Chapter 34: Council

ZWPQ. A company that appeared out of nowhere on the 19th of July 1956 in Berlin, to create a better world for everyone through the development of new technologies. Although the reasons given for its foundation were too vague, multiple countries backed it up with millions of dollars just after its second day; those funds were quickly used to open the first research facilities and “Help Centres” in poor countries, which were used to distribute, food and clean water in exchange for the inhabitant to try their experimental medicines.

Many people debated if its founder, a certain Samuel Zonny, who had no background whatsoever, actually wanted to help or simply wanted to take advantage of poor people and use them as test subjects; but the public opinion quickly changed for the better.

As the years passed, while there were still people who judged the company for using poor countries as a way to gather cheap test subjects, the experimental medicines used quickly became a huge success as they could easily cure over 80% of the existing illnesses, plus many types of venoms and poisons and a really small number of mental illnesses. These great results gave ZWPQ a lot of admirers all around the world, but there were still sceptical people who taught that the 1% death rate was too low for experimental medicines and that many deaths could have been covered by every supporting country’s media to not cause ay any scandal; those people quickly withdraw their accusations because they didn’t have any proof.

Years passed and in 2019 ZWPQ was the most important company in the world, covering many sectors, other than technology and pharmaceutical, like selling electric power with their “Endless energy” service for cheap fees; other companies accused them of “shady operations” and monopoly but they always fell through for missing proofs.

—3rd October 2026—

—ZWPQ Headquarters(Berlin)—

—Underground floors—

“What is happening?!” a researcher shouted to a colleague while a loud alarm was sounding through the underground floors and every worker started panicking trying to find a solution.

“The Gods’ aura levels are going up exponentially!”

“Did you touch something?”

“No, I didn’t! It happened all of a sudden! Something must have triggered their reactions even if they are still asleep!”

“Check the cameras of the containment Room!” the researcher suggested and the colleague quickly went to his pc and checked the cameras, which were filming a white circular room with four cryogenic pods attached to the walls and three of them were occupied by the Gods.

“It looks like the pods are stable with no damage- no wait! Zoom on Kadona’s face!”

The colleague did as the other researcher said and…

“Is she…crying?” he then zoomed on the other gods’ faces and they were also crying.

“How is this possible? Shouldn’t they be unable of any kind of movement?-”

“In theory yes-”

Suddenly, another researcher shouted to everyone “Our boss has returned! He’s been updated on the situation already! He said he’ll take care of this but we have to turn off the cameras.”

The other researchers were a bit confused at first by the last decision but they still did it because they were orders.

———

Samriel had literally just returned and didn’t seem to catch a break. He appeared on the lowest floor where only the Containment Room was present and went in; he looked at three gods in the pods, tears were flowing down while their faces weren’t showing any emotion. He took a huge breath, closed his eyes and let his aura expand and enter in contact with Gods’ auras, when he opened his eyes, he was in an endless flower garden, full of primroses but some of them were wilted, while in front of him, the Gods were sitting on garden chairs around a smashed table, there were four chairs and just like the pods, one of them was unoccupied. A breeze was blowing the sound and there was no sound, not even the Gods were talking, they were just looking down; this moment quickly changed when Samriel opened his mouth

“I know you noticed me. Stop being-” The gods immediately looked at him with bloody eyes and the wind started blowing stronger and stronger, they wanted him away for obvious reasons…but he still tried to talk

“This will e the last time you see me if you let me talk to you! I promise!”

The wind slowly calmed down and the same was for the Gods’ faces, which remained cold.

Xayo was the first to speak “What do you want?”

“I want to know if you know something about Nysilia’s plans.”

“No, she didn’t tell us anything.”

“And even if we knew something, we wouldn’t tell you.” Kadona said.

Samriel sighed “Fine. I’m not that surprised.” he then looked at the fourth chair

“I remember when she would play with me like I was her little son and always tried to look tough while scolding me, what a nostalgia…I still can’t believe she did that-”

“If you haven’t anything else to ask, then go. You are interrupting our mourning.” Deza coldly told him.

