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Sam was lying on Manga’s back, his usual resting spot, with his mind connected to the stone tablet resting on his chest. He didn’t have to hold the tablet up to his face to view its contents through his Sahasrara, and browsing while lying down was an innate human technique that Sam had clearly inherited. Surprisingly, even though the tablet was Et Serpentium technology, there was up-to-date information on human society with various news reports and relevant images. Sam checked the authors of the articles, and he wasn’t sure how to feel when he discovered most of them belonged to graylings, the ones he had rented out to the six big companies.
“Birdbrained agrees with me,” Vercedei said out loud. “Words contain tremendous power, and controlling the flow of information to influence the thoughts of others in a way beneficial for yourself is one way to exert that power.”
Sam had to admit propaganda was indeed effective in swaying a population to one’s side. Though, it would’ve been nice to have been informed ahead of time about the grayling’s actions. What if the companies accused him of spying on them? Well, Vercedei would take care of it since the twin-headed snake was doing all the talking for Sam. Sam supposed it was a good thing the graylings were posting human news to the Et Serpentium internet; it allowed Sam to keep up with current news without needing to read with his eyes, which were covered by Werchbite. He had been allowed to see before, but ever since his familiars started their plan of conquering Oterra, the twin-headed snake hadn’t let him see so much as a speck of light.
“Ark, huh?” Sam asked his familiars in his mind after reading a few headlines. “That’s the company name you came up with?”
“It’s fitting, no?” Vercedei asked. “When the apocalypse arrives, usually, those on an ark have a better chance of survival.”
“Sure,” Sam said. Apparently, he had become the CEO of a company despite not filling out any paperwork at all. The graylings had established the company for him, filing all the required paperwork. They had even purchased a building for the company, and there was going to be a grand-opening ceremony happening in … thirty minutes. “What’s this about Ark’s grand opening? It says it’s happening today, and the CEO will be present.”
“It is, and you will,” Vercedei said.
“This article says there’ll be a combat demonstration?” Sam asked.
“As a company whose purpose is to explore and unite Oterra, doesn’t it make sense for the members of said company to be powerful?” Vercedei asked. “Ark needs to display an impressive show of force, or no one will take us seriously.”
“Is that why there’s so many people congregating towards the martial district?” Sam asked. With his All-Seeing Gaze and his earth star chakra, it was easy to observe the movements of all his peers within the city. In fact, he could observe the movements of every ant within the city as well if he chose to focus on them; when he didn’t focus on them, they were fluid like thin streams of water. Funnily enough, people were the same way too in his vision.
“It’s good that you can sense it,” Dirt said.
“You know, I’m sure Ark would have a more impressive display of force if their CEO could actually walk around on his own,” Sam said. He had learned to fly, but he hadn’t been able to use the ability thanks to the metallic koala holding him down.
“Werchbite’s illusion of you will be impressive, don’t worry,” Vercedei said. “All you have to do is sit back, relax, and enjoy the show. There’s nothing you need to fret over, but you will have to use telekinesis on some people, okay?”
Even if Sam disagreed, his familiars would have other ways of showing off their strength such as having Dirt create a hand made of earth to slap the opponent silly, or by having Manga charge into someone; sometimes, a direct approach was best. “I’ll do it,” Sam said. If he didn’t volunteer to fulfill Vercedei’s request, maybe, his familiars would find a way to prevent him from using telekinesis as well. Honestly, it was great being able to pick things up without having to physically move. “I’ll lift and slam whatever you want me to.”
***
Wendy stood with her arms crossed in front of her chest. She had separated her connections with the people around her with her Sahasrara, rendering her invisible, but she still felt uneasy. Perhaps it was due to the founding of the seventh big company, Ark, the company owned by Sam or the entity behind him. Once it was officially established, a great change would flood through Oterra, and it was up to the queen to decide how she wanted Monarch to ride the waves.
Queen Annabeth was seated on a throne atop a red carpet. Although they were positioned in front of a gate and out in the middle of the road, the queen’s entourage had brought props with them to create an appropriate setting, one fit for royalty. Not too far away from her group, the five big companies had set up stations as well for their CEOs. There were barriers on the roads and streets, keeping journalists and the general public at bay with only government officials and members of the six big companies allowed past the line.
Wendy scanned the area, sure it was filled with more people than there seemed to be, with people like her who had gone invisible as well. The expressions on the CEOs faces were stone cold, and the atmosphere was tense with no one talking or making excessive movements. People suppressed their coughs and kept their gazes off of others, afraid of attracting attention towards themselves. The opening of a seventh company was supposed to be a joyous occasion if it meant the strength of humanity increasing once more, but no one was celebrating; after all, everyone present had been threatened to come.
