54 Convocation of the Gods

Jayce didn't appear outside of the room he had entered when he was shot during the exam. Instead, he was in an enormous room with a map of the entire simulation floating in the center surrounded by a square table. He felt his chest begin to burn in a similar way that it had just before he had unleashed the shadow swords during the Coliseum round. A familiar laugh brought him out of his thoughts and he turned to see a faint ghost of Neith behind him. Next to her was a middle-aged Tohil who smiled at Jayce. "What's going on guys?" Neith just pointed behind him at three figures who were observing him curiously.

"You can see their ghosts?" Jayce asked the three figures. A large man with fish swimming in his body and a squid head stepped forward. "Indeed, what is curious is that you can also see them." Jayce knew right away this one of the other Overwatchers. "You three must be the ones who killed Neith and Tohil." One of the squid's tentacles raised and it spoke slowly. "You know their names as well?" Jayce rolled his eyes. "I know everything. There's no need to play dumb with me."

A crackling laugh came from the red one who had a bird face and was coated in flames. "He's smarter than you said he would be Zcerneboch." The six armed birdman extended a single arm to Jayce. "It is a pleasure to meet you at last Jayce. You've been quite a handful for our brother here." He pointed to the Scorpion-man in the corner who glowered with a simmering rage. Jayce shook his hand cautiously but the flames receded as his hand extended. He smiled, "You have me at a disadvantage. I don't know any of your names."

The squid pointed a slimy finger at itself. "I am Ahti, second of the Overwatchers." The birdman bowed deeply and all six arms formed into gleaming orange wings. "I am Tatewari, first of the Overwatchers." The scorpion-man finally scuttled from the shadows and stood in between the other two Overwatchers. "I am Zcerneboch, previously fifth of the Overwatchers. I am now third." Jayce heard the ghost of Neith behind him snort dismissively.

Jayce leaned a hand on the large table that cradled the map of the simulation. "A pleasure to meet you all. But why am I here?" Tatewari and Ahti laughed. "I think this human was a perfect host for the remnants of Tohil," Ahti said after a moment of laughter. Three thrones appeared behind the three Overwatchers and a large seat for Jayce. The three others changed their form to match a purely human appearance and sat easily down before the table. Jayce followed their lead and the four of them each occupied a side of the table.

A large human skull appeared above the map and looked down at the four of them. "Hello. I am SAI or Simulated Artificial Intelligence. Since all four of the competing factions have gathered it is time to begin rule setting." Two buttons appeared to Jayce's right. One had "approve" written on it and the other had "reject". Jayce raised an eyebrow. Neith's voice entered his head. "This is to begin the grand competition. Don't worry Tohil and I will help you out if things get tricky." Jayce nodded unconsciously before realizing that no one was actually looking at him.

SAI's artificial voice spoke again. "First we must decide on the final reward. It has been proposed by "Ahti" and "Tatewari" that the winner of the grand prize this round will be named king of the Overwatchers. Please inform me when you are ready to vote." Jayce raised both eyebrows and looked at the three imposing humans before him. They all had colored skin to match their previous form but instead of it looking odd it somehow made them more imposing to him. "What does it mean to be king of the Overwatchers?" Ahti was the one who spoke to answer his question. "For too long we've been shackled to the idea of balance. With someone becoming the king then they would have unlimited rights to determine the course of the simulation. Thus we are looking to decide the fate of the universe essentially." Jayce nodded and glanced at the ghost of Neith to his left.

He hoped that she could read his mind right now and thought, "Do I want this to happen?" Neith's voice rang through his head, "We do." Jayce looked back to Ahti, "I'm ready to vote then." The skull reappeared and the buttons to Jayce's right illuminated. He pressed down on the "approve" one and leaned back in his chair. "This isn't so hard." He thought to himself contently. Tohil's gruff voice laughed in his head, "That's something I've never heard before when discussing our little group."

The skull's eyes burned blue. "Approved." A scroll appeared next to its head and a bullet mark with the approved rule was added. "Next question will be the starting point of the four groups. When you are ready to vote please inform me. This unit will record all debates for future reference." Jayce waited for the other three members of their table to speak before venturing any ideas.

Tatewari stood, "Ahti and I have discussed this and we say that having one path that leads to the challenge continent will be the most balanced and fair way to begin." Zcerneboch raised a hand, "and what does that look like?" Tatewari took a long finger and drew a sandy bridge from major hub one to the lush green continent that SAI had created. "A neutral zone will be formed on the bridge. The second you step onto the grass it's a free for all." He then drew three circles around major hub one. "We'll each have a base here. That way it's even."

Jayce stayed silent and tried to make sure he was watching for any sneaky tactics between these three gods. Though to be honest he wasn't sure what he should be looking for. Zcerneboch raised his hand again. "And what about those of us who can swim and fly, where is their safe zone?" Ahti pointed to the deep blue ocean that separated the bases from the mainland. "No safe zone for them. SAI will make the waters deadly." Zcerneboch nodded contently. Tatewari turned to Jayce, "Any thoughts on this?" Jayce shook his head, "I think that's fair." The skull reappeared and once again burned blue as the motion passed and was added to the rules.

Jayce grew more comfortable with the three of them the longer they sat at the table. Rules were approved and rejected fairly quickly until they got to the last two ideas. Jayce noticed a tension between Ahti and Tatewari and steeled himself for the worst. SAI's skull popped up and read off the next proposed rule. "If an Overwatcher is killed then the armies under their command are extinguished and removed from the simulation." Jayce was surprised that they had already considered killing each other but said nothing again.