“...Right right. Sorry, I guess.” he turned around but before he could say anything else, Kadona asked him

“Do you know her last words?”

“...Yeah, she apologised to the world, to you three, to Dai and Sarah and…to me for that incident.”

Kadona stayed silent for a moment then said “I see.”

Samriel didn’t say anything else, waiting for them to say something but they ignored him completely and so, without saying anything else, he closed his eyes and withdraw his aura, then opened his eyes again, he was back in the Containment Room.

When he went out, the alarm was still on, so he decided to go to his office and issue new orders through the speaker; at first, he wanted to teleport but his left hand started shaking slightly instead, as he looked at it he thought

‘I used so much energy I can’t even teleport…Gods are on a whole other level if they can do that without any effort…’

In the end, he had to take two elevators to reach the Ground Floor(there are a total of 40 underground floors) and another three elevators to reach his office which was on the 80th floor. His office was big enough to have four big bookshelves, two long sofas parallel to each other and between there was a long coffee table, these three were in front of his desk, which was a mess full of papers; behind it, there was a glass wall while the other walls where coloured in teal and the floor was of light coloured wood.

He went to his desk and took the microphone that was on it

“At all the workers on the underground floors: manually disable the alarm, it will take up to one or two days for the problem at the “generator” to be solved. Store the excessive energy and let the surface floors know when the batteries are full;

To the workers at the surface floors: once the batteries are full, start creating cheap energy deals for underdeveloped countries by using the excess energy produced.

Thank you all for your work as usual.” he put the microphone on the desk and let himself fall on the chair.

As he tried to relax, he noticed that a putrid smell was invading the room

“I know you are there Messenger, come out.”

The shadowy figure emerged from Samriel’s shadow, with his usual yellowish grin

“You are sense are always so keen Samriel!”

“Or maybe you just stink too much. Have you ever considered taking a shower?” Samriel said seriously but the figure laughed at it

“You are so funny!”

“But I was serious-” he stopped speaking for a moment and sighed, talking about this with him would have been like talking to a wall “Whatever, it doesn’t matter. Why are you here?”

“Because you lost those two. I mean Dai and Sarah.”

“Were you watching?”

The figure nodded “From the start actually. But I wasn’t able to watch everything because Nysilia noticed my presence and I had to hide, only to come out again while you two were fighting the first time.”

“Did you also take a look at those two?”

“Yes, but only when they were about to escape. They were helped by the Wanderer you brought with you and that sniper girl…sorry, I don’t remember her name.”

Samriel said, with a disappointed tone “It must be Zary, so she was a traitor from the start. Do you know if Nysilia had other people working for her?”

The Messenger shook his head “She was too good at keeping secrets.”

“Mhp. She died with what she knew…” there was a moment of silence that was quickly broken “We have to find those guys. We lost that Goddess and we can’t afford to lose other targets.” He then looked at the figure “You know what to do.”

The figure nodded “Yessir. But it will take a while.”

“How much?”

“With all my informers around the world, it could take up to one week but if we don’t find them here, then it means they might be in another dimension, which could take up to three years.”

“And what if they are not in any dimension either?”

The figure sneered “That would be absurd and almost impossible…but if that happens, it means they are somewhere in the past or even in the future.”

“How much time it would take to check those?”

“I would need new informers for those, so it might take more than ten years.”

“...I see. Then, start right away. Usual payment?”

“Nonono.” the figure answered offended “We are talking about checking every single corner of every single world and dimension, plus the risk of checking past and future. Some human slaves won’t be enough.”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“So? What do you want?”

“I’ll let you know once I return in one week, after searching around the Earth. Maybe you’ll be lucky enough for me to find them here on this planet…but”

“Obviously, there must be a but. What is it now?” Samriel asked annoyed

“If they are not on Earth, then they might be dead.”

“...What?”

“That’s because their bodies are still too young. One year of training is not enough to travel between dimensions, it creates a 40% chance of dying on the spot because the body isn’t able of handling the pressure created by a dimensional portal.”

