Max enjoyed his time with everyone. The next morning he was bursting with energy and could feel the "red entity" cooing in pleasure. Max marveled at the change in his spirit energy when his emotion heightened. When he used it normally, it was the normal light blue.
Now it was mixed with red. Working in tandem to improve his quality.
Teth-Adam came out while Max was cultivating in the sun. His standard glass of juice to the side. As well as a large pitcher.
"Morning Max." Teth-Adam moved to the seat across from him. "The Atlantis kingdom has changed greatly in the last few years. A few mutated members were found in the underwaters of Khandaq. What do you want to do?"
"Nothing really." Max shrugged. "Only a few Atlanteans I know would even want to do anything really. But if you want to solve that curse they unleashed, go for it." Max's right eye shined for a brief moment. Giving him information on the curse.
"I would like to. The Xebelian's over Gotham, is it easy to move them?" Teth-Adam wanted to get a few things out of the way first. Max nodded at him. "Would you be willing to move them to Khandaq or your own country?"
"Khandaq is fine. I do not want to get in the way of the "soil project" I am running. Oh, I have some one I want you to meet." Max thought out to Olivia. She walked over with Hammerhead and Flit. "This is Olvia and her siblings' Hammerhead and Flit. Usually, she away on the Island of Women training and getting to know her self. Them as well. Well between school anyway."
"Hi!" Olivia said sweetly. "You can call me Jane if you want. I do not mind. I want to travel and study. Khandaq has a strong history that I would like to learn from the source!"
"I do not see any issue with that." Teth-Adam nodded with no problem. The young woman's power was something to watch for. As well as those tied to her. "Will your siblings come as well?"
"Yes, the other 62 will." Olivia said. This brought a surprise to Teth-Adam. Which made Max smile as well. "We are also all metahumans. Will that be a problem?" He shook no. "Great. Max, you have to visit to. Oh, your daughters are fun."
"I bet..." Max replied. "Not really my daughters. Just a sperm donor Olivia."
"But you visit them in their dreams when they call for you." Olivia turned to him with a pout. "You care so you are their father. They plan on coming to see you one day. Oh, the boys are very rambunctious to. Very hyper and aggressive. Which makes the others visit them on that other island a lot to fight."
"Oh boy." Max rubbed the bridge of his nose. Not much he could do about that. Not with a bunch of independent mothers involved. "Hmm, they will be adults soon. Definitely gonna bump heads a lot."
Jane and company left. Teth-Adam remained still.
"Tzell me, does it hurt to do.. well what you do? Always continuing on when others die?"
"Hmm no. Because I can find another to share things with." Max said. "Before you had someone close to share the more intimate with, how did you feel? Did hurt? No." He shook his head in dismay. "When a loved one, say a parent died, did you collapse and fail to do anything? No."
"True but this is different." Teth-Adam thought a moment about what was said. The death of people in the temple hurt, but it did not cripple him. His best friend dying to plague enraged him like no other. Cursing the heavens and lashing out all sorts of ways. "I loved my mother and father dearly. Their passing hurt a lot. As well as others I loved. Floating through space all of those years... I reflected on my life. Then you arrived. I had lot of anger still."
"True, and now? Very much the man you use to be. Before well yah no." Max shrugged.
"And my family as well. All the ways to motivated me Maxmillion." Teth-Adam said a little tersely. "I thought things would go wrong so many times. So much could have gone wrong. To be betrayed again.. I think it would have driven me absolutely to the brink."
"That I can understand." Max looked up to the sky. "To Hope dangled in front of you, and then have it ripped away are given then taken just like that... I have seen several people break from it before. Myself as well once."
"What did you do?"
"I killed." Max swirled his drink a little. "I killed those that should have been killed. Killed those I should have protected. But not those I promised to protect. Not as long as the contract was in place. But then.."
"Someone broke the contract." Teth-Adam said simply. Max nodded. "How?"
