Seth and the others stared vigilantly as a figure walked through the opened doors.

A middle-aged man, with deep brown hair and a scar running from his forehead through his eye to his cheek.

Aside from that, he was truly a handsome individual. If one had to estimate, one would say this man was at least in his mid to late forties.

He wore a neat formal grey suit, and he walked forward in slow, steady steps. A stifling, commanding presence wafted unfiltered into the room.

Seth’s heart skipped a beat. For some reason, he felt that even if he unleashed the full pressure of his aura — the aura that belonged to a higher form of evolved life...

Somehow he instinctively knew it would have no effect.

But that didn’t make any sense. The higher life form had an inbred aura of natural attribution.

And that naturally bore heavy on any form of life beneath them.

The only reason Seth could come up with, for why his instincts told him this, was that this man should also be an Awakened.

That did make sense. After all, if a private family like the Duskreavers could have ancient Awakeneds, what stopped the government from having the same?

But still...

A deep crease formed between Seth’s brows. "Not right. Why does he look so young?"

The aura that originated from the great elders back at the Duskreavers estate felt so withered and lackluster, like the burning light of a candle before it was finally snuffed out.

Compared to this man’s bold, commanding presence, they were too contrasting.

Everyone remained silent and subconsciously tense, their eyes trailing the man’s figure as he walked up to the head of the meeting table and took a seat.

His gaze rose, and a pair of entrancing grey irises rested on their frames.

His lips finally moved, speaking to them for the first time. "You can sit!"

Seth blinked. Who was this guy?

Why did it feel so right? As though only after he sat did they deserve a seat?

Regardless, Seth and the others, glancing amongst themselves, still sat.

The man clasped his hands together, resting his elbows on the table as he propped up his chin. His lips moved as he finally began addressing them, wearing a faint smile.

"So you are the valiant five I’ve heard so much about."

Seth and crew remained silent, uncertain of how to respond.

The man’s smile turned warmer. "Don’t be so stiff, lads. I might be the president, but I’m still a man!"

Everyone’s eyes widened, bulging red, their lips twitching.

The Fucking President?!!

That’s who he was?

Everyone quickly shook their heads in tandem. "This wasn’t the man they knew as their president, right?"

Everyone was well acquainted with who the current president was supposed to be, so who—

Suddenly it dawned on them all at the same beat: the corruption!

What if something tragic had happened to the previous president and his vice?

Naturally, the government had to remedy this. They needed a head to function properly after all.

So it would make sense why someone they didn’t know was the president.

But then why did he seem so young? How did he convince the higher-ups to vote him in?

After all, with the apocalypse and all, democracy was out the window. With the state of the world, there was no way to gather citizens to vote.

So it wasn’t making sense!

One would think a figure chosen to lead the US during such a never-before-seen apocalyptic era had to be someone with massive influence and overwhelming charisma and competence.

And instinctively, when thinking of such a figure, you would think: experienced, therefore elderly.

Whilst Seth and crew sat frozen from shock and speculation...

The president smiled. "You can call me Cain. I’m sorry for the inconvenience. I know the meeting was arranged abruptly, but I still had to meet you, Apex."

After getting a hold of himself and the fact that he was sitting before the actual freaking president, Seth calmed.

Curious but hesitant, he spoke, asking, "Why do you guys call us Apex?"

For the first time, the president’s gaze focused on him alone, and Seth felt the overflowing charisma oozing from the depths of his eyes.

’this feeling is too familiar,’ Seth thought, his mind reeling back to recall the image of a certain naked man in the garden.

But regardless, he had to shake it off...

Smiling, the president replied, "Actually, it’s simple. You guys have accomplished something no one around the world has been able to do.

And you did it seven more times, if I heard correctly. What do we call you if not the apex of humanity?"

Such a compliment coming from the mouth of the president himself felt different. They felt a stroke on their ego, their pride flaring as though they had finally been recognized.

"Others are lost in curiosity about how you accomplished this, but to me I see a simple fact others refuse to accept.

The reason must be that you are just that overwhelmingly superior in strength."

Leaning back in his chair and dropping his arms on the armrest, he added with a smile, "Now that I’ve seen you all with my eyes, I can truly confirm that must be the case."

Surprisingly, in this situation, only one person was able to give an appropriate response to these compliments — Brandon.

"We sincerely appreciate the praise, Mr. President."

Compared to his boisterous and loud personality, Brandon seemed more composed than usual — too much so.

But it was understandable once one thought of it. Brandon was used to meeting such figures of power.

His father was a high-level government officer, a minister of resource and allocation, in fact.

Aside from him, the only other person who was quite calm compared to the others was Jack. His father was a supreme general.

Heck, his father’s office was in this very same construct. This wasn’t their first rodeo, so naturally they adapted to the situation pretty quickly compared to the other three.

And while Seth, Elaine, and Uriel were from prominent billion-dollar families, there was still a vast gap between the government and private organizations.

Private mingled with private, and government mingled with government. That was the law of familiarity human society followed.

"I’m sorry if I’m being disrespectful, but why are we here, Mr. President, sir?"

The president smiled, maintaining the silence for a few long seconds, tapping rhythmically on his armrest.

Then he opened his lips. The following words he spoke made chills run down their spines.

"Before we venture there, can you guys brief me on your experience in the Origin Realm? After all, seeing as you all have awakened, you must have gone there."