After leaving Tara to reflect on her situation, Arias left with Mercy to begin planning yet another grand scheme.
This time, however, it was much larger and would require the collective efforts of his current "assets" to succeed—starting with Mercy.
As the duo walked side by side, roaming the silent halls of the castle, an impatient Mercy spoke out, "Are you gonna tell me what's on your mind or what?" she inquired with a frown.
Arias came to a stop and turned to face her with a small smile, unsure if she was just impatient or eager. Regardless, he explained in brief detail.
"There are many things on my mind; you'd need to be more specific," he teased lightly, his eyes wandering over her body, appreciating how well her attire showcased her curves.
Mercy's frown deepened, and she crossed her arms, glaring at him. "For fuck's sake, I mean, what's the plan here? You're the one who caused this mess, don't tell me you expect me to clean it up."
Hearing her words, Arias's gaze no longer lingered on her body, and he let out a chuckle. "You overestimate your capabilities. This isn't a mess; it's an opportunity. Sadly, the bait wasn't taken, so I'll need to handle things more... directly."
Arias's cryptic response only made Mercy more impatient and slightly offended. "Overestimate!? I've been working my ass off running your operations while you go around collecting women for God knows what!"
Mercy vented like a mistreated wife, but Arias maintained his smile as he stepped closer to her, placing a hand on her waist and giving a subtle nod.
"I know you have, which is why I left you in charge. Your capabilities may not be on my level, but they're definitely a cut above the rest. So, I expected you to understand what I'm trying to achieve. I'm a bit disappointed in your judgment of me," Arias explained charmingly, shaking his head while showing a look of disappointment.
Mercy couldn't help but frown at Arias's words, but deep down, it felt nice to hear that he considered her highly. Of course, she didn't admit this openly and quickly pulled herself away from him, casting a glare and walking off. "Whatever, I get it. Now, if you'll excuse me, some of us have actual work to do."
…
In the early morning of the following day, tensions surrounding the Markovian incident were at an all-time high.
It was beginning to look like a world war was about to erupt over the prospect of weaponizing meta-humans.
Only a single trigger was left to launch it.
The world's most powerful military force, the U.S.
Given what history has shown, it's almost comical how often those who preach about peace have caused the most terror, whether directly or indirectly.
With the atmosphere as tense as it was, analysts around the globe predicted a new historical event was about to occur, one that would plunge the world into an era of disparity.
But as world-changing as that event would be, it wasn't Arias's ultimate goal. His goal was something more grandiose, and the potential for a world war was simply a means to an end.
The morning after, Arias gathered early in the lower emergency levels of the castle.
It was a cold, bright, square-shaped room with minimal white furniture.
At the center of the room was a small arrangement composed of two double-seated sofas facing each other and a single full chair at the center, overlooking both sofas.
Soon, the room's single door slid open with a mechanical hum, and three figures walked in: Mercy, Slade, and Arias.
Mercy wore her usual formal work attire, while both Slade and Arias wore slack-and-collared-shirt combos—a strangely popular look among working-class men on off days in Markovia.
Mercy sat on one of the sofas, while Arias took the central chair.
"We probably don't have a lot of time to meet like this, boss. There's a stupidly absurd amount of monitoring happening. What's on your mind?" Slade leaned back into his chair, arms crossed, and spoke in a casual tone.
Like many other important figures, Slade was in Markovia under the guise of showing support for the young Princess Tara, helping her navigate the current hurdles she faced.
But given how closely various countries were monitoring the situation, he had to be careful about his movements. Thus, he took one of the fastest jets money could buy and landed in the early hours of the morning, meeting with Arias just an hour later.
Arias nodded, acknowledging Slade's concerns, but he had already factored in numerous potential incidents.
"Can you blame them? They've finally realized that meta-humans represent a new age of weaponry. Don't worry about it; for now, all the countries are still scrambling just to get a layout of this castle, let alone monitor or bug it."
Hearing this, Slade gave a light shrug and dismissed his concern. Mercy, on the other hand, grew curious and raised a brow. "How'd you manage that? All those eggheads you cooped up in Ark?"
Arias smiled and shook his head. "You'd be amazed by the cache of technology, theories, blueprints, and information that Lex Luthor left behind. The world is lucky he was overly arrogant."
Arias purposefully mentioned Lex as if he somewhat admired him, knowing Mercy's presence in the room.
He knew better than anyone that despite everything he had done to ruin Lex's image in Mercy's mind, she still couldn't fully forget him—at least, not without time.
This showed as Mercy's expression darkened slightly at the mention of Lex's name. But Arias didn't let his words linger, avoiding an awkward silence.
"Anyway, we're short on time, so let's proceed. I called you both here because you're going to spearhead this long-term operation we're about to begin. Starting with you, Mercy. I need you to arrange a body double for me to attend Tara's coronation ceremony. One so convincing that other nations won't be sure whether or not he's the real me."
Without giving Mercy a chance to comment, Arias continued after a brief pause, turning to face Slade.
"During the coronation, a lot of eyes will be on me—or rather, my double. So it's almost guaranteed that there will be listening devices present. We'll use this to have you and Mercy form a fake conversation regarding the true state of my condition."
Hearing this, a smile formed on Slade's face. "Seems simple enough."
"That part, yes. But that isn't your main task, Slade. Your real first objective will be to compile an extensive profile on every member of the U.S. Senate, the judicial committee, the joint chiefs of staff, and the office of the president."