Once again, he was the king of the world - but this time, things seemed somehow different. It wasn't just the sky being a perpetually cloudy, murky hue. It wasn't just his newfound power, one which he felt, even as he closed his eyes to shut out all else. It wasn't even the fact that there was no sign of the activity that he saw below, before in the city, and that now, chaos reigned in the streets. None of that.

He still had the ambition, the drive. His goal was within his reach. The Gate was open, the Deva Yuga system had worked. He still desired the resources. They waited for him to take. Only...something still bothered him, gnawed at his very soul. What was it? What was different?

^You seem...troubled, sir...^

Guido's eyes flickered open. Yes. It was that.

The Voice lived.

Guido turned to look at the man calmly sitting in the chair. It still took a couple of seconds to adjust to the appearance of the man. He wore the look of a businessman, yet his physical clothing was of long, flowing, monastic robes. He looked the type to carry a gun, but refused any type of weapon save a kodachi blade strapped to the back of his robes. Most notable was the ring on his left hand. In a sea of black, contrasted by light-colored skin, it was the one thing your eyes would be drawn to. The ring was simple in design - it looked to be made of gold, but to Guido's trained eye it was definitely not gold - it was more likely pyrite. Curiously though, the ring seemed to glow with an eerie light all its own.

For only an instant Guido lingered over the look of strange man who was somehow the embodiment of the Voice he had heard all these years. Only for an instant. Then, collecting himself, he spoke.

"Nothing bothers me..." he said, clasping his hands behind his back as he sat down. "I am just concerned..about the means of gathering the resources that I need. Nichols hjas informed me that the Gate is very unstable. It is not large enough to place heavy machinery through. At this rate, the gold, the money, all of it, that is present in this...Nerima, will never be recovered."

^Will you hear my advice, then, as you always have..?^ said the Voice, interlocking his fingers and placing his elbows on the desk.

"I will," said Guido hesitantly, "though it is strange.."

^What is?^ said the Voice dryly. Guido always noticed that the Voice had a dry, almost apathetic sound to it, physically existent or not.

"You speak in my mind before, but now you speak outside my mind, as you sit there now..."

^Why? It is the same as before. You know how I came to be in this form...^

"I do..."

^Well, then, my capacity is the same as before. I advise, you listen. Is that not what made you successful..?^ said the Voice inquisitively.

"Perhaps," replied Guido. "But what do you have to offer..?"

^They say that whenever one way of doing something becomes unable to use, it is inefficient, correct?^

"Indeed."

^Well, does it not make sense that you should get rid of the old method in favor of more effficient, newer methods?^

"This is true."

^Well then,^ said the Voice, nonchalantly buffing the ring on his robes, ^with that in mind I've taken the liberty of..doing a few things...^ The man's night black eyes flashed red for just a second, and then he sat back.

Right at that moment, Nichols' voice could be heard over the intercom in Guido's office. "Sir!" he said, his voice sounding, as always, out of breath and perpetually surprised, "Power output on the Deva Yuga system has increased 400%! The measurements are off the mark..."

"What? How?" said Guido, listening while at the same time looking at the Voice, who had a self-satisfied smile on his face.

"I have no idea..." came the voice of Dr. Nichols. "We had reached our limit and were on the point of burnout, and then...I don't know how to describe it sir, but all our instruments came back to life, and the Gate opened as wide as it could go! We could send the machinery through now, if you wanted....my God, we could send five times the size of the machinery through if you wanted.."

Guido paused, still looking at the man sitting in front of him. Then his eyes narrowed, and he nodded, once. "Belay that for now, Doctor....I'll get back to you when we can do it..."

"But sir! I have no idea how long this surge will last. We ought to take advantage of it now, or else we may never get a chance again..."

Guido flickered a look to the Voice.

^It will last as long as need be. Trust me.^ said the Voice with a smirk.

Guido nodded again, then addressed Nichols. "No...we wait."

"But sir..."

"We _wait_." Guido said, his voice more firm. "That will be all, Doctor." he said as he switched the intercom off. Then he looked at the Voice again. "All right. How? Tell me..."

^It is simple,^ said the man in that same dry, apathetic tone. He reached into the folds of his robes and brought out an shining object, which he set on the table.

Guido stared at the object. Never had he seen something like it in his entire life. The object was spherical in nature. Its surface looked like the surface of a soap bubble, with it's whirls and streams of color. However, it was not as delicate as a soap bubble - the thing looked to Guido to be as solid as any object. He almost became mesmerized by the random colors and patterns in the sphere, and yet he was drawn to the fact that the object overall produced a dark red hue which outlined the object and gave it its peculiar glow. He looked back up at the Voice. "What is it called?" he said with a kind of reserved awe and wonder.

^For the moment, let us call it...a source of pure energy^ said the Voice, picking the object up again and causing the patterns to change and become more random. He looked at it almost with a child-like curiosity as he spoke. ^It was acquired by those who are...loyal..to me. One of these could run your entire city for a full century, easily. Two of these is all that it takes to run your precious Deva Yuga system. However,^ he said as Guido reached his hand out, ^I have very few of these...it would be wise to search out more..^

"I will use all my available staff to help," said Guido, reaching for the intercom.

The Voice held up his hand. ^No need. Leave that to me. Just keep your staff inside and collect the spheres as they come in. Together they will provide you with all the energy you need. In return for this generosity, however, I expect some help with my..enterprises...^

"Your enterprises...?" inquired Guido. He had a vague notion that a Voice could not possibly have any ambitions of its own. Then he remembered what had happened in the Gate, and one look into the man's eyes, which were again ignited with that brief red color, were enough to conveince him...for the time being.

^Yes. I look for two special spheres, unlike all of these, which are the same red color. What I look for are those with no color...none of the random whirls of color you see in this sphere or in any other one. There are two. One is in this world, the other is in..that other world. My request is simple - I wish to possess those two special spheres. If one of your men or women finds it among the ones that will arrive, you must notify me. In return, I give you the rest..to use as your own source of unlimited energy...^ The Voice stood up, turned, and began to walk towards the door. He paused and turned around, waiting for Guido's answer.

Guido paused for a moment, bowing his head in thought. It almost seemed too good to be true. A deal..a deal for unlimited resource and energy. He knew the Voice was hiding something else from him about the importance of his requset. It seemed to tear Guido in two, divide him on the issue. But upon looking in those eyes of the man's again - those eyes which we're normally black but which now were as red as blood, he became somehow convinced he was doing the right thing. He nodded to himself, then smiled as he looked up, masking all indications that he hd been unsure of the situation. "Very well," he said. "Very well....we have a deal."

^I expect you to hold up the terms, as always...^ said the Voice.

"Of course," said Guido, a little more confidently. "I am a businessman, after all."

The Voice nodded, and turned again to leave. ^You will know where to find me, if you need me..?^ he asked over his shoulder.

"Yes," said Guido. "And one more thing..."

^Yes?^

"What should I call you? I know, somehow, that a name would be...appropriate."

The Voice seemed to almost grin as he turned his head slightly to the side to address Guido over his shoulder. ^My name,^ said the Voice. ^is Sineritrii. I will only have told you this once.^ With that, he opened the door and silently left the room.

"Sineritrii," said Guido to the closed door as he sat down. "I know I have heard that name before...but where..?" He shook off the thought as he looked at the work in front of him. More time for philosophy and names later, thought Guido. For now, he needed to work toward better goals.

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