Chapter 86

  Jennifer sat at her desk, back held upright despite the uncomfortable sensation of wood digging into her flesh. Her simple chair was behind an equally simple desk, in the middle of the spartan room she worked from. This was just a temporary accommodation, she told herself to stave off the discomfort, until the actual offices were completed. She had looked at the plans for the Security Division buildings, and she had to admit she couldn’t wait for all the structures to be completed.

  She thought back to the first interaction she had with Michael, back when she still had no idea who the actual boss was, and frowned.

  “I made such a fool of myself back then,” she thought. She’d change things if she could. She had been an asshole to him, thinking he was there just because he knew the right people, not for a single moment willing to believe that perhaps he was the right people.

  To be fair, Michael’s appearance and age were quite unusual for the status he had, and they didn’t fit what she had been told about the company she was working for back then. Later experience had taught her to let go of her assumptions, of course. She now knew that magic was real, that monsters were real, and that superhuman people walked the earth. There used to be a holy cross above her bed, long ago. She thought about the holy symbol, what meaning it held.

  Looking up, she saw the vast expanse of upturned dirt, piles of gravel, heavy machinery and hired muscle milling about. The late summer sun bathed everything orange as it set beyond the hills, the light hitting in a strange way that made the scene look like a reverse apocalypse movie. Instead of death and devastation, the land owned by Unity corporation was a wasteland slowly being turned into something orderly and neat, trees sprouting here and there almost as fast as the building themselves were materializing, magic aiding in the mundane, and human effort making the impossible a reality.

  It was remarkable. Site 00 was going to be huge, the original plot of land now encompassing valleys, hills and a river. There was going to be a core of tall, modern buildings, underground laboratories, training facilities and more green spaces than she thought would ever fit. And this, she had been told, was just to accommodate the Candle Light, Security, and a small part of the Science and Research divisions.

  She heard that Mr. Chestermill, the CEO, was currently trying to get ownership of even more nearby land, both the forest and the fields that made up this side of the Appalachian Trail, with no regard of whether they were flat land, impassable rock outcroppings, hills, or dusty former quarries.

  Unity Corp was hungry for land, and they had the means to take it for themselves. Money was not a problem now that PetroLink was under their umbrella, and even without it Jennifer knew that the other avenues they were pursuing were bound to become very lucrative. Some of them even involved her, although the details were still vague.

  What surprised her of all of this was their plan to develop a good chunk of the land for civilian habitation. Because of course Michael had thought not only about the Operators and employees of his company, but also about their families. Apparently, he had been a slave to a long commute himself, and he didn’t wish to inflict such a harsh fate on anyone else.

  She shook her head. Only someone like him could go as far as offer free habitation to their employees just to reduce their commute. From what she heard, it wasn’t going to be simple habitation either. The houses looked like they came out of a sci-fi movie, complete with all sorts of amenities provided by either top of the line technology or disguised magic.

  Then she had talked to Johanne about it, and learned what the woman thought of the plan. “A good strategy to make them dependent on us, and fiercely loyal,” she had said in the coldest, most impassive voice she could muster, as if she was reading from sterile data.

  Jennifer didn’t know what to think of it. The renders and schematics for the coming buildings convinced her, though. She couldn’t pass on the chance to get a free house of this caliber once they were finally built. It would take a while, of course, but she was patient.

  As a high-level figure in the company, she would be able to choose her accommodation from a rather rich selection. A small villa for her whole family, complete with garden, pool and guest houses. An apartment at the 50th floor of one of the towers they were going to build. An underground secure structure that could literally survive the end of the world…

  She had asked about the last option. She didn’t like the answer she received. Some of the scientists that were beginning to work for the Research Division were not very confident in the fate of the planet now that magic was about to spread out from the dungeons. Some of them specifically asked to be given bunkers to spend their lives in, and they only agreed to work in secure labs deep underground, with assurance that their family was in an equally safe accommodation.

  Paranoids. Weird that there were so many of them, she thought. Looking at the personnel requests with her security clearance, she noticed that most of the paranoids were working under Johanne—things made much more sense now.