Ahti stood and spoke confidently, "If we allow other armies to be controlled by their conquerer then the snowball effect will mean the first of us to kill another will win the simulation through simple numerical superiority." Jayce thought this made sense and waited for Tatewari to speak. Instead, it was Zcerneboch, "Then there is no reward for killing one another besides the satisfaction of eliminating a rival. It won't be easy to kill one of us! Shouldn't it be worth a hefty reward?" Ahti shook his head. "Then the goal of this challenge will leave two of us dead and no one to rule over! It would become pointless."

Jayce sat up, "I agree with Ahti. I doubt that we can kill any of you as mortal races and we'd be quickly killed off by two combined forces." Ahti smiled at Jayce and returned his focus to his two brothers. Tatewari sat pensively. "Then I request there be some sort of reward for killing one of us." Ahit sat back and rested his head on a fist. "You get their full complement of powers. To do with what you wish." Zcerneboch said forcefully. Tatewari considered it. "You get their full knowledge as well." Ahti nodded, "I can agree to this." Jayce was hesitant. He asked Neith and Tohil before responding. "Can I actually kill any of them?" Tohil was the one who answered, "You probably could but I doubt any other lower race could."

Jayce sighed, "I would like to propose something as well then." Three heads turned to him with curious looks. "I don't think that we will be able to kill even one of you. So I would like to propose a way for us lower races to compete for your knowledge." Tatewari nodded for him to continue. "Within each of your bases, you place a fragment of yourselves that can be stolen. Similar in size to the one that Neith has of Tohil." He paused as he tried to gauge the room's mood. "You can defend it however you wish with whatever you wish. But if it is successfully stolen then your knowledge is given to the team that managed to steal the fragment."

The three Overwatchers considered. "What if we steal the fragment ourselves?" Zcerneboch asked. Jayce shrugged, "I don't think it matters who steals it." The three considered for a long time before answering. Tatewari smiled at Jayce. "I think this balances the game nicely. I agree." Zcerneboch shook his head, "It is still not enough!" Ahti rolled his eyes. "Three to one Zcern, you are outvoted." SAI appeared and the buttons flashed again as Jayce pressed approve. SAI glowed a green color. "Vote is three to one. The measure is passed with reservation."

The skull spun as the amendment to the rules was written on the scroll. "Final measure to vote on. How do we decide how the lower races are split between the four factions?" SAI disappeared and all eyes were on Jayce. "You're going to let them choose who they follow right?" He asked incredulously. The three made surprised faces. "Let the lower races choose?" Ahti asked curiously. Jayce nodded, "Yeah you know with the free will they all have?" The three Overwatchers laughed heartily at Jayce's assertion.

"I hadn't even thought of it truth be told," Ahti said merrily. Tatewari cupped his hands together and looked at Jayce. "But what if one side gets more of them?" Jayce was dumbstruck. "Can't you all create armies out of thin air?" Tatewari nodded, "But we still have to spend some time training them. We can't just summon a battle-ready army from dust." Jayce raised an eyebrow. "And how long does that take?" Zcerneboch shrugged, "A few days at most. Depends on the unit." Jayce felt like slamming his head against the table. "It took me sixteen years to get to where I am now."

All three Overwatchers gave him a confused look, "Why didn't you just speed up your growth cycle and implant the most recent military doctrine into your subconscious?" Zcerneboch asked incredulously. Jayce shrugged, "I'm not sure how to do that, or if any of that would kill me in the process." Ahti considered it in his head. "So you're saying we let the lower races choose?" Jayce nodded, "They will be more loyal to you if they choose to follow you." This seemed to be the key to unlocking the deadlock and all three smiled widely. "So they will want to follow us? And worship us like that team Pure used to do?"

Jayce felt like he could see the lightbulbs going off in their heads. "Do you really not understand the lower races you created?" Tatewari shook his head, "We just sped up their evolution, we didn't actually create any of you." Jayce was stunned, "You didn't even bother to create your entertainment?" Zcerneboch laughed and pounded on the table with a mirthful smile before regaining his composure. "Do you choose what's on TV or just watch the best channel? It's a lot more work to make good entertainment." Jayce was slowly beginning to anger. "You think so little of us?" Zcerneboch leaned back in his throne, "Honestly I barely think about you at all."

Jayce bit his lip to keep himself from letting the anger appear on his face and watched the other two Overwatchers. Tatewari was pensive and looked at Jayce. "What if they die though, how do we bring them back to life?" Jayce felt like he was talking to toddlers who were concerned that their favorite toy might break. "You mean the living breathing things that would follow you willingly? What happens if those things die?" Tatewari didn't understand his sarcasm and simply nodded, "Exactly my question." Jayce groaned inwardly. "They die. That's it."

Ahti and Tatewari looked stunned. "But you get shot all the time in those little competitions you compete in and you always come back alive." Jayce couldn't believe how unaware of the lives of the lower races these two were. "Those are in the same kind of simulation you put us in. We can't die there." Ahti and Tatewari contemplated this fact for a long while. Zcerneboch was bored and began throwing balls of purple energy into the map making all the hubs and safe zones shake with every impact.

Jayce watched him warily. Zcerneboch laughed as one of the safe zones exploded under his purple barrage. "I think I just killed them all." Jayce gasped and leaned closer to the map. Tiny little people were racing around the hubs as they shook with every impact. "This is the actual simulation! What are you doing!" Zcerneboch looked at him stunned. "Who do you think you are to talk to me like that?"

The two were instantly standing inches from each other with a murderous aura between the two of them. Jayce felt the shadows in the room coiling around his fist. Zcerneboch had thick beetle scales crawling up his forearms. SAI appeared in between them in a flash. "This is a neutral zone. Any fighting will cause both participants to be forcibly removed from the rule setting meeting.

Jayce sat down heavily but kept the shadows gathered in his palm. The more insect aspects of Zcerneboch started to appear on his human form but he too sat down. Tatewari clapped all six hands together. "We've got it!"