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It was a castle in the most modern sense imaginable.

Though its function was less about the peacocking of some meaningless nobility, and instead focused more on efficiency.

Even now, there were well over a thousand occupants within the building, all working cohesively on one regime project or another.

On the top floor, in a window office high enough to touch the clouds, there was a lone man standing in a lavish office.

In his public persona, Arias typically wore bold white robes with gold insignia on them in the image of a rising sun.

But those clothes were ones he usually only wore for formal events and the like.

In his free time, and even when he was working, Arias liked to keep things simpler whenever he was able.

*Knock, knock, knock!*

"Come in, Carly!"

The door clicked open and a beautiful young brunette poked her head in the door.

She smiled at her boss at first, but then upon seeing the way that he was dressed, she changed her expression into a glare instead.

"Mr. Arias-"

"I told you to call me \'A-Bomb\' in the office!"

"I will not do that, sir."

"Spoilsport..." Arias went back to spinning a pencil between his fingertips and signing papers on his desk.

His assistant Carly stepped in and shook her head at the sight of this fully grown man in \'Daffy Duck\' pajamas with a pair of earphones over his head.

"Sir... Why does anyone else in the facility bother dressing appropriately if you, the boss, are only going to come to work in your pajamas every day?" she asked.

"Well I do live here..." Arias pointed to a door on the otherwise of his office that led to a literal penthouse apartment. "Besides, I\'ve told you all that you are free to dress as you like too, so long as your work does not suffer. You should start coming in your pajamas too!"

"I\'m afraid I must decline, sir. I sleep naked."

This made Arias tap his pen on his chin thoughtfully. "Do you believe we should develop plans for a nudist colony a little further down the line?"

Carly sighed at her boss\' bad habit.

Nearly every idea that popped into his mind was one that he absolutely had to act out at some point or another.

He took the role of leading and raising a nation rather seriously, as his ultimate goal was to turn these lands into a good, honest paradise that would be comforting to people from all walks of life.

But things like that, however beautiful they may sound, are always easier to wish for than they are to bring about.

Things like budgets, labor forces, time, board members, and priorities, often can inhibit the speed of the process.

Nevertheless, Arias was never fully prevented from achieving his goals and creating the things he wanted to bring to life.

It was the reason why everyone wanted to follow him so fiercely.

Or at least, all of the people that mattered...

"Are you coming to bring me more work, or breakfast? I know I don\'t need to eat anymore, but I think Margie\'s working in the cafeteria today and I would lick her toes for some cheese eggs and-"

Cary proceeded to drop an egregiously thick stack of papers onto Arias\' desk.

"...Grape juice." he finished.

A significant amount of heartbreak could be seen on the face of the leader of The New Day.

"Nudist beaches and cheese eggs will have to wait, Mr. Arias. Your new credit currency system is working well, but there are a few programs and agencies that are requesting a higher budget, but we are nearing our limit on spending for the rest of the fiscal year.

Also, six of the courts have elected to defer to you for a decision in the outcome of their cases after being unable to find a precedent. In addition, there is a meeting with your council in forty-five minutes. I\'m sure you forgot."

Arias looked up at Carly with puppy-dog eyes so massive that it would have put anything \'Disney\' had ever animated to shame.

"Don\'t you have any good news for me...?" he whimpered.

"...I\'ll go to the cafeteria and see if Mrs. Margie has saved a plate for you."

"Will you ask her if she\'ll go to my meeting for me to-"

"No, sir."

Carly disappeared from Arias\' office in a puff of smoke and left him behind to pout.

"I guess I can get started on a bit of this before the meeting starts... Sure wish moving at light speed didn\'t tear all of these papers apart or I\'d be done in two minutes..." he grumbled.

As he opened up the first manila folder, he began reading over yet another proposal first thing in the morning.

But out of nowhere, a pair of slender, feminine arms wrapped around his neck from behind, and a subtle sweet scent of wildflowers tickled his nose.

"My, my. It may be true what they say after all. A hardworking son may indeed be a source of attraction and intrigue for all who gaze upon him. When are you going to bring home someone for me to meet, hm?"

Arias\' face turned beet red as he placed his own hand on the arm of the mysterious intruder, who hardly seemed to be unfamiliar.

"I\'m afraid that it will be a bit of a wait... You know that I am still.." Arias made a pained expression; completely unable to voice his own ghosts aloud.

"Yes, I know, Arias dear. It was only a small jest, so please take your time to heal as you wish. I know that scars like yours do not fade so easily, even with time. Only know that when you are ready, I will be waiting."

"...I appreciate the sentiment, mother."

Arias stood up from his desk and turned around to face a woman who was as bright as the day itself.

...Probably because she was.

Standing at exactly 5\'7, Hemera could be considered a petite woman, and she was as modest as she was graceful.

Her body, though not exaggeratedly curvaceous, did posses a more subtle bountifulness that wasn\'t easily noticeable over her white and gold dress.

She was almost the spitting image of Arias, but where he possessed a pair of bright green eyes, Hemera only had one that mirrored his, while the other was a beautiful sky blue.

Her rosy, pink complexion was as healthy as the wreath of sunflowers adorning the top of her head that showed no signs of death or decay.

Immaculate blonde hair fell all the way to the ground around her feet, but one her son knew that she had recently cut it due to the length.

Arias did not hesitate to hug his mother after not seeing her in the flesh for over two weeks now. "You look like you\'ve gotten thinner since I last saw you."

"Ah, have I? I couldn\'t remember, dear."

Hemera literally gained fifteen pounds in an instant, giving herself a more natural and mature looking appearance.

\'I\'ll never quite get used to that... Though it\'s not as if I can\'t do the same thing now." Arias chuckled to himself.

Hemera suddenly broke their embrace so that she could grasp hold of her son\'s face.

"My chosen son... I have news for you."

"Oh? Do tell."

"In my dreams, I have had a divination. My youngest bother will come to you soon, and with him he will carry an offer of cooperation."

"Cooperation?" Arias raised a brow. "Malachi doesn\'t strike me as the sort."

"Yes, well it appears as though he\'s uncovered something that he feels warrants this dramatic of a move."

"I see.." Arias actually looked vaguely troubled.

If he could help it, he would prefer not to engage Malachi in any of his territories.

Construction was so time consuming after all, and he\'d hate to waste the efforts of those who\'d gotten the world back up and running after the fall.

"Perhaps I should go to him before it comes to that. We could avoid having a firefight in the middle of the city."

Arias waited for his mother to respond, but instead she merely put on a thoughtful expression and fell silent.

"… Listen to me carefully, my son." She finally said. "I believe that we may need to play this game of ours a bit more strategically…"

For the next few minutes before his meeting, Arias listened carefully as his mother warned him about the frightening new premonitions that she had been having around Malachi Saint.