“...and what about the chance they may be in the future or the past?”

“They are not Wanderers, that means they would be already dead.”

“...Ok.” he wasn’t ok with this answer. It was creating more questions in his head

“You can go now.”

The figure nodded “I’ll start immediately then. We’ll see each other again in a week” said that, he disappeared in the same way he appeared.

‘If what he said is true, Nysilia could have killed them that way. Considering how unpredictable she was, that could be a possibility.’ as he thought, he passed a hand over the papers on his desk and looked at them ‘Maybe it’s time I start working. I’ll think about this situation later.’

—3 hours later—

Knock Knock

“The door is open, come in.”

Shortly after, a woman entered the room, she had short light green hair with a side bang fringe and her ears were long and pointy; she had just put a white mask on, the same Samriel and other workers in the structure were wearing, plus she was wearing a white shirt, a grey skirt, which was accentuating her curves, and had white high heels.

-Wearing a white mask is a symbol of being a worker in ZWPQ and it’s also a way to protect the worker’s identity, in case any terrorist organization starts targeting the company(like when it happened in 1999 were over 20 workers were followed to their houses and killed brutally); every worker must remove their masks once they are in a secure place(like their houses) and at work they must use false names-

“Hi Boss, hope I’m not disturbing you.” the woman said while getting closer to the desk, while also checking something on a tablet.

“Hi, Lisa. Don’t worry you aren’t not disturbing. What do you need?” For Samriel, seeing Lisa is always like a breath of fresh air, since she is one of the few elves working there.

“Nothing much. Just wanted to see you since I heard you had returned and tell you to check those papers, but it seems you are already doing that. Also, I have to update on a few things.”

“Ok, I’m all ears.”

Lisa checked her tablet “The first news is about our agreement with other space agencies to create the first colony on Mars, it all went well and if all goes according to plan, humans will be on Mars before the end of next year.”

Samriel nodded “Good.”

“The second news regards our new pills, which will be able to reduce the chances of having cancer, thanks to the conversion of Gods’ auras and energy.”

Samriel nodded again.

“And last but not least, the third news regards the squadron you brought to fight against the Goddess of Despair. Amore is in critical condition because of all the frostbites on her body, some of them being on her organs too, plus it seems ice is slowly forming again, acting almost like a virus; now she’s being contained in a really hot room, in an attempt to kill whatever is producing the ice or at least, slow it down.”

“Are researchers already working on this case?” the boss asked and Lisa replied while scrolling through her tablet

“It could be some sort of primordial ice, like the one forming an iceberg that once melts, it can release whatever it was preserving.”

‘Does that mean Sarah’s powers were evolving? She wasn’t under any training, how is that possible?’

“Are you ok Boss? You look concerned.” Lisa said and Samriel waved his hand to shake off her worries

“It’s nothing. Please continue.”

Lisa nodded “Ok, then let’s talk about the Twins, Yll and Yeal. They were fine for the most part, Yeal was in slightly worse conditions than Yll but nothing to worry about since his healing abilities are one of the best we have. Then…” she stopped speaking while scrolling down on her tablet “Three recruits were dead and there wasn’t much to find of their corpses, apart from some pieces of flesh and other organs; then, Tyrant’s situation is peculiar because of how he died. Traces of Dai’s blood were found in his body, apparently, his cells started attacking Tyrant’s and what’s weird is that the guy stabbed him multiple times, meanwhile, Tyrant was already dying because of the first stab.”

Samriel crossed his arms “So Dai’s blood acted has a venom and he probably didn’t even know he was able to do that.”

“Yes, that’s what most researchers theorized. To end this series of news from the medical department, Zary and the Wanderer haven’t been found yet but it has been confirmed the projectile in Amore’s knee was the same one that the girl usually uses. The military department is waiting for your orders.”

“Hm. Tell them to start searching in every part of the world but in small groups. We must not raise any awareness about this, also tell the Generals to keep their guard high. We must make sure there aren’t any other traitors.”