  The sound of drilling distracted her, also reminding her that her office was in the middle of a construction zone. It would have bothered her if not for the fact that with a gesture, a magical stone lit up and the sound disappeared completely. One of the many hidden benefits of living within an Area Of Influence, as Mr. Tyrell called it.

  While useful, however, such trinkets made her all too aware of the fact that the place she lived in was constantly bathed in magical radiation. Now, she wasn’t one to believe strange theories about magnetic fields coming from your phone and giving you cancer, but how could she deny the existence of mana when she felt her mana pool interact with it all the time?

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  Johanne had ensured her that it would have no ill effects on her body, but research was still ongoing. Last time Jennifer checked, and she did check several times thanks to her high security clearance, there was no conclusive evidence. It was not quite enough to keep her up at night, but enough that she had yet to tell her family and relatives about the possibility of moving to a free apartment in the middle of nowhere.

  By the time the houses would be done, it wouldn’t be an apartment in the middle of nowhere anymore, she mused. It would be a city in an apartment in the middle of nowhere. As the world changed, perhaps being isolated from everything else wasn’t too bad.

  She shook her head. It was almost time to turn in for the night. Already she had worked past dinnertime, but her work ethic wouldn’t allow her to leave her office until everything was in order. For such a small company, at least for now, Unity had an awful lot on its plate. They were planning a lot of things, and Mr. Tyrell was a damn machine about it. They were throwing around unholy amounts of cash, hiring people left and right, expanding all the time.

  “At least Tyrell has the dungeon,” she muttered, thinking about the time dilation field inside of it.

  She wondered how the man did it. In fact, she wondered how Michael did it. It was one thing to go to the Valley and work from there, and another thing to spend days upon days fighting monsters. Johanne, she could understand. The woman was crazy. She came from the dungeon, weird as it sounds, and it was weird enough that Jennifer refused to let her thoughts bore too deep into the topic whenever her mind decided to brush upon it.

  But the other two? She remembered her week in the Valley. Somewhat. It felt like a half-forgotten dream by now, but the one thing that was crystal clear in her mind was the feeling of dread that had gripped her whenever she was alone in the dungeon. A feeling that had never left her until she herself had left its influence. The feeling of being watched. The feeling of being underwater, unable to breathe unless someone else allowed her to. The feeling of being an ant before a mountain.

  No thanks. But she did wonder how Michael managed to keep going there time and time again. Not even the promise of power would ever sway her. Some people, maybe, but not time and time again like he did.

  “I have no idea how he’s still sane…”

  “He has a monstrous Resilience stat,” a voice startled her. She felt her magic stir, and the possible implications of that were pure horror. She whirled around fast enough to make her chair fall to the ground, and only then did she recognize who had entered the room.

  Her mind supplied a bit of information that explained why she had not heard Mr. Tyrell enter.

  Stupid sound dampening stones, she wanted to curse Johanne for even installing such a faulty piece of tech into her room. But she had been warned that they were still in testing phase, and at the time her desire to get rid of the sound of construction was stronger than reason.

  “Mr. Tyrell.” She acknowledged, although her voice was still shaking.

  “Hi Jennifer. Sorry I startled you.”

  Her relationship with the man was complicated. He had the sort of position within Unity that made him the jack of all trades, with as much power as the CEO and perhaps even of Michael himself, although in an unofficial capacity.

  “It’s no problem, uh, sir. You were saying?”

  The man looked around, as if studying her and her office before speaking. That’s what unsettled her. She knew the power he had as head of Candle Light. She knew what he could do to people, even though he had never done anything to anyone.

  What if he scrutinized her, and found her lacking? She could appeal to Michael, sure, but it would be her word against Mr. Tyrell’s… who would Michael believe of the two?

  Suddenly Jennifer’s Tome of the Unmaking Flame felt heavy in her possession. The book was strapped to her back, always touching her, always ready to be used.

  “Michael has a status, with stats like a video game,” the head of Candle Light said. “Didn’t you read the file I sent you? Should be called CL-OWNER-012 “Skill: Unity”. It’s one of the files about Michael’s abilities.”

