Natali Lonskaïa :
More paperwork… always more paperwork. Files stacked on my desk seemed to multiply endlessly. Between demands for justification and thinly veiled diplomatic attacks, it had now been a full month since Jérémy had shut himself away in his warehouse.
The only effort he had made—after my rather insistent request—was a press conference to reassure the public that he was alive and to vaguely mention the continuation of his projects.
That was the first and last time I ever put him in front of journalists. He froze completely and barely managed to string together two or three sentences to say he was fine and that he would show the rest of his work later.
And me… I had to deal with the aftermath, to my great dismay. Fortunately, President Atlas intervened just in time to save the situation and take over the interview.
On France's side, their ambassadors kept insisting on visiting, hoping to convince him to return, despite an endless list of refusals from him.
Part of me found it sad… that he had no family or friends capable of exerting any pressure on him to come back.
But in a way, it also worked in our favor: no dangerous outside influence could get its hands on him.
But that wasn't all.
Other countries were now trying to negotiate his "repatriation" under our noses, each one hoping to exploit the technology he had demonstrated.
As for Vivian, she had been deployed on a hunt for spies attempting to infiltrate our nation. She had already caught more than twenty of them, all from different countries—although, of course, their governments never acknowledged their existence.
And then there were the constant supply requests coming from Séraphina.
I had finally summoned her for an explanation.
While waiting for her arrival, I continued stamping refusals or postponements for the endless stream of ambassadors seeking an audience with Jérémy.
As if the president already knew exactly what kind of political circus awaited us…
A sound at my door pulled me out of my thoughts.
"Come in," I said without looking up from my files.
Séraphina entered, dressed in a blue mechanic's jumpsuit, a faint streak of grease across her forehead—something that genuinely surprised me.
But I was far too exhausted to comment on such details at this hour.
"Well, well. It's not every day I see this much paperwork piled on your desk," she teased lightly.
She wasn't wrong.
Usually, my office was immaculate, each issue handled immediately. But now, two towering piles of documents sat in front of me, a constant reminder of the workload crushing me—because of him, who had turned everything upside down… I even tore the page I'd been writing on, irritated by the thought alone.
"Spare me your comments, please. All of this is because of him," I replied sharply.
As if my responsibilities as the LADA's director of intersector affairs weren't already heavy enough, I now had to handle all the additional problems he caused within the country.
Séraphina sat across from me, a bead of sweat sliding down her cheek. She held a sheet of paper she tried—rather poorly—to hide from my sight.
"I suppose you wanted to see me about a certain request?" she asked with a faint smile.
I pulled out her latest requisition form and pointed directly at the list.
"Yes, I wanted to talk about this," I said, tapping the page. "A gold ingot. Seriously?"
I raised my eyes to her.
"And what exactly are you wearing? You're supposed to supervise him, not play mechanic."
She offered a weak smile, but I needed to understand why her requests had become so extravagant.
"It's been a while since you last went down to the warehouse, hasn't it?" she answered, dragging me back to reality.
"Jérémy is building a machine that will allow him to create new Celestial Rings, according to what he explained to me. For that, he needs to mix several elements—including gold. He didn't go into details, but you know we can't send just anyone down there.
Daniel's already helping, and we're reaching the final stages. So… how about leaving this paperwork and coming to see what we're working on?"
The idea was tempting… far too tempting.
And it gave me an excuse to step away from my responsibilities for a moment.
But it wasn't reasonable.
I looked at the pile of documents… then at Séraphina, smiling at me like an accomplice.
Oh well. It was time for a break.
"Fine, I'm coming. But let me make some tea first, and we'll grab your gold ingot on the way."
"I'll take one with you," she said.
As the tea steeped, I asked a few questions about their progress and about our "guest."
"How is he behaving? He's not giving you trouble?" I asked, bringing the cup to my nose to enjoy the rose fragrance.
"He and his daughter are more motivated than ever. You can really tell how passionate they are," she replied.
"His daughter…"
I fell silent for a moment, perplexed.
"That entity… is there a problem with her?"
"No, not at all. Actually, she's adorable," she said with a smile.
I stared at her for a moment, judging her internally—wondering if she wasn't forgetting her role.
