“I’m listening.”

“I can give you a powerful spell that anyone can use, regardless of their affinity. It takes some effort to meet the requirements, but I promise you it’s worth it.” Percy explained.

“What tier?”

“Refined.”

Some disappointment flashed in the titan’s eyes, yet Percy spoke again.

“I wouldn’t look down on it if I were you. It can be used alongside other spells, and it’s beneficial even for Violets and Whites. In fact, I’m confident it’s been used by gods too, in the past. That said, I don’t know how a god’s magic works, so I can’t say much about it.”

“Oh?” the pentapus asked, some curiosity finding its way into his expression at last. “Tell me more.”

Percy sighed internally, knowing he’d captured the god’s attention.

“It’s called Circulation, and it’s a type of boosting art. It increases one’s mana capacity and regeneration, enhancing their physical strength, and even the potency of their spells. Overall, it’s like strengthening one’s core by half a grade temporarily.”

“Show me.”

Taking a few deep breaths, Percy activated the spell, cracking a grin as he noticed the greed in the god’s eyes. The mortals in the crowd also let out shocked gasps, but nobody seemed to care about them.

Of course, he knew the titan could probably steal the technique if he really wanted, but he wasn’t too worried about that. Their exchanges were built on mutual trust, and the god wouldn’t risk ruining that for some short-term benefits.

“And you can teach that to anybody?”

Percy nodded.

“I can, but I won’t. I’ll be leaving soon. Tlaloc over there will be your teacher. Oh, but keep in mind that it requires some adaptation from one affinity to another.”

Turning to the Green-born, Percy gave him a meaningful look, getting a nod back as an unspoken understanding settled between them. Naturally, the man had followed the conversation up until this point, since Percy had spoken to Metatron in Felmaran, the translation device doing the rest. Of course, he didn’t know if this was Tlaloc’s native language but, either way, he’d been exposed to it for most of his life.

Suffice to say, Leo had also followed along, though Percy felt the need to speak to the boy in private, to make sure he also understood.

‘Do you get what’s going on here? No matter what happens, you must never as much as mention the second part of the technique: the thing your people call External Flow. Metatron looks easy-going, but he isn’t a good guy.’

‘Alright.’ the boy replied.

Had it been up to Percy, he wouldn’t have revealed Circulation either. The titan had been plenty powerful to start with, and he already felt guilty providing him with so many two-cored specimens to study.

Alas, he’d known the ship had sailed the moment he decided to bring Leo and Tlaloc here. The god was bound to notice their tempered channels sooner or later, so it was only a matter of time until he pried the knowledge out of them by coercion: at best: or force: at worst.

This way, Percy could at least volunteer the technique of his own volition, improving his relationship with Metatron and even bargaining for something in return.

‘At least, I’ll be able to use Circulation in the combat challenges from now on…’

“Very well. What do you want for it?”

“I want you to treat everyone I bring to the Vault as your honoured guests. And I mean all of them. Both my past and future hosts: the sapients and

the beasts. You’ll heal Gabe and Tlaloc’s injuries. You won’t experiment on anyone, you’ll give them a comfortable place to live, and as much sizian meat as they need.”

Metatron blinked a couple of times, seemingly waiting for the punchline.

“Wait, you’re serious?” he tilted his head. “How is that even going to work? If you suddenly decide to bring a thousand people here tomorrow, do you seriously expect me to treat them all like Green-borns for the rest of their lives?”

Percy scratched his head, realizing he might have gone a little overboard indeed. Luckily, it didn’t seem the titan was entirely opposed to his proposal, however, offering a more realistic compromise.

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“How about this? I’ll accept your terms, but only for those I personally find interesting. That includes all your hosts: since they have the Moirais’ Decree: and also this Tlaloc guy: because he’s an actual Green-born. But whether any other specimen is worth accommodating will be solely up to my discretion. Outside those, I’ll give you a quota of up to 5 additional people of your choosing. But that’s it. You’ll have to think carefully before you bring anyone.”

“Done, but then I also want you to answer a few questions. What have you been doing with my hosts until now?”

Metatron shrugged.

“I haven’t dissected any of them on an operating table, if that’s what you’re worried about. For the most part, I’ve just been feeding the beasts and teaching them how to use their affinities. As for the sapients, I haven’t even touched them. I’ve treated both Gabe and Nolan as regular residents of the Vault, letting them work for their own resources.”

Percy raised an eyebrow. This was honestly… not as bad as he had expected. Of course, it was entirely possible the titan was lying to him, but he somehow doubted the guy would even bother.

“Why? What are you even trying to accomplish? Do you want to recreate the Decree?”

