time you make use of this rune, I will sense it…and even if you don't use it, once the Cryptic Constructor descends, I will be alerted.'

So, not doing anything isn't an option either. He had no plans of letting the noose tighten around him to the point where Hensen could just waltz into his backyard leisurely and end him on a whim.

I have to sabotage and misdirect Hensen's search, all the while getting more information on how to properly use the rune out of him.

He rubbed his chin and reasoned, Given that Hensen's the one who reached out first, I already have the upper hand in this interaction. To top that off, Axiom shouldn't have the same concerns as me—a weak first-shade observer.

If he played his cards right, he could very well control the narrative of how it all played out.

But that's where things got tricky. He couldn't just blindly ask Hensen to reveal everything about his plans and progress in solving the rune's anomalous behavior. He didn't forget. Even though Hensen came off as insane, a sharp and shrewd mind sat behind that facade, calculating everything in terms of personal benefits.

He had no plans of shortchanging him. Not again. Letting up his guard while pretending to be Axiom was the worst mistake he could make on his path as an Observer. Well, except maybe straight up losing control. He had no plans of letting either of those cases come to pass.

Not just that, there was also a large organization behind Hensen—Aetheric Collective—something Esther had clued him in. They surely had vested interest in Hensen's rune, and him being unable to use it meant that everyone in there had vested interest in catching the culprit of this anomaly—Vern—as soon as possible.

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"Hmm, this is a great opportunity, as well as a terrible risk."

This reminded him of what Rupert suggested. For Vern—no, Axiom to act as an information exchange hub for the whole world.

It had been on his mind ever since, and this thought experiment on how to use his position to get what he wanted out of Hensen only made him aware of how stupidly powerful such a position would be.

"If handled right," he murmured.

But how to handle it right? That 'right' was doing too much of the heavy lifting here. He had some confidence in keeping up the charade due to his unique knowledge since it could help him pretend to be more insightful than he was, but that would only take him so far.

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

There were far too many gaps in his understanding of the world and observers, especially about higher shades. He would be beyond doomed if someone asked him things that were otherwise considered common knowledge for that strength.

He probably didn't know many things that even low-shade observers should know, much less insights that Eternas and whatnot should have. I have to be very deliberate in how I shape this persona when interacting with others.

Ughh, only if I always had a voluntary helper like Keras. The man had done wonders to sell his image to the whole crowd during the confluence.

Even beyond that, he remembered others. There was someone in the fourth row alongside Hensen who had laughed at everyone without fear of any consequences, reducing the pressure he had to face while ascending.

He concluded something from all this experience from the confluence, The more varied the opinions of the audience, the wilder their conjectures. And the wilder their conjectures, the more bullshit I can get away with.

He narrowed his eyes and jotted down, 'Until Axiom's image is solidified or I have the strength to back it up, I'll need to restrict myself to interactions that involve multiple people with starkly contrasting opinions.'

He nodded. It would be even better if they didn't know each other, as that would force some of their thoughts to be focused on being wary of one another rather than scrutinizing Axiom's responses.

Hmm, what else should happen in an ideal situation? he asked himself, staring at nothing in particular. Many ideas flashed through his mind. Ideas he could potentially use to further Axiom's image as this mysterious being of immense power.

However, after a bit, he chuckled, "But how?"

As far as he knew, Convergence Note couldn't facilitate simultaneous communication between many people. It connected two parties, not ten.

However, it wasn't that big of a bottleneck here. He squinted and remembered the plethora of things he'd read during his studies and quickly realized that this was already a solved problem.

Hmm, I could just receive notes from multiple people and re-broadcast to all involved parties with the sender's names attached.

Steamscript relay stations already did something of the sort to broadcast internal instructions around the empire. They just didn't function in real time and had an overnight wait.

However, he felt miffed by the very thought of such an arrangement. It felt…mundane? Something that didn't suit the majestic image of Axiom.

Surely, many others were already making use of such a tactic to avoid sharing their traces with too many people. Vern even wondered if being such a middleman was a sought-after job.

Yeah, I don't think this is the right setup for my use case. It would make Axiom seem like a second-grade charlatan. Hah, he sighed. I might be better off just interacting with prayers rather than that.

At least that would lend an air of divine to everything he said. However, he didn't even know if he could respond to a single prayer, much less bring more than one together.

