The massive monitor display in the office abruptly went black. The live image of Livia smiling vanished in an instant, the electronic hum cutting out completely. Pitch darkness swallowed the hundredth-floor penthouse office.Xavier remained seated calmly in his chair. Even the emergency overhead lighting in the hallway outside failed to engage. The temperature inside the office plummeted toward absolute zero, frost rapidly spreading across the expansive glass windows. A sharp, sulfurous reek saturated the air.A pool of pitch-black shadow materialized in the center of the office rug, churning like boiling water. Thick gray smoke billowed upward as a towering figure emerged slowly from the dark pool.The man wore a frayed gray robe, tattered at the hem. His face was concealed beneath a filthy hood, save for two blood-red eyes that flared brightly from the shadows within."You think you can just sit comfortably on that throne?" the robed figure greeted him, his voice raspy and echoing t

Heavy snow fell in a blinding whiteout. Howling gale-force winds slammed into the glass facade of the Umbra Capital skyscraper. The hundred-story tower stood firm like a colossal fortress amidst the white storm.In his penthouse office on the top floor, Xavier leaned back in his leather chair. He held a heavy crystal decanter, pouring cold water into a tumbler with slow, deliberate grace. His aristocratic face reflected no panic whatsoever.Suddenly, emergency red warning lights flickered across the room. An ear-splitting siren shrieked through the office."Boss!" Lyra called over the earpiece, her voice tight with panic. "Our primary defense grid was just breached by force!"Xavier set the decanter back onto his desk. "State the situation.""Three dimensional rifts opened simultaneously in the ground floor lobby," Lyra reported, her fingers blurring across her keyboard. "Satellites picked up a massive cosmic energy spike. Their power levels far exceed Valerius.""The High Council of

A sharp, pungent reek of sulfur saturated the air.Xavier stood motionless at the edge of the shattered concrete crater, his gaze fixed straight into the depths of the dimensional rift. The blood-red energy vortex swirled violently as the deafening growls of thousands of subterranean entities echoed upward."Descend into this pit!" a harsh voice roared from the bottom of the portal. "You have some nerve executing three of our collectors!""I will tear your heart out, you fool!" another demonic voice chimed in, sounding like grinding rusted metal. "You think you can challenge the High Council?! We are coming up there!"Xavier did not step back. His features remained carved in ice."You bark far too much down there," Xavier remarked softly, his voice cutting through the portal's deafening noise."Shut your mouth, fledgling!" a third voice threatened from the gloom. "We will send millions of legions tonight! We will level your city! We will drag your sister to hell!"At the threat agains

Five years passed in the blink of an eye.The seasons turned, repeatedly altering the face of New York City. Yet the office on the one hundredth floor of the Umbra Capital building remained unchanged. Absolute darkness and silence always shrouded the room.Xavier sat back in his imposing leather chair. His aristocratic features had not aged a single day. His skin remained pale and flawless. His jawline was as sharp as ever. His mortal frame had been frozen in eternity. The form of the Supreme Demon had halted the aging process of his cells entirely. He would live forever.A click sounded from the intercom speaker on his desk."Boss," Lyra’s voice came through the encrypted underground channel. "Are you busy this afternoon?""I have no standing appointments," Xavier answered with an air of profound elegance and calm. "Report on the status of the city, Lyra.""Everything is pristine," Lyra reported. The sound of rapid typing accompanied her voice. "Elise Moreau just sent over the annual