Elias swallowed hard and looked at the patriarch's Black Hole and then at the President.
"I don't know!"
"As I thought. You have limited Talent Energy. A Black Hole will require ton of it to summon and maintain for a few seconds. Do you know what will happen if you don't have enough Talent Energy?"
Elias shook his head.
"Your body will be converted to maintain it. Especially now that the baby Black Hole wants to be born from you. It will tear you apart, consume you, and with your talent, Grimhammer land will vanish and you will take half or more of the rest of the country."
Elias's eyes widened in horror as he glanced toward Arlon, the strongest man in the country.
"That's assuming we act quickly to stop it. If not, the whole world might be in jeopardy!" Arlon said.
"Baby Talents are always violent. They want to stretch and extend to the best of their potential before they relax and start small again."
The President pointed at Arlon. "Arlon here spent decades just to replicate the amount of thunder he made when he first awakened SSS Rank Thunder. It was only a few years ago that he achieved it and is now mastering it."
Rand Grimhammer spoke next, "Your Talent is Black Hole, something I've spent 30 years trying to develop as a Skill. Your Potential is SSS Rank and your Mental Intellect is High Genius. Your Baby Black Hole will emerge with hunger to showcase itself to the world. Apologies, but we don't have facilities to handle such power!"
"We are sorry about that," Ramsey said. "And we have 24 hours before the baby forces its way out or you release it."
Ramsey handed a tablet to Elias and asked him to read. Ten great offers—paths he could pursue to achieve everything he needed in the world—just to extinguish his Black Hole Talent.
"Read and choose one!" Ramsey commanded in a deep voice.
Elias's eyes were already red. He looked at them with tears rolling down his cheeks, barely seeing the screen as he tried to read.
They watched him in silence as rain began to fall. The orange-haired man rolled his eyes, knowing it was Ramsey's doing.
Elias calmed down and went through the ten offers, each with details of what he could get. He could even bargain with some of them.
'Why, why?' Elias lamented, but his mind was already choosing for him. He had long made peace with pursuing other avenues if he was a dud.
But this was worse, he had awakened something great but can't keep it. There was greater injustice than this but they are right, he is danger to them, to the world and he himself.
Elias's face squeezed as he noticed tiny letters at the end of the list. They were so small that he thought they were just graphic design.
He looked at the President with a smile and zoomed in.
That was the eleventh offer: Keep My Powers. He immediately chose that.
The moment he did, Ramsey articulated slowly, "Now you have two choices. We kill you, or you convince us how to prevent our annihilation!"
The world became bleak before Elias. The rain had stopped, and thunder with flashes of lightning in the sky painted a grim atmosphere.
Seeing four silhouettes increase in size and their presence pressing down on him made Elias rethink his choice.
Power or Wealth.
He needed to choose one.
***
A hundred kilometers above the ground was a man in full body armor made from flexible materials. His eyes were completely white with strange black curly designs in them.
Left Hemisphere Guardian 48
Class: Observer
All that was happening on the ground appeared before him, and everything he saw was being transmitted to Central Guardian Barracks.
Seeing the conclusion, his suit of armor glowed and he flashed away. There was no danger of extinction here.
***
Elias's movements were measured but excited. He began to jog before breaking into a full run back home.
The gate opened before he arrived, and he saw her waiting for him. A passionate hug was their destined act, and Elias began to narrate what had happened.
Her black hair with streaks of white made her look exotic. Her beautiful face, filled with charm that she always covered when going outside, made Elias feel relaxed.
"And I convinced them that I can keep the ability!"
"Good. He will be happy!" she said with a smile. Elias sighed hearing that; she always had the habit of bringing him up.
"What about you? Are you happy?" he asked.
"Always. Elias my happiness!" She kissed his forehead and played with his cheek as she used to do when he was a kid.
"But I will have to leave," he said.
"You must leave!" she said, her smile never fading. "Destiny I know, always!"
Elias felt sad, wondering in whose hands he would leave her. True, she could take care of herself, but what if others harassed her? Just thinking about that made Elias angry.
A calloused finger, developed after years of hard work, pinched Elias's cheek as she whispered, "Your papa waiting. I'm waiting. Go, strong Prince!"
Elias's knees went weak, and he began to cry. His actions were risky, but there was a slight chance of success. If that happened, then he would climb the ladder of power faster than one could imagine and ascend.
His life would be secure, and also his mother's—the love of his heart, the one he always felt sorry for. Her situation had been worse than his own suffering. He was only here because of her.
"Power wealth. Wealth no power!"
Elias looked at her with teary eyes. It was as if she had read his thoughts. Well, only he knew that his mother might be slow, but her intuition was off the charts.
"You Power. You strong. I wait here. Come back!"
Seeing she was getting tired, Elias made her stop talking. She could work for hours without tiring, but conversation was something that fatigued her after just a few sentences.
"Okay, Ma. I will come back stronger than anyone. You must tell me who harmed you or even looked at you the wrong way or said nasty things to you!"
"I write names!"
"Yes, write their names!" Elias said.
He stood and looked at her maids and the people around, boldly warning them, "It took four presidents, the Peace Alliance, and Master Arlon to convince me. My power is great, and for my mother, I will destroy anyone. No one is above destruction if they dare harm a hair on her head or look at her negatively, let alone bad-mouth her. I will be the demon of destruction if something happens to her!"
His mother just stared at him as if seeing a new side of him that she hadn't known before. Then she looked at the people around, who were beyond terrified.
She laughed. For the first time, she felt protected, just like when Zar was around. She grabbed his hand and took him to her room. She needed to prepare him with what she could.