Lord Shadow

EARTH TWO

GLOBAL VENTURE HQ

U.S.A

NEW YORK

The people look like tiny dots from the sky. Like ants. So small. Azief is looking outside his window.

Once upon a time, in another world, he was also among the crowd. Insignificant. There was a time in his youth where he dreams of becomes someone great.

But the more he learns about the world, his heart becomes colder.

His dreams and aspirations die off.

People could not become great anymore….only mediocrity exist then. Dreams are for idiots. Lofty aspirations are for the fools.

The powerful retains their power for eternity, while the lower caste grovels beneath their feet, forced to lick it like a slave.

Nice guy finish last and the evil reign as head of states, rich corporation governs the nation while the politician aid them in their reign.

A new world of slavery was created. To money, power, fame. The rich toast to it while the poor suffers.

Poor people like him. Like clockwork, the world moves on, leaving people like him behind, suppressed forever.

To him, to become a great man himself, he needs to destroy the cog in the machine.

He needs to destroy the system.

Because the world he lived back then was too complicated for him. And for people like him. For sheep like him to live in a world of wolves, they are too gentle.

He was born in mediocrity, lives in mediocrity and probably would have died a mediocre death.

There would be nothing to remember him by. Some people would like that kind of life. A mediocre life in a mediocre world.

And along the way, he began to accept his place in the world.

As another insignificant life, meant to do nothing, but to trust the system, working, paying taxes, paying his debt and dies.

Somewhere along the way, dreams dies off.

A waste of a man, a waste of a life.

And that would have been true for him if not for the fall. The system of government collapse and he attained the fairness he always wanted.

Before, no matter how you worked, you could not change your fate. Before the Fall, moey is equal to power.

The most powerful man is the one who have the most money.

No matter if he worked a thousand years, his wealth will not exceed the one per center.

The moment they were born they possess wealth that even if he is to live another thousand years, his wealth will not reach them.

And for Azief, that doesn’t make sense.

For him, it is not fair.

Maybe because in his youth he naively thought that if you work hard, you would live happy.

If you study hard at university, you will become rich.

But the truth is different. No matter how hard you work, there are certain limits.

No matter how hard you study, in the end you only become a salary man at some large company belonging to the one per center.

But now…. He is different.

Now, he is standing on top of the world with all of the power it could bring and the feeling is intoxicating…at least for a few months before you have to work to earn your keep.

Standing high over the masses, he sighed.

‘I think too positively. That is very unbecoming of me’ he said. Beside him was his butler slash assistant, Al.

‘Al, I was too optimistic.’ He said again sighing as he rubs his forehead.

‘You did sir. But that is not entirely your fault. The effect was good.’ Al said with a calm tone of voice meant to soothe Azief heart

‘Yes, but the benefit decrease with each use. I have given some of it to Will and he has reached Orb Condensing Stage High realm. Now, I could only hope my bets are good’

Azief use all the serum to reach on the threshold of Nine Opening Purification. His meridian right now is Divine Meridian.

It makes him absorbing the energy of the world easier when he summons his Conceptualization.

Conceptualization is like a higher level of attribute.

‘Should I abandon it?’ Azief ask himself as he looks outside. But he shakes his head.

‘When did I ever turn so cowardly? I’ve made my decision to reach Eternal Spring before I got out from this world. And I won’t turn back on my word’ he decided

‘Al’ he turned back as he looks at his butler and asks

‘What about Will?’

‘He is still in LA. Training. I have been keeping watch over him like you ordered’ Al replies

‘Good’ Azief nodded. Al could not do many things here but at least being a surveillance system is something he can do.

‘You are dismissed’ Azief said and AL nodded as he dissipates into the air.

Azief then sit back down at his chair and began reviewing the documents. All the while he is thinking about Will.

It has been a year since Will has come to this earth. And he is pretty famous now. The Dark Speedster. Saving people in a flash.

A hero like him. Now there are two heroes in Earth Two.

In a year, they have been many cases that they solved together.

When he first revealed himself a year ago, a few people fear that he is like the Red Speedster but his effort has finally open some hearts.

In LA Will is heralded as a hero.

But the Capitol remains cold.

But while he is happy for Will achievement, he did not forget to remind him of Red Speedster.

Will have begun seeing the Red Speedster even more frequently.

When he runs fast enough, he could see him, running beside him, siphoning a bit of his speed, trying to get out from the state of limbo he is in.

Will at least now, did not freak out as much as the first time he saw the Red Speedster.

Azief has a theory on how the Red Speedster arrived on Earth Prime.

There must be another Speed Source there contained inside the World Orb. That is the only explanation.

Speedster is sensitive to the Speed Source. That much is clear from his research of the Red Speedster.

From what he gather, the Red Speedster is inside the Speed Source, recuperating.

It was the Speed Source that brings him to the closest speedster that he could find on Earth Prime.

Azief also believes that it is also because of the singularity that it becomes so easy for the Red Speedster to traverse between universes.

Will need to lure him out.

Azief could help him, but in the end if Will did not defeat the Red Speedster, then the Red Speedster will become like a leech for him, taking away his speed.

There are also other problems in his life that seems to multiply as the longer he lives in the Earth.

No matter if it’s in this world or that world, trouble seems to follow him.

Alexander King, his business rival is doing some suspicious movements. A year, after his plans and scheme was foiled he seems to be moving again.

