Part 10
It was a secret room in a building without an address within the vast metropolis that is NEO New York City; with no address, the building just existed.
It was a large room that had no windows except for a bed and several dozen monitor screens of various sizes on the four walls of the room.
The building or room itself was not the main secret, but what was inside of it.
Who.
"It seems I have to make new calculations for the Harbinger project."
The voice came from a male who was sitting on the floor in the room.
The male had pale white skin and hair that reflected off the overhead light of the room. He was wearing a large, baggy white shirt that hung above his knees and baggy white pants cut above the ankles. His feet were bare as he swiped on one of the monitors.
"It's too early to scrap the ARCH_ANGEL betas.
Despite his demeanor and appearance, he was the founder and de facto ruler of NEO New York City.
There was silence in the room as he looked up with his sliver eyes.
"Surely you of all people would not come this far just to hide in the shadows, did you?"
The sound of heavy boot steps echoed throughout the large room.
"No, of course not." Nereus said, stepping forward with his dark cloak wrapped around his body. He was a sharp contrast to everything in the room. "It's been a long time, has it not? Almost 400 years."
"I believe you are right, so after all this time, what brings you here before me now?" Raziel said as he stood up.
"What, can't two former associates converse with each other after a while?"
"Is that what we are now? You don't call or leave an email. Do you know how many of my birthdays have passed by?" Raziel sarcastically said
"Amusing." Nereus frowned as he replied in a serious tone, the emotions in his face never changing.
The two of them stood at opposite ends of the room, staring at each other. After a while, Nereus spoke.
"A wonderful city you manage to create, but even with all that you choose to spend your time mulling about in this building, unaware that this city is heading to its own oblivion,"
Raziel stared at him.
"If you had any problem with how I run the city, you could have let your grievances be known. Considering who you were, your input would have been greatly appreciated. One founder to another"
Nereus frowned at that statement.
"I ask you not to attract that label to me, and besides, if you took my advice seriously, you would have let this city be destroyed by its own instability."
"Instability, you mean, you mean the city population."
"Of course, did you really think that having a population like this would lead to anything good?"
"Of course, that's the reason I founded it—to be a steppingstone for something better."
"For something better?" Nereus asked.
Raziel raised his arm to the ceiling, causing both him and Nereus to look up.
"I have a particular goal in mind that I want to reach, and I can only reach that conclusion after all the variables of the universe are presented before me. The universe's secrets"
"The universe's secrets—you mean the girl and her abilities?"
Raziel Smirked.
"Not entirely"
Raziel lowered his arms to stare at the man before him.
"It would seem we are at an impasse on how the world should move forward." Nereus calmly stated:
"It would appear so."
Nereus smirked.
He swung his right arm out, letting his cloak sway behind him, revealing his gray button-down uniform.
"I'm not one for conflicts, and if no other path exists beside conflict towards a goal, then conflict should be settled quickly. So do not mind me if I try to end this quickly.
Nereus held out his hand towards Raziel.
"And with this, your soul and everything you have built so far will come crashing down as steppingstones for the new world."