Chapter 497: Joining the Summit
There are times when one feels small. For example, when they’re surrounded by individuals greater than themselves.
This was partially how Jack felt as he sat in the center of the meeting room. It was small, yet imposing. Frescos filled the walls, depicting Old Gods in their moments of glory. Twelve chairs hugged the round wall, each framed by a carving of a particular Old God, one for each chair. That way, if someone looked at a person sitting in one of those chairs, they would see a stone halo surrounding their head, as if they were saints of that Old God.
Despite the chairs, there was a suspicious lack of a table.
The Arch Priestess sat in the chair before the Enas carving. It depicted a kind old man raising a hand, out of which tumbled a thousand peaceful embryos. It was supposed to signify him creating life. Jack found it creepy.
Elder Boatman’s clone sat before the carving of Axelor, illustrated as a ball of darkness swallowing the world. Elder Soresight sat before the Old God of Time, a rippling pond through which a man was portrayed in various stages of his life. Finally, Elder Heavencrash sat before a carving depicting various balls in the shape of a human. Each ball was supposed to be a planet, though Jack had no idea which Old God this was. He hadn’t asked.
As for Jack himself, he sat at the very center of the room, where the table would be if there was one. He was cosplaying as a projector. Once his clone reached System space and activated Immortal Commune, the images of the summit would hopefully be projected above the head of Jack’s main body in the center of the room.
For now, he was just sitting between four silent, A-Grade individuals. The pressure was mounting. It was a good thing his mind was hardened, or he might have made a fool of himself by sweating.
“How is it going, Jack?” the Arch Priestess asked. “The clone was supposed to be in position ten minutes ago. Did something happen?”
“The starship is just flying slower than expected,” he replied. “We should be arriving any moment now.” His eyes flashed. “Ah. Just did, actually. Now I’ll probably watch the Dao—”