[AN: You guys voted, so the Lord God Arc will start now.]
—--
After entering his research dimension, Edward prepared for his training. Morgana had already planned everything. He once acquired a Titan Weapon from World of Warcraft. That artifact contained absolute perfect control of energy, and for his training, Morgana prepared him to learn from it. This approach would not only accelerate the speed at which Edward regains control over his mana, but he might even improve.
However, even before he started, he received a message. "The clone has finally been invited to the Samsara Hall? In that case, let's synchronize our minds."
"But the training," Morgana asked.
"I can do two things at once."
"Not as effective as I would like you to be," Morgana complained.
"You know how important that plan is to me."
"You should trust your clone," Morgana argued.
"I do trust him, but I also know without my memories and knowledge, it will be a thousand times harder for him to rise fast enough against someone who literally controls a God Space."
"That's true," Morgana sighed. "In that case, we need to use some extreme means in this training to meet the requirements of the allocated time." If a part of Edward's mind was distracted, she needed to make up for it to ensure they reached the required level in just five years.
"Fine by me," Edward said before starting the synchronization.
…
Earth, Dimension AG786, Germany:
Edward slowly walked in a dark alley. He looked around to check for any signs of life before raising his hand to speak to his watch: "Morgana, check the perimeter."
"There are currently five individuals within the surrounding 20 meters," said a cold, mechanical voice that was unlike anything like the other Edward's Morgana. The watch accessed the surrounding cameras and displayed a visual to Edward.
"Two of the individuals are civilians, and the other three are located at our contact points."
"Three? There is supposed to be only one," Edward said, his alarm already raised. This is the last deal before he has enough money to build a secret data center for Morgana. Once that is done, he can utilize her power to complete his Human Evolution Formula — which would not only prove to the world that he was right, but also herald the next phase of human evolution.
"Contact our employer," Edward ordered, and Morgana executed his order.
"Hello," said a rough voice with a hint of a Russian accent.
"Nikolai, why are you not alone?"
"..."
"The deal was for only the two of us to meet."
"I could not take the risk," Nikolai said. "Our information revealed that many of the people associated with you end up at the bottom of the ocean."
"That's because they tried to fucked with me. Are you trying to fuck with me?" Edward asked.
"Of course not. We –"
"You have five minutes. If the other two are not more than 200 meters from your location, the deal is off."
"Hold on —"
Edward cut off the communication before taking out a cigarette. All this nonsense was stressing him out, so he needed to relax. Through Morgana's monitoring system — which had access to a few countries' satellites and drones in the surrounding perimeter — he saw infrared images of these mercenaries as they tried to rush out of the rendezvous point.
By the time Edward finished his second cigarette, Nikolai was alone. So, he slowly headed to the abandoned warehouse. Edward approached with his hand already resting on the gun hanging at his waist.
"Where is my money?" Edward asked directly, skipping any small talk.
"Show me the product, and we will transfer the funds," Nikolai said with his hand on his gun holster.
"Here," Edward said as he took out a USB drive from the pockets inside his long coat. Nikolai walked to a computer nearby, sitting on top of unfinished stairs. He inserted the USB before typing a few keys.
"You should be satisfied, right?"
"Give me a moment," Nikolai said. However, after more than 10 seconds of nonstop typing, Edward sensed something was wrong. So, he typed a few keys on his watch, and four laser pointers appeared around Nikolai.
"What is the meaning of this?"
"I should be asking you this," Edward sneered. "I don't know what you're stalling for, but if I don't get my money in the next 30 seconds, these drones will turn you into Swiss cheese."
"What are you trying to do?"
"28 seconds," Edward said.
"I am just checking the validity of the product."
"25 seconds. You know what? I changed my mind. You have five seconds."
"No —"
"4, 3, 2 —"
"I'll transfer the money now," Nikolai said as he hurriedly typed faster on the computer. Less than 10 seconds later, Edward received confirmation of a $10 million transfer into his offshore Swiss account.
"Now, can you?" Nikolai asked.
"Of course. I'm someone who believes in the principle of equivalent exchange. And since I'm in a good mood, I won't even charge you extra for playing around."
Edward walked away, but he did not disengage all the drones. He left one to ensure he left the perimeter safely. He only deactivated it once he was far enough.
'The next stage of the plan can now start,' Edward thought with a large grin. Or so he thought. He suddenly felt a sharp pain in his heart, forcing him to stop. Blood was dripping from Edward's mouth, but he did not care. Instead, he slowly lowered his head to see a jagged blade pierce through his heart.
"None of this would have happened if you had followed in line," said a nasally voice behind him.
'American-accent?' Edward thought. He wanted to turn around, but the strength in his body was dissipated at an alarming rate.
"You claim to be the smartest man in the world, but are you really?" The voice continued. "Yes, you may have more PhDs and doctorates than I can count on two hands, but you're too arrogant and do not understand how the world operates.
"If you had kept your mouth shut, played the game, and used your intelligence to amass wealth and power, you wouldn't be in this miserable situation. Governments around the world would not be trying to lock you in a basement as their pawns — they would have treated you equally, with respect.
"Then, you would have all the money, power, and connection to start your grand project of starting the next phase of human evolution. Sadly, all your dreams and ambitions will die in this alley."
"Who…sent…you?"
"Does it matter?" the voice continued before pulling the sword. Edward tumbled on the floor, his vision blurred as his consciousness slowly faded into the aether.
"I will tell you one last thing — maybe it will soothe your spirit in the afterlife, or maybe it will fill you with even more regrets," the voice continued. "Supernatural powers do exist, and they have suddenly appeared in the world about five years ago. That's the reason these countries have increased their pursuit against you.
"It's also why I was contacted to eliminate you."
Edward's consciousness went blank, and for a moment, he thought this was the end, but a voice suddenly echoed in his mind.
[Do you want to know the meaning of life? Do you want to