Rona
Sky rise buildings, bustling traffic, cars honking in the distance.
We stood on the roof of an office building and my knees buckled as a wave of nausea rolled over me.
I clutched my stomach, grabbing onto the nearest object to stabilise myself.
I was met with a single disapproving glance.
"With how weak your species are, they'd be better off extinct."
"You wouldn't want to deal with eight billion souls flooding your realm now, would you?"
I bit back.
He led- no he strode down the stairs and I tailed behind him struggling to keep up with his pace.
As he passed the threshold, his dark robes that fluttered even without wind were replaced by a sleek three suit, his silver crown with slicked black hair tied in at the top.
Even from the distance the quality of his suit could rival those of top fashion brands,
Caesar's perfectly tailored Armani suit was dull in comparison.
"-1 point for sluggishness." He commented, trailing down the dark hallway.
Fuck! This was a point system.
I hastened my pace, trailing behind him.
A large door came into view, swinging open before we even got close.
I watched him from the corner of my eyes, it seemed he had a penchant for large doors.
Weird, but who am I to judge-
…His assistant, his unpaid assistant.
I couldn't even make it past the door when every office worker's nightmare came barrelling towards me.
Paperwork, Lots of Paper work.
All piled high and levitating off the ground.
"-1 point." The cold voice sounded behind me, a little too close for comfort. "Seems like your flexibility could use a little more effort."
His touch was gone just as quickly as it came, and he stood metres away from me, the same cruel smirk was painted on his face.
"Do you know why I chose to help you, Rona?" He asked, eerily cold.
What sort of question was that, he said it himself, he needed an assistant…
His smirk grew wider and his lips curled in a predatory- like smile.
"You really think you were worthy to become my assistant?" His voice was low as he mocked me.
My words bubbled at the tip of my tongue,
"Why?" It was the question I've been dying to ask all this while, from the moment I stepped foot in that haunted room. "Why choose me?
I barely caught it.
The fleeting look in his face that told me there was much more to him than what meets the eye.
The Progenitor, the man whose name I was yet to know.
He twirled a strand of his luscious, dark hair. "It gets boring in the underworld, the human realm is far more lively." He paused, gesturing at sleek tiles that lined the walls, "And this is my solution to eternal boredom."
My hands hovered above my mouth and I struggled to contain my laughter, "You created a company…out of boredom?"
He raised his brows, clearly unamused and I cleared my throat feigning composure, "So where do I come in, in all this."
A scroll materialised with a snap of his finger.
"Rona Reid, Chief Executive Officer of a Tech startup worth billions in liquidated funds. Perfect resumé dear assistant, just what I need for my new company."
Free Labour?
"You do well and you just might gain a couple more points and if you don't…"
The scroll crumpled up, black rot forming from the centre and slowly spreading out, consuming it whole till nothing was left but cinders and ash.
I mustered my best professional smile, throwing a salute his way, "First class assistant reporting for duty, sir!"
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ
The future was bleak, all white with no colour in sight.
A tired groan escaped my lips as I stared at the endless amount of paperwork and I was even halfway done.
The Progenitor had gone to take care of what he deemed 'important business'.
I suspect it had something to do with those dark creatures from earlier, even the thought of it made chills run down my spine, had he not been there only heaven knew if I would be able to sit comfortably on a couch.
My attention returned to the paper laying on the desk, Smart City Management.
He was one complex being, I still couldn't comprehend his fascination with this project.
For an ethereal being he sure was riddled with mortal affairs.
Every time I asked, he always kept his answers vague and I had to piece together what little information I had.
One thing was for sure, the Progenitor had a kink for architecture, every single design and document I skimmed through was drafted meticulously- just the way I liked it.
There were a bunch of errors though, mainly with the company structure, funding and project patents, nothing I couldn't fix.
Still it felt like I travelled through time, back to my startup days.
A hot blooded teen, fresh out of high school with enough aspiration to reach the sky.
I stayed up all night peering at documents and revising files for my first patent.
An antivirus software (AS), much faster and effective than what was currently available on the tech market– My first stepping stone to success.
I tossed the pen onto the desk, stretching as I yawned.
There was a knock. I got up, eyeing the doors warily.
"Who's there!" I called out, taking one cautious step after another.
It definitely couldn't be him. The Progenitor wasn't one to knock, he'd just disappear and appear whenever he wanted.
The concept of personal privacy was foreign to him.
I stood before the oaken doors and placed my hand on the palm sized engravings. It pulsed with that familiar purple glow.
The doors slowly whirred open, on the other side stood an unfriendly acquaintance, two unfamiliar females spanned his sides, their ears were pointed, faint tribal markings adorning their bluish-white skin.
"Ah! Long time no see old friend, did you miss me?" I asked, sporting a friendly grin.
I could bet my comatose body that he didn't want to be here just as much as I didn't expect to see him.