He made two columns on paper, one for Prayers and one for convergence notes, and penned down each of their pros and cons. Both had their advantages and disadvantages.

Unfortunately for him, both of them missed something crucial he needed to portray Axiom the way he'd envisioned. He needed a better balance.

Annoyed by the awkward limitations of both of these options, he stood up and began pacing around. That usually helped untangle his convoluted thought process.

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"Wait!" He suddenly stopped and shouted, "Of course!" His eyes widened, and a spark of excitement ignited within them. He'd have begun pacing sooner if he knew things would click like that.

He rushed to the table, retrieved the new notepad from the mess, and quickly flipped to a page that had a plethora of golden runes floating all around it—buzzing for some reason he was too occupied to consider.

Imagining Lady Sylphina's trace, he wrote, 'How can I invite observers to the Nexus?'

If Estefans could do it, surely there had to be a way to make this work, right? And who better to ask than the spirit of Nexus itself? It would cost the Nexus some flux, but it would be worth it.

With bated breath, he waited for the golden runes to play their part as they channeled themselves into some random list.

In a bit, a shiver coursed through his mind, and he let the sensation guide his hand. The response emerged in elegant, flowing script, completely unlike the one from yesterday, 'Ah, kind dreamer. Is that…you? Do you…wish to summon those from beyond?' then there was a pause.

Vern looked at the words, befuddled. Kind dreamer? This…isn't like the responses I received from the spirit yesterday. There was a hint of…personality behind them. Did something change?

Yet, before he could read more into it, his hand moved again, 'Mmm, to draw chosen ones from beyond our home and bridge realms, you must pay the price to call forth the grand archivist. Through sacrifice and intention, the archivist will heed your call and discern those worthy from the echoes of existence. However…'

The notion made him grip the pen tighter as it wrote, 'Beware, what you ask for, kind dreamer. The archivist knows all, but the price…'

The sensation ended there.

His brows furrowed as he set aside the unexpected tone behind the words for a moment and considered the answer. It was a little…unexpected. Grand Archivist? Sacrifice and Intention?

It almost sounds like this grand archivist determines the trace of people that need to be invited based on the organizer's intention.

Dots began connecting in his head, and he reasoned, Wait. Is this how Estefans managed to target every 'Visionary' who had crossed some threshold in loosening their shackles of subjectivity?

That sounded plausible. Though, he was sure they'd learned the details through a completely different method. Maybe even some kind of vague divination or from some records of the past. After all, he was directly communicating with Lady Sylphina's trace. No one even knew about her existence, much less have a way to contact her.

This made him wonder, Who is this really on the other end? It surely wasn't the lady Sylphina he'd met in the void, right? Her eminence's mannerisms were far removed from…this.

Shaking his head, he refocused. Surely, it all had something to do with his actions yesterday. Regardless, whoever it was, they were far better than a spirit with no intelligence. He might be able to get a real answer to this crucial question.

So, he gathered his thoughts and wrote, 'Then, do I still need to invoke the archivist if I already know the traces of those whom I wish to invite?'

He waited for a while, and his hand moved, 'Kind dreamer, you already have their flux's signature? You sure learn…fast.'

Then, a pause.

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'Do you…wish to summon your guests right now? There's enough flux to invite and attend to…two people.'

Vern's heart raced as he re-read the whole conversation, and the implications settled over him. A grin spread across his face, eyes wide with excitement. Unable to contain his elation, he threw his fist up in the air as his voice echoed in the room, "It's possible!"

This was… game-changing!

It changed the very scope of the possibilities! Until now, he'd been thinking of what he could do in terms of basic note exchange or words and the kind of impressions he could give off there to get what he wanted.

But this?

Nexus was like a home ground where he got to set the rules. Its unique restrictions were a godsend to a phony pretender like him. They'd already shown their usefulness during the confluence, where he was up against tens of naysayers. Now, however, he could even control who was present and who wasn't…

He paced around the room, unable to control his excitement, Fuck Fuck Fuck. This is too big!

This actually went beyond just Hensen. It could be a means to something…greater. Yes! I…I might even be able to counter the scheme against Axiom's image and be proactive about fixing it!

His persona as Axiom was like a performer with great potential, but it was limited by his lacking overworld knowledge and meager means. Now, however, he had a stage.

A stage where he could setup the props, the characters, as well as the audience. It was a stage where he could…

Then, suddenly, footsteps closed in on his door and...Knock Knock.