Primordial Expanse: I have the Strongest Talent!

"So… where does that put us, then." Alex asked, realising that it wasn't just those who were there and witnessed that day that knew of Brontes' existence now.

He'd practically fed the information to the Solari himself, which he still didn't know would be a bad thing or good thing just yet.

The Grand Cartographer, and even Reluun, had realised this by now.

Which begged the question, what were they going to do about it now that they knew?

"As you already know, the Solari are a peaceful race… unless we need to be otherwise." The Grand Cartographer started.

Alex kept his thoughts steady as he listened intently.

He thought he would already be done with this, but he knew that what she said next would decide everyone's fates.

…She would decide now whether she, and the rest of the Solari present, would die for their people.

"...We value knowledge, balance, and foresight." She continued, her eyes glimmering as she spoke. "But we are not naive. The moment Brontes revealed himself… rather, when you revealed him – even in jest – our position shifted. Your position shifted."

Alex felt the truth settle over him like a cold, wet blanket. He could see the gears turning in everyone's minds, and he didn't like what he saw.

She wasn't just contemplating him anymore. She was weighing the implications – political, strategic, galactic.

"We are not conquerers," The Grand Cartographer went on. "But neither are we bystanders." If your presence risks inviting the attention of those… less constrained by such ideals, we must prepare."

Reluun, for once, didn't offer a sarcastic quip. He stood awkwardly to the side, shifting from foot to foot. "So what? You're going to, what, hide him? Use him as a bargaining chip."

Alex smiled as he saw Reluun in a new light.

It took great courage for him to stand against and question his own superior, his own people, to stand up for Alex.

"No." her answer was sharp, but surprising to everyone present. "The Solari do. Not. use people. But we do adapt."

Reluun finally found his voice and confidence again. "Okay, so let's say we don't feed him to the sharks. What's the actual plan here, then?"

Despite how he might have portrayed himself over the last few hours, Reluun wasn't stupid. He knew that right at this moment, they were in quite a peculiar situation that could potentially have direct consequences for both their civilisations in the future.

The Grand Cartographer didn't answer right away, instead turning to the two gatekeepers who stood absolutely still with what looked like sweat forming over their brows. "Did either of you record any of what we've learnt today in the records yet?"

"No, Ma'am." The two answered in unison.

"We seal all records then." The Grand Cartographer replied, internally feeling a deep sense of relief within herself.

It didn't take long for Reluun to pick up on her discrepancy though. "But you just heard that they haven't recorded anything yet–"

She cut him off with her hand, giving time for her to continue speaking.

"Any impression of Brontes will be purged from our minds. As we four are the only Solari who know of his existence at the moment, all of us will have to erase his existence from our memories. To us, the Divine Beast that is Brontes will no longer exist, and Alex will not mention him in our presence ever again. This is the safest and most reliable option for all of us, and it will leave no traces."

Finally, Alex began to see hope again.

He didn't know the extent of the Grand Cartographer's powers, but seeing as she was constantly listening in on everyone's thoughts anyway, having the power to do something like this was probably as easy as breathing for her.

"However, he can't be present while I perform the procedure. Being able to see him, let alone perceive his presence would hinder any memory erasing effect–"

The Grand Cartographer cut her words short when she saw the beast literally disappear into thin air. She questioned if he was even really there in the first place, at first, but quickly recompsed herself when she noticed everyone else but Alex had the same, confused and bewildered look on their face.

Meanwhile, Alex had simply summoned Brontes back to his taming space when he heard what the Grand Cartographer was implying.

This was no more than a simple ask for him.

"...Okay, now that the obstacle has been removed, I shall begin. You three don't need to prepare yourselves, you won't even realise that your memories had been tampered with. To you, these last few minutes will feel like a distant dream."

Snap!

The Grand Cartographer snapped her finger, causing Reluun and the two gatekeeper's faces to go stiff.

"Wait, you aren't erasing everything they know about me as well, are you!?" Alex blurted, feeling a little saddened.

He was beginning to quite like Reluun, and was still willing have the fellow accompany him while he looked for Mikhail's forge, at least while he was in the Solari's realm… without revealing Brontes' strength, of course.

"No. Only information about the beast will be erased. Almost everything regarding you yourself will still be retained. I've already reported about your diplomatic wishes to the Conclave, so we can't alter what's already set in stone now." The Grand Cartographer answered, not even looking like she had broke a sweat even though she'd just changed three people's memories with nothing but the snap of a finger.

Alex felt relieved, both about the meeting with the Conclave taking place, as well as Reluun's memories of him staying intact.

After a few seconds passed, the three Solaris snapped back to attention.

"Heya Alex! Didn't see you there." Reluun spoke casually, as if all of the tension everyone had just experienced had never occurred.

Alex let out a sigh of relief seeing the procedure had worked.

"Now comes the tricky part. Altering my own memories is much more delicate than changing other people's. I need to somehow have a completely empty mind before I begin, else I risk erasing much more than I itend to…" She looked troubled, as she couldn't even think of a solution for how to overcome this.

She stood there, tapping her chin with a frown as she wracked her mind to come up with an answer.

Alex, meanwhile, wordlessly walked over to her.

"Yes? Do you have a solu–"

And slapped her right across her face.

Her mind went blank from shock.

…Which was exactly the mental state she needed to begin the procedure on herself.

'Hopefully she can grasp this opportunity I just provided her with.'