Nathan's solitary and nonchalant response did not reflect the mental state of the others who were fortunate enough to be at the centre of the crowd, witnessing everything firsthand.
That included basically every member of the Imperial Academy and all the aristocrats who dwelled around the heart of this kingdom. The gathering of the Supreme Seven Seats, the High Court Ministers, and the Pathtower Spireheads served the role of a message, a message that must be imprinted on their brains:
There was only one future ahead of them, and that future was in the hands of Nathan Modernson.
Yet, facing a future like this, Nathan Modernson couldn't even force a smile onto his face. He had long learnt the principles of this world, where power could never be permanent, that the height you climb would be the same height you would eventually fall from. And whether the three parties accounted for this or not, he had to assume each had its own answers.
After all, that message was something that had to be imprinted onto his own brain as well, no objections allowed.
The crowd around Nathan naturally dispersed to make way for the High Court Ministers, who walked through the opening without wasting time to signal their gratitude.
"Nice to meet you, Mister Modernson," the minister standing at the foremost position bowed with enough respect to preserve his own dignity, "I'm Minister of Timeless Despair, the diplomat of our kind, you could say."
Nathan swallowed and returned the favour with a bow of his own, "I didn't expect your appearance. I apologise beforehand, just in case I seem too overwhelmed."
"That is our fault instead of yours if you did, let alone you didn't," the Minister of Timeless Despair replied slowly, "We weren't invited after all. We just decided to show up to support the scene. Don't mind us, there is nothing else we want here, at least nothing that demands your concern." His attitude was neither overly humble nor arrogant, but truthful enough for Nathan to trust their intent.
Looking back at the ministers behind him, they all seemed quite ordinary as Rune Artists that could be argued to be the next in line behind the Supreme Seven Seats, nothing like the other ministers he had met before. Nathan doubted he could discover how many High Court Ministers there were in total anytime soon, but he believed that time would eventually arrive.
After the High Court Ministers blended themselves into the crowd, scattering like a flock of ravens and disappearing from Nathan's sight, the Supreme Seven Seats and the Pathtower Spireheads descended slowly to fill the opening. As he had seen before, anyone from the Rune Arts Federation side had the same ring of elements behind them. As for the Spireheads, Nathan witnessed the breathtaking performance of the Indecipherable's illustration of Runes. His eight arms joined together before him and traced irregular lines at different angles that quickly formed a complete Rune, like eight individual organisms with their own minds weaving a collective web, steady, controlled, and totally perfect. Nathan had never seen such a perfect Rune in his life. At this point, he could somehow understand why one would give up their flesh and humanity and replace them with machines. If this were the outcome, then what else should even matter? They were only insignificant hindrances that delayed true transcendence.
The two sides landed together at the same distance away from Nathan. They all took a step forward, but instantly froze in hostility after seeing the others replicate their movement.
"It wouldn't be too arrogant for a mother to talk to her son first, wouldn't you say so too?" V stated in a tone softer than usual yet still full of authority.
"Some say a great mentor serves the role of a second parent," Lily scorned in honest disdain, "Let alone that this is a visit to His Majesty. You weren't supposed to attend such a parade at all."
"Are all the Spireheads like this?" the Seventh Seat, Ivy, commented subtly, perhaps only talking to herself, "Lacking basic manners and disrespecting hierarchy, quite laughable."
"I apologise on the Undefinable's behalf," the Indescribable's voice didn't glitch weirdly, which made his voice sound slightly colder, "As the most capable Rune Artist in humanity's history, you deserve to go ahead of us."
"You…!" Lily protested, but was interrupted by the Undefeatable's tiresome tone.
"Can we just get this over with?"
Her voice was negligent, perhaps even gentle if you convinced yourself to believe so, but it sent a shiver down most people's spines. They had heard tales of this frightening crimson-haired woman that were not necessarily positive for someone of her power and position. She had brutally murdered several citizens on the streets on more than one occasion, and perhaps what was worse, these exploits seemed completely random and mundane, like killing was just a process similar to breathing in her world.
Unfortunately, it was impossible to completely control someone with combat capabilities at her level. Note that the only reason why the Sixth Seat was captured and cuffed was that he chose to turn himself in.
"In a rush to visit our parents' cemetery?" Redhair joked without too much thought.
The Undefeatable didn't reply, but her eyes flicked up like a switch inside her had been turned. Just before anything broke out, the last of the Spireheads, the Indecipherable, vocalised flatly.
"RAF SSS 6, Redhair: Anger value above risk-free threshold. Threat level detected = 4. Deploying defensive measures."
With the trail of the last syllable, four transparent yet solid barriers erupted from the ground, caging Redhair in a square.
"Was that necessary?" Redhair shook his body. The chains behind him crackled with dangerous security. "I can't even cast a Rune Art."
The Indecipherable ignored him completely and proceeded to enter his next command, "PTSH DOM The Undefeatable: Anger value above risk-free threshold. Threat level detected = 7. Deploying extreme defensive measures immediately. Evacuation is recommended."
The same protective barriers surrounded the Undefeatable, except the transparent colour was replaced with a dangerous tone of red. In addition to that, a couple of drones were gliding above while pointing their mouths at her.
