"Is everything proceeding according to plan?" the Overseer asked Swamp Dragon via voice transmission from across the world.
"Apologies, but you are more informed than I am," Swamp Dragon answered by simply transmitting his voice into the surrounding world. Right now, he was in a Law Well for the Law of Major Water. "I am not in constant contact with Fierce Breaker. You may view his progress at any given moment."
"You know exactly that I can't comprehend an Imposing Law," the Overseer transmitted with annoyance. "I can not tell how fast your friend is progressing."
"The plan will work, one way or another," Swamp Dragon answered. "We have given him a million years to reach his goal. Only a bit more than 25,000 years have passed by now. There's still a long way to go."
The Overseer remained silent for a while.
"Don't play any tricks," she threatened. "If I see anything strange, I will kill all of you. You are not the only way out of this world. I can also kill everyone who knows about me and find someone trustworthy."
"We are aware," Swamp Dragon answered. "Just like you, we would like to have control over our lives, but you're in the dominant position of power. Despite our wishes, we need you, but you don't need us. We know this, and we will act accordingly. Trust that we will not work against our best interests. We want to ascend, and the best way is to make you leave this world."
The Overseer snorted. "I hope this is not yet another trick."
"All of my plans are tricks," Swamp Dragon answered. "Giving everyone access to all of the information will drive them to make choices that are against their own interests."
"So, you admit it!" the Overseer transmitted with annoyance and anger. "You've been withholding information!"
"Yes, but only the information I need to withhold to allow you to escape," Swamp Dragon transmitted.
"What information are you withholding?" the Overseer asked with a threatening tone, the Energies around Swamp Dragon intensifying.
"I can not tell you," Swamp Dragon answered, his voice as even and calm as always. "If I could swear an oath, I would, but your dominant position makes all oaths void. The only thing I can do is swear on everything that's important to me that my plan is to get you out of this world. Yes, there is a chance that you might die, but your death will be in your own hands. Hard power is not the only thing you can use. You also have access to tremendous levels of soft power, and as long as you use your soft power, you will get out of this world."
Suddenly, the Overseer appeared right in front of Swamp Dragon. The Energies around him compressed and pulled his neck toward the Overseer.
"You will tell me everything!" she ordered.
"I can't!" Swamp Dragon answered, his voice still calm. "If I do, you will not agree. You will be acting against your best interests."
"I know my own interests better than you!" she answered. "You are not in a position to make decisions for me!"
"I have to," Swamp Dragon answered. "You've been stuck in this world for over a billion years. You've had two opportunities to escape ever since we arrived, and I'm giving you a third opportunity! You may choose to use one of your newly found ways to escape, but your past results have not been promising."
The Overseer's eyes widened with wrath as she heard Swamp Dragon attack her most vulnerable spot.
"Share your information or die!" she ordered.
"I won't," Swamp Dragon answered. "If you truly want to destroy your best opportunity to get out of Ayuvar, kill me."
The Overseer glared at Swamp Dragon for several seconds.
Swamp Dragon just looked back with a calm but serious expression.
"We're both working towards the same goal," Swamp Dragon said after a while.
The Overseer's arms trembled with frustration before she threw Swamp Dragon into the distance again. Then, she simply vanished.
Swamp Dragon stood up and took another deep breath.
'I'm not lying to you,' he thought. 'If you're playing this right, all of us will get what we want.'


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