The entire group fell into silence. Why did I say silence when only the Grand Elder and I were speaking in the first place? They were still speaking in their minds, commenting on everything we said, but not this time. It was truly silent; all their thoughts went silent.
'So it is true,' the Grand Elder's thoughts broke the silence, catching even me by surprise.
'He knew,' I thought.
"Our world is dying," the Grand Elder said.
"It seems you already suspected it, unlike the others. They are shocked out of their minds," I said, stifling a chuckle. Their shocked expressions were simply too beautiful.
"This being is truly exceptional, the next stage of power. This is it, a being able to simultaneously divide his presence and then shower it on different individuals. I didn't even believe such a thing was possible; I never even tried it… I am sure *he* would have," the Grand Elder thought as he looked at me.
"Could you tell me, what is the next thing after the presence showing?" he asked.
"All those who pass will join to battle m-"
"Wh-"
"Don't ever interrupt me again," I said, a little pissed at the Grand Elder.
"I am sorry, your words caught me off guard."
After a small glare, I continued, "Whatever, I can tell all your emotions. You all want to know the extent of my power, even if it is very little. Don't worry, I won't even use a quarter of my power in the battle. The only thing you need to do in the battle is impress me, that's all, and I will tell you all you need to know. Don't worry, your world isn't dying anytime soon though."
"What does it take to impress you?" the Grand Elder asked.
"I am also not sure, but I think I will know in the fight. This will be your avenue to let it all out, all your strength without holding anything back. It might be the last chance you will ever get to do that," I replied.
"Can I discuss with them first?"
"Of course."
The Grand Elder walked towards the assembly members, and they formed a circle.
"Should we be discussing this here? He is so close," Khan asked, voicing the question on everyone's mind.
"It wouldn't matter where we went; he would probably be able to hear us all clearly. With how wide my radius is, can you imagine how wide his would be? If we truly wanted to be sure we were outside his range, we would have to completely leave this land and go to the other continent. I doubt he would give us the time to go all the way to another continent for this small talk," the Grand Elder replied.
"You all can speak your minds here; he shouldn't care," the Grand Elder continued.
"What if he does?" Toko asked.
"Well, we would end up fighting anyway, like he wanted. Though I consult with you all, it is so anyone who isn't sure can drop out and not do the fight or the test. Even if all of you drop out, I would gladly fight him on my own."
"No way!" they protested.
"Let me finish. If you all drop out, I will understand. It is a very powerful and incredibly oppressive power. The fact you all still can't sense his presence when it is literally on me just shows the precise control of the being we are dealing with. All these things should be impossible."
'Normally, when one's presence is released, even if concentrated on one spot, pieces of the presence would dislodge and disperse in the air. This is what allows another to sense it if one is far away. But to be able to control all strands of one's presence is simply cheating.'
"Though he said he wouldn't force us, I believe he would find a way to still pressure us until we have no choice but to do this, right?" Khan asked the Grand Elder.
"Yes."
"Then we take it, resist, get answers, and send him home," Khan said.
'Spoken like a chief,' the Grand Elder thought, as a small smile sported on his face.
After Khan motivated everyone and now everyone was on the same page, the Grand Elder turned and said, "Okay."
And slowly, they saw my lips widen.