(3rd Person POV)
One week since Arthur revealed his true nature to the world.
The shockwaves were still reverberating. Even Altair Station—whose angels had always looked down on the mortal realm with casual arrogance—was rattled. They'd witnessed Arthur dismantle a Solarus avatar effortlessly. That single demonstration had changed everything.
General Philip issued new protocols immediately: no angels were to descend without explicit authorization. Only Mithrael, Scarlet, and a handful of other powerful angels remained in the mortal world, observing this new threat with extreme caution.
Meanwhile, Arthur stopped hiding completely.
His first move was subtle but brilliant: he redesigned the Hellfire Studios logo to incorporate divine imagery. The new intro that would play before every film featured a statue—himself, rendered as the God of Entertainment, holding a torch that blazed with creative fire.
Like the Columbia Pictures lady with her torch, but far more deliberate in its purpose.
Every time someone watched a Hellfire film, they'd see that image. Gradually, unconsciously, they'd begin associating entertainment itself with Arthur's divine presence. Worship through repeated exposure.
Even Solarus followers, Moon Goddess devotees, and those who prayed to the God of Craftsman would absorb that influence without realizing it.
Beyond the logo, Arthur began openly expanding his Dionysus cult beyond the Empirica continent. Missionaries moved into Evros and throughout Anatolia, spreading the faith with surprising success.
More followers meant more power. Simple mathematics.
But Arthur knew the fastest path to genuine worship remained his specialty: filmmaking. Movies touched people emotionally in ways sermons never could.
---
Arthur stood in the United States of Empirica with Billy Dark, surveying vast stretches of undeveloped land.
Billy glanced at the empty fields, then at Arthur. "So... this was supposed to be for that Human Show project?" He kept his tone carefully neutral, though the concept had disturbed him when Arthur first explained it.
"Was," Arthur confirmed. "Plans changed."
Billy hesitated, then asked cautiously, "What made you change your mind?"
Arthur's gaze remained on the landscape. "None of your business."
An awkward silence followed. Billy shifted uncomfortably, wondering if he'd overstepped.
But Arthur's expression softened slightly, a small smile touching his lips as he remembered Firfel's voice—sharp with indignation when he'd told her about the project.
"Are you insane? You want to trap people in a fake reality for entertainment? That's not art, Arthur. That's cruelty! I won't let you do something so immoral!"
"It's just—"
"No! Absolutely not! You're better than this. Or at least you should be!"
She'd been furious. And completely right.
Arthur cleared his throat. "Anyway, new plan. I'm building a technology hub here—companies focused on computers, software development, electronics manufacturing. All concentrated in one area to encourage collaboration and innovation."
Billy's interest sparked despite himself. "A hub? Like... clustering tech companies together?"
"Exactly. Horn Kingdom doesn't have the space or infrastructure for something this large. But here?" Arthur gestured at the empty land. "Perfect location. Good climate, access to ports, room to expand."
Billy's mind raced through the implications. Companies would need suppliers, housing for workers, restaurants, services. The economic impact would be enormous. And if Dark Corporation positioned itself at the center...
"That could actually work," Billy said, genuine enthusiasm creeping into his voice. "Much better potential than—" He caught himself, but the thought finished in his mind: 'Much better than that disturbing Human Show idea.'
"If we're doing this," Billy continued, "I should consider relocating Dark Corporation here. Being at the center of that ecosystem would be valuable."
Arthur nodded. "That's exactly what I was thinking. Get the paperwork started."
Billy pulled out his notepad, already sketching preliminary plans. This he could get behind.
---
Two weeks later, Arthur made another announcement that dominated headlines worldwide.
He was marrying Firfel Evergreen. The wedding would take place in a few months, a grand celebration in Horn Kingdom.
The news exploded. Every major publication covered it. The richest demon in the world, marrying the famous elf actress. Everything Arthur did was news now—his wealth and influence made it inevitable.
Arthur ignored the media frenzy. He had a film to make.
The Matrix.
Casting had wrapped weeks ago. Now production was finally beginning.
