While Richard was chasing after Robert other problems were occurring all over the nation.

Within a small office, a man dressed in a business suit stared at the screen of his computer. The information that he read through painted a rather disturbing picture. A terrifying one that needs to be handled within the night.

"Director, we’ve apprehended the traitors, though most of them died, the mystics found proof that Agartha is involved"

Hearing the report of his subordinate, the man, a senior director of the Freemason’s Mystical Community (FMC) , felt a headache brewing in his head.

"Those moles decided to pop their heads up? I thought Merlin’s progeny was already born?"

Merlin’s progeny, a mystery in the mystical world. Where it originated from nobody knows, but one thing that all modern mystics understand is the significance of that bloodline.

Centuries have passed and not a single one of Merlin’s progeny became an important figure in the world but the various mystical groups that descended from the survivors of many mystical races had kept their heads down because of these unknown individuals.

Some speculated that an even darker, more secretive world existed and those like the Director were well aware of that such possibility was nt entirely impossible.

After all, they themselves existed in the shadows of societies darkness.

To think that something even more mysterious hid in their own shadows was not that far off an idea.

But whether that was true or not? The Director could only leave such matters to the experts. The professional mystics who worked to uncover such mysteries and spend their time going over such cases.

For him, the main goal was to find the core of the problem...

"Damien Dixon... he popped up all of a sudden, made a big explosion of controversy and then vanished... how the hell did we not notice that?"

It was a national event, one where a key figure in the world of business was involved!

Damien Dixon, a man who rose up the social ladder like a rocket came crashing down faster than a comet.

His rise was rapid but it happened over a decade but his fall... in just one night, the man went from a respected individual who was leading the future of America to a bastard who abused women and lost everything.

The company he built was transferred over to his abused lover the same day his reputation was ruined, something that would make many people raise their eyebrows in suspicion. But nobody seemed to go against the narrative.

Like clockwork, everything shot against Damien Dixon turning him into a monster suddenly and then- he vanished.

What came next was a report of him killing FBI agents, a report of using body doubles that underwent extreme plastic surgery and a mission report from a survivor of the killings citing "Monstrous entities".

Such a case would have immediately placed Andrea- the woman who inherited the company under suspicion but she had also mysteriously disappeared hours before the national brainwashing was undone.

Still, the deception did not truly target the whole nation- that was the difficult part.

Only important individuals and decision makers, those who could move power were controlled.

The rest of the nation? They simply followed the tide and reacted normally. Few people would actually care about the real "process" as many have already grown numb to sudden events.

It was not rare after all to suddenly hear the news of a celebrity being outed as a molester, a famous director being a deviant and all that crap.

Especially when its events, rumors or talks about the people in power.

The idea that "everyone has skeletons in their closet" is something that could be said to be ingrained into the psyche of every American. This mentally numbs their disbelief and otherwise explosive emotions from popping up whenever they hear about the evil certain people in power did.

After all, regular people had more pressing concerns to deal with.

Matters such as debt, food and their own reputation.

Putting even a single brain cell into thinking about shit they can’t really do anything about is just a complete waste of time, money and energy.

Instead of stressing themselves out because some bastard was caught being abusive to his wife/lover, whatever their situation was- if the news agencies claim something and they were backed up by the relevant authorities...

All people would do is think-

"That’s it"

Yet, unlike such people, the Director, Adrian Allen Lowe was particularly miffed about the whole ordeal as the events were too... public.

Especially the matter regarding the FBI agents tracking down Damien Dixon.

While most people would see it as nothing more than an escalation since many in the US still believe in the power of the FBI, it’s still a problem when cracks start to appear in the story.

Unfortunately, the sudden "realizations" that many of those in power experienced caused a sudden shift.

The FMC had to really work hard in ensuring that things don’t escalate.

The last thing they want is for another big name to find the cracks and trace the mystical world.

At this moment, the only ones who are well aware of the mystical world are high level agents working directly under the Pentagon and the President.

The circle was small and control of information was tight.

Individuals who were likely to give away the secret are dealt with through hypnosis and are marked.

Some would call such methods evil, unconstitutional or even inhumane.

But those in the mystical world knew that keeping things the way there were is what maintains the peace of the world.

After all unlike, powers built on technology, the mystical powers were random and highly individualistic.

History has been reshaped but Adrian was one of the few people who was aware of the true nature of the past. The fact that many "legends" were not mere myths but actual people- actual monsters that once roamed the land.

He was not going to bank on modern weaponry having the ability to defeat the mystical fighters.

After all, the mystical world is simply too- illogical.

"Have you contacted Andrea?"

"She has not responded but we have obtained CCTV footage and it’s..."

"It’s?

"Please take a look at it yourself"

The agent passed a tablet to Adrian that had a video already loaded in. The director played the clip and what he saw was a really short video.

A clear CCTV video that showed Damien Dixon suddenly appearing after a door opened mysteriously. Then-

*stare*

Damien and Andrea had an exchange and as Damien reached into his jacket, the feed cut off but the movement was something Adrian was very familiar with.

"Have you investigated the office?"

"No signs of struggle and the female believed to be Andrea-"

"Believed to be?"

Adrian picked up on something and asked for an explanation which the agent immediately answered to-

"The interrogation of the traitors revealed that the woman "Andrea" had been meeting with them in secret and was the individual responsible for control, most of those that met her were low ranking officers whose main job was to facilitate the hypnosis of their superiors"

The director recalled his former assistant who was now dead, shot directly by him just hours before.

"The real Andrea?"

"... her parents have been killed and all records of her background..."

"I see- their target was Damien Dixon?"

"It appears so"

"Why?"

Adrian muttered aloud, the issue just got even worse.

While Damien Dixon was not a person who was of particular importance to the FMC, maybe a bit of a headache with his AI industry that was threatening to tighten the rope around the mystical community-

That was still something that they could control or at least- manage.

But now, not only did Damien show that he had a connection to the mystical world, the footage and information also revealed that he was part of a bigger conspiracy.

While the FBI was focused on trying to find the truth of the matter, the FMC, Adrian’s people... their goal now was to-

"Look for Damien Dixon, pull up all the records of his travels, compare them to the movement of suspected members of Agartha-"

At this moment, a scenario which he didn’t want to play out may be happening. It could spell the start of a chaotic era but Adrian was not going to let it happen so easily.

If fate truly wants chaos to start, then he couldn’t do anything about it but! Until the eventual moment when it all happens-

Adrian would do his best to try and stop it.