The Operation

{ 6 MONTHS BEFORE THE METATRON TOURNAMENT }

Ding!

The phone's screen was lit with a notification from afar. Uriel, still in his suit and orange tie, noticed this and picked it up. He was surprised to see that "Peter Stephens" had texted him.

"This is…"

He unlocked his phone and checked the message. In a single text were the words; "I found him."

Uriel's eyes widened. He knew exactly who this was, and who it was from. He began typing erratically. "You did? Where?"

"Just outside of Jenzaya District's ruins. I have a tracker on him so I can inform you of his location at all times."

"Good. We can now proceed with our deal then."

"I wouldn't recommend that."

Uriel was stupefied. "Why not? I can get Michael to send in Angels and then we can re-capture him."

"It wouldn't be as simple as that. Wrath was the one who caused the Jenzaya Extinction, not an earthquake. The complete destruction, and the thousand deaths, were caused by Wrath—alone."

Seeing this shocked Uriel. "Wrath did that? How do you know?"

"I met with him following the disaster. The other Sins and I struggled to suppress him. It won't be easy to capture him with his current power state. It could even expose your position. I wouldn't suggest doing it openly at all."

Uriel was still in awe at knowing that the Sin of Wrath was the one who caused the massive calamity at Jenzaya District. He felt unassured by the assignment in retrieving the Sin, but also intrigued. Knowing that the Sin he chose to take had power on such a level was now beginning to reassure him.

"We can definitely take over this country with Wrath on our side…" More motivated than ever, Uriel made his statement.

"Then we'll do as forementioned, and discuss a detailed plan to secure the Sin of Wrath without exposing either of ourselves. With that, we can proceed with the ultimatum."

"Yes. So tell me, if it doesn't involve your usual retrievals of sending over Angels, what do you have in mind then?"

Uriel was brought to think. How could he secure such a dangerous subject without having a result similar to Jenzaya's? How could he do so without exposing A.X.A.'s position? He thought long and hard before formulating an idea he would soon text to the Sin of Greed.

"I might be able to do something in my position as CEO of Initiate Co."

"You're right," he texted back. "You're in a position with lots of money and power, and even some connections to the government. We can definitely do something with this."

As time passed, and society crumbled, the two individuals continued to communicate with one another over their ideas and plans to secure the Sin of Wrath. Their schemes developed slowly over time as the nation and the standard for a regular citizen changed with the revolution, division in ideologies, and the birth of violent factions. Eventually, a consistent conclusion was made that wouldn't change anytime soon—the country's people had grown mad and power-hungry. All were compelled by the sin of greed.

"This is perfect." Uriel was texting him once again. "With how the people are now, I think this might just attract everyone's attention, including Wrath's."

"I agree," Greed replied. "If you're going to breach the system to make an official broadcast about the tournament, I suggest adding in the street slogan."

"Street slogan?"

"DISMANTLE THE NEXUS. Include that, and it'll definitely secure everyone's attention in joining Metatron. If the people know it's part of the revolution, they wouldn't be able to resist."

Over this time of development in the country, Uriel grew slightly fond of the Sin of Greed's ideas. He could see just how smart and mentally developed Greed was.

"Good idea, I'll include that. Though that would sever my connection to the government permanently, would it not?"

"That connection doesn't matter anymore. You've gained enough of their funds to construct the tournament's total cost, so they've done their part. We don't need the Nexus."

"I understand. Seems like a risk, but I'm willing to take it." Uriel was suddenly made curious. "Tell me Greed, how will all this lead to A.X.A.'s secure on the Sin of Wrath? How exactly are you going to aid me in capturing Wrath during this tournament?"

"Since my previous encounter with him, I've made it clear to my comrades that I'm interested in inducting the Sin into our team. They will aid me with this operation in securing him. I already have plans laid out for doing so."

"And how exactly?"

"I'm going to have Gluttony memory-sweep him. Surely his rage is fueled by a trauma of some sort, so I aim to get rid of that factor to make him docile. That way, capturing him won't be a struggle, and won't risk another district-destroying phenomenon from happening."

"The other Sins are going to help you with this?"

"They will. I am their leader, therefore they will follow my lead. They've believed everything I've said up to now, even though they don't know my true intentions with Wrath, nor this deal I've formed with you. If they found out I'd been collaborating with A.X.A. behind their backs this entire time, I might have been killed by now."

"And you can assure that won't happen?"

"It hasn't happened. Not ever since I'd begun this expedition in searching for the answers to my interests, which they've all helped me with unknowingly. I'm this close to receiving the knowledge you promised to provide me, so I won't let anything stop me now."

Uriel giggled reading this. It was condescending and sinisterly motivating. "I promise to give you what you desire once I've obtained my own desire—A.X.A.'s desire. Within the Metatron Tournament, everything will be within our domain, therefore A.X.A. will have all the advantages. Once you've made Wrath docile, and he's been weakened enough by the masses of contenders in the tournament, we'll swoop in and secure him."

"How will you guarantee your promise at that point?"

"I can tell you everything the way we've been communicating this entire time—on this anonymous messaging system."

"Fine. But one more thing."

"What?"

The Sin of Greed formed his shield. "Even though I can most definitely defend myself against the average civilian, I need you to guarantee my safety during this tournament."

"The Sin of Greed asking for help? That's surprising."

"As you can see I am desperate to obtain this knowledge I've been seeking. I don't have enough pride to step in the way of my goal."

"Sure then. As a host of the tournament, I'll guarantee your safety."

"Good."

"So the plan's set. I'll release the broadcast tomorrow on every screen available."

"See you then."

And just like that, the chat disappeared. Every single word spoken was erased out of existence, but the information that came with these communications was now securely stored in the two individuals' minds.