AN : I know it's like side tracked but i can't help it lol and don't worry it will be important to story later
Thursday night, 15 August 2001.
Inside his private workshop office on the 51st floor of ZAGE Tower, Zaboru stretched his arms above his head and let out a long, tired breath. The clock had already passed 19:00. Tomorrow would be the grand release of the AKAI Black Berry Z01, and ZAGE Tower had been moving like a machine all week. Engineers, marketers, AKAI staff, store managers, logistics teams, and executives had all been pushing toward the same day.
But for the first time in hours, Zaboru's mind was not thinking about phones, sales projections, Apple, iPlay, or the coming media storm.
He was thinking about meat.
A lot of meat.
"Sigh… somehow I really want to eat steak today," Zaboru muttered, leaning back in his chair with a tired chuckle. "Not just a little either. I mean a lot… Yakiniku restaurant should be great.."
He stood up from his desk and began organizing several papers near his workstation. The 51st floor was not his normal office. It was his personal workshop, a private space filled with prototypes, experimental documents, design notes, personal research, and several devices that were not supposed to be seen by ordinary employees. Very few people had permission to come here directly. His secretary, Yumi Ichijou, was one of them, but today was Thursday night, and Zaboru had already told her to leave early because tomorrow would be intense.
That was why, when a knock suddenly came from the door, Zaboru froze.
His expression changed instantly.
He looked toward the door without moving. "Who is that…?"
The knock came again.
Calm.
Polite.
Almost patient.
That made it worse.
Zaboru's eyes sharpened. He did not immediately answer. Instead, he quietly called Zaborn from his Deep Memory Dive. A second later, his ghost friend appeared beside him, floating casually at first, until he noticed Zaboru's expression.
"Bro?" Zaborn asked.
Zaboru lowered his voice. "Check outside the room. Someone is knocking."
Zaborn's playful face disappeared. He nodded and quickly passed through the wall. A few seconds later, he returned, and this time his expression was much more serious. "It's one middle-aged man. European-looking. Blond hair, white skin, expensive suit. He seems unarmed, but he is definitely not normal. And bro…" Zaborn paused slightly. "He came from the rooftop. Using some kind of silent plane."
Zaboru's eyes widened a fraction. "Silent plane?"
"Yeah. It's not a helicopter. Not exactly a normal aircraft either. It landed so quietly I almost thought it was floating."
Zaboru clicked his tongue softly. In his mind, several thoughts moved at once. Silent plane? Is that a thing in this world already? No, it shouldn't be possible. Not publicly, at least. But if it's hidden technology, then maybe…
His hand slowly moved toward his pocket. Inside was a small emergency device connected to Akechi. If Zaboru was ever in danger, pressing it would send a signal directly to Akechi Hamazou. It was a simple precaution, one Akechi had insisted on after too many incidents around Zaboru.
Zaboru pressed it subtly.
Nothing happened.
The device did not respond.
The signal was jammed.
Zaboru stared at it for a brief moment, then sighed quietly. "So he came prepared."
Zaborn floated closer. "What do we do?"
Zaboru returned the device to his pocket and looked at the door again. "We hear what he wants first. If he came all this way just to kill me, he wouldn't knock politely." His expression became calm, but his eyes remained cold. "And knowing Akechi-san, he probably noticed the interference already. He'll be on his way."
Zaborn nodded, though he still looked tense. "Be careful, bro. That guy's smile is weird."
Zaboru chuckled softly. "That is not comforting."
Then he walked to the door and opened it.
Standing outside was a middle-aged European man with blond hair, pale skin, and a neat suit that looked expensive without being loud. His posture was relaxed, his expression gentle, and his smile was warm in a way that should have felt harmless.
But it did not.
It felt too polished.
Too perfect.
The man bowed slightly. "Quite a long wait, wasn't it? My apologies. And please, do not worry. I mean no harm."
Zaboru acted surprised, widening his eyes slightly as if he had not already known someone was there. "Who are you?"
The man smiled. "A visitor."
Then, without asking, he took one small step forward as if intending to enter the workshop.
Zaboru immediately moved his arm and blocked him.
The man stopped.
The smile did not vanish.
Zaboru smiled back, but his gaze was sharp. "Not here. This room is private. If you want to talk, we talk somewhere else."
For a second, the hallway became silent.
Then the man chuckled. "Careful. Good. I expected nothing less."
Zaboru stepped out and closed the workshop door behind him. He did not lock it in an obvious way, but the security system recognized his movement and sealed the entrance automatically.
