Eventually, the last conversations ended, and everyone left the table. It was time for Alexander to return to Earth.
Once they were alone again in a hallway, he turned to Elizabeth and said, "Thank you for the wonderful evening. Considering that it will take me about an hour to get back via limousine… I think I'll take the 4 o'clock shuttle back."
Elizabeth gave him a huge smile. She seemed relieved that her family hadn't scared Alexander away, as well as that Alexander had resisted her brother's condescending offer. "Yes, I had a great time too! Both last evening and today. Do you want to meet again?"
Alexander said, "Yes, of course. Add me on your holo-watch." He raised his wrist and began typing out a message.
Elizabeth replied, "Alright. What's your name?"
Alexander gave her an odd look, as though he didn't understand that she was asking for his full name.
Of course, he didn't want to 'give' his full name right away. That would make it much easier for Elizabeth, or anyone else, to discover his true identity as Apophis. Instead, he sent her a close-range contact message which only included his number and first name.
"My name? You know it's Alexander. Do you mean, 'how is it spelled?' Here, I sent you a contact request."
Elizabeth frowned. She seemed as though she would ask a further question, but decided not to press the matter. "That name feels awfully familiar. Are you related to anyone famous? Anyway, I added your number. See you soon!"
Alexander summoned all his courage and kissed Elizabeth deeply. Then he pulled away and left the manor, taking one of the family's limousines back to the shuttle.
On the way, Alexander felt deeply guilty about what he had done. Though he was simply using Elizabeth for information, he had, to some degree, been unfaithful to Emma, though he hadn't actually slept with Elizabeth.
But something else was also bothering Alexander. To his surprise, he realized that he felt guilty about seducing and deceiving Elizabeth! Even if she was a superficial, spoiled, arrogant Celestial…
She didn't deserve this.
Especially since Alexander had decided that, given her upbringing and how her brother had turned out, Elizabeth wasn't such a bad person, after all. It was difficult to compare her to her "Horus" counterpart of Zelda. It made Alexander wonder how different the many other people he had met in the game were, compared to the real humans behind the characters.
***
After his return to Earth at the Northern Naval Base, Alexander had to take care of several small matters.
The first and most pressing of which was his new apartment. A pang of frustration and sadness touched Alexander's heart as he remembered that neither his mother nor his father would be moving in with him, but he pushed the feelings aside to focus on the important tasks which lay before him
He'd sent a message to Diana just before the shuttle took off from the Moon, so she was ready to pick him up and drive him home once he arrived.
Diana confirmed that everything had gone well. She'd started to unpack the boxes in the new apartment and had even bought some new furniture which tastefully matched the interior.
Alexander had really chosen his butler well. Diana was anticipating and adapting well to everything he thought to ask of her, and was clearly a shoulder that he could rest on when he was overwhelmed by all the new logistics in his life.
She was a butler as professional as any of those in the Montcalm manor.
Actually, considering the behavior of one particular female butler in the manor, Diana was probably even 'more' professional!
On the way to his new apartment, where Emma would also soon arrive, Alexander took the opportunity to check the news channels about "Horus." He found a particularly interesting report at once.
"...The biggest recent event in the game is, without a doubt, an announcement by Lord Of War. They've announced the recruitment of over one million players under their new contract system, promising a juicy salary and huge benefits for top performers.
"Obviously, this event is related to the recent billion GC reward that the guild received! Will it be a wise investment? Only time will tell. Nevertheless, it raises the question of the balance of power between the SuperGuilds. Will we see the birth of a Lord Of War hegemony? Everything seems to indicate it!"
Alexander found all these events fascinating.
Despite the strong changes to the history of "Horus" that Alexander had caused during his reincarnation into the past, it seemed that many large events had still occurred in this new life , though for slightly different reasons.
Lord Of War was still growing in power at about the same rate it originally had. Would it annex all other guilds and factions in this life, as it had in his first life?
During that first time, a few days before his death, the SuperGuild Spartan had finally given in after. This had occurred after an impressively long time as the only SuperGuild to resist the monopoly of the Confederation of the Eternals.
And, of course, the Confederation was completely in Lord Of War's control at that time. The Confederation had risen to such heights that it was worthy of being called a Great Space Power and was at the point of launching a full-scale offensive against all other NPC nations.
The more power Lord Of War gained, the crappier the game became for everyone else.
They had invaded the solar systems of almost every independent faction and had imposed their rules and laws upon everyone.
In the year of Alexander's death, Lord Of War had even imposed taxes against all players within their own guild, though this had previously been unheard of. Up until this point, one of the unspoken rules of joining a guild was that it gave a player a special, citizen-like status, one which protected them from the penalties and taxes which applied to all outsiders.
With this ultimate decision, Lord Of War had made a clear statement:
We can do whatever we wish to anybody we wish. Even if you are loyal to us, you are not special in our eyes.
Those who protested and resisted this policy change were spam-killed, losing level after level and equipment after equipment, until their characters were useless.
"Horus" eventually operated under a simple rule:
Pay Lord Of War, or play another game.
And compared to "Horus," what other game was worth playing? It had ruined all other games forever, for nothing else could simulate a full universe to anything close to the same extent.
Perhaps Lord Of War's monopoly was the purest form of realistic simulation in the game.
Just as in the real world, the 1% had seized everything, leaving nothing but worthless scraps for the 99% below them.
***
Alexander finally arrived at his apartment.
Diana rushed to open the door and formally welcome him inside.
The interior was grandiose. The apartment had over five habitable rooms and a dedicated gaming room with a gaming booth and a top-of-the-line computer.
Alexander looked around in amazement. "It's… It's excellent, Diana! You did your job perfectly!"
Diana gave a professional bow, though her voice had a hint of pride in it. "Thank you, Master. I took the liberty of setting up a room for myself. A modest one, and out of the way, of course."
Alexander turned to her. "A room for you?"
Diana replied, "Yes, Master. I am your butler, after all..."
But there was an odd and ambiguous tone to her voice, and Alexander suspected that this was perhaps not the standard way things were done.
But before he could speak, the doorbell rang.
Diana quickly moved to the door and let Emma in.
She was really beautiful! Her dark skin shone in the apartment's expensive light system, and her long, black hair was a perfect contrast to her beautiful red dress.
Alexander wanted to tear it off her right away, being quite frustrated by spending so much time with a very attractive—and nude—Elizabeth…
But Diana was there. It was better to wait just a bit longer!
Emma looked around. Though she'd been annoyed upon her arrival, this quickly gave way to amazement. "Well, I suppose your apartment's not so bad after all."
Alexander smiled proudly. "I paid six million credits. It had better not be bad!"
Emma smirked playfully. "Pfff, you could have bought a dome on the Moon for that much! And here I am, only going out with you because I thought I could leech off your millions!" The teasing faded from her voice. "By the way, how was the Moon?"
Alexander grimaced. "A nest of fat rats. It's a place where the worst scum of all humanity is gathered to laugh at the 99% of the human population still dying down here."
Emma responded, "Why were you there, then?"
Alexander said, "For vital information. Our 'peace' with Lord Of War and the Confederation will not hold for long. We must prepare ourselves for an all-out war with them very soon."
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