"That would be an overreaction as well." Redhair didn't learn to shut up, "She doesn't kill under emotional influences, how have you not learned that already?"
"I don't remember saying so." The Undefeatable's voice didn't sound like she was out of control.
"On Nathan Modernson's behalf, let's not make a huge scene out of ourselves, shall we?" the Third Seat, Elder, commented brightly.
"If it's for Mister Modernson, of course." Redhair bowed towards Nathan, then turned to Angela Pompeii and did the same, only with much less of a curve, "I apologise for my words earlier, dear Undefeatable."
"So be it then," the bloodthirstiness in the Undefeatable's eyes vanished as well.
"Sensing a sharp decrease in anger value and threat level," the Indecipherable vocalised again at the same speed but surprisingly in a more emotional tone, "Defensive barriers withdrawn." And with that, the barriers and drones instantly dashed towards the back of his body, where the eight hands sprouted from, as if they had never existed.
The audience didn't feel like gasping was even needed; the scene explained itself better than any words could.
A suggestion suddenly came out from the Indescribable's shifting body, "How about we let the boy himself decide? Does that not sound like the fairest solution?"
All the members from the two sides stared blankly at one another and came to a mutual yet silent agreement. Their stares repositioned away from each other and towards Nathan, who didn't even have an opportunity to say a word throughout the whole process.
Nathan swallowed deeply. This was one of the scenarios in life where you had to pick one or another, and neither choice felt right or even secure. There was no "both" or "one after another" available for picking. He had to upset one of the parties.
In his confusion, the Indescribable's soothing voice rang in his head, "I've taught you how to act in situations like this, have you forgotten already?"
And Nathan clicked.
Clearing his throat, he questioned the crowd with a slightly awkward but somehow rather amusing pitch, "Does anyone have a coin available I can borrow?"
A short, middle-aged man seized the opportunity as fast as he could before anyone else processed Nathan's proposal, "Coins, right, finally a topic I deserve to have a word in."
He wore a friendly smile and a white suit that seemed quite out of place for his relatively minuscule body, looking just like an old, friendly neighbour who eagerly searched for a conversation with a stranger. The wrinkles on his face compressed his facial features, especially his eyes, into curvy lines, but even so, he seemed the tidiest out of all around him. With a swift motion that you would expect from a body unlike his, he tossed a coin towards Nathan's direction with a speed that ordinary eyes couldn't even catch.
Yet Nathan's instinctual reflexes naturally lifted his hand and caught the projectile in a pinch without even a flinch. He took a deep breath in his heart as the crowd whispered among themselves and praised him not because of his status, but because of something truly impressive about his person.
"Sir Julius Edmonds," Nathan lowered his head towards the small man with a perfect example of a smile, "Appreciated." And just like Julius himself, Nathan caught the opportunity as well: "I was wondering why I couldn't spot you in the crowd."
"I would not dare come close to a crowd," Julius joked professionally, "What if someone steps on me by accident? That would be quite an embarrassing death, wouldn't it?"
Nathan was the only one who laughed, "I'm sure people wouldn't by accident," after a short pause, he added in a lower tone, "Just afraid some would on purpose."
For a moment, Julius Edmonds's smile froze, but he composed himself before anyone could notice. Before he could speak, Nathan interrupted smoothly, "It's your 50th birthday in a few days, isn't it? Mind if I come along?"
With this sentence dropped into the crowd, the suspicion and annoyance hidden behind Julius's smile were instantly replaced with pride and delight. "Of course, Mister Modernson. I was afraid that I was not worthy, that's why I never asked."
"Of course you are worthy, because you really know how to raise a son," Nathan replied, "Nothing else demonstrates a man's virtue more clearly."
Nathan didn't wait for a response and turned his attention to the coin. Unlike what he expected, it was just an ordinary dollar coin that even seemed slightly worn. He was surprised that a figure like Julius Edmonds would carry something like this around.
"Right, heads for the Rune Arts Federation, tails for the Pathtower Spireheads?" Nathan smiled and stretched his hand out, in the stance ready for a coin flip.
"That is Nathan's solution?" Genesis scratched his head in confusion, "A coin flip?"
Jennifer Lumendra breathed heavily, her hands rubbing together. "If a question cannot be answered, the best solution is usually passing it to the next person."
"Right," Genesis nodded in understanding, "He is passing it to the Divine Beings instead, then?"
"You can word it like that if you wish," Jennifer said, "The point isn't about who you pass it onto, it's about escaping the responsibility of having to make a choice."
Genesis searched his pocket as well, grabbing a coin out as he had just found gold, "Look, I have a coin too."
Jennifer didn't bother replying, but Genesis continued to whisper to himself, "I wonder, am I a human? Heads for yes, tails for no." He tried to replicate Nathan's motion, but the first time trying something usually didn't end up too well.
The coin flickered into the distant crowd with no trace to be seen.
"Aww," Genesis grieved, "Let's try again, I guess."
Before he reached for his pockets again, Jennifer grabbed his arm.
"There is one hidden rule for coin flips," she explained without her usual annoyance, "You don't ask the same question again. It muddles the result."
Genesis lowered his head in thought, then quickly shook the heaviness off.
"I guess I shouldn't know the answer now anyway."