"Follow me," Zaboru said.
The man gave a light nod. "With pleasure."
They walked down from the 51st floor to the 50th floor, where Zaboru's official executive office and meeting room were located. Neither of them spoke during the walk. The silence stretched between them, but it was not empty. It was full of quiet measurement. Zaboru could feel the man observing him from the side, still smiling with that soft, pleasant expression.
That smile bothered him.
It was not the smile of someone kind.
It was the smile of someone who had practiced kindness until it became a mask.
When they entered the 50th-floor meeting office, Zaboru gestured toward one of the seats. The man sat down comfortably, as if he had been invited for tea rather than infiltrating one of the most secure corporate towers in Japan. Zaboru sat across from him, calm and still.
The man looked around the room with mild interest. "So this is the official office. Much less intimate than the room above."
Zaboru's eyes narrowed slightly. "You know a lot for an uninvited guest."
"I know enough," the man replied, his smile widening. "But not everything. That is partly why I came."
Zaboru leaned back. "Then introduce yourself."
The man placed one hand over his chest politely. "My name is Leonard. Leonard Epstein." His smile became sharper. "And I am part of a certain organization. We call ourselves… Illuminati."
For a brief moment, Zaboru's heart reacted.
Epstein.
Illuminati.
Those names were not unfamiliar to him.
In his previous world, Epstein was a name tied to something disgusting, something rotten, something Zaboru hated even remembering. Illuminati, meanwhile, had mostly existed in his old life as conspiracy theories, memes, secret-society jokes, and internet nonsense. But now, sitting across from him, was a man who calmly said the name as if he were introducing a respectable company.
Zaboru kept his expression controlled.
His face did not change.
Inside, however, his thoughts sharpened like blades.
"So," Zaboru said evenly, "you entered ZAGE Tower without an official appointment, came from the rooftop using hidden aircraft technology, jammed emergency signals, and now you tell me you belong to Illuminati." He paused and smiled faintly. "Should I treat this as a business visit, or a threat?"
Leonard laughed softly, almost pleasantly. "A threat? No, no. That would be far too crude. If I wanted to threaten you, Mr. Renkonan, I would not begin with conversation."
"That does not answer my question."
Leonard crossed one leg over the other. "I came to invite you."
"Invite me?"
"Yes. To join us."
Zaboru stared at him.
Leonard's smile became more confident. "You are powerful, intelligent, famous, and influential. You are not merely rich. Rich men are common. You are not merely a creator. Creators are useful, but often emotional. You are something rarer. You are a system-builder. Games, consoles, animation, publishing, sports, phones, internet culture, digital stores, youth communities… you create structures that ordinary people willingly enter."
Zaboru remained silent.
Leonard continued calmly, "That is why we are interested in you. The Black Berry Z01, for example, is not merely a phone. It is a communication gate. BBM, ZAGE ID, Little Steam, ZAGE Forum access… all of it gives you influence over habits. And habits, Mr. Renkonan, are far more powerful than laws."
Zaboru's eyes sharpened slightly.
Leonard noticed and smiled. "See? You understand."
"What exactly do you want?"
"What we have always wanted," Leonard said. "To shape the world properly. To guide it. To control the chaos before it devours itself. The masses are emotional, short-sighted, easily distracted, easily manipulated, and dangerously numerous. Left alone, they ruin everything. But guided by superior minds, they become useful."
Zaboru's expression slowly cooled.
Leonard leaned forward slightly, his voice still soft. "You agree, don't you? A genius like you must understand. Common humans are numbers. Resources. Movement. Data. If you organize them correctly, the world improves. If you leave them to their own instincts, the world rots."
Zaboru did not answer immediately.
Then he spoke with quiet firmness. "No."
Leonard tilted his head.
Zaboru continued, "I completely disagree. People are not numbers. Numbers help us understand scale, but they are not the people themselves. Every user, customer, employee, fan, player, reader, student, parent, child… they are not statistics to me."
Leonard's smile did not disappear, but his eyes became colder.
Zaboru leaned forward slightly. "ZAGE works because people trust us. Not because we control them. They choose our games because they enjoy them. They use our services because they find value in them. They enter our ecosystem because they want to be there. The moment I start seeing them as cattle to guide, ZAGE becomes something rotten."
Leonard chuckled. "Very noble."
"It is not nobility. It is principle."
"Principles are flexible under enough pressure."
"Mine are not for sale."
Leonard's smile widened again, but now there was something ugly beneath it. "I expected you to refuse at first."
"At first?"
"Yes. Men like you enjoy believing they stand apart from the system. You think your empire exists because of your will, your talent, your friends, your family, your employees. That is sweet. But sooner or later, you will work with us. For us. Whether willingly or not, the result will be the same."
Zaboru's gaze became colder. "You sound very confident."
"I am."
"Then you should already know my answer."
Leonard laughed softly. "I do. But an answer today is not always an answer tomorrow."
The air changed.
Zaboru felt it before Leonard moved.
The gentle man vanished.
Leonard's smile twisted into something sharp and predatory. His right hand slipped into his jacket, and in the same breath, a pocket knife flashed under the meeting room light.
Then he lunged.
The speed was insane.
Most people would not have seen the movement clearly. One second Leonard was seated, and the next he was already in Zaboru's space, knife aimed with terrifying precision. But Zaboru was not most people. His Enlightenment Body reacted before panic could form. His experience, Bruce Lee training , instincts, and enhanced perception aligned instantly.
Zaboru sidestepped, folding his knee upward to strike Leonard's knife hand before the blade could complete its path.
But Leonard changed.
Before Zaboru's knee connected, Leonard tossed the knife from his right hand to his left with unnatural fluidity. His body bent sideways in a way that looked almost boneless, slipping past the strike like a snake avoiding a spear. In the same motion, he pivoted behind Zaboru, aiming the blade toward his back.
Fast.
Too fast.
But Zaboru remained calm.
Instead of forcing his failed attack, he used the folded knee as he pivoted a bit, rotated his body, and extended his leg backward in a sharp snapping motion. His feet collided with Leonard's wrist just before the knife reached him.
The blade flew from Leonard's hand and spun across the floor.
Metal clattered against polished wood.
For a fraction of a second, the room became silent.
Then Leonard laughed.
"HAHAHA! I knew it!" he shouted, his pleasant mask finally cracking. "You are not normal. No ordinary corporate nerd deflects that kind of strike."
Zaboru landed lightly and adjusted his stance. His expression was calm, but his eyes had become dangerous. "You said you meant no harm."
Leonard grinned. "I lied."
"You are not very good at invitations."
"That was not the real invitation," Leonard said. "That was confirmation."
Zaboru narrowed his eyes.
Leonard's grin widened. "You are exactly as interesting as we thought. Maybe even more."
Leonard Grinned "Join us Zaboru… you have hidden desire right…? We can fulfill that no matter how "Uncommon" that is..!"
Zaboru wanted to puke and he was really pissed now as he ready his fighting stance.
Suddenly, Leonard's expression shifted. His head turned slightly toward the window, as if he had sensed something outside the room. His face twisted with irritation.
"Tsk. You ruined my fun…" he muttered. Then his eyes sharpened with disgust. "Damn Arachne."
Zaboru's gaze changed.
Arachne?
Before Zaboru could ask anything, Leonard moved.
He dashed toward the large window with frightening speed. Zaboru reacted immediately and chased after him, but Leonard had already reached into his jacket again. This time, he threw something small to the floor.
Zaboru's instincts screamed.
Flashbang.
He closed his eyes and turned his face away just before the room exploded with white light and violent sound.
The window shattered.
Glass burst outward into the night.
For a second, the entire office became chaos: ringing ears, scattered papers, flashing light, broken glass, and rushing wind from the open window. Zaboru opened his eyes quickly, already moving toward the broken window despite the afterimage burning across his vision.
Outside, Leonard was gone.
Far above the city lights, something invisible distorted the air for a brief moment. A silent aircraft hovered just beyond the tower, almost impossible to see unless someone knew where to look. Its outline shimmered like heat above asphalt, then disappeared into the dark sky without a sound.
Zaboru stood near the shattered window, eyes narrowed.
"So it really exists…"
His jaw tightened.
Leonard Epstein.
Illuminati.
Arachne.
Silent aircraft.
And an invitation that was never truly an invitation.
Zaboru exhaled slowly, his expression becoming colder.
Tomorrow was supposed to be the release of the Black Berry Z01.
But now, it seemed the phone had attracted more than customers, journalists, and competitors.
It had attracted the hidden world.
Not long after, Akechi arrived at the 51st floor. The moment he saw the mess and sensed what had happened, his expression changed, and he quickly moved toward Zaboru.
To be continued.
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