Wendy wondered if Sam, or the entity behind Sam, could be trusted. Although it was common to use force as an intimidation tactic, the six big companies never crossed a certain line. If one company acted too foolhardy, the other five were ready to take them down; perhaps, they’d even be gleeful for an excuse to pillage another’s assets. Of course, alliances between the companies had been formed as general protection for one’s self, but with a seventh company entering the scene, the balance was about to be broken. Was Queen Annabeth willing to align with someone who had threatened violence against all the other companies? What if she did, and only Monarch chose to back Ark, causing the other five companies to turn against their alliance of two?
A brilliant ray of light shone down from above, causing Wendy to flinch and instinctively raise her arm to shield her eyes. She squinted, and upon glancing down, discovered there were a lot more shadows than there should’ve been. Everyone who had been invisible earlier had been revealed, including herself. Her forehead wrinkled as she stared up at the sky where the torso of a golden giant was standing. The giant was made of light, emitting rays making it impossible for one to see the sky behind it. It leaned forward and lowered its closed fist towards the ground. Its fingers spread open, and a giant, glowing wooly pig leapt out of its palm, landing on the ground with a thump. A moment later, wind radiated outwards with the pig at the epicenter, gusts blowing against the onlookers as the ground trembled and cracked like a spider’s web.
A speck of debris flew into Wendy’s eye, irritating the heck out of her, and she squinted even further. Atop the wooly pig, which was emitting a yellow light like a rising sun, there was Sam. At least, Wendy assumed it was Sam; the person atop the pig was wearing a suit of crystalline armor covering every inch of his body, and Wendy was a bit nervous to read his mind lest she encounter the entity living within Sam’s head once more.
“Go, my child,” the golden giant said. Its voice was deep and booming, and the ground trembled as the reverberations traveled through what seemed like all of Oterra. As the shaking of the earth ground to a halt, the golden giant in the sky faded before eventually disappearing from view as if it had never existed.
Although Wendy wasn’t fond of theatrics, she had to admit the effect of one giant, golden man in the sky was outstanding when it came to grabbing the crowd’s attention. Once everyone’s gazes were focused on the armored man sitting atop the pig, he took his helmet off his head, revealing a handsome face with gleaming, golden hair and striking, blue eyes. Wendy’s lips twitched, and she resisted the urge to read the man’s mind. If that was Sam in disguise, then she’d be mentally clobbered by a higher-dimensional being; she had to admit though, if it really was an illusion, it was perfect. Perhaps the pig-riding knight was someone Sam had found to work under him? A dark expression appeared on Wendy’s face when she realized she had been intimidated by the higher-dimensional being so thoroughly that she was scared of reading someone’s mind lest they happened to be Sam in disguise. When she made up her mind to read the knight’s mind, he opened his mouth and spoke.
“Hello, everyone,” the man said, his voice powerful enough to send vibrations through Wendy’s body. She noticed everyone around her tensing as well as the man’s voice reached them. “The notice was quite short, but I’m glad all of you could make it here today.”
Three days of notice was not a lot of time to give a large company with many moving parts. No doubt, a few meetings had been cancelled and the expectations that came with them crushed. However, none of the CEOs or higher-ups present expressed their displeasure. How could they be upset at someone who had literally descended from the sky, released by a golden giant who proclaimed to be the man’s father? Though, Wendy knew the whole thing was a crock of shit…, probably; the golden giant gave off a similar feeling to the entity within Sam’s mind, mostly, because they were the same color and had the same vibe. It wasn’t enough to prove the handsome man’s identity, but it was enough to dissuade Wendy from checking his mind.
The man tucked his helmet underneath his armpit, holding his arm out like a chicken wing. “I’m sure some people are questioning my qualifications for founding a company on the same level of the six before me, so I’d like to set things straight before we go any further.” The man closed his hand into a fist before pointing his thumb at his own face. He flashed a smile. “I’m the strongest human to ever exist; that’s my qualification. If you don’t believe me, I can imprint the truth on your flesh with my figurative fists.”
After a brief moment of silence, someone stepped forward. “Show me,” the man said. Although he had been invisible and revealed by the golden light, he was more confident in his fighting abilities than his stealth techniques. “I’ll—”
The man didn’t get to say a word before he was raised into the air by an invisible force. He had time to scream before he was slammed into the ground from several stories up. It was hard to tell his exact condition, but it was certain he was more towards being dead than alive judging by the sound his body made the moment his scream had ended prematurely.
