"Most concerning."

"Did the male exterminator fail to die?"

"Indeed, however, more importantly, he has improved his extermination power and regained access to it."

"I see. Concerning indeed. Is it a familiar one?"

"I am unsure."

"Your meaning?"

"He seemed to improve an unknown extermination power at first, but shortly afterwards he improved a second ability which I believe is the very same one as the main exterminator's. There are also traces of a third, though much weaker than the other two."

"A tri-exterminator containing the Golden Path power? Such a thing should be impossible... I suggest we end his life as soon as possible. If that proves to be impossible, I suggest ejecting him from the trials immediately. Such a person should not be able to exist. He is dangerous."

"I would like to agree, but there is a complication."

"Explain."

"He looked at me."

"How?"

"I do not know. I simply know that he looked straight at me. I think it may be possible that he is aware of where we are."

"Troubling. Very troubling."

"Indeed. However, he seems to hold no ill-will, and, if I am correct, he seems to be unconscious."

"His exterminator powers are moving his body for him?"

"I believe so, yes. The weakest of the three powers, if I am correct, or, perhaps the stronger unknown one can do such a thing."

"Perhaps. Well, in that case, it may be wise to leave him to complete the trails and hope he does not intend to destroy us as his ancestors once did."

"Indeed. I see no other better choice."

"On another note, the female exterminator has revealed that she has, in fact, had access to her power all along."

"Is it one from the invader exterminators?"

"No. It is odd, however. It appears to be able to alter destiny, though only on a minute scale. She is very skilled at using it only when it is required. I assume it must be actively maintained and is very heavy on energy consumption."

"Not an uncommon restriction for exterminator powers. If it is only on a minute scale then we can ignore it, I conclude."

"I agree. She seems to be enjoying herself, so while she will not become the true inheritor, perhaps she shall leave this place with fond memories."

"I wish the same could be said for her male counterpart."

"Indeed."

----------------------------------------

A white light filled Daz's vision even despite his eyes being closed and the next moment he felt something warm and soft pressing against the back of his head. "Mmm?"

"Good, morning," Madison's voice calmly said.

Daz slowly peeled his eyes open only to see his girlfriend silently crying. A few feet away he could see Sir Albert and only one of his fellow explorer-slash-archaeologists just sitting on the floor watching him.

"Only us four?" Daz asked as he weakly raised his arm to wipe Madison's face to free it of its tear stains. Too soon did he realise his error. He'd smudged her face with dirt, grime, and his own blood. "Whoops. Sorry about that, Maddy."

Madison held his hand to her face as he tried to pull it away. She smiled with her eyes and said, "Okay. Not, upset. Happy, alive."

Daz stared at her blankly. "Right... I almost died... I wonder how I got out of that?" he asked as he slowly raised his torso off of his girlfriend's lap. "Where's Mr Barrier?"

[No longer within the trials. The foreign being is waiting outside where you entered El Dorado.]

"Huh." Daz's expression worsened the more that he moved. "I feel like fucking shit..."

"As you rightly should," Sir Albert commented. "It's a miracle that you made it through all of the trials, and on top of that, it was even more fortuitous that young Madison there happened to carry snacks, drinks, and medicine in that backpack of hers. I wouldn't think that powerful people such as yourselves would require such things, but consider me a fool if I don't recognise that it was a real life-saver, literally."

The young man roughly five or six years older than Daz nodded. "Right. I mean, I'm a lucky guy, but you, you're something else. Did you see that one coming?" he asked Madison.

She shook her head stoically. "Never. Snacks, for, me. Medicine, for, Rose. Happy, had, them."

"Huh." The man stroked his hair-free chin. "Still, watching her chew up those chocolate bars and sweets then feed them to you mouth-to-mouth... that was... unexpected."

Madison's cheeks turned red while her face remained expressionless. "No, other, choice..."

"Truly a strange speech pattern. It's definitely intentional, but why?" Sir Albert muttered to himself while the fortuitous man turned away and began writing down notes in what looked like a journal.

"Thanks, Maddy. You saved me. Even though I somehow made it here I would have starved to death or died from this stupid infection if you hadn't, y'know, fed me and patched me up," Daz thanked as he waved his freshly-bandaged hand about lightly.

Madison smiled with her eyes. She leaned down and kissed Daz's forehead. "No, thanks, needed."

Daz wore a warm look on his face. "I love you, Maddy, and I'm so glad you made it through the trials too..."

"Not, difficult. Worried, before, Daz, made, it, here." Madison looked like she could start crying again at any moment just thinking about the possibility of the man she loved dying.

"Ahem," Sir Albert fake-coughed. "On the topic of you getting here, King Daz, something rather curious happened when you arrived. You were the last of us, by the way. George here was first, I was second, and Madison was third if you're curious," he said as he adjusted his rounded glasses.

