Kieran looked at Alexandria with unspoken praise while burying the aversion he felt bubbling in the depths of his mind. Not that he bore any grudge against the young woman; rely the thods of the elite and wealthy rubbed him the wrong way.
Alexandria's apt usage of those thods was worthy of praise because it put him in a position where declining would seem crazy and accepting would seem utterly desperate.
Except he was desperate, and Alexandria confirming the Summit Project's moderate to scant distribution of higher-grade X-hancers ignited more embers of urgency and desperation in his mind.
The offer on the table was too good, and that's why his thoughts traveled down a path laden with envy and sourness.
'It must be nice to co from lavish beginnings.'
Kieran sighed internally.
Despite his emotions, he had to comnd Alexandria for her resourcefulness, thodology, and the covered angles of her approach. It spoke to her wit and her upbringing, echoing the tenets of a wealthy family - a strategy simply defined as: "Have a problem? Shell out an absurd sum to purchase cooperation."
Alexandria had a problem and abundant resources; Kieran had a problem and lacked resources. Together, they would forge a seamless alliance.
... Unless a day ca when their goals and motives no longer aligned.
"What even is the estimated value of this offer?" Kieran asked, and everyone's ears behind him perked up. This was sothing they were incredibly curious about.
"The shipnt? Upwards of half a billion. Think of it as a massive investnt - a seed investnt that I hope bears fruit in the future," Alexandria answered.
Incredulous gasps and amazed whistles echoed in the hangar after he revealed the market value, yet she shrugged.
Her estimation... was an underestimation, and she was aware of that. She hadn't factored in how purchasing at such bulk drove the price skyward beyond belief.
X-hancers didn't benefit from wholesale practices. If anything... it was the opposite. If you wanted to command a large portion of the circulation, you had to pay the steep price it demanded.
Which is why several jaws dropped when she continued.
"The price of giving you a path to the Summit Project and the group behind it? Priceless."
"I believe it," Kieran said, raking his fingers through his hair and pulling on it while considering his options. In the end, he needed more information. "Spell it out for . What are you seeking with this alliance?"
Alexandria suddenly didn't seem as calm and composed as before as she t Kieran's gaze. Then, she lowered her gaze and tone, murmuring while bringing his neck down to her level so that her lips and breath kissed his ear.
"It isn't safe for to admit this... but I desire growth, protection, and independence. I know you can help attain my aspirations because the family analysts have estimated your potential to be an alarming threat. They know your absence and deceptive state of normalcy is a sign of great upset to co. Actually... I'm doing this to help you because I feel I owe things to you."
She stepped back after explaining herself, and Kieran soon realized no one else had heard her comnts. There wasn't a change in expression aside from Lillian, who glared venomously at Alexandria until she switched her fury upon Kieran, who averted his gaze, shaking his head.
He was more interested in whatever she had just done.
'How did she do that?'
Furthermore, Kieran wanted to know what she ant by she was doing this to help him. He couldn't wrap his mind around Alexandria being selfless for the sake of being selfless. There was sothing she wasn't saying.
"What are you hinting at here?"
"...They're moving," Alexandria squeezed through pursed lips.
Kieran and Lillian bore similar reactions, squinting with burning inquisition.
"Who is moving?" they said simultaneously.
Alexandra first sighed, then began with a grimace. "You know about the Behemoths, the rumored peak every guild desires to reach and be referred to as? Well... there are people - organizations, really- beyond them that aren't technically guilds but superpowers. So great we refer to them as the August or, better yet, titans of unmatched abilities... Leviathans. Massive, monstrous, insurmountable. However you want to describe them, they are that." Kieran thought Alexandria embraced hidden hyperbolic qualities, but that notion was suspended and discarded when a procession of images flitted past in his mind. They weren't anything incredibly descriptive aside from one particular spartan picture.
A man was standing with a severed head attached to an intact and well-developed spinal cord leaking visceral fluids. He stood with it raised in triumph, his overflowing liveliness a stark contrast against a ruined background, wreathed in fire and brimstone and upturned lands like a war had just been fought... as if a doomsday had occurred.
'What the hell?'
When the image passed, Kieran released a breath he unknowingly held within, gasping. The ntion of the August had stirred pieces of a mory in Kieran's mind, but it seed more like he had watched it from afar - maybe on a screen-than experienced it firsthand.
Kieran took so ti to gather his bearing, expressing his well-being before delving into his questions. "Who are the August. And... how many of them are there?"
"Who are they? Their identities remain shrouded in mystery until they wish to be seen and known. But they have released through the channels that operate on their behalf that their lack of action was a handicap to observe who deserves their attention. I... I want to prepare for their arrival. It is rumored that they're not only Inhumans... but it is rumored that they were the original subjects of the project."
Kieran tilted his head, his expression comically portraying: "Did I hear that correctly?" and "Co again?"
"Yes, Kieran. You heard right. They are rumored to be the earliest consurs and conceivably played a role in its stable formula. According to my knowledge, there are eight of them. They aren't respected. They are terribly feared," Alexandria said with a shudder.
Kieran felt it all too clearly.
There was raw trepidation in Alexandria's wavering eyes. He could also see that despite what she said, she wasn't just doing this for his sake.
Perhaps her safety banked on this as well. If the August were as feared as Alexandria suggested, they all tolerated little defiance or deviation from their planning.
More than that, he felt how she described them... the August were likely the Unseen Hand that conspiracists constantly swore to be true. And Kieran wholeheartedly believed them.
There was so literature that suggested the current world wasn't what it was during the past century.
The thought spurred grim thoughts and led to Kieran's glum expression. "How soon can we expect them?"
Alexandria shook her head with a wan smile. "No date was given. All they told us was soon. And I want to be prepared for when they rip through Zenith Online. I think - and don't quote here — but I think there's a reason they chose now. I suspect they possess more valuable knowledge about Zenith Online and are after sothing."
It sounded possible to Kieran, but he couldn't help but feel the timing was peculiar. Why were
they choosing now to muster their forces and enter Zenith Online?
What changed? What pieces of the puzzle was he missing to align the motive?
Unable to form a guess, Kieran sighed and extended his hand. "You have a deal. From this mont forward, we're allied. After we finish discussing everything, I think you should make
your way to on Xenith."
Alexandria shook it, engaging in a gentleman's agreent.
They could go the legally binding route, but with a threat like the August looming over them, neither side harbored seditious thoughts.
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