Keanu had cut his long John Wick hair, now sporting a shorter style that made him look younger, more innocent. Perfect for Neo.
The role of Morpheus had gone to Sebastian Wind—a bald demon actor with commanding presence and a voice that could make even simple dialogue sound profound. Sebastian still couldn't believe his luck. Joseph Jackson himself had auditioned for the part and lost to him. The thought was surreal.
The budget was eighty million global dollars. Massive by most standards, though reading the script, Sebastian understood why. The scope was enormous.
'How does Arthur's mind even work?' Sebastian wondered every time he reviewed his scenes. The concepts, the philosophy, the action—it was unlike anything he'd ever read.
And playing opposite Keanu would be Scarlet.
The angel. Despite knowing Arthur's true identity now, she'd continued her acting career. Partially because she genuinely enjoyed it. Partially because it gave her a perfect cover for spying—both for Arthur and, technically, for Altair Station.
A dangerous game. One wrong move and either side could eliminate her.
---
Day one of production arrived.
The crew assembled with palpable excitement. This was Arthur Pendragon's next project—his first since revealing his divine nature. Everyone wanted to be part of it.
Arthur felt the same anticipation. But his reasons went deeper than the others realized.
If he made The Matrix successful enough, popular enough, he could visit that world. Enter it as he had with other fictional realms he'd created. And there, he could potentially learn Neo's abilities—the power to manipulate reality itself within a digital framework.
'What if this world operates on similar principles?' Arthur sometimes wondered. 'What if understanding The Matrix's rules helps me understand the deeper mechanics of reality here?'
It was worth exploring.
"Alright everyone!" Arthur called out. "Let's start with the opening. Scarlet, you're up."
The angel nodded, moving to her position.
Cameras rolled.
Scarlet settled into character—Trinity, a hacker being hunted. She'd auditioned specifically for this role after reading the script. The concept fascinated her: a reality that existed entirely within a massive computer system, with most people completely unaware they were trapped in a simulation.
She sat before the computer in the sparse hotel room, fingers flying across the keyboard.
The door burst open. Police flooded in, weapons raised. "Freeze! Hands where we can see them!"
Trinity's fingers didn't stop typing. Her eyes remained fixed on the screen, ignoring the guns pointed at her head.
"I said freeze!"
She hit one final key. Then slowly turned to face them, hands rising.
The lead officer approached cautiously. "Get on the ground! Now!"
Trinity moved—but not down. She launched herself at the nearest officer in a spinning kick that shouldn't have been possible. Her body defied physics, moving with inhuman speed and precision.
The fight erupted. Trinity dismantled the police with brutal efficiency, her movements flowing like water. Officers flew across the room, slammed into walls, crumpled to the floor.
Then the Agents arrived.
Arthur called cut after Trinity's escape through the phone booth, the line going dead just as the garbage truck crushed it.
"Perfect!" Arthur grinned. "That's the opening. Let's keep this momentum."
---
Days one through five passed without incident. The production ran smoothly, each scene captured with precision.
They filmed Neo's introduction—a cubicle drone living a double life, his apartment cluttered with illegal software, the mysterious message appearing on his computer screen: "Follow the white rabbit."
The nightclub scene where he first met Trinity. Her whispered warning: "They're watching you."
Then Morpheus' phone call. Neo trapped in his office building, Agents closing in. The choice: trust a stranger's voice or surrender to the men in black suits.
The interrogation room where Agent Smith placed the mechanical bug in Neo's stomach—the crew spent hours getting that effect right, the squirming metal insect that burrowed into flesh.
The moment of truth came next. Morpheus across the table, two pills in his palm. "You take the blue pill, the story ends. You take the red pill, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes."
Keanu's hand trembling slightly as Neo reached for the red pill. His face as the world began dissolving around him.
Arthur filmed Neo's awakening in the pod—surrounded by thousands of other pods stretching endlessly in all directions. The moment he saw his real body for the first time, hairless and weak, tubes connected to every art of him.
The training programs followed. Neo's disbelief: "This isn't real?"
Morpheus' patient explanation: "What is real? How do you define real?"