Lisa nodded again “Very well. I’ll communicate this to them immediately. One last thing, the Council announced a special meeting for tomorrow at 7 am.”

Samriel sighed annoyed while tilting his head backwards “Fucking nuisances. Tell them to postpone it for next week, once I’ll have the first news about those two.”

Lisa giggled and typed something on the tablet “Done. There is no more news, so I’ll return to my desk.” she went to the door but before she could go out Samriel asked

“How is your family? It’s been a while since I last heard from them.”

Lisa turned towards him “They are fine for the most part, the only annoying thing is lying about our origins.”

“I always forget how patriotic you Elves are” Samriel said while scratching his head

“I admit, we have always been a bit exaggerated when it comes to our country, but I understand my parents’ point of view, especially after being away from home for so long and they can’t even talk about it with their human friends. But apart from this, we are happy with our new lives and I thank you for saving us for the Gods’ reset.” she bowed in respect for a second then asked “But, are you sure that what you did was right?”

“Hm?” he didn’t understand immediately what she meant but once he did, he wasn’t happy remembering “Oh…yeah. We gave those humans new homes and money, also they will be the first to be contacted once we’ll be ready to start the first colony on Mars”

“Oh, I see! As usual, you think of everything and you would never leave anyone behind.” she said almost with pride for having a boss like that. “Then, I’m off if you need anything, you know where to find me. See ya!” and she left the room and closed the door.

“Yes…I would never leave anyone behind…” he said to himself “Those humans had to leave their homes because I had to help the poor elves. What I did, was the right thing.” he said to himself.

—The next week—

The sound of a car door opening and closing echoed in the early hours of the morning

The taxi driver, a short man in his 50s with a thick grey beard, looked at Samriel through the rearview mirror “Where do you want to go, sir?”

Samriel took out of his wallet 100€ and gave it to him “Wating for someone. Just drive until we find him.”

The driver nodded and put the money in his pocket “Very well.” and started driving, knowing where to go.

“How are affairs going?” the driver asked and Samriel replied “I can’t complain.” there was a moment of silence, then the driver said

“It’s always so hard to make you tell something about your job…”

“I wouldn’t be the boss If it was simple. Besides, you already hear a lot.”

“Fair enough.” the driver gave up talking and silence fell in the car for several minutes, until the taxi stopped to let another man in, as he entered, a putrid smell started invading the whole vehicle and the driver quickly opened the windows.

“Where do you want to go, sir?” he asked the man, who was wearing a yellow coat and wearing a yellow Panama hat.

The man pointed at Samriel while keeping his head low “Same as this gentleman.” that last word was said with a sarcastic tone.

“Very well.” the driver said as the car started moving again.

“...Why here?” Samriel asked the man, without looking at him.

The man shrugged his shoulders “I love taxis.”

“Stop playing with and be serious, Messenger.”

“I like taxis.” he repeated and Samriel sighed

“Whatever, tell me the news.”

“Okay, but you won’t like what I’m going to say.”

“Let me guess, they are not on Earth right?” he looked at the Messenger; he was shaking his head while still keeping it low.

“Fuck. That means they might be in another dimension-”

“Or they may be dead.” the messenger interrupted Samriel and he got a bit annoyed.

“Don’t say that so lightly. It’s a nuisance for me and also more work for you.”

“I don’t mind more work if you pay me. Speaking of that, the usual will be fine but be ready for any additional payment I’ll request.”

“Ok. Anything else?”

Without saying anything, the man made a metal jar appear out of thin air

“One of my informers found this between some rubbles in Tokyo.”

Samriel took the jar, it was cold as it was removed from the freezer not too long ago, and opened it

“What the actual fuck?”

It was half full of human tongues, they were well preserved.

“Did you bring this to the research department?”

“Yes, there were even more before going there.”

“Results?”

“I don’t know, I didn’t ask but they could be from some of your workers, the ones that disappeared.”

“Shit, those terrorists have been dormant since their attack in 1999 and all of a sudden they started attacking again.”

“Are you worried?” the messenger asked sarcastically.

