Ozymandias [Narrative/FINISHED]

[Oracle]

[This narrative explains Oracle's disappearance (My second Hiatus from Kiseki), between the revelation of Miyazawa Chiyo's death and Tomo's marriage to Yamazaki Ren.]


Heartache. No other feeling in the world was worse than heartache. Not despair, not disappointment, and not even failure.

He had lost both of them. Chiyo was a delicate flower that deserved attention from all that could muster it. She was the model of everything based on love and grace. No being in any world could ever replace her.

And then there was Tomo; the one who didn't get away. In the end, he didn't have to. His own greed and mysterious acts turned him away. He should have known better than to try and gain custody of the twins himself. Just because Chiyo said that he could was no contract. And after knowing Tomo for so long after giving his heart to him blindly, there was no excuse.

Once again, Oracle was alone. He had no place either in Heaven nor in Hell. He heard rumors after discovering the death of Chiyo that the bitch Tsubasa had taken the icy train of death as well, but he could not risk returning to Heaven just to be ridiculed as an abomination by his angelic peers once again.

A wingless malakite has no business among the...normality of others. He had to go where he belonged; where he could adapt. He had to go to a place that knows him just as infamously, yet fears and respects his presence at the same time. The only such beings that existed were mortals. So he would be among them.

Oracle stood in the midst of a busy street in Paris, France, using his ability over the Void to make himself both invisible to the ones that would cower in fear over his presence from hearing the fairy tales about him and phasable so that cars and mortals could walk through him and not have to question why they walked into a wall of nothing.

He looked at the mortals around him on that cloudy day and realized how ridiculous mortals were; fearing what they didn't understand one day and worshiping it the next. That was their nature. So if that was indeed the case, then why not use the analogy to his advantage.

Yes; with just a bit of patience, this world could be his. It may have been wishful thinking to take a throne in Heaven when he searched for the keys of time, but this place was more plausible.

This was his home now. This was his palace. And in a few days, he would make this world his kingdom...

[Oracle]

Oracle entered inside a corporate office building, still invisible and able to walk-through to the mortals around him. There seemed to be a lot of commotion within the company. As he walked among the humans working inside the company, he heard different conversations going on both spoken out loud and in the minds of others.

"Christ; I'm going to be late for the board meeting!"

If things don't shape up financially, I might be out of a job!

"Do you think Mr. Gustov might actually consider bankruptcy?"

What we need running this fucker is a ruthless man with no soul! Then we can get some shit done around here!

Oracle listened to all of these ramblings in both spoken word and thought. They made him smirk. He finally found a way to make this world his kingdom.

Continuing listening to the thoughts of the employers of the company, he found the location of the board meeting within the building, along with some valuable information on the current CEO, a Dr. Francisco Gustov. He stood outside the door and decided to listen to the events going on rather than watch. Listening to mortals mettle in affairs such as these always brought a smile to his face.

"Ladies and gentleman of the board," Oracle heard a male voice say, assuming it to belong to Gustov, "it seems that we have no other choice but to file for bankruptcy.

The mortals gasped at the CEO's decision. Oracle however, could only smile.

Oh, he thought to himself. This is going to be good...

[Oracle]

"Bankruptcy?!" a male member of the board said. "Gustov, have you lost your damn mind? Our profits have skyrocketed the last three months and you want us to file for bankruptcy?!"

"There are other advantages for the company that bankruptcy can offer us, Mercelle," Gustov called him.

"Like what?" Mercelle quickly countered. "Survive on what assets we have now and accept welfare until this company that we worked so hard for crumbles into dust?! What are you thinking, man?!"

"What we need is someone who is not afraid to get his hands dirty to run this company," another male voice spoke against Gustov. "Not scrapping by with every free handout we are offered!"

That was Oracle's cue. But he couldn't walk in and make his presence known as he was; he would scare them all half to death. And while he did admit that was a rather fun idea, he had to be serious about this situation. Instead, he allowed his void magic to alter his appearance rather moderate; almost morphing into a mortal version of himself with a few distinct features.

His hair was still white, his dress was a pair of black slacks, a gray untucked dress shirt and an open black blazer. In his left hand was a black briefcase and on his face was a wicked grin that immediately toned down once he opened the doors to the board room.

The man standing up was no doubt Gustov. He along with the other board members looked upon Oracle with a baffled combination of confusion and familiarity. Oracle smiled.

"How right you are, monsieur," Oracle said in regards to the last board member's response.

"This is a private meeting," Gustov said, "Mister-"

"The name is Markus," Oracle said. "Markus Bleache'. And I can explain my intrusion." He smiled.

"You see," he continued, "I am here to run your company."

[Oracle]

The board members sat there in shock as the disguised Oracle announced that he wanted to take over the company. A few of them laughed. A few of them questioned his sanity. And a few of them sighed in relief. But unknown to the mortals, the confusion within the room was exactly what swayed the situation to the malakite's favor.

"You must have some nerve to prance inside this office and declare this territory as your own," Gustov told Oracle.

The disguised malakite raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that what you lack, monsieur?" Oracle said as he placed his briefcase on the table. He opened them and pulled out nine folders; one for each board member.

However, counting Gustov, there were ten men.

"My plan is simple, gentlemen," Oracle said as he passed out the folders to the nine seated board members. "With the assets we have currently, we invest in our competition all over the world. And with a little help from...my own personal involvement, our stocks will rise significantly higher than our competition. And once the time is right, we pull away our support and watch as their empires crumble into dust."

One of the board members looked at Oracle after nodding at both the plan before him and his spoken tactic.