Right now, all Daz cared about was finding something to clean himself off with, so he honestly wasn't very interested in what Sir Albert had to say. The longer he stayed filthy, the more and more he'd cover Madison in his muck since she insisted on keeping him close, which warmed his heart.

Madison nodded. "Was, strange."

"Huh. So, what happened, exactly?" he asked, his interest now peaking since even Madison felt that something was off.

"Well, for a start, you were floating off of the ground ever so slightly. On top of that, your right eye was pure gold while you left was a dark - almost vanta - black. I thought for a moment that you'd been possessed, honestly. Thankfully, you collapsed when you arrived here and awoke as your normal self," Sir Albert explained.

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Daz frowned. His mind immediately jumped to one conclusion. "My esper powers?" he whispered.

It made some sense. The headache he had before passing out was one like no other he had ever experienced. It was easily 3-times as powerful as the one he had experienced during the system's grand auction, if not, even intenser than then.

Daz had assumed it was just a result of his hand's infection, his hunger, and his dehydration, but perhaps that wasn't accurate...

'If Survivor's Instinct levelled up to level-4, then it would make sense how I finished the other trials and why the headache was so painful, but still, that power can't move my body on its own...' Daz was confused.

Since nothing else was going on right now in the white room the four of them were in, he decided to just sit and think for a moment.

At the same time, Madison carefully and lovingly ran her fingers through his messy hair.

'A black eye... My first thought would be Soul Collector... I don't really know anything about that power since Rose claimed it was a carbon-copy of my Absolute Reaping skill, she never mentioned it being able to move my body on its own, even then, if it did level-up as well, then it would still only be level-2. Rose very clearly stated that esper powers only develop new uses when they reach levels 4 and 5,' Daz thought.

He was very happy to have his head clear of the constant ringing, enabling coherent thought.

He closed his eyes as he enjoyed the sensation of Madison's slender fingers wiping the filth from his face.

Daz didn't really know why she cared so little about herself being covered in grime when she was so much more attractive than he was, but all the same, he appreciated her affection.

'I think the next most obvious thing would be that Gravital Body finally awakened. If that's the case, then maybe my Soul Collector power controlled my body via Gravital Body and cleared the trials with Survivor's Instinct?' This theory made a lot of sense to Daz, however, he had another one.

'That voice I heard before I passed out... 'Awaken, my son!' if I recall correctly... Was that... my mother?' Daz truly didn't know the answer to that question. 'I've never met her before, but if she somehow left, I dunno, a seed in my soul to give me internal energy if Soul Collector is close to levelling up or if I almost die from awakening or something, then maybe that would explain everything. That's her family's power, after all, according to Rose. It should have nothing to do with Father and his side of the family.'

Daz's mind was full of questions that needed answering, and he felt that only his sister could aid him on that front.

A few minutes later two beings suddenly appeared. They were both floating in the air while cross-legged. They looked human, in shape, at least. If it weren't for the fact that they were adorned in gold jewellery and had long grey hair attached to their mummified faces, then perhaps one would mistake them for aliens of some sort.

"We are the arbiters of El Dorado, as well as the curators of the trials you have successfully overcome."

"There is no secret extra trial, there are no following tests, the inheritor of El Dorado's creator has already been selected from amongst you."

"We wish to speak to the exterminators separately first, so you two shall wait here patiently."

Suddenly, Sir Albert and George disappeared.

Daz frowned as a result and immediately asked, "Exterminators?"

"It is what we call those among our kind who wield powers beyond the natural limit of humans and who are not one of our own people."

"The exterminators wiped out all life in El Dorado, even our lives, hence the reason we call them exterminators."

Madison cocked her head to the side. "You, dead?"

"Yes and no."

"We are El Dorado. Our souls live on as a part of the city. We are almost no different from your minor god companions, male exterminator."

"Indeed. Were we not connected to El Dorado as we are, perhaps we could have ascended to true godhood and worked towards restoring the slaughtered pantheon."

Daz kept a sharp look in his eyes as he asked, "And what do you wish to discuss with us, exactly?"

"We wish to know your intentions."

Madison shivered slightly. "Speak, but, no, move. Creepy..."

"I apologise if we disturb you, female exterminator, but we have no control over how we look."

"Indeed."

Daz sighed softly. He could tell that he had access to his esper powers once again, specifically, Survivor's Instinct. He wasn't getting any alarm bells when he thought of telling them the truth, so tell them the truth he did.

"I want to own El Dorado. Right now, the system, or, 'mysterious being' as I think one of you called it, assuming you guys were behind the white messages?" Daz asked.

Both of the mummified corpses nodded.

"Well, it's essentially invaded Earth. I don't know why it has done that but I'm putting my all into uniting all of the planet under me to best prepare ourselves as a consolidated people to face what's to come once we pass all of the system's tests and trials like I did with your tests and trials," Daz said confidently and in a powerful tone.

"I see."

"Intriguing. You are very different to your ancestor."

"My ancestor?" Daz wore a surprised expression. 'These mummies know my ancestor? Firstly, how do they know anyone I'm related t- Ah. My golden eye... An owner of Survivor's Instinct then?'

"You are wise. I can see from your expression that you have deduced the truth behind our words."

"Indeed. Our people lived and thrived for almost 20,000-years, but this grand city you see before you... It was lost to time not more than a thousand years ago."

Daz wore a confused expression. He may be ignorant on most topics that would fall under common knowledge, but he had specifically investigated El Dorado when he was researching mythical cities, and something didn't line up here.

"A thousand years ago, not 500? From what I know, the Spanish conquered and massacred the indigenous South American tribes roughly 500-years-ago, not a thousand," Daz pointed out.

"You are not wrong. We were once a mighty empire, but when the exterminator army killed our beloved gods and creator, all that was left were the exiled tribesmen, people unrelated to El Dorado and its secrets. However, some tried to contact the gods even after they had been wiped out."

"Indeed. We thought it foolish at the time, but it did result in the necklace you now wear being created in an attempt to return to the lost city - their inheritance and birthright."

"It is a shame that humans raped the land and killed its people, but such is the way of the simple-minded. We cannot fault the ignorant and selfish for coveting what they have only heard of through crude drawings and murals."

'Huh... So the Spaniards landed, found the tribes, saw, what, depictions of El Dorado and became crazed with finding it? That's oddly believable despite how simple it sounds. People can be pretty damn greedy, me included,' Daz thought.

He slowly raised his torso while Madison supported him then he asked perhaps the most important question he could. "Why did the 'exterminators' kill everything here, exactly? For gold?"

"No, they did so because we can suppress them."

"Indeed. Many exterminator abilities were erased from the planet during the war, never to surface again purely because they could not use said powers in our presence."

"... How?" Big Bo had been able to subdue his Survivor's Instinct as well, but, apparently, doing so had cost him a fair amount of money. These mummies, on the other hand, didn't seem to be using the system, so Daz had to wonder where this ability to suppress esper powers was coming from.

"Just as exterminator powers and their origins are a mystery to us, so shall our power to restrict them remain a mystery to you. For now, at least."

"That's... fair," Daz replied. "Well, what now? Are you going to kill us, or something?" His eyes narrowed. 'They can definitely try, but if I have access to all of my esper powers, maybe I can damage their souls with Soul Collector and really fuck them up before they can do anything...'

"Perhaps, though we would like to avoid such an outcome."

"Indeed. We wish to know your relation to the main exterminator's power. The one of which your golden eye is a product of. Our response will depend entirely on your answer."

A fire entered Daz's eyes. "Personally? I wish the fucking power never existed. It's helpful, sure, but it's done so much harm to me, and, apparently, to you as well. I want to and will kill my father one day, the man whom this power came from."

Madison grabbed and squeezed Daz's hand calmly for support.

The mummies slowly turned to look at each before they shifted back to gaze at Daz and Madison again.

"And what of her? Her ancestors did not participate in our people's extermination, so we would like to treat her kindly as well."

Daz scoffed. "She cares about her brother, sure, but the McArthur bloodline as a whole? Like me, she'd prefer if it didn't exist."

Madison nodded fervently. "Mmm, agree... Bad, people..."

"How surprising."

"Indeed."

"In that case, we wish to make you an offer, Male Exterminator."

"My name is Daz," he said. "And hers is Madison."

"I see. I am Ak, and he is Tek."

"We would like to offer you a deal. Allow the older human male to become this city's owner. Agree to never cause this city harm and we shall allow you to use its special power."

"The power to suppress esper abilities?" Daz grew excited at even just the notion of such a thing being possible.

Ak shook his boney head.

"No. That is our ability, not El Dorado's."

"El Dorado had many uses in the past, but without the presence of the mighty gods, only one use that was seemingly without purpose before can now be utilised, all others were rendered useless after the countless assaults from the exterminators."

"Indeed. The ability to take something foreign and make it truly a part of yourself."

Madison cocked her head to the side, not understanding, but Daz knew exactly what the ancient men meant. "... You can make system changes permanent? So even if we come across more situations where we're stripped of our access to the system and what it's done to us, we can keep things that El Dorado's ability has made truly ours?"

Both Ak and Tek nodded.

"Indeed."

"This can done only once per moon cycle, and the first time will be used to solidify a contract made between you and us through the mysterious being you call 'the system'."

"This is to guarantee that you do not somehow escape the terms of the mysterious being's power. Beyond this, you are free to use the power of El Dorado as you see fit."

Daz grinned widely. "I agree to those terms."