Pseudonym: Gula

{ APRIL 2159 | 7 MONTHS BEFORE THE JENZAYA EXTINCTION }

The wooden door creaked open and in walked a tall male who ducked his head under its frame.

"You called for just me…?"

"You're all I need to make this as effective as possible."

Midas sat at his desk, across from Gian-Luca who he'd invited into his study for a meeting. The call was for the intent of an upcoming plan he'd made.

"Have a seat Gula. I've gotta inform you of a few things."

"Please don't call me that."

"Get used to it. It's going to be your undercover name."

"Undercover?"

Midas smiled. "You'll be infiltrating a public space, by yourself."

Gian-Luca's eyebrows furrowed. "What do I have to do?"

"I'm enrolling you into Xavier District's Advanced Education Program."

"What…? Am I not smart enough for you? Do you want me to learn from teachers?"

Midas scoffed heavily. "You're funny. You can learn the teachings there while you're at it, but that's not the reason. You'll have a purpose different from a regular student while you're there." He crossed his fingers. "You're going to wipe the memories of the target I provide you."

"A student in the class?"

Midas nodded.

"And that's because…?"

"They're all studying to pursue a career in the Cardinal Nexus. Wipe the target's memories of his knowledge and suddenly he can't pursue that career anymore."

"Oh… So we're really going to start attacking the government?"

"The word 'attacking' is a loud one. More like… sabotaging..." Midas now stood up, wandering around his chair in circles. "Do you remember that lecture I gave you all on the Cardinal Nexus? The government is the tallest obstacle in the way of true liberation. Sure we've escaped the A.X.A. labs, but are we truly free when the world we've returned to looks against us?"

Gian-Luca shook his head.

"Exactly. We need to wither the higher powers. Because from there, we can sweep the rug out from under their feet and pull ourselves up to the higher standings. We already have the powers, so the rest can be smooth-sail."

"Domination…?"

"You get it," Midas smiled. "Weaken the governmental status and invoke higher amounts of fear. The reputation of the Seven Sins have already taken a detrimental toll on the country. We just need to take advantage of the opportunity we've been given."

Gian-Luca thought back on something Venus had said. "And all this would be to 'assert our superiority over others,' correct?"

Midas giggled. "The way he puts things sounds too condescending. Put it my way; to establish our noticeable strength and power over others. We've already won that battle in the mental regard, and seeing how the masses have reacted to us, don't you find it somewhat satisfactory?"

Gian-Luca felt his mind unexpectedly sink towards agreement. "Yeah…"

"Don't you wanna know what true power feels like?"

"Yeah…"

"Don't you want to be seen as a higher power over those that expelled us from their society?"

Gian-Luca nodded. His heart began to race.

"Then follow my lead Gula. You're my first choice at cracking the foundation of the government. I'm going to send you into the month-long Education Program at Xavier District to act among the students. While you're there, I need you to wipe the memories of William Leon. Looking at his last semester's grades, he's undoubtedly going to be the top prospect in that class. We must eliminate top prospects, and for a matter of fact, any prospect who is eligible to join an internship at the Cardinal Nexus. Our goal is to prevent any internships from happening at all."

"Why?"

"Because that's the closest connection we can get to hurting the government right now. Cut off their round of prospects so that they can't expect any new employees in the next following years. It won't seem like much now, but in the long run it'll sting. Do you get it?"

"Sort of."

"We aren't attacking, because that would be head-on. Like I said, we're sabotaging them. We're leaving little scratches and dents that'll go unnoticed now but hurt them considerably in the future. When these unexpected marks bring about their downfall, all we'd need to do is step over our already-fallen foes. It's like the story of baboons and baby lion cubs."

Gian-Luca watched Midas who smiled gleefully. He could tell the guy already had his conclusions set-in-stone. The last time he did, they'd all escaped the literal hands of death from A.X.A.

"I'll follow your lead, Midas." Gian-Luca stood high. "I have one question though."

"Shoot."

"It's an advanced program, right? What if I get exposed from not keeping up to par with the studies while I'm there?"

"You won't be exposed. I'll provide you with some teachings to study before you attend the program. It'll be enough to prevent you from being dropped from the course, but not enough to make you stand out. We wouldn't want you standing out, overshadowing the top prospect target himself. We just need you to remain within the class median."

"Understood."

"Good. We can start the studies tomorrow after I've shown you how to work the ear-chip I've developed."

"Ear-chip?"

"It's a microchip-sized ear-piece that we can use to communicate while you're there."

"Ah…"

"Now go back and tend to Vidia. She's probably dying to see you right now."

Gian-Luca sighed. He turned around and left through the door, once more ducking under its frame before closing it behind him.

"We're not done just yet A.X.A…"

Midas stared at his desk.

"I'll find you…"