"Depends on the person involved really. Let's say... Mercy. For the contract to be broken between me and her, I would have to toss her out on the street. Then she could break the contract on her end. The clauses would get to work immediately to make sure she recieved her do. Make sure I am punished. Gaia and myself have heavy penalties from breaking them."
"What do you lose?"
"Happiness. Things I love. Powerful memories. Memories such as.." Max voice stopped. Just a small bit of regret returned. Some one that "left" him appeared for just a moment. A memory going with it. "...hmmm bad taste is left behind always."
"For a human that has done so much, you are still so human." Teth-Adam gave a small smile. "It is good to see. Here, I have lived longer than you. But your soul is so old from its travels. Well before you went to hell and messed around."
"Yes, but in a way I am still a failure on some things." Max looked to the side as a few walked over. Claire and Mercy sat at one of the tables. "Their is not one of me left in the places I left. That is a failure. But, I did my job. Secured the strength of Earth or the Earth equivalent there. Left disciples and someone to lead in case things go wrong."
"Children and.. adopted children. Disciples. Like us?" Mercy asked in interest. Max nodded. "Is that the purpose of us training so much?"
"Yes. Well, that and to make sure you live." Max gave her a warm smile. The thoughts of the past reminded him of someone. Someone innocent but done so wrong. But unlike Mercy, the young child died. But was so happy in death. "Gaia keeps a connection with you even after I am gone. Offering different ways to keep the Earth going and the place thriving."
"But the power that is generated from the contracts. It is like belief right?" Teth-Adam wanted to know if it was the same as in the past. He received a nod of yes. "The very act of the agreement energy builds up and is given to.. you and then her. But the one called Pamela."
"She is able to bypass giving power to me, and go straight to Gaia. Since she was already devoted to the Earth in a way."
"The projects of terraforming and cleaning up waste.. it generates fate doesn't it?" Teth-Adam came to the realization of something. "The media knows about your company doing the clean up. So it circulated in people's ears and in messages to one another. That makes them believe in you and what you are doing. The same as those that make contracts with you believing in you. That energy.. it goes to her or the contract if it is someone like us."
"Correct. Which allows what people called miracles to be born. Or just straight up wishes really." Max fix himself another drink. "Which spends some of the energy you have earned. I can not use it, for I am not at that level. As well as it is not mine to use."
"Hmm." Claire hummed to herself. The talk with Gaia passing in her mine for an instant. "Can you take any of us with you when you head to the next place you go to?"
"Yeah, that does sound fun." Mercy eyes sparkled.
"Yes but you can never comeback. One of the rules of Gaia. And a rule I agree with myself." Max didn't want to burst their bubble but he had to. "Also a lot of power is needed. I mean a lot, unless you make it to Deity level. Or a Champion. A power of a Pantheon is needed to work togethor with that. I have never made it to that level on my own."
"Why is that?" teth-Adam found it odd.
"Various reasons. The biggest because of Gaia that I just found out. The second because I made sure the places I left had a lot to survive and a good strong protection left in the place still." Max used a small spell. "This is one of my lives. One of my earlier ones. Dimension of Soul Land. Perfected my Cultivation creation there. As well as come to turns with a few things."
"But when you arrived here... a bit of trouble a while back yes?" Teth-Adam looked at the giant creatures and seeing humans fight them lit a fire in him. But that could be dealt with later. 'Could I make my country strong enough to leave altogether I wonder?'
"Yup. The reincarnation process.. does have drawbacks when you have a lot of information. The mind is overclocked a lot. Unless you delete it of course. But spells and mental techniques help with that. A well a suppresing oneself. But could die."
"Has that happen to you before?" Claire thought that would just suck. Dying then in up in the "waiting area" that Gaia spoke about.
"It is rare. As in, 1/1,000,000,000,000 have it happen to them. None in Gaia's group has had it happen. And that is because we arrive on Earth or it's equivalent. She is very protective of us. And very selective of the point in time we arrive. Enough time for us to develop a little."