"Don't worry. She won't harm us, as long as no one threatens her father.
But if someone did… well, then you can be sure we'd have a problem."
"I see…"
I had spoken very little with Iris, and I still wasn't sure whether to consider her an ally or a potential danger.
"And Vivian? Is she doing well?" she asked next.
"Oh please… we unleashed her into the wild with full authority over her hunt. She's the one having the best time right now."
We both sighed at the same time as we finished our tea.
We walked through the sterile white corridors of the underground facility until reaching an elevator that carried us deep into the mountain.
This place was secured by an array of cutting-edge safety systems, accessible to only three people in the entire country.
Once all verification steps were completed, the door opened onto a vast chamber made of three fortified levels, built to withstand any imaginable attack.
Inside, there was only the bare minimum required to survive during wartime and to protect part of the population.
But let's avoid dwelling on worst-case scenarios: its current purpose was simply to store the nation's wealth and other sensitive documents.
On one side, the base's main server was locked behind a reinforced grid, protected from any attempts at hacking or electromagnetic interference.
On the other, rows of locked cabinets held confidential information about countless individuals.
Those files were a formidable weapon, capable of manipulating—or blackmailing—anyone who stood against us.
After all, information was one of our most powerful assets.
"Impressive, isn't it?" I said with a faint smirk as I surveyed the room.
The security here was so strict it bordered on oppressive—a clear reflection of what we were safeguarding.
"It's true, I've never been allowed inside before now," she admitted as she looked around.
I unlocked another door—after yet another round of authorization checks—to enter the chamber where part of the nation's treasure was stored.
Once opened, stacks of gold bars appeared before us, piled neatly on pallets at hip height.
On one side stood original works of art, carefully protected.
"Uh… I think I'll wait outside. I'm starting to feel dizzy," Séraphina said, stepping back slightly.
To be fair, such wealth could easily elicit temptation.
But ultimately, it all belonged to the people of Atlantis.
I took a small 250-gram gold bar from one of the vaults while Séraphina waited at the entrance.
Once outside, I handed it to her.
"We'll start with this. We'll see about the rest once he shows us some results."
"Hopefully this will be enough," she said with a slight smile.
"Do you know what he plans to do with it?" I asked as we exited the lower level and began heading back toward Jérémy's warehouse.
"Not exactly. He didn't explain much."
"And his work—how far along is he?"
"So far, we've mostly been building the machine that will supposedly allow him to create those energy rings, according to what he told us.
He's already stacked several of them, but I can't say what his final goal is. He just said he wants to make a bigger one."
"Why bigger ones?" I asked, intrigued.
"I asked him the same thing. He said it was more efficient for now.
He also wants to organize a private conference with the medical division."
"A medical conference?"
Was he finally ready to talk about it?
I hoped he had at least thought carefully about how he planned to present the situation…
"It has something to do with a miracle product, according to him," Séraphina said with a shrug.
"Since our conversation on the plane, he's been hoping to get more professional opinions on his remedy. It would be a good start… but he could have talked to me about it first."
"He didn't tell you anything else?" I pressed, wanting to know more.
"Not really. He and his daughter are mostly focused on building the machine.
What about you? Did he explain anything to you?"
The elevator doors opened, and we walked down the hallway toward his warehouse.
I took a moment to gather my thoughts before answering.
"Yes, he did talk about it to Vivian and me on our way back."
I paused.
"So? What did he tell you?"
"According to him, the remedy can cure a body of all its ailments… and he even claims it can make a limb grow back."
"Seriously?! But… is that even possible?"
"He gave absolutely no proof, and we haven't analyzed the samples we brought back yet. For now, they're secured in the base laboratory."
It was true that ever since our discussion on the plane, I had put the matter aside in my thoughts.
"What's bothering you, then?" she asked, probably noticing the concern on my face.
"It's a subject that's far too delicate for my taste.
His remedy could indeed heal the body completely—maybe even regrow limbs if what he says is true.
But on a larger scale… it could easily spiral into a social catastrophe."
We finally arrived at the warehouse door.
"I'm not making any judgment until we see more, but I insist on verifying if it's truly real."
She placed her hand on the scanner to unlock the door.
"But that said… I think you're about to be surprised by what's inside now."