It took a couple of months, but the preparations had been made. This day would be magnificent. Gadreel smiled softly as the large double doors swung open and two long lines of servants were revealed.

"Good evening, Gadreel," a plump man with spectacles standing at the end of the two lines said with a light bow.

"Long time no see, Mr. President," Gadreel said with a nod as he made his way inside.

"What of Sherridan?" the President asked. "Could she not make it to this year's meeting?"

"No, she's here," Gadreel said as he glanced around the hall filled with oil paintings, marble sculptures and golden decorations of various shapes. He then made it to the President and laid a hand on his shoulder, startling the man slightly. "I'm excited to see what you have prepared. I have told you what an exemplary host you are, yes?"

"I am hardly worthy of such praise," the President said, shaking his head. "My staff, on the other hand, is the best of the best."

Gadreel put his hands in the pockets of his pure white slacks. It had been some time since he wore this suit, although he liked it a lot. Like all good fashion, it was simple but striking. The shoes, slacks, and suit coat were all white, while the dress shirt was black and the tie was crimson. The president just wore a regular old tuxedo. Boring old man.

"You're too humble," Gadreel remarked as he climbed the stairs.

"One would be a fool to praise himself in the presence of a man such as you, Gadreel," the President responded as they got to the second floor, where two servants were waiting to open the door to the banquet hall.

Gadreel shook his head with a chuckle at the President's comment and walked into the banquet hall. It just so happened that they were already there, sitting at the long, stretched oval table. All ten of them. And as soon as they saw Gadreel, they went silent and stood up.

Gadreel didn't say anything, instead just looking around the structure. The banquet hall was empty except for the table and six enormous pillars rising to the round roof, decorated by murals and unorthodox textures. The hall was lit by candles, and red light seeped in from the sides where colored glass panels were. If one were to go look, they could see just how far back the President's mansion really stretched. It was unnecessarily large, even for Gadreel's taste. And he lived in the Royal Castle by his lonesome.

He then looked back at his subjects. "Good evening!"

"Good evening," they all responded in unison.

Gadreel walked to the other end of the table by going around on the left side, while everyone's eyes followed him. On the way, he laid a hand on the shoulder of an older man with a gray goatee. It was always a pleasure to see Franz.

He then sat at the end of the table as the President did the same on the other side.

With him, the President, and the ten highest-ranking branch managers in Numen, the influence over the entire country of Mircrest was at stake here. Gadreel inhaled, as his charisma only increased due to the conditions. "Well then, let us begin the banquet."

***

"Betrayal is a dirty act. But if it is flashy enough, it will appear clean. And what is reality other than appearances?" Gadreel spoke with his hands behind his back, hidden under his black cloak.

Franz stood on his side on the faint blue platform in the sky and followed his gaze to the city of Verdua, the city where the young man, now known as the right-hand man of the Ruler of Mircrest, grew into what he was.

In just a couple of minutes, the city would be infiltrated by an army of Numen members. But they would not be there at the command of the Ruler of Mircrest. They would be there under the command of Gadreel.

Franz had seen it in this young man. He had the potential to conquer the world, but Franz hadn't known it would all happen so fast. Gadreel had only been a part of Numen for approximately two years and had already swayed the minds of the branch managers to his side. It seemed what Franz had seen in the boy had quickly become so apparent that he was staring to be enveloped in an irresistible glory.

Oddly enough, it didn't seem like William suspected Gadreel. What their conversations looked like within closed doors was a mystery, but Franz assumed Gadreel had somehow been able to form a kind of familial bond with William.

And now that bond of safety would be destroyed with this declaration of war.

"Are you sure about this?" Franz asked, his voice shaking.

Gadreel turned his head with a sly grin. "Is that worry I see? I never knew you were a man of such emotions, Franz."

Franz tried saying something, but his jaw was stuck. He had never known himself to be such a man, either.

Gadreel chuckled slightly and looked down at the city. "I was born into this playground as a player, and I loved the feeling of acting as a player so much that it seems I went too far. Nowadays, I can't shake the feeling that I've transcended this little playground and there is nothing more to do. I have begun feeling like something akin to a god. And that is the last thing I want to be."

"So now you challenge another god?"

"Exactly," Gadreel said with a snap of his fingers. "I was not born to indulge in pleasures like measly men, nor was I born to carry out a duty like the stern ones. I was born as nothing. I have no code, responsibility, or anything else that would tie me down. I am freedom itself. I am a true expression of this world where you can do anything, and I am the rebellion against this society that does nothing."

Franz shook his head with a smile. "You've brought back memories from my youth. I remember thinking something like, 'How truly bored do these humans have to be to invent rules into a ruleless world only so that they can complain'. But I guess with time, that rebellion drains out, and you become an enforcer of the rules you once despised."

"You are funny, Franz. But I do not laugh." Gadreel said, side-eyed Franz briefly. "You see, growing up, to me, is utter nonsense. Time doesn't exist. And if it did, it wouldn't be a line but a circle. So the person in time is nothing but a figment of one's imagination. Change is death, but fortunately, I will not have to experience it like you."

Many of Gadreel's words puzzled Franz. Sometimes he went so far as to think even Gadreel didn't know the true meaning behind his speech. But that last sentence was stamped into his mind the second it came out.

"What do you mean? How will you not experience it like me?"

Gadreel turned and smiled in a way that was separate from all the extravagant lies his body language told. It seemed there was authentic care and a parental softness in that smile. "I am but a child, and there was a time when I believed my life would be never-ending, but after blood spread from my hands to my chest, the universe spoke to me. It told me that, no matter what, I will not see the years of men. What I have stolen from many shall be stolen from me, and thus, I shall die a child."

***

"—reel. Gadreel, are you with us?"

Gadreel's mind shifted, and his blank eyes rose to look at the president. "Ah, yes. Please excuse my inattentiveness."

The president's mouth opened wide. "Oh, no, please do not apologize. I am sure you are under very much stress. If you wish, we can end the banquet now."

All the eyes in the room turned to Gadreel as he sighed lightly. Gadreel's eyes met those of Franz, and in both their eyes there was a common appearance. Apparently, they'd been thinking of the same history.

Gadreel raised a hand and bowed his head with a long blink. "No, the night is still young. I'm sure there is still much to discuss. My mind just wandered for a while there."  Then he looked to the one who had talked last, a man with slick blonde hair. "Jameson, I heard that your branch has been expanding its business into the pharmaceutical industry."

"Indeed, my business was getting stale, so the expansion was a bit of fresh air," Jameson said and went back to eating, not expecting a follow-up.

"I also heard that your assistant had much to do with it. A fact you forgot to mention."

Jameson seemed to dig at his teeth with his tongue before replying, "Right, Opis' performance on this project was noteworthy."

Gadreel smiled with satisfaction. "Is he here?"

"Yes... Opis did come along. What of it?"

"Excellent." Gadreel looked to the President's butler and said, "Bring the boy here. I want to exchange a few words."

The butler bowed and went right ahead. Jameson wore a look of concern and was about to object, but then Gadreel stood up and doubled down. "Actually, bring all the managers' assistants here."

Every pair of eyes surrounding the table was squinting, so Gadreel saw it fit to clear things up. He spread his arms and exclaimed, "I have a story to tell!"