[The Primordial Forge - The Celestial Anvil]
Silas braced for incineration as he fell toward the blazing magma.
Suddenly, a sleek, obsidian Pantheon Prime portal ripped open in mid-air. Silas fell directly through it, landing safely on the plush carpet of the Principal's Office.
Simultaneously, Victor Thorne stepped out of the portal and onto the floor of the Primordial Forge. His midnight-blue suit magically repelled the apocalyptic heat. He was flanked by Princess Ignis, her demonic broadsword drawn and eager for a fight.
"YOU!" the Forgefather bellowed, rising from his magma throne and raising a massive mythril hammer. "THE TYCOON! YOU SEND SPIES TO STEAL MY PROPRIETARY MAGIC?!"
"I don't steal," Victor pulled his gold pocket watch from his vest, completely ignoring the towering Elder God. "Stealing IP leads to messy, protracted litigation."
Victor turned his back on the Forgefather and walked directly toward Valerius, the terrified four-armed celestial engineer holding the glowing runic blueprints.
"Valerius," Victor said smoothly, projecting a golden holographic chart from the Tycoon's Ledger. "I have reviewed your employment history. You have been the Chief Architect of this Forge for four millennia. You write the creation algorithms. You hammer the starlight. And yet, the Forgefather takes one hundred percent of the credit and all the equity."
Valerius blinked, lowering his tools. "I... I am but a servant to the Elder Gods. It is my duty."
"It is a toxic workplace culture," Victor adjusted his cuffs. "You are severely under-compensated. I don't want to steal your blueprints, Valerius. I want to hire the man who writes them."
The Forgefather roared in absolute fury. "HE IS MY PROPERTY! I WILL CRUSH YOU BOTH!"
The Elder God swung his massive hammer down to pulverize them.
Victor didn't even look up. "Ignis. Block the middle-management."
Princess Ignis grinned. She intercepted the colossal mythril hammer with her broadsword. The resulting shockwave cracked the very foundation of the Forge, but the Demon Princess held the Elder God back entirely through the sheer power of her debt-bound contract.
"I am officially poaching you," Victor slashed his fountain pen across the Ledger, generating a glowing golden employment contract. "The Pantheon Group is offering you the title of Chief Technology Officer. You will receive a base salary of fifty million Tokens annually, full portal privileges, and a three percent equity stake in $PANTH stock."
Valerius's four eyes widened in absolute shock. The stock options alone made him richer than the Elder God he worked for.
"You're... you're giving me equity in the multiverse?" the engineer whispered.
"Only if you sign right now," Victor checked his Rolex. "And bring your proprietary formulas with you."
"NO! HE IS BOUND BY SACRED VOWS!" the Forgefather screamed, struggling against Ignis's hellfire.
"Sacred vows are legally unenforceable without a strict Non-Compete Clause," Victor smiled a ruthless, predatory smile.
Without a second of hesitation, Valerius grabbed Victor's pen and signed the contract. He packed up the ancient blueprints of creation and stepped through the Pantheon Prime portal, officially defecting to the corporate empire. Victor had just stolen the Gods' magic by executing the greatest Talent Acquisition in history.