Magical Heritage

Chapter 23:The Meaning of Power.

Static, Ruek, Fox, Sorra, Amy, and Ulrich walked through the portal and looked around the area they were in. It looked like some somewhat futuristic society. They were in a massive city, and while they did look out of place, they all thought nothing of it. Fox looked around to see if they could get any clues, she couldn't sense normal mana now due to the anomaly mana. "Could one of you scan the area? Let's hope it gives off a good energy signature." Ruek nodded and closed his eyes, scanning the area for any strong source of mana, when he got the signature, he pointed to a building called Eternal Industries. Fox giggled a little, "That's an odd name for a company. Alright, guys let's go retrieve this weapon!" Just when they went to the building, Ulrich was gone, and no one could sense him either. Still, they continued forward. They entered the building and were greetings by things that would only be seen in a mansion. White marble floors, paintings, there was even a large aquarium in the center. Walking could be heard as Static turned to look, his eyes then widened. "There's no way.." Fox then turned to him.

"What do you mean?-" She then saw who stood in front of her, as well as everyone else. "N-no way..." Sorra saw a man with short black hair with glasses on, light skin, having on a lot of expensive jewelry. This was Codicia Eternal, The 8th Developer. "C-Codicia?" Static looked up at the tall man. Codicia nodded. "My friends! Welcome! What a pleasant surprise!" He laughed and clapped his hands. "Come, come! I have not seen you guys in the longest! I see you've also made some new friends! Let me show you around." He said with a smile on his face, while Fox, Sorra, and Static had a look of confusion, but decided to cautiously follow. "Here at Eternal Industries, we strive to make a perfect and better world." He showed them around the building. Some rooms were scientists doing and testing their research, while others were robots manufacturing other things. "We're the number one producer of pretty much all resources. We have companies all over the world." He laughed. "Come." They then stepped on a circular pad, Codicia then smirked. "Computer, up." Then a voice spoke. "What floor, sir?" Codicia then sighed. "Top floor."

They then shot up into the air, and then then the ceiling opened up. Once they were through, it closed and they were in a much smaller room. One with a door ahead of it. He opened the door, and there sat a long table with 5 other people sitting in chairs, Codicia sitting in the middle. Once he sat down he crossed his legs and leaned back. "Go on, take a seat." The group then took a seat and Sorra looked around. There was a glass roof as well. "So, what brings you all here?" Fox sighed. "Cut the bullshit Codicia, we know you have an anima weapon here." Codicia seemed surprised and stood up, placing his hands behind his back and staring out the window. "Hm. It seems after all this time, the first thing you want is to take something from me. You know, that game company could've been our ticket to the high life. We could've lived in mansions, gone to fancy restaurants, all that stuff. When you kicked me out of the company, I was down on my luck, I gambled all my money, I was homeless, all that stuff. Then, your little disaster happened."

Codicia turned around. "I remember it vividly. I ran to survive the horrible creatures, gained a few levels, then, I found these." He raised his hand and a small square opened up in the tiles. Then a small box containing a pair of black gloves with green crystals in them. "These must be what you are looking for. When I found them, I found this girl. She was upset, distraught, and angry. She went on about how she was murdered by something called a Verger, which are either students or servants of gods. Then it got me thinking, why is our world so bad? It's because of the gods. They don't bother making things right. Anyways, she inspired me to make my own company, so I traveled to this world." He turned around to face them. "At first, it was smooth sailing. However, when starting a massive company you gotta take other things into account, for instance, governments. It's simple, you pay everyone off, and make sure you stifle any competition. Squander anyone that has the thought of 'hope' or something like that. You see guys, I have a question, what is the meaning of power?" They stayed silent.