"The Convergence?!!" Zephyr snapped his head directly at her, wide eyed.
His mind had run through a plethora of scenarios, thinking maybe they had been attacked, the calculations were wrong and they'd ended up in a terrible space…
Didn't Sage Maximus say something like two years?!
Zephyr couldn't even formulate words, he just opened and closed his mouth repeatedly like a fish.
"Didn't you hear the Voice Of The World?!" she asked, helping him to a more open space in the mansion.
"... I didn't." He muttered, still shocked by the suddenness of what was happening.
"Well, I did! And I'm sure every single person on the planet also did." Komi said hurriedly. Even she was frazzled, having been caught by surprise.
She helped Zephyr sit on a bench in a small hall the corridor opened to in the mansion.
"What did you hear—What did it say?" Zephyr stuttered out.
"[Inhabitants of Planet 7. Galaxy J–22. Subcluster 02–0038. Beta ^3 Universe. Standby for Convergence Trial. Synchronization of Trial States and Parameters in progress…]" Komi rattled off exactly as she had heard it.
For the second time again, Zephyr was shocked.
One, by the fact that Komi could so accurately remember every piece of the information and say it as she'd heard.
And second… The content of the message itself!
It sounded exactly like what Aegis would say!
From the content delivered to the manner of delivery…
It was extremely uncanny.
Zephyr swallowed a large gulp, stuffing down the myriad of questions brewing in his mind, "How do you remember so clearly…?"
Komi shook her head. "I don't know… But that isn't the main issue anyway!"
She walked to one of the large windows, peering outside the glass.
"Right before the message, the pocket space was moved abruptly back to the planet. I don't even know where we are right now…"
Zephyr squinted his eyes where he sat, straining to make out the silhouettes he could see outside the foggy-looking barrier.
"Somewhere with lots of trees. Huge trees," he said.
"Yes. I know. But where?" Komi paced around the hall, unsettled. "I don't think our unplanned jump went unnoticed, Zephyr. It was too sudden."
"Relax… If it had that much of an effect, then I doubt anyone else had the time to be conversant at that moment. By now, the whole world must be in shock and disarray. The Exalted must be trying to calm the masses down right now…"
As he spoke, he also quickly sent a probe to Aegis, 'Aegis, what do you think? Any chance we've been sensed?'
It's very probable. But just like you pointed out, a phenomenon of such magnitude happening on a global scale at the same moment would render any previous vigilance null… even if for a few seconds.
"No, Zephyr," Komi shook her head at Zephyr's analysis, drawing him out of his thoughts. "We can't leave things up to chance. You can't be caught now that we have reached the vital moment!"
She started towards Zephyr. "Let's leave now that we have the chance… They can only track the pocket space, and not us!"
"Calm down, Komi." Zephyr held both hands up, "Think about it. If they had sensed our jump, we'd have been swarmed immediately! So it's either they didn't sense it at all. Or they did, but because of the interruption from the Voice Of The World, they only have a rough idea of where we are!"
Zephyr stood, grasping Komi on her shoulders.
"If anything, leaving now may alert anyone searching for us of our position… You need to calm down Komi…"
Komi nodded, taking deep breaths to calm her nerves as she turned and walked back to the windows. "Yeah… you're right, Zephyr… I just feel too rushed. Everything is happening all of a sudden," she sighed, still a bit skittish.
"What we need to do instead is get you as prepared as possible within this short time before the Voice Of The World finishes the synchronization." She dragged Zephyr down a corridor, off towards a supply room, without caring for his previous groggy state.
She had seen that he'd practically recovered to a good enough level, so she didn't baby him this time.
Zephyr didn't raise a protest either. He was mostly better now, and the matter at hand was extremely pressing.
This was his life at stake.
He was a 'Pathfinder' according to them… but even without that title, he knew his unique situation — the control he had over his mana core… what he was doing there — would make him get selected as a Champion regardless whether he was truly a Pathfinder or not.
According to the history he'd learned back then, from Veronica and Frederick, he knew there'd be thousands upon thousands of Champions… all after each other's throats…
So he wanted to be as prepared as he possibly could before he was whisked off to the trial grounds.
His only regret now was the timing.
He gnashed his teeth, thinking about the chance to make the most of his second mana node that was slipping away from him at the moment.
He'd even considered going in and starting the process with this time instead.
Designing until whenever he was whisked off as a Champion.
But he discarded the thought.
When one started designing — comprehending a word — there was no going back. That was why people took days, weeks, months, years, to flesh out and solidify their knowledge before attempting at all.
So if he went in and got started, wherever he stopped in his design would be the best he could go. There was no coming back from it. It would settle onto his mana node, and everything else he'd design on that node would have to have to work with whatever amount of Transistors he had created.
The first time he made his Transistors, he had taken three days.
And even removing the time he spent battling the Moderator for control within that time, he'd still have spent at least two days creating them.
He didn't have that much time presently. The Voice Of The World could announce a full synchronization status any time now.
So he'd steeled himself to take the loss for now. He would take his time to build an exact replica of the components on his first mana node onto his second.
At least it would be double what he already had… and maybe even slightly more, considering this was his second attempt.
But his next evolution… nothing would stop him then! He was going to make sure if it!
Just as Zephyr was lamenting internally, a toneless, featureless voice suddenly cut through his thoughts, stilling him, and also Komi as they charged down the corridor.
[Synchronization complete… Inhabitants of Planet 7. Galaxy J–22. Subcluster 02–0038. Beta ^3 Universe… Welcome to the Convergence Trial…]