There was absolute silence in the mind space after Stencil's words. The collective consciousnesses stared at the expressions of each other, noticing a common emotion of confusion, helplessness, uncertainty, etc.
But suddenly, the silence broke as a collective consciousness, a gigantic sword-stabbed creature sauntered through the crowd and stopped before Stencil, glaring at the latter. It was one of the collective consciousness that had been fighting against Stencil the most.
Pretty much the majority of the chaos in the Hero World during its dark ages was thanks to its actions. It had taken decades for Stencil and her allies to clean up the damage it had caused.
The allies of the sword-stabbed collective consciousness lined up behind it, applying pressure on Stencil. In response, Stencil calmly stared at it, confident in her stance. The space seemed to spark, a battle between the two biggest groups in the mind space imminent.
But suddenly, going against all preconceived notions, the sword-stabbed collective consciousness asked, sporting a hint of respect in its voice, "What do I need to do?"
"Once you become a Concept Representative, you only need to assist in the development of those under your domain. Over time, new Power Concepts would be added into your domain as all Supreme Power Concepts are diverse, flexible, and ever-changing." Stencil said, smirking a little in the end, "You'll be actively working for their benefit while sharing a direct connection to their Power Concept."
"So, I'll be like a brain in your body." The sword-stabbed collective consciousness spoke after thinking for a minute.
"Pretty much," Stencil said, "As the Dragon of Systems, my body has more than enough computing capacity to make a functioning world. But at the moment, we're not even tapping into a billionth of its capacity. This is the best way to tap into that potential."
"If I become a Concept Representative," The sword-stabbed collective consciousness motioned its complaining allies to be silent for a minute as it stared at Stencil, making eye contact, "Would I ever control your body?"
"You won't," Stencil said, her tone turning cold, "All of you are a part of me and not the other way around. My body is mine and mine alone."
She then let out a subtle snort and stared at the sword-stabbed collective consciousness, "And the lot of you are also mine."
"Your avarice knows no bounds." The sword-stabbed collective consciousness snorted in disdain, "You prove that you're a merchant's daughter. Profit and loss are in your creed."
"But," It slouched a little before going on all fours, expressing submission, "Since I don't have a better plan, I'll be your subordinate, for now."
It then stared at her, "But if you ever become lacking in the future, I'll fight for dominance of the body."
"You needn't waste your thought for that," Stencil grinned and tapped its head, "I'll always be a dozen steps ahead of everyone else from here."
As it expressed its submission, the sword-stabbed collective consciousness flew out of Stencil's body, entered the layer with Power Concepts, and became a Supreme Power Concept. As a massive surge of information poured into it, the sword-stabbed collective consciousness understood, 'I see, so a Concept Representative is like a battery that can operate independently irrespective of her body's condition.'
It was shocked at that, realising the extent of Stencil's plans, 'So, even when our power regresses, we're still able to support the people under us and through the shared Power Concepts, we're able to retain some strength.'
'So, even when Stencil becomes a baby and is the most vulnerable, thanks to the Concept Representatives, she wouldn't be entirely powerless.' It lauded her foresight, 'And as the number of Concept Representatives increase in the future, she would be passively defended by all of us.'
'Moreover, this one world doesn't seem capable enough to birth enough Power Concepts. So, for all the collective consciousness to become a Concept Representative, we need to govern more worlds.' It then nodded in realisation, 'And for worlds taken over by Grade 3 Systems, if we win it over, one of us can fuse with the world itself. That way, we'll be able to funnel more power into Stencil through the Supreme Power Concept, since she is the source of them all. That means, our weakness would eventually be solved on its own.'
"It seems I've been defeated soundly." It sighed in response before returning to Stencil's mind space. Now that it had become a Supreme Power Concept, it could use the connection from the mind space itself and give power to the people.
Over time, as the number of Power Concepts in it increases and matures to gain an overall identity, it would become a Concept Representative.
Staring at Stencil, it said, "I think this world can at most birth three Concept Representatives. Hero, Villain, and Citizen. That seems all."
"Yup," Stencil said, "I initially hoped the Power Concepts would branch out further to create at least a dozen Concept Representatives, but this is better. Three is enough for this world. They are less in number, but they'll be strong."
"So, that means I'm representing the Villain Concept." The sword-stabbed collective consciousness nodded in understanding, "Indeed, my alignment is perfectly suited to this since the Villains of this world are birthed through my actions. They are my responsibility to develop. But,"
It stared at Stencil, "Are you sure you want me to develop them? They are a menace to society and would counter all your developments."
"Darkness must exist for light to shine brighter. Fire must exist for water to douse. Hunger must exist for food to have meaning." Stencil proclaimed, "Heroes and Villains are similarly two sides of the same coin. Both are necessary. Otherwise, without an enemy, Heroes would never evolve."
She patted the collective consciousness that became the Hero Concept Representative, stating smugly, "Besides, Hero Concept is many times stronger, not to mention that she defeated you countless times in the past few decades."
"So, things would always develop in the direction I need." Stencil said, "And if it doesn't, I'll intervene to boost things up a notch. We have more than enough enemies for everyone to have their fill, anyway."
Stencil then patted the third collective consciousness that moved into the layer to absorb the remainder of Power Concepts, becoming the Citizen Concept Representative.
Citizens of the 12 Rings were mortals, but their powers were geared toward being immune to all foreign powers. So, it was a damn powerful concept, forming the resistance of the world, akin to the white blood cells of the human body.
