CEO of the Dead

Chapter 10: The god of Industry

I was pinned against the silver wall of the vault. The suction was relentless, pulling the blue light right out of my chest.

"Oswin, get to the core! The vacuum is ripping the code apart!" I yelled.

"I’m trying, Boss! But the frequency is shifting!" Oswin roared. 

He was standing in the center of the room, his massive red form buffeted by the invisible wind. He looked like a titan fighting a hurricane.

"Cedric, talk to me! What’s the override?" I screamed.

"You have to match the vibration of the vault! It’s an occult security loop!" Cedric’s voice was fading in and out. "If you don't sync up, the vacuum will pull you into the jars!"

"How do I sync with a goddamn vacuum?" I asked.

"Use your internal system! There’s a frequency modulator in your Level 9 settings!" Cedric yelled.

I closed my hollow eyes. I didn't see darkness; I saw lines of scrolling blue text. 

[System Warning: Soul Integrity at 30%. Critical Depletion.]

"Accessing Frequency Modulator," I whispered.

"Hurry, Cyprian! My legs are starting to dissolve!" Thomas wailed from the corner.

"Shut up, Thomas! I’m working on it!" I barked.

I felt the shift. It was like tuning a radio through static. Suddenly, the world slowed down. The screaming wind turned into a low, rhythmic hum. The silver walls weren't solid anymore; they were vibrating patterns of math and ancient blood.

"I see it," I said. "Oswin, on my mark, hit the central pedestal!"

"Ready when you are, CEO!" Oswin shouted. "Now!" I commanded.

I surged forward, no longer fighting the vacuum but riding it. I slid through the silver air like a ghost in the machine.

I reached the central console—the ledger of souls, and slammed my digital essence into the lock.

[System Alert: Unauthorized Access detected.]

[Counter-Hack Initiated.]

[Title Unlocked: Petty Thief of Fate.]

[Level Up: Cyprian Fenwick is now Level 10.]

"Did you get it?" Thomas asked, trembling. "I got the ledger," I said, holding a glowing black book that felt like ice.

"The doors! They’re opening!" Oswin yelled.

The stone blocks slid apart with a heavy grind. I didn't wait. I grabbed my mother’s jar and tucked it under my arm.

"Move! Before Alaric resets the trap!" I ordered.

We scrambled through the passage and back into the main manor. The air felt thin and cold. We didn't stop until we reached the penthouse at the Beaumont Tower. I threw the black ledger onto the obsidian table.

"We have their entire history," I panted. "Every soul they’ve taken. Every illegal trade."

"And your mother," Thomas whispered, looking at the amber jar.

"Yeah," I said, my voice softening for a split second.

"Boss, something’s wrong," Oswin said, staring at the monitors.

I looked up. The screens were showing the interior of my old home—the one I had shared with Isadora. Alaric was sitting in the middle of the living room. He wasn't working. 

He wasn't on the phone. He was sitting in front of a ritual altar made of human bone and silver wire.

"Is he... talking to someone?" Thomas asked.

Alaric looked directly into the camera lens. He looked bored, as if he were waiting for a slow waiter.

"I know you're there, Cyprian," Alaric said. His voice was calm, which made it ten times worse. "I can feel the ledger moving. I can feel the Level 10 breach."

"He can see us?" I asked, stepping back.

"I was the one who gave you the System, brother," Alaric said. He leaned forward, his eyes reflecting the silver candlelight. "Did you really think a 'random' glitch would just happen to favor you?"

"What is he talking about?" Oswin asked.

"The prison wasn't the building, Cyprian," Alaric continued. "The System is the prison. Every level you gain, every soul you 'save,' you’re just building my network for me."

"He’s lying," I said, but my hollow eyes were flickering.

"Am I?" Alaric smiled. "Why do you think it costs memories to gain power? I’m the one collecting the tax, Cyprian. I’m eating your life while you play hero."

"I’ll kill you," I hissed at the screen. "You can try. But you’re running out of 'you' to fight with," Alaric said. 

He stood up and blew out the candles. The screen went black.

"We have to go back," I said, my voice cold and empty.

"Go back where?" Thomas asked.

"To the manor. To the ritual," I said. "If he gave me this system, I’m going to use it to rip his heart out."

"Boss, you’re Level 10 now," Cedric said, his voice coming back clearly. "There’s a new skill in your menu. It’s called 'Hostile Liquidation'."

"What does it do?" I asked.

"It doesn't delete the soul," Cedric said. "It turns the user into a god of industry. You can control anything with a Beaumont signature."

"Including Alaric," I said. "Including Alaric," Cedric confirmed.

I looked at my mother’s jar one last time. The amber light was steady now. I tucked it into a safe compartment in the desk.

"Oswin, get the weapons," I said. "Which ones, Boss?" Oswin asked.

"All of them," I replied. "It’s time for the final audit."

I walked toward the window and looked out at the city. The Grey Layer was merging with the real world. I could see the ghosts of a thousand businessmen walking among the living. 

They didn't know they were being used. They didn't know their lives were just dividends for a man sitting in a dark room.

"Alaric thinks he owns the system," I whispered. "But he forgot one thing about a hostile takeover."

"What’s that?" Thomas asked. "The CEO always has the final say," I said.

I felt the code in my eyes settle into a hard, crystalline blue. I wasn't Cyprian Fenwick anymore. I was something else. Something the system hadn't accounted for. "Let’s go," I said.

We stepped out of the penthouse and into the elevator. As the doors closed, a final notification appeared in my vision.

[System Quest: Kill the Creator.]

[Reward: Absolute Ownership.]

"Target acquired," I muttered.

The elevator dropped like a stone, heading straight for the basement.