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?"

peculiar allure to them, and as a result, both Clementine and Mo Jinhao were compelled to stop talking and take a step back

done out of fear, but rather out of an abundance of caution. Miranda Black, another one of the elders in the Monolith Council, and ranker. She

powers didn't lay in her appearance, but rather, her formidable power which granted her the ability

unaware, even one of the elders of the council would find themselves brainwashed

'The puppet master'

and she without

know what we should

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

should think about how to deal with the little rat that slaughtered all the spies I had painstakingly raised. Do you

started to become denser, and her hair

began to twist, it began to fall in random directions across her face. The door

hush that spread throughout

it, apart from

already sitting on the large throne with his hand propped up on the arm

that all of you

***

the unrealistic aim

unwillingness to compromise over something for the sake of maintaining perfection, and what the

was unwilling to do whatever it took

why the Monolith existed. If the Union was unwilling to take the steps

their spine as Hemlock's eyes icily swept across

Hemlock took his gaze away and closed

of you already know by now what happened a little while

as those words left Hemlock's mouth, the atmosphere immediately began

to utter a single word, allowing

fact, I had anticipated that something similar would transpire. The forces

Everblood had done was by no means

the Monolith sustained was quite heavy. Hemlock was

that topic aside, has everyone one of you had

"Yes."

"Yes."

"Yes."

Everyone answered, almost unanimously.

his face. Hemlock made the decision to increase their investment in the chips after the chips

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

what made Everblood's stunt so painful because many of the

have it, is it really necessary for all of us to have it implanted

scratched the back of his bald head while sitting with

air around him

at him and

of every little advantage that

"..I guess."