"This is absurd," Kali murmured, her dark eyes scanning the holographic displays before her. A disbelieving smile tugged at the corners of her lips, equal parts incredulity and satisfaction. The numbers flickered and danced like an exuberant chorus line, each figure more staggering than the last. The revenue reports of Noctalis, reflecting their aetherite domination across all five continents, painted a picture of unparalleled success.
In just a few months, they had achieved the impossible: total market dominance.
Kali leaned back, a hand brushing through her hair as she exhaled sharply. "I knew we'd win," she muttered to herself, "but this?"
It had been an expected outcome—at least on paper. Aetherite was cheaper, better, and backed by powerful allies. Their supply chain was airtight, their logistics seamless. The Twelve Great Guilds, despite their entrenched control of the market, were outmatched by sheer innovation. And yet, knowing it and seeing it were two very different experiences.
Noctalis had claimed nearly five trillion dollars in revenue this quarter alone. It wasn't just money—it was a tidal wave, a flood, sweeping over every established institution in its path. The Twelve Great Guilds, collectively titans in their fields, had reported a combined ten trillion dollars this quarter. Noctalis had managed half their earnings, despite being a relative newcomer.
"This is… madness," Kali said aloud, though no one was there to hear her. She placed a hand on the edge of the display, steadying herself as the holograms shifted to showcase Noctalis's rising stock price.
The world, it seemed, was betting on Arthur Nightingale's audacity.
Her thoughts strayed to the intricacies of the Twelve Great Guilds' downfall. The guilds were confined to the Central Continent, thanks to imperial sanctions imposed by successive Slatemark emperors who sought to maintain control. Noctalis, by contrast, had taken advantage of its multi-continental reach. Through shrewd connections, relentless paperwork, and well-placed bribes, they had bypassed the bureaucratic labyrinth that stifled others. Now, they reaped the rewards, raking in profit while the Twelve Great Guilds languished under the weight of their own inertia.
Still, Kali couldn't help but feel the faintest pang of disbelief—and something more.
The Twelve Great Guilds, for all their vaunted might, had done… nothing. At least, not yet.
Her brow furrowed as unease began to settle in the pit of her stomach. "Why haven't they moved yet?" she wondered aloud, pacing the room. Her footsteps echoed against the polished floor as she chewed over the question like a stubborn piece of gristle.
It didn't add up. The Twelve Great Guilds were behemoths, their influence so deeply entrenched that even governments dared not challenge them lightly. The first quarter had passed with little more than a murmur of resistance. It was as if the storm had held its breath.
But storms didn't vanish. They gathered. They swirled and loomed, biding their time before the deluge.
A flicker of memory distracted her: Arthur's calm, confident voice as he mapped out their strategy in meticulous detail. He'd seen this coming, of course. He always did.
But even Arthur couldn't predict everything.
Kali's thoughts darkened as she considered the inevitable. The Twelve Great Guilds wouldn't remain idle. They were juggernauts, masters of consolidation and control. They would not go quietly into obscurity.
No, their response would be swift, ruthless, and overwhelming. They would use every tool in their arsenal—diplomacy, propaganda, sabotage. If Noctalis had stormed the gates, the Twelve Great Guilds would retaliate with battering rams of their own.
Her grip tightened on the edge of the desk. "They'll try to stifle us," she said softly, the words bitter in her mouth. "They'll cut us off from the Slatemark Empire's markets. Maybe even try to break us apart entirely."
Her gaze drifted back to the displays, where glowing numbers mocked the quiet dread taking root in her chest. She was rich now—unfathomably so. For the first time in her life, she held a fortune that dwarfed even her family's wealth. And yet, the euphoria of success was tempered by the cold knowledge of what lay ahead.
For a moment, her mind wandered to the mana oath that had bound her to Arthur. Back then, she'd chafed at the obligation, resented the leash around her neck. Now, she saw it differently.
'I was beginning to feel bad for the mana oath,' she thought, a wry smile tugging at her lips. 'But Arthur made it work, didn't he?'
The man was maddeningly capable, his plans unfolding with a precision that bordered on the divine. But even he wasn't invincible. Kali could feel the weight of the world pressing down on Noctalis.
And somewhere, beyond the glow of the holograms and the walls of this room, the Twelve Great Guilds were stirring. She could almost feel their collective gaze, cold and calculating, as they began to turn their attention toward Noctalis.
"Let them come," she muttered, her jaw tightening as resolve hardened in her chest. "We're ready."
But were they?
The question hovered in the air, weighty and unspoken, as Kali turned her gaze back to the glowing displays. The numbers marched steadily upward, relentless as the tide. Each digit seemed to whisper promises of triumph, shadowed by murmurs of impending conflict.
"Are you worried?" Jin's voice broke through her thoughts, sharp but not unkind.
She glanced at him, her expression unguarded. "Yes," she admitted, her words heavier than she intended. "The Twelve Great Guilds aren't weak. They're entrenched. Powerful. Resilient."
Jin nodded, his face impassive, though his amber eyes betrayed a flicker of understanding. "They will move soon. When they do, they won't play fair, and they won't hesitate to use force—coercion, sabotage, you name it. They'll hit us where it hurts."
Kali crossed her arms, her sharp gaze flickering between the data and the man before her. "What should we do then? Wait for their move and react? Or start dismantling them before they even draw their swords?"
Jin allowed himself the briefest smile, a touch of dry humor edging his voice. "Trust Arthur," he said simply. "Arthur will lead us to glory."
She blinked at him, momentarily startled. "You believe in him that much now?" There was no mockery in her tone, just genuine surprise. This was Jin Ashbluff, a prince of the Western Continent, a man who had been forced into service through a mana oath. Trusting Arthur wasn't in the script.
But Jin's reply came without hesitation. "I do," he said firmly. "I trust his competence, his vision, and his drive. He doesn't just want to win. He wants to rewrite the rules of the game. And he's already doing it. Within a year, Noctalis will stand above the Twelve Great Guilds completely."
Kali leaned against the table, her brow furrowed. "That's ambitious, even for him. But we need more than just money and market domination, Jin. You know that. The Twelve Great Guilds are more than just businesses. They're pillars of power, wielding influence that stretches into the Slatemark Empire's politics, its military, its very fabric."
"Arthur knows," Jin replied, his voice low but steady, like the calm before a storm. "And he'll do more than dominate the market. He'll crush the Twelve Great Guilds. Not just beat them, but force them to kneel. To submit."
The conviction in his voice startled her. This wasn't the man who had begrudgingly followed Arthur's orders in the early days. This was someone who believed—not out of obligation, but out of experience.
Kali sighed, running a hand through her hair. "That's a lot of faith to place in one man. Even Arthur."
Jin tilted his head, a faint smirk playing at the edges of his lips. "He's earned it. You've seen it yourself, Kali. Every time the odds are stacked against him, he doesn't just survive. He thrives. This isn't about faith. It's about fact."
She looked back at the displays, at the numbers that now felt less like a triumph and more like a warning. "I hope you're right," she murmured. "Because if you're wrong…"
Jin cut her off, his voice sharp as a blade. "I'm not wrong. And you know it. The only question is how far he'll go. And I, for one, am eager to find out."
The room fell into a tense silence, filled with the hum of holographic screens and the distant echo of footsteps in the sprawling Noctalis headquarters. Kali didn't reply, but the spark of determination in Jin's words lingered, settling in her mind like a seed.
Arthur Nightingale had set the world on fire. And now, it seemed, he was determined to reshape the ashes into something no one had ever seen before. Whether they liked it or not.