Saga of the Two-World Emperor
Volume 1: A Spark in the Ashes
Chapter 4 – The Final Piece on the Board
The private elevator doors, made of polished, gleaming metal, slid open silently, revealing the silhouette of a man standing calmly in the dim light of the hallway. He was tall and slender, dressed in a meticulously tailored dark trench coat.
Aden looked up, his vision almost completely gone. The blood loss made the world spin and blur, but he kept his eyes fixed on the figure… trying to remember the last image before it all ended.
And in that instant… as the man stepped out of the elevator and into the room, the light from the desk lamp illuminated his face clearly.
It wasn't one of the men in black…
It wasn't Anna's cold, unfeeling eyes…
It was a face he never, ever expected to see in this situation.
The face of Julian Monterro.
His business rival for years… a cunning wolf of the financial world who always wore a smile, but whose eyes were cold and unreadable. They were not sworn enemies, but they were not friends either. They were like two chess players on opposite sides of the board, respecting each other's intellect but always ready to checkmate the other if given the chance.
His appearance here… at this time… was it the worst kind of coincidence, or part of a plan more complex than he had imagined?
Julian stopped in the middle of the room. His sharp, gray eyes quickly scanned the surroundings… the signs of a struggle… Aden's body lying in a pool of blood… and most importantly, the computer screen displaying the progress bar of a large file upload.
He showed no signs of shock. Only a flicker of surprise and interest flashed in his eyes for a moment before being replaced by his usual composure.
"It seems… I've interrupted your rather exciting party, Aden."
Julian said, his voice smooth but laced with a hint of mockery.
Aden tried to form a reply, but all that came out was a cough, accompanied by a clot of blood.
"What… are you doing here…"
"I came to see you," Julian replied, walking closer, his eyes glancing at the upload bar. "A little bird told me your empire was about to fall… I just wanted to see with my own eyes if it was true. But it seems… the situation is far more interesting than I thought."
[02:45 minutes]
Time was running out. The upload bar was at 85%.
Aden knew he couldn't fight. The only thing he could do now was use his mind… use his words to buy time.
"It was their doing… wasn't it," Aden said, his voice a hoarse whisper. "The ones you hate to the bone… the 'Consortium'."
The word "Consortium" made Julian's smile freeze for a fraction of a second.
"It seems you've gotten much smarter… right before your death."
"This file…" Aden pointed to the computer screen. "This is everything… the secrets… the financial trails… everything to destroy them… and to destroy you too."
It was a blatant lie. There was no information on Julian in that file. But it was a gamble… a way to create hesitation in the wolf standing before him.
Julian chuckled softly.
"Interesting… very interesting." He walked over to the desk, leaning down to examine the computer screen. "A file named 'Pandora's_Box'… how fitting."
He looked back at Aden.
"And why do you think I would let this file be sent out? Letting the Consortium fall along with you… wouldn't that be in my best interest?"
[01:30 minutes]
92%…
"Because you… are not the type to be satisfied with scraps from someone else's table," Aden shot back quickly, despite his ragged breaths. "You want everything… you want control. Letting them simply collapse is too easy for someone like you… but if you get this file… you'll be the only one who holds everyone's secrets… You'll be the new 'God' of this city."
It was the most dangerous proposal… offering the most lethal weapon to his most dangerous rival.
Julian's eyes narrowed. He was deep in thought. Aden knew he had thrown a bait that Julian would find hard to resist. Ambition was Julian's greatest weakness.
"An interesting offer…" Julian murmured. "But it's too risky… Why should I trust the words of a dying man?"
"Because you have nothing to lose," Aden retorted. "And because you know damn well… that if you were in my situation… you would do the exact same thing."
Those words hit their mark.
[00:45 minutes]
98%…
Silence once again filled the room, broken only by the sound of the rain, the clock, and Aden's shallow breathing.
Julian remained motionless, his eyes fixed on the upload bar that was nearing completion…
[00:10 minutes]
99%…
[00:05 minutes]
Aden's consciousness began to fade. The world in front of him turned to black…
[Upload Complete!]
The notification sound from the computer chimed along with the message on the screen. It was the most beautiful sound Aden had ever heard. He managed a weak smile… He had done it…
"Excellent… truly excellent."
Julian's voice was right next to his ear.
"You did it, Aden… you've successfully lit the fuse."
Aden felt his body being gently turned over. He saw Julian looking down at him with a complex expression… a mixture of admiration, pity, and excitement.
"As a reward for this gift… I'll tell you something interesting," Julian whispered. "The one who stabbed you… wasn't directly from the Consortium… but the person you trusted most… Anna wasn't forced. She planned this whole thing from the very beginning… to take your place."
The final truth… was crueler than the knife that had pierced his body.
"Ugh…"
"This city is about to get a lot more fun… Don't you go dying on me just yet, Aden," Julian continued. "It would be terribly boring… without you as a rival."
Julian stood up to his full height. He didn't look back at Aden again. He unplugged the hard drive from the computer and slipped it into his coat pocket. In his mind, this game was over, and he was the winner who had acquired the most powerful new weapon.
He walked back to the elevator without hurrying.
The elevator doors closed, leaving Aden to drown in his physical pain, the newly revealed truth, and the last few moments of his life… all alone.
[00:01 minutes]
His time… was up.
Making sure he was alone, he used his last ounce of consciousness to utter a command in his mind…
"System… go… back…"
[Do you wish to use 1 point to transmigrate back to the Second World?]
"Confirm…"
In the silent penthouse, with only the sound of the rain outside… Aden's body suddenly dissolved into millions of faint blue particles of light… and vanished into thin air without a trace.
As for Aden… his final consciousness faded as the light consumed everything… He was going back… back to the frail body of Adrian…
He had survived… but he had also unleashed an even more dangerous wolf upon his world.
(End of Chapter 4)