“Who’s next?” the handsome man asked as he shook out his left hand as if he were flinging away a booger stuck to the tip of his finger. “Would anyone else like for the truth to be imprinted on their flesh?”
The silent crowd stared at the man planted in the ground, his body more below the surface than above. Those who knew the man recognized him as an A-ranked awakened with a talent capable of increasing his speed. He was tricky to deal with because he was hard to hit, but he had been squashed like a bug. Even if he could move ten times faster, the result would’ve been the same, and everyone who didn’t have the confidence to deal with someone who could telekinetically lift them chose to lower their heads, averting their gaze from the pig-riding knight.
“Don’t be shy,” the illusion of Sam, which was based off a Venusian, said. “If you’re not confident in defeating me by yourself, you can come at me in a group; either way, the result will be the same.” A grin appeared on the illusion’s face. “Why? Because I’m the strongest.”
A journalist behind the barrier raised her microphone and shouted, “Excuse me! What’s—”
The illusion of Sam pointed at the journalist, and her words were cut off by a scream as she surged into the air. The journalist stared at the rapidly shrinking ground, and all she could do was close her eyes, scream really loud, and pray the impact wouldn’t hurt. Her scream continued until she ran out of breath, and when she opened her eyes again, she found herself floating in front of the pig-riding knight, the extremely handsome pig-riding knight. Her mouth dropped open, and she stared at the piercing blue eyes in front of her in a daze.
“Hello,” Vercedei said. “Didn’t you have something you wanted to ask me? If not, I can return you to your spot.”
“N-no!” the journalist said after recovering her senses. “I mean, excuse me, but who exactly are you? Who was the giant that brought you here? He called you his child.”
“I’m Sam,” Vercedei said. The illusion’s face contorted as if it had been found guilty. “As for the giant…, you saw him?”
“I believe we all saw him,” the reporter said and looked back at the crowd. The people she made eye contact with nodded, and she turned back towards Sam. “He was kind of a hard to miss since he was so big, not to mention glowing like the sun.”
“That’s embarrassing,” Vercedei said as an awkward smile appeared on the illusion’s face, causing the reporter to stare at his face in daze. “He said he wouldn’t do anything ostentatious, but he went and showed himself off.” The illusion nodded. “He’s a higher-dimensional being, and he’s had many different names, but he’s always been there for humanity, sending down his children to guide them in the right direction.”
The reporter swallowed. “Is he … God?”
The illusion smiled in return. “This press conference is for my company’s establishment,” Vercedei said. The illusion winked at the reporter. “Let’s not talk about my personal matters.”
“Right,” the reporter said and swallowed. “Your company, Ark, right?” She couldn’t help but glance up at the sky to see if the golden giant would make a reappearance. When it didn’t, she held her microphone up to her mouth. Although it wouldn’t amplify her voice for the crowd to hear, it would record her question, and that was all that mattered. “The six big companies each have their own specialties: biotechnology, automation, agriculture. What does Ark bring to humanity?”
“That’s a fine question,” Vercedei said. “As a company, Ark will bring hope to humanity.”
“Hope?” the reporter asked when she realized the illusion wasn’t planning on elaborating. “What do you mean?”
“People are scared,” Vercedei said. “Talented awakened have gone missing, and the natives of Oterra can freely trample over humans as if we’re stalks of grass. The six big companies can barely protect themselves much less those who aren’t under their umbrellas. Leaving the city is akin to throwing your life away if you haven’t awakened a combat-oriented talent or unlocked your Manipura.”
The reporter stared at the illusion of Sam, waiting for him to continue, but he didn’t, leaving her with nothing to do but ask another question. “And Ark is going to change that?”
“Exactly,” Vercedei said. “Imagine if you could freely travel Oterra without worrying about putting your life at risk. Before Earth experienced its great cataclysm and ascended to Oterra, humanity was in charge, and no one had to worry about being on the bottom of the food chain. Ark’s goal is to unite Oterra by joining hands with the natives who’ll ally with us and crushing those who won’t.”
“That’s a bold claim,” the reporter said as she recalled the golden giant. Perhaps, it could really be done. “So, is Ark only looking to train combat-oriented awakened to achieve its goal?”
“No,” Vercedei said. “We’re going to benefit all of humanity, so doesn’t it make sense for everyone to work under Ark’s arrangements? The six big companies shall work under Ark as my subordinates.”
The reporter turned to look at the CEOs of the six big companies before smiling nervously at Werchbite’s illusion. “I’m not sure if they’ll agree to that,” she said.
“It doesn’t matter if they don’t agree,” Vercedei said as the illusion let out a dazzling smile. “They don’t have a choice in the matter.”