Three hundred.
"That's the last one."
District three hundred—the final district to be officially established in the country—had finally finished its construction after nine long years.
"Xavier District."
It was in the center of the nation, directly alongside the newly built Cardinal Nexus HQ where all the governmental powers would reside and where big decisions would be made. Since the establishment was new, governmental positions were looking for new prime candidates. Someone in particular saw this as an opportunity.
"This is my chance, isn't it?" Uriel slid on a dark blazer overtop his white buttoned shirt, with a bright orange tie hanging down his neck. He wrapped a sophisticated watch around his wrist, locking it in place. "Day of the interview. I'm just as nervous as the day I enrolled into becoming a High Priest."
"That's ironic," Michael said. "Considering you're going to go and become a Minister now."
Uriel rolled his eyes and smiled. "You know this is the best opportunity we've got at gaining information on the enemy. I will gain intel that even the All-Knowing-Vision cannot see, and whenever I get the chance, I will relay it to the rest of you."
Michael put his hand on Uriel's shoulder. "Be safe out there. You will be out in the open, exposed to the highest level of enemy territory."
Uriel slicked back his hair and winked at him. "Don't worry, Michael. It's been seventy years since our 'deaths' on MONA. My identity as a High Priest of the Elysian Congregation is long erased and out of time. They won't have anything to dig up on me. They won't even know who I truly am."
Michael nodded with the reassurance. He only realized it—how long it had been since their lifelong plots began. Seventy years ago they witnessed MONA die and the Cardinal Nexus rise in power. By now, the High Priests should have been withering from age, but it was due to MONA's gift of immortality that they could continue to pursue their decades-long revenge. The previous Ministers of the Cardinal Nexus had already passed, and the new five were being elected very soon. Uriel had been waiting for this moment since the day he watched Mother die. His desire was to destroy the Cardinal Nexus from the inside-out, and he would do that by posing as a Minister in order to relay relevant information to his true comrades, down and under the surface.
"We are no longer the High Priests of the Elysian Congregation. Not for now, at least." Michael grinned at Uriel. "We are now the Overseers of the Archangel Experimentation Association. Remember that."
Uriel smiled brightly, looking around at the blinding white environment of the facility they'd spent decades developing deep underground. The first time they'd ever laid their eyes on Mynerium, the sight was so bright they couldn't even fathom looking for more than a few seconds. But now, their walls, floors, ceilings, and rooms, were all made of Mynerium. In order to have established this, they'd developed a recalibration device called a Resistor, which was to be injected through the temple in order to adjust the restraint of an individual's irises. It allowed the human eye to look at Mynerium without going blind. This was their first step towards technological advancement with what MONA had provided them. Next was inserting the cybernetic wings, which everyone was able to receive through surgical procedures performed by biomechanical A.I. machines that the seven created using Mynerium. It was only Uriel who declined the offer of having mechanical things inserted into his body, so he opted for his gifted wings to be given to Azrael instead. After some convincing, the other six Overseers agreed that wing-flight would largely aid Azrael with his combat ability as their defender. So Uriel was instead granted the owner of the Blade of Retribution, the broadsword gifted to them by MONA.
[ CARDINAL NEXUS NOW ELECTING NEW MINISTERS ]
It was then that Uriel wanted change. The idea of sneaking the Blade of Retribution into the Cardinal Nexus HQ wasn't exactly ideal in keeping him anonymous, so he made a deal with Michael, who'd long taken interest into the broadsword.
"I'll trade you the Blade of Retribution for your wings, Michael."
Michael's eyes lit up. "Deal."
Soon after, Michael had his wings surgically removed, cleansed, and inserted into Uriel's back. The two thought back on this memory.
"How're the wings faring for you, Uriel?"
"They're going to be a lot easier to sneak in than a whole broadsword, you know? I'll use them if ever necessary, especially when they can just sprout out of my back whenever I need it." Uriel sprayed himself with cologne. He checked his watch and saw that his flight to Xavier District was in just a few hours. "This is goodbye for now, Michael. Send the others my regards. I know that they are busy with that whole new subject-and-experimentation system. I wish them luck with that, and hopefully in return for their work, we can get some new super-soldiers like Azrael."
"Or more Angel units for my infantry," Michael chuckled. There were already dozens of failed subjects sent to him to be disposed of and turned into mind-controlled Angel units for his army.
"Yes, yes. Continue to lay out the groundwork like you always have been, Michael. I'm proud of how far we've come."
Michael smiled at his old friend. "Whenever you get the chance, contact us down here. If you are in danger, the All-Knowing Eye will sense it."
"Though Chamuel's sense isn't as keen as Azrael's was…"
"Better than nothing," he told Uriel. They were reminded of the time just nine years after MONA's death. Azrael only had a year remaining before his All-Knowing-Vision would subside to the Mortal Plane, so Chamuel requested to be his apprentice in learning the angelic skill.
"The All-Knowing-Vision isn't exactly something meant for mortals to use," Azrael had told him.
"But I am no longer a mere mortal. You can sense my lifespan with that third eye of yours, can't you?" Chamuel pointed to himself. "I am immortal. And whatever repercussions come with the use of a third eye on a human, I will endure it in my everlasting life. I will commit to it all, I promise."
Azrael had already known for some time that Chamuel had taken interest into the All-Knowing-Vision. Ever since the first moment he'd revealed the third eye, he could already sense the curiosity growing in Chamuel. Now that the ability was soon to dissipate, even Azrael considered the potential behind teaching an apprentice about its use.
"Then so be it," he told Chamuel. "I will train you on how to awaken and use the All-Knowing Eye in the next year before my own disappears. You will be my successor."
That was sixty-one years ago. By now, Chamuel had had a lifetime's worth of experience in using the All-Knowing-Vision. Although his third eye would never be as comprehensive or as extensive as Azrael's ever was, it was better than having no clairvoyance at all. He was the hidden gift of the Archangel Experimentation Association—the extra eye that could see what no one else could.
"You're right. Chamuel has already aided us largely with his All-Knowing-Vision since then. I have faith he can detect any danger to my position when I'm up there," Uriel told Michael.
"Even so, be careful."
"Will do," Uriel smiled. He turned around and walked to the nearby van that awaited him in the bay, waving back as he got in, and was soon driven off through the tunnel and towards the surface. After some time he was finally greeted by the green forest at the tunnel's entrance—the very place their meteor landed seventy years ago after MONA died. It was in the same exact spot that the High Priests, the Overseers, decided they'd establish their base. Since then, the trees had grown taller and the area became more shrouded. The entrance to the facility owned by the Archangel Experimentation Association, A.X.A., was hidden in mere plain sight, just as the historic existence of the Elysian Congregation and Menesism was buried just beneath the surface.
"I hope you're watching, Mother." Uriel spoke to himself, breathing in the natural air. "I'm going to be the most perfect mole you will ever see, and I will aid my brothers and sisters with the information I gather. Please guide me, even in your passing." He raised his arms and made a circular shape with his hands, placing it in the sky.
"We will avenge you soon, MONA."