The Author's POV

[Day 3]

Monolith headquarters.

In a grand hall dimly lit by a large chandelier, twenty people sat on ten golden thrones set along the sides of the hall, with a large empty throne at the end of the corridor.

The throne was jet black in colour and was significantly larger than the golden thrones that were present in the room. It was clear to whom the throne belonged to.

There were approximately twenty people in the room, and they all looked at each other with expressions that conveyed cold calculation and hostility.

"Is everyone here?"

Mo Jinhao, who was seated on the throne that was adjacent to the one that was situated in the centre of the room, was the first person to speak as his grey eyes swept over the entirety of the room.

He crossed his legs and rested his arms over his legs.

"Everyone should already know why we have gathered today, no?"

"…when is the leader coming?"

Nobody in the room seemed interested in what Mo Jinhao had to say as they all went about their business. It was clear from the get go that Mo Jinhao's authority wasn't high enough to influence the people that were present in the hall.

Each person who was there in the hall had the same level of power as one of the seven heads of the Union, and yet they were all distinctly different from one another in terms of their power and what they specialized in.

The only person who responded was a man positioned on the golden throne opposite him. He had a warm smile spread across his face as he spoke.

Objectively speaking, he was handsome. He had sharp, nicely structured facial features that made him look like a celebrity. That was until one paused toward his eyes, which seemed to be devoid of any emotion, and weren't smiling, unlike his face.

Clementine Manual, an ranker of the Monolith, and one of the elders part of the Monolith council.

His empty gaze gave him a heavy atmosphere.

"We are aware of why we are present. Just that we have many tasks to complete in preparation for what is to come. Not all of us have the time to waste here discussing irrelevant details that we already know."

"It is not useless."

Mo Jinhao answered, his voice devoid of any emotion, and the room became even tenser.

"Please, stop it you two."

It was at this moment that another voice spoke up.

The voice belonged to a woman with long, glossy brown hair, and strong brows who sat on the opposite end of the Clementine. The thinness of her dress revealed her cleavage, and the fact that she was leaning against the armrest of the throne exposed her legs, which were crossed together.

"The leader is on his way, and we don't want the place to turn nasty before he arrives, do we?"

and Mo Jinhao were compelled to stop talking

the elders in the Monolith Council, and ranker.

appearance, but rather, her formidable power which granted her the ability to

of the council would find themselves brainwashed and taken control by

'The puppet master'

to her, and she without a

know what we should care

against the throne's armrest. She looked around the room at the other twenty or so people before

with the little rat that slaughtered all the spies I had painstakingly raised. Do you realize how difficult it is to

started to become denser, and her hair

face. The door unexpectedly opened just as she was about to say something else, and Hemlock walked straight

as he came into view, there was a sudden and total hush that spread throughout the room, and each of the twenty

dared to raise it, apart

large throne with his hand propped up on the arm chair of the throne,

of you have already

***

unrealistic aim for

sake of maintaining perfection, and what

was unwilling to do whatever it took to save

fine, there was a reason why the Monolith existed. If the Union was unwilling to take the steps necessary to save humanity, then it would be Hemlock's job to

in the room felt a chill run down their spine as Hemlock's eyes icily swept across the

silent until Hemlock took his gaze away and closed his

now what happened a little while back, during the

as those words left Hemlock's mouth, the

one dared to utter a single word, allowing for

was a mistake, but it wasn't all that bad. In fact, I had anticipated that something similar would transpire. The forces we

done was

quite heavy. Hemlock was only downplaying the damage over here, and it was a

has everyone one of you had the surgery

"Yes."

"Yes."

"Yes."

Everyone answered, almost unanimously.

nodded their heads, there was a look of obvious contentment on his face. Hemlock made the decision to

a chip that was many times more powerful than the old prototype, which was currently implanted in the heads of almost all

gave Hemlock the confidence to win the war, and it was also what made Everblood's stunt so painful because many of the soldiers who died had the

chip quite useful now that I have it, is it really necessary for all of us to

burly man asked. Rowan Khaalnd scratched the back of his bald head while sitting with his arms crossed and his legs spread apart. His expression conveyed

him was

at him and

take advantage of every little advantage that

"..I guess."