The Lord of Space was also searching like Janus, but it seemed like he was also having a hard time finding what he was looking for.
From one city to another, he kept changing locations as he searched each city and soon.
...
Ryder and Alice had reached the empty.
"Where are the others?" Alice asked Ryder as she entered what seemed like a ghost mansion. Not a single person could be seen here.
"The staff was assigned to a different place. A different staff will come and take over soon," Ryder lied to Alice as she sat on the sofa, finally relaxing.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
" You seem tired," Alice pointed out. "Why donât you go and rest in your room? Iâll prepare something to eat for you."
"Th-"
Ting!
As Ryder was about to reply, he heard the doorbell.
"It seems like Shu is back," Ryder said as he started walking towards the door. Alice also followed behind him.
As Ryder opened the door, he found a man standing at the door. The man seemed to be dressed in a black coat and black pants.
"Who might you be?" Ryder asked the man, curious.
"Ah, are you Miss Alice?" Ignoring Ryder, the man asked Alice.
"Yeah. Who are you?" Alice asked.
"Greetings, Miss Alice. I am from the Necrosis Corporation. You actually agreed to take part in our billion-dollar event of Divinity. To brief the selected players about that event, they are invited to the Headquarters of Necrosis in the New Capital," the man informed Alice.
"We actually tried contacting you regarding it on the number we were given, but it seemed to be off. Seeing the importance of the event and your participation, I came here to tell you personally," the man further said.
"Youâre from Necrosis? Can I see some identification?" Ryder asked the man.
"Sure. Here is my ID card," the man said as he gave his identity card to Ryder.
Ryder observed the card for a brief moment before he handed it back.
After taking back the card, the man looked back at Alice.
"So, Miss Alice, are you coming? We have arranged for the ticket as well. Since you need to be there tomorrow evening, the ticket is for tomorrow morning."
Alice glanced at Ryder as if asking him if she should. Ryder nodded as if giving her the permission.
In any case, he also wanted to see what Necrosis was up to. He didnât need to worry about anything after all. He has the strength of all the Kings, and he had Janus. No matter what they did, he was confident in himself.
Moreover, he was soon going to get the strength of a god that he had just killed.
He did know that the powers of Aluren were going to make his mortal body much stronger, but he didnât realize that the only reason Janus wanted this for him was that his body was going to be strong enough to contain Chaosâ strength.
If his body were stronger before, Chaos wouldâve had to go back to sleep last time he came out.
"Alright. I accept the invitation, but Iâll bring him too," Alice told the man as she accepted the ticket.
"Thatâs no problem. Each person is allowed to bring one guardian," the man replied. "But we havenât arranged the tickets for him."
"Itâs fine; Iâll get my tickets on my own," Ryder chimed in.
"Thatâs better. Iâll take my leave in that case," the man said as he left.
Alice and Ryder once again walked back inside the room.
"Are you sure you arenât going to take part in this event as a player?" Alice asked Ryder as she sat beside him on the sofa.
"I donât have any need. The identity of Hades shouldnât be revealed to Necrosis or the world. Think of that as a leverage. Hades is an important part of my life, and when the truth is out to Necrosis, it might bring unforeseen troubles," Ryder replied.
He has done many impossible things in the world of Divinity, after all. And by now, he had also found out that Divinity wasnât actually a game. It was a different world altogether.
As for how Necrosis was able to send people to that world through those glasses, that was a real mystery.
Now that he knew what kind of powerful people existed in this world, he was sure that one such person was behind Necrosis too.
And if it was true, then that person must know about the specialty of Hades and how things about him didnât make sense. If he was out to the world, it was going to be a problem.
He needed to keep his identity secret as he solved the mystery of Divinity and Necrosis.
"If you say so," Alice muttered. "Anyway, Iâll bring something to eat. You donât forget to book tickets for yourself."
As Alice left, Ryder booked a ticket for himself to the New Capital as well on the same flight as Alice.
He was just about to put the phone back when he started ringing again.
"Esmi?"
He picked up the phone after seeing that it was Esmi who was calling him. It looks like she finally forgave him for leaving her like that.
"Hello?" He said as he picked up the phone.
"Your phone is finally on again. Listen, Iâm sure you know this, but there are some people after you. Itâs a special organization that I canât talk about. So stay out of the country or at least out of the city. Those people are at your home!" Esmi told Ryder.
"Esmi, may I ask how you know about this?" Ryder asked, amused.
"Iâll be honest with you since your life is in danger, but Bastionâs father is an important part of that organization. I know a few things through him."
"And I went to your Estate a few days ago with Bastion to meet you. Thatâs when I found out that theyâre living there. Since then, Iâve been trying your number every day. Donât return to that place! Itâs a really strong organization with strong people that you canât even imagine!" She told Ryder.
"God, Esmi, you worry for no reason. Those people werenât that strong. Anyway, Iâm safe. Donât worry about me. I already dealt with them through peaceful methods. They wonât disturb me now," Ryder answered as he chuckled.
"Anyway, Iâm sorry for last time. I promise Iâll make it up to you next time," Ryder told Esmi.
"What do you mean you took care of them? Did you talk to them? They went back?" Esmi asked, confused.
"Letâs just say something similar to that. They wonât come to the city again," Ryder replied.
"Really? They arenât people that are this understanding. Are you sure?" Esmi asked again.
"Of Course, Iâm sure. Anyway, Iâll be leaving the city soon. When I come back, Iâll come to meet you," Ryder said.
"Iâll believe it if you say that. Iâll also try to know more from my side to know if they actually left. Iâll inform you," Esmi replied before she disconnected the call.
...
Alice came back with the food she made just in time when Shuâs helicopter also landed inside the Estate premises.
"Iâm back. Wonât anyone open the door?" Shu called out from outside as he rang the doorbell.
"Itâs Brother Shu. You continue eating; Iâll open the door for him," Alice told Ryder, who had just taken his first bite.
She walked to the door and opened the door.
...
As Shu reached near Ryder, he also sat on the sofa before he started talking to Ryder, making sure that he was alright while trying to know what had happened.
He was amazed to find the condition of the Estate, though. When he had heard that the Estate was taken over and the guards were killed, he thought he would come back to the Estate, which was covered in blood and half-destroyed, but there was nothing like that.
He couldnât see any destruction, even a minuscule one. As for blood, there wasnât even a blood drop.
Ryder repeated the same story he had told tens of times and kept the reality a secret. He couldnât tell the truth even to Shu. All he could say was that some bad guys were creating trouble.
"Oh right, I am going to be meeting with the Vice President next week. Do you want to come with me? It can be fun," Shu suddenly asked Ryder.
"Vice President? Did you take this appointment from him in the last two days?" Ryder asked, surprised. Didnât he kill that guy? How could he be deciding on meetings?
"It was decided last week. Why?" Shu asked.
"I think that meeting will be canceled. So donât have high hopes," Ryder told Shu as he smiled wryly.
"Cancelled, why?" Shu asked.
"Because the VP isnât available. And I doubt heâll be in the future," Ryder answered.
"What are you speaking? Do you know that guy? How can you say he wonât be available?" Shu inquired.