  Jennifer nodded mechanically. She remembered it well. “Is that what his Resilience does?”

  The man shrugged. “It’s abnormally high. Coupled with all other changes brought by the other stats and his other skills, it’s hard to say for sure.”

  “I see.” Jennifer said weakly.

  “But to answer your question. No. it’s not what allows him to spend so much time in there. Why do you think I manage, although in a lesser capacity? I would never last as long if I were fighting or training all the time, but at least I can last some days in the Valley. Unlike everyone else, it seems.”

  Jennifer swallowed. It was a rhetorical question, one that required her to say something. Mr. Tyrell’s presence stifled her, but she managed to find her words.

  “Why is that?” she asked.

  “Because we are insane,” the man said. There was a mad glint to his eyes, and the way his impossibly white teeth shone, and his bulging muscles seemed to writhe and move on their own, in unnatural ways…

  “Insane?” she croaked.

  “Ask Michael what he did back when he first started delving. Might put things in perspective.”

  She felt like she didn’t need to. She recalled the week of hellish training—although with difficulty. She recalled very well how she felt at the end of it.

  “You did well, hiding your discomfort from him,” said the man as if he had read her mind. “He has no idea how different he really is from us all. Even me. It’s better if it remains this way. I’m going to go see his sister now, I need to brief her and give her the all-pass badge. Have a good night!”

  He left.

  Jennifer had barely recovered when Trevor walked in.

  “What happened?” the other head of security asked, “you look like you’ve seen a ghost. Wait, are ghosts real now? I think those things that are supposed to be in the mana in the air are ghosts.”

  Jennifer shook her head. “It’s nothing. How are things?”

  “It’s… good, I guess? Shit’s about to happen, that much I can tell. Did you read the brief about the Occult Affairs? That’s some nightmare fuel.”

  She nodded. “Yeah, I did. We will be as prepared as we can, of course.”

  “Of course,” said Trevor with a grin. “I saw Travis on the way in.”

  Jennifer nodded, “he said he’s going to Michael’s sister. He’s giving her an all-pass.”

  Trevor whistled. “Not even we have those. Envious?”

  “Nah,” said Jennifer, “I fear it’s going to be just another headache.”

  “Come on,” said the man, “can’t blame the administration here for all the headaches. It’s not like there’s protocol to deal with magic.”

  Jennifer shrugged. “I was talking about other forms of headaches. Mr. Tyrell gives me the chills. The dungeon gives me the chills.”

  “Yeah, well.” Trevor paused, “I know we have to go back there, eventually. But I can’t say I am looking forward to it.”

  “Me neither. I think I might have nightmares about it.”

  “But that’s what we are here to protect, isn’t it?”

  “Not protect it,” said Jennifer, “but protect the world from it.”

  “That’s right,” Trevor said. “I’m night shift today. Come on, get some sleep. You look like you need it.”

  “Thanks man,” she said. “Gonna go as soon as I’m done here.”

  “No problems. I’ll be here a while before going on patrol. Travis dropped a bomb on my lap earlier.”

  “What sort?” she asked, already dreading the answer.

  “Nothing much,” said the man chipperly, “he wants me to assess the danger and asset value of Area 51.”

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  Candle Light: CL-025, "Tome of the Unmaking Flame"

  Magic Class: Silver

  Danger Rating: Gold

  Containment: CL-025 is currently assigned to Level-2 Operator "The Cynic" (Jennifer). While the tome does not permanently bond to a user, Jennifer is authorized to keep it on her person due to her proven loyalty and combat proficiency. Containment procedures primarily involve regular psychological evaluations and mandatory mana reserve checks to ensure Jennifer's mental stability and prevent mana exhaustion. In the event of a breach of protocol or any indication of instability, CL-025 will be immediately retrieved and reassigned. Alternative candidates with suitable physical and mental fortitude are currently being identified and assessed for potential future assignment or replacement should Jennifer become unavailable or desert.

  Description:

  Acquisition:

  Incident Report:

  Strategic Applications:

  Addendum CL-025.01:

  Addendum CL-025.02:

  Addendum CL-025.03: