"Get out! From today on, I'll make sure you won't be able to work with us ever again!"
Charles bit his tongue, swallowing the retort he had for the man he once considered his boss. What a show, at this point, the man should have tried his luck in acting, for if he hadn't known better, Charles would have thought he was innocent. All the other workers stared at them, blissfully unaware of the theft their boss had committed.
Now that he thought about it, all the luxury items he had were bought from the money that should belong to the other workers, the money that should be his, too.
"Fuck you, Tobias,"
Charles gritted out, and without waiting for a reply, he stormed out.
The man named Tobias shouted a dozen more profanities, all fell upon deaf ears as Charles slammed the door one last time. He made a show of it, perhaps as a last 'fuck you'.
As he walked to the lift, he thought of everything that led to this.
When he was asked to retrieve some files, he had accidentally stumbled upon an opened chat log, simply named as the Six Leaders. Charles had dismissed it as nothing but a game chat, until the notifications flooded in, talking about the newest deals and how they could take advantage of it, how they could pretend to need the newest hardware, a new business trip for improvements, even hacking and breaking the system to convince the higher-ups for a replacement.
Shock made Charles unaware of his boss coming into the room, and there, he was caught snooping. Within a week, he was sacked.
He reached the lift, and with a barely restrained anger, he punched the button to go down all the way to the first floor.
After all, he had been a senior manager at Sunshine Group. He had enjoyed the perks that came with such a position.
As the door closed, he glared at empty air, unable to restrain his anger. Then, the lift descended slowly, uncaring of his own anger and hatred. All he had worked for have all but disappeared, all through no fault of his own.
When he was busy being mired in his own anger, the lift stopped.
Thunder rumbled outside, and the small metal box shook in response. Right below his feet, Charles saw cracks form on the floor, fragments of dust and metal falling.
Before he could have understood what was going on, the flimsy metal box, unable to withstand the elements, finally shattered open, showing him the skies above New York City. Gravity took over, and he fell, a few thousand feet above ground.
Indeed, he felt fear, but more than that, he felt anger.
His death was imminent, and there was nothing he could do to change that.
"Hah, you are…"
A voice echoed from all around him, piercing through the veil of noises from the storms, the cracking grounds, and the howling wind.
"You still yet persist with hope… or is it anger? Regardless, you were still not consumed by despair…"
Clack!
With the sound of snapping fingers, everything stopped in an instant. The screams and the howls of the apocalyptic weather stopped. It was like time itself has been robbed of its ability to march regardless of the situation.
Charles remained floating, just like the falling debris, yet, he was unable to move even a finger. Even blinking was a difficult ordeal, and he found himself being forced to stare at the darkened skies and plumes of gray cloud in the horizon.
"Yes, you are the one I seek!"
A ball of energy appeared as the voice echoed, its color a vivid purple with a center so dark it seemed to absorb even the smallest amount of remaining light around them. Then, as the energy dissipated, Charles felt a great pressure weigh down his body, and was it not for the mysterious force keeping him afloat, he would have been thrown down in an instant.
In the center of the dark energy, there was a beautiful woman, her obsidian black horns curving upwards from her skull. Beautiful, long red hair framed a pale face that looked as immaculate as porcelain. Pointed ears peek out from beneath the hair, while her every movement exuded nothing less than unbridled power.
Her gray eyes stared at him, and as she extended her hand.
"Hello, Charles Thiterith," she said while smirking, showing off the slightest hint of pointed fang beneath her lips. "Congratulations, you are one of the candidates chosen to ascend the World Tree. If you desire so, perhaps, you can even save the world and shape it to your liking."
"Who… are… you?" He barely managed to speak, each word felt heavy as if his lips and tongue were filled with lead.
"Oh? You may call me… Henrietta, or perhaps if you prefer a more formal title, I am the Beast of Duality, and the world has ordered me to assist you," she floated closer, and for a moment, Charles could see the form of a beast beneath her beautiful visage. The image flashed by so quickly, and he was unable to make out anything, yet he remembered the form of a beast with white and black color split in the middle, its body possessing countless eyes and a maw filled with rows upon rows of sharp teeth.
"What… do you… want… from me?" Charles asked. Though he was unable to move, he greeted the beast with nothing less than defiance.
"Heh, glad I don't have to teach you that nothing is free," Henrietta laughed. "I have to meet someone up above, and if you reach the top, your wishes would be granted. How about it, Charles? Do you want to join me, or…?"
Henrietta flexed her clawed fingers downwards with a smirk, a wordless threat of being dropped from thousands of feet up in the air. Even a quick look down was enough to cause Charles to feel a bit dizzy, a testament to how high up they were.
There was no doubt that Charles would have perished as a red stain down below if he refused.
…
…
"Fine, I… I accept!" He finally said.
"Good, that is what I love to hear," Henrietta grasped his hand, and the feeling of heat, similar to a molten-hot brand, seared Charles' entire arm. Right on the back of his hand, a sigil similar to a dried tree were burned into existence, the branches enveloping his fingers similar to a tattoo.
[World Tree Ascension System has been activated!]
[Name: Charles Thiterith]
[Class: Basic Beast Tamer]
[Level: 1]
[Ascension Progress: None]
[Henrietta, the Beast of Duality, has joined your party!]