Alexander King is not only his business rival but also his other persona rival.

Not to mention, it seems that King wanted to enter into politics.

If he does, then Azief movement will be even more restrictive. And then there is Colonel Hargrave.

Will found some disturbing evidence about the Colonel in LA.

And he needs to check whether it was true or not. An undersea research lab under the sea designed to defeat him.

Another threat to him.

And it is amusing that he is not the only one thinking of creating an undersea research lab.

It seems even the military thinks of it.

The reason why Will was in the possession of that information is because Will and Colonel Hargrave relationship is not what you call cordial.

They tangled a few times.

‘Haish.’ He said as he signs the last documents for the day.

He then lay back on his chair.

Right now, he couldn’t find any quest because he is too busy with work. But then he smiles.

At least, Phoenix Initiative has been launched.

The Phoenix Initiative is his own project consisting of a team of scientist that is reverse engineering the Hyper Soldier Serum to create more potent and stable serum.

It takes a year for Azief to consume the whole serum.

It seems excessive drinking of the serum would create an effect of berserk in him which is why it takes him a year to consume all the serum that he have.

On paper, it seems that Azief is doing this to cure cancer and degenerative disease but his main objective was to have a main supply of serum that could increase his level.

If this works, then he might not even have to use his contribution points to buy things from the Shop.

He doesn’t know what to do today. He should be saving people but it’s not like everyday plane crashes and meteor come down from the skies.

That is the kind of stuff that gives a lot of contribution. Not to mention since Will is here now, there is a lot less work to be done.

And the police and the peacekeeping agency in this world are also efficient. The Breachers have also not being able to reach this Earth because Dr Chandra has closed all the breaches.

There is really not much to do. The space waste has already been cleaned by him a few months after he came to this earth to gain contribution points.

Things like war or political situations, Azief did not want to meddle with it.

Better tries to understand the ring. He mused

Ring Of Creation Songs , Ring Of Forbidden Words, Ring Of Great Summoning, Ring Of All Elements, Ring Of Grand Formation, Ring Of Ultimate Sealing, Ring Of Eternal Darkness, Ring Of Perfect Symbols, Ring Of Ancients, Ring Of Runic Creation

From the Ring of Runic Creations, he has learned a few of runes.

Right now, he has learned the Basic Runes

First was Eolh. The Rune of Protection. It is a powerful rune of protection and, spiritually, it symbolizes reaching up to the divine.

However the runes have different meaning if they are in the vertical position, converse position or reverse position.

Then there is Aesir rune. The rune of knowledge, wisdom, and communication. it is also the rune of prophecy and revelation.

Then there is Beorc. The rune of Rebirth and fertility. It refers to renewal, regeneration, purification, healing, and recovery.

Runes of Daerg. The runes of a new dawn.

These four runes are what he has comprehended from the ring and each of these runes can be combined with each other to create buffs.

There must be many other runes to be learned but for now this is the few runes he has learned.

From the ring of Creation he has learned the Song of Poisonous Mist.

Singing the song, it would cover an entire valley with poisonous mist born from Azief evil thoughts.

The more negative he is thinking, the more potent the poison becomes and the louder the Song becomes.

From the Ring of Great Summoning he summons the Steed of Abigor. A semi skeletal winged horse which brings a legion of shadows behind it, with dark mist swirling under his hooves.

It is truly a terrifying sight

From the Ring of Grand Formation, he manages to learn the Formation of Seven Pillars of Light and the Twelve Swords of Heaven Formation.

From the Ring of Ultimate Sealing, he manages to learn Ten Thousand Beast Seal and Blood Sealing the Mountains.

For the Ten Thousand Beast Seal, he needs to collect ten thousand soul of beast and create a seed of seal which can be stores inside the ring to activate the sealing when the time is necessary.

For the Blood Sealing the Mountains, he must cough his own vitality and refines the blood with his energy to create a blood that could seal a mountain.

Azief discovers that he can cough his own vitality.

For the Pillar Formation stage, one pillars needs to be shattered to create a drop of blood vitality.

The pain of shattering a pillar is a hundred times more painful than anyone could imagine.

For Orb Condensing, they need to shatters one orb to create two drop of blood vitality.

For the Energy Disperse stage to cough their blood vitality they need to shatter their own conceptualization and by doing so, losing their own memories about their totem.

There are some of the rings that he didn’t learn anything from them.

Like the Ring of Forbidden Words, Ring of Perfect Symbols, Ring of Eternal Darkness and Ring of Ancients.

To learn something from the ring Azief learns that he needs to feed it with his energy.

The stronger he became the easier for him to learn from the rings. It seems in the rings there are myriads of knowledge waiting to be let out.

Azief is now focusing his contribution points to help him understand more about the rings.

But it’s not like he can force it so he is stumbled right now. The Tutmos quest was once he accidentally found when he was checking some ancient book.

But since then he hardly found any quest to increase his strength.

He got up from his seat and look outside again and he ponders on his situation. He has always been reactive. Professor Jung has cut his ties with the GLA.

Maybe it’s time he takes action first.

‘Should I ask Will?’ he contemplates on asking Will but then he shakes his head.

‘Will is near to tap the Speed Source. If he can tap it one day he will have all the abilities of a speedster.’

He looks outside again and he smiles bitterly this time.

‘I guess I have to do it by myself’

***