26 The Divide

The reason behind the divide between the pope and the leader of the climbers association was because they were divided on a fundamental issue regarding Rocky.

To Cody, the most sensible choice seemed to be that the information around Rocky be restricted and the hype around him be killed.

The leaked video of Rocky was making rounds on the internet and by this point almost every man, woman and child on Earth had seen or heard about his branding as the champion although it had not even been a full 16 hours since the incident first took place.

Cody wanted to take him off the limelight as much as possible and hide information even from himself, to keep him safe.

Being the leader of the climber's association, he saw Rocky as an asset of Earth first and a champion of Gemini later.

His plan was to only reveal Rocky to be a S ranked talent to the universe, allow him to go into the tower and grow without the universal attention being centered on him and use him as an Earth's asset as and when needed.

He wanted to bury Rocky in university debt and force him to fight for Earth where he could be protected until he was sufficiently mature and ready

Cody knew that Rocky's presence could be a big morale boost for Earth's forces, especially during the year of death and Cody wished to control his image in a way that benefited everyone.

On the other hand, Cole, the pope, was having none of Cody's ideas.

He would not even listen to the reason behind the proposal of controlling the champions life as he boldly declared that

"His life is in the hands of Gemini, not trash like you-"

When it came to funding his education, Cole declared that he would bankrupt the Church rather than see the champion drown in petty debt and threatened to mobilize all religious men and Guildmasters against the association, should Cody try to enforce his judgment on Rocky.

It was a particularly difficult spot for Cody as well, as he could not deny the threat and Influence that Cole commanded.

Currently, Earth was more or less united under one law and the balance of power was even.

However, there was no denying that the Church of Gemini was THE biggest player with there being millions of religious fanatics who would not hesitate a second to lay their lives for Gemini.

For Cody to reign in Rocky, the support of the Church was crucial, however, Cole simply refused to take part in it.

The negotiations between the two broke down so spectacularly that Karna had to be brought in to mediate between the two, however since both Cody and Cole were incredibly strong climbers themselves, Karna had to bring Neatwit with him to keep matters calm.

Finally, out of the five people in the room, Amelia was the only one who had tagged along because she was genuinely worried for Rocky's health, as her presence in the room ensured that the other powerful climbers did not expose their aura.

That was how Rocky woke up to the tense atmosphere while being surrounded by some of the most important people on Earth, however, he did not understand the nuances and power struggles going on behind his back.

'SSS talent? Huh' Rocky thought to himself as he felt quite proud to be evaluated so highly.

He walked in with 0 expectations and underwent a groundbreaking event that would most likely go into the history books, however, just because Rocky had a SSS talent did not give him the assurance that he would become a god, as he knew all too well that only a few of those who possessed talent ever lived up to their potential.

Not letting his evaluation get to his head, Rocky remained calm and unfazed as he focused on the situation at hand.

"Rocky….. did you receive some revelation of any sort while undergoing the branding?" Cole asked politely with the expression of a devout as Rocky felt confused on how to reply to him.

He had not received any revelations while being branded, however, just looking into the hopeful eyes of the pope, Rocky could not bring himself to say 'No' as he made up a very slight lie.

"I don't remember, but I think I met someone who looked like Lord Shakuni from the books. In a white space" Rocky said as Cole began to burst out tears of joy as he banged his head on the wall in joy.

" He saw the lord!

He saw the lord!" he kept repeating while banging his head as at this point Rocky felt genuinely worried about the mental sanity of this man.

" This is an absolute disgrace, it's like he's possessed.

Karna talk some sense into him, I can't even get through his thick skull.

He's the leader of a religious organization and one of Earth's strongest climbers, yet he's behaving like those conmen who beg on the streets in the name of god" Cody complained as even Karna felt powerless in this situation.

Religion and faith was a topic where logic and rules did not apply.

There was no reasoning with a man who had surrendered himself to God as then he was not afraid of anyone and not bound to anything anymore.