"What will happen to the rest of their finances?" he asked.

"We take whatever is left in a buyout," Oracle said. "The only difference between this buyout than a normal one however, is that our competition would reach the point of desperation to the point where they can accept one of two fates..."

The man named Mercelle looked intrigured. "And what would that be, Mr. Bleache'?"

"Either take what we decide to give them for all their right of products and services," Oracle started, "or cease to exist."

"You're not just talking about running a company anymore, Mr. Bleache'," Gustov decided to argue. "You're talking about a hostile takeover of every single multinational corporation in the world!"

Once again, Oracle raised an eyebrow. "...Your point being?"

[Oracle]

"This is preposterous!" Gustov yelled at the top of his lungs. "We at Star Skies have no intent on global domination!"

Oracle chuckled. "Well, with a name like 'Star Skies,' I can see why."

Suddenly, the man named Mercelle stood up. "Well, at least Mr. Bleache' has placed enough energy and time to insist in this company's existence!"

"What?!" Gustov yelled. "You can't be serious!"

Oracle smiled. The void magic he placed on the folders containing his plans were taking hold of the board members. He continued to watch as the one named Mercelle stood up for him.

"I am as serious as I will ever be, Mr. Gustov," Mercelle said. "I enact a vote amongst the board for the position of President and CEO of Star Skies!"

Oracle smiled as he saw the look on Gustov's face. He then proceeded to place his hands behind his back and watch his influence take hold completely.

"All those in favor of Markus Bleache' replacing Dr. Francisco Gustov as President and CEO of Star Skies?"

All nine board members rose their hands and and said "I." Gustov was shoked; Oracle was not.

Mercelle glanced over at Oracle and smiled. "Welcome to Star Skies, Mr. Bleache'," he said to him.

[Oracle]

Gustov was immediately enraged; Oracle could see for himself. He accepted the board's congratulations as he bowed at their applause. However, Gustov looked as if he were about to explode.

And indeed he did.

"NO!" he yelled. "Do you know how much I sacrificed for this company?! You can't do this to me!!!"

Oracle's eyes squinted as he saw the mortal businessman pull out a knife out of his briefcase. He then notice that the knife was pointed straight toward him.

Gustov started to run toward the new President and CEO of Star Skies, raising the knife. "You'll pay for taking everything from me!!!" he yelled in a blood-thirsty roar.

Oracle placed his hands in his pockets and stood completely still. As the man continued to run toward him. Oracle chuckled devilishly before closing his eyes.

When Gustov reached Oracle, he ran right through him. But by the time he realized this, it was too late. Gustov couldn't stop himself from running. And because of this, he crashed through a thirty story window and fell to his death.

The board members gasped at both sights; the death of their used-to-be boss and the fact that he ran right through their new one. But with another utter of Oracle's voice, the void magic they were under the influence of once again took wing.

"What a shame," he said out loud. "The poor fool tripped and fell to his death."

He looked at the board members. "A shame, isn't it?"

The other board members immediately nodded. "Yes," they said. "A shame..."

Oracle walked around and sat at the head of the table. "Now then," he said. "As my first act of business, I want to change the name of this company to something more...foreshadowing. We shall soon become the greatest superpower in the world. Everyone will have to come to us if they want anything. We will be the light directing the boats to port."

Then Oracle smirked.

"We shall change the name," he began, "to Skylight Industries."

[Oracle]

Oracle's plan worked. By using every asset the newly named Skylight had investing in it's rivals, Skylight immediately owned every single aspect of business and trade in the world. Normally such a plan would have backfired for any other mortal. But Oracle was not a mortal now, was he?

With his ability over void, he was able to manipulate the CEO's of the major corporations Skylight partnered with and raised Skylight's stocks to monstrous proportions. When they pulled away, it was like a losing game of Jenga. When it came to the buyouts, Oracle was right as well. They became desperate; willing to trade their rights to whatever their failed company had a hold of for a rather small amount.

There were Skylight buildings all over the world within five mortal years. There wasn't a small business anywhere that didn't have to be approved through it's loan offices. Law firms, hospitals, department stores, methods of transportation and oil; Oracle now owned it all. This was now truly his kingdom.

As far as the board was concerned, Oracle kept them around until they served no further purpose. There were so many branches of Skylight industries that the original board members drove themselves crazy.

Well, that and the almost ritualistic exposure to Oracle's void magic...

The only one he seemed to need regularly was Mercelle. He eventually made him his Vice-President to handle any affairs in Oracle's absence. He also served as quite a stress reliever, if you get my drift...

But as Oracle stood in his penthouse office in Tokyo, Japan one day, he still could not help but feel empty, as if something was missing. He had been away from Heaven and Hell for so long.

He had been away from Tomo for so long...

Somehow, Oracle knew that Tomo was getting married. He did not know how he knew, but he knew none the less. And because of this, Oracle knew something else as well.

Oracle knew he had to be there...

The malakite pressed a button on the phone on his desk.

"Yes, Mr. Bleache'?" a woman said.

"I will be taking a leave of absence for a while, Elmira," Oracle told his secretary. "Make sure Mercelle is informed of everything for the next three months or so."

"I'll get on it now, Mr. Bleache'," she said.

"Thank you, Elmira," he said before releasing the button. He placed his coffee mug down on his desk and continued to stare out of the gigantic window before him. Hopefully, he would be able to kiss the bride one last time...

Little Lotty, let your mind wander...

And Oracle left the mortal realm, to witness the marriage of Yamazaki Ren and Sanada Tomo.