Each of them remained quiet looking at the spell display. Mercy face twisted as she checked her contract. Claire just stared at Max. Finding out that Selina was near him for various reasons upset her. But then again, it is not like Max knew where she was really. Selina is the one that found her while he was doing stuff.
'John was meant to act like a brother to him in case Bruce failed to fit that role. Selina is like a sister to him in various ways keeping him grounded.' Claire's fist balled uptight thinking about the others role. 'Slade.. role to keep him connected with the darker elements is strong. Even though the spiritual clone has its own independence now, Slade still comes around and talks with Max. Or through telepathy, since he is at the school.
Max blinked at her. Seeing her change in expression was odd. Claire waved him off that is was fine.
'Mercy.. is like his heart. And so is Harleen. That innocence keeps him honest maybe?' Shaking her in frustration she tried to remember his CUltivation aspects. That was to much of a headache really. 'The one codename Bane, what does he represents? As well as the one he labeled Bronze Tiger. What am I for that matter?'
*Twist.* Deep inside Claire's Cultivation she felt a powerful stirring. Her spiritual sea grew 5 fold. Something about what was going on changed in her. Whether it is from what she has seen with the stone lately or the talk with Gaia was unknown. Or it has to do with her various thoughts on Max.
"So not a one can go the distance then?" Claire eyes glowed gold for a moment. Max looked at her once more. He didn't say anything in response. Mercy and Teth-Adam thought along the same lines. "Friends, and family that were with you failed. Or they just were not interested."
"How many champions does this happen to?" Teth-Adam wanted to know this more than anything now. Seeing the reluctant look on Max did not dissuade him. "We will not speak of this to the others Max."
"It happens.. to a few. As in I am literally the only male to have it happen to them. Four females have had it happen to them throughout all time." The words came out somewhat hurtful. Claire's eyes bugged out. The others just looked down not wanting to look at him. "We had the same thing in common. All of us did not manipulate our people. One female.. I think her name was Alexandria, had 13 wives and 29 husbands in one place. Scattered around the dimension they were in of course. They all refused to leave everything that was built to go to another place and save it."
"Maybe they did not love them then." Mercy muttered. She cringed after the words left her mouth. "I am sorry Max!"
"It is ok." Max shrugged a little. "Alexandria.. had trouble recovery from that one. I remember talking with her in the Waiting area about it for a while. Much to the dismay of a few others."
"Is that unheard of?"
"Oh no. Just that we were from different Pantheons is all. That and I was not at her level of power. Most do not talk to others weaker them by a large margin. I have.. coworkers of various aspects across the different Pantheons." Max fixed another glass of juice. "She is doing well I hope."
*Flutter!* A few hawk feathers appeared in front of Max. Then Gaia appeared to the side.
"Best to deliver the message now before I forget."
"Thanks." Max read the feathers and smiled. They then disappeared just as fast as they came. "She is doing great. Thanks for passing it along to get her attention." Gaia smiled and flashed away. "Went to... Black Lagoon of all places. But why? Such a small place. Unless... she is on vacation."
"You guys get vacation?" Teth-Adam raised a brow at that. "That is odd."
"We do get tired yah know. Well most of us do. I am due for one forcefully in.. two more reincarnations. I already declined the first before my last place." The A.I informed him before getting back to work.
"So a small World is visit by a champion on vacation?" Mercy nose wrinkled a little at that.
"Yes. One's that do not have a large galaxy is used for that. As well as a place for new Deities to set up in." The looked they gave him was odd. "A lot of empty space out there in Small places life-wise. So, they create new life. New planets and shape existence. As well as give rebirth to those killed in various other places. Those who die by our hands as we work or just in general."
"Oh! That is neat. But do they remember?" Mercy shouted.
"I have know idea. Have not reach that level so I do not mess with that info yet. To many other things to focus on." Max shook his head dismissively. "Anyway, if anyone wants to do that, I do not mind. Just make sure you are sure."
They nodded and went to talking about other subjects. So caught up in everything, none paid attention to one of the others was on the adjacent balcony. Having taken a nap despite just waking up.