“No, it won’t take long to find them but it’s still annoying, especially if they manage to raise public awareness about ZWPQ actions. Anything else?”

“No, but can I keep the jar? I’m kind of hungry.”

“...Sure.” Samriel gave back the jar to the messenger.

“Thanks! Then, I’m off. We’ll see each other in some years or even before if I manage to find some trace.”

“Good. Now go.” the boss said harshly because he couldn’t withstand that bad smell anymore and without saying anything, the Messenger disappeared.

“Stop here.” Samriel said suddenly to the taxi driver and he stopped the car near a sidewalk, once the passenger was out, the car left and then, it exploded, just like that.

‘Sorry old man, but you heard too much today.’

Samriel checked his wrist watch “It’s past 7 am. I have enough energy to teleport” As he said that, he disappeared out of thin air and reappeared in a completely dark room, with the only things visible being a long table and more than 20 chairs, all occupied; in front of every person, there was a nameplate, with the name and the country they were from. All of them were Zonnikies, each head of a country, with their auras being powerful enough to make human lose their senses and they all had those white masks.

“It seems we are all here.” Samriel said as he sat down at the head of the table.

“First of all, I’m sorry I had to postpone it to this date, but as you already know, I needed some news regarding Dai and Sarah, the two keys to control the gods, and…”

“And…? Where are they?” Asked a certain Kazimir, President of Russia.

“...I can confirm they are still on Earth.”

Samriel’s words generated a confused chatter between the other Zonnikies and one of them raised their hand.

“What do you want to say, Mei Ling(President of China)?”

Mei Ling stood up with great composure and said

“I have one simple doubt, Samriel. You say they are still on Earth, but they still haven’t been found by the Messenger and its informers, correct?”

Samriel nodded “That’s exactly what is happening.”

“Ok, then tell me. We all know how great the Messenge is at his job and usually, in less than a week he finds something, but this time no, it didn’t happen. Are you sure they are still on Earth?”

“Yes, more than sure. I want to remember you they were in contact with Nysilia, she might have found a way to help them hide better before she died.”

“I see. I have nothing to add” she then sat down and another one stood up

“Now Samriel…” started talking Farid(President of the North African Confederation) “You mentioned Nysilia’s death and we all know how and why it happened at this point. What I want to ask you is what will be our next move? You know, her death ruined our main plan, so what do we do now?”

“For now, we’ll concentrate our efforts on finding those two, they are still important pieces of this plan and we won’t change our plans on controlling the gods for the greater good-”

Suddenly, another Zonniki stood up while hitting the table, he was Alexandre (President of France) and the oldest in all the Council.

“You always talk about the greater good but do you actually care about it? O you just want to control the Gods because you are a greedy fucker who just wants more powers?!”

“Alexandre!” Kazimir stood up “You may be the oldest, but you don’t have the authority to speak to Samriel like that. Remember, without him, we wouldn’t be here and there would still be the Gods controlling us.”

“Yeah yeah yeah, whatever. You are just like him, someone who wants to command everyone and unfortunately, you are not the only one here” Alexandre said as he looked at everyone in the room that caused a commotion, with most of them attacking him for his hypocrisy and it all lasted several minutes until Samriel shouted

“SILENCE!” everyone stopped talking and those who stood up, immediately sat down.

“How shameful all of you are. Arguing like little kids, human influence did this to you? Did you forget what we are?”

There was no answer. Samriel punched the table and shouted again “I WANT AN ANSWER. WHAT THE FUCK WE ARE?!”

Every member stood up and said in unison “WE ARE ZONNIKIES!”

“EXACTLY! WE ARE THE ZONNIKIES WHO FOUGHT AGAINST THE GODS! AND FOR WHAT!?”

“TO CREATE A BETTER WORLD!”

“FOR WHO?!”

“FOR US!”

‘Exactly’ Samriel started thinking while looking at all of them ‘We started this to create a new future for us and no one else, we won’t let anyone obstruct our way. Dai and Sarah…I know you are still alive somewhere and I'll find you...at all costs.'