“Ha! Dream on, kid.” the pentapus chuckled. “Countless titans have tried: and failed: to do anything even remotely similar. And no, even if I found suitable mates for these creatures, it can’t be passed down to one’s offspring either. One needs to be born on the Moirais’ world to inherit it. For now, I’m just hoping to turn the Yellow-born specimens into gods to bolster our ranks. As for the rest, they might teach me a thing or two about affinity fusion.”

Percy sighed in relief upon confirming that he wouldn’t be spreading the Decree everywhere he went. It did suck a little that his kids wouldn’t get it, but he could still pass it to them with his bloodline. And if they inherited that, they might be able to do the same for their own descendants.

“Alright. Last question. Did you also give them bloodlines? I know you have a titan in the Vault who can grant them.”

Metatron clicked his tongue.

“I fail to see what this has to do with our deal. You’re just trying to get a free lecture from me.”

Percy smiled wryly as he got caught red-handed. Still, the titan decided to humor him in the end.

“It’s not that easy to give people bloodlines. They are complicated and poorly understood pieces of magic. Even the titans who grant them cannot replicate them directly: they merely spark the process and let nature take its course. New bloodlines can only manifest at conception. Furthermore, casting a Decree is costly, and Adathan’s Decree only affects a single person at a time.”

Percy nodded in understanding. So, even if Metatron gave his previous hosts Adathan’s Decree, they wouldn’t get a bloodline. Their children might, but they wouldn’t have a second core, making the whole thing pointless. Not to mention that Metatron would have to go searching for suitable mating partners for all those creatures.

“So, if you’re done trying to leech information out of me, I’m happy to go through with our deal.” the pentapus said, breaking him out of his thoughts.

“Do it.”

Percy barely got a chance to speak the words before the three of them found themselves in a small room. It resembled the challenge cubes a little, but it was only a fraction of the size.

The next time he blinked, he saw a fourth person had appeared beside them, Gabe looking even more confused than the other mortals.

“What the hell?! Percy, is that you?! What’s going on he–”

He didn’t even get to finish the question, when Metatron waved his tentacle, causing three green circles to light up under everyone’s feet. At the same time, three more circles glowed on the ceiling above them, already gathering a droplet of life mana each.

With a crisp sound, the droplets fell, landing on the mortals’ heads, a potent wave of vitality flooding their bodies. Their injuries closed in real time, even the missing limbs and destroyed eyeballs looking as good as new mere moments later. Leo was the first to fully heal, his wounds not nearly as bad as the others’, though it didn’t take long for Tlaloc and Gabe to follow.

“It’s done.” Metatron spat, seemingly in a hurry to get this over with. “None of the others requires any healing. I’ll move the beasts and the half-sapient into larger living spaces later. As for the sapients, they can claim any room they fancy free of charge. Hell, they can kick the current residents out for all I care. Same goes for their food: just ask the cube for your free portions once per day.”

Next, the god turned to Tlaloc who still appeared shaken by all these developments. The poor guy had spent the better part of his life in chains, robbed of his dignity and even his destiny as a Green-born, subjected to endless torment. Yet, in the span of a few minutes, he’d not only obtained some semblance of freedom, but even got his body healed and his future restored.

At any rate, Metatron appeared wholly uninterested in the guy’s thoughts. With another wave of his tentacles, he granted him a translation device of his own, before speaking.

“I expect you to start training Gabe immediately in that boosting art of yours. I’ll have the cube monitor you so that we can develop a training program for everyone in the Vault as soon as possible.”

Finally, he looked at Percy.

“You know… I haven’t missed how you brought them here in a rush, or how you looked like you’d swallowed a fly while showing me Circulation. I know you did all of this to protect them. And that you only even offered me the spell because you knew I’d figure it out on my own. Am I wrong?”

Percy did his best to maintain his poker face, trying to mask his inner turmoil. Once again, the god had seen through him with ease. But Metatron wasn’t done.

“You didn’t really want me to have it, did you?”

“Life isn’t always about what we want.” Percy shrugged.

Metatron chuckled.

“I don’t know if I should be offended by your caution or impressed by your decisiveness. Or maybe, I should be disappointed by your foolishness… Giving me something so precious just to save a couple of people you barely know? And even wasting an equally precious opportunity to help a few more… I could have offered you so much more for this. I could have helped you send a clone to a world of your choosing. Lent you my rings in the combat challenges. Hell, I could have even given you millions of credits directly, to spend as you please…” he said, gauging his reaction.

But Percy’s eyes didn’t waver as he looked at him serenely, not a trace of regret in his gaze. This wasn’t the first asshole god he’d met today, and he wasn’t any more afraid of him than the last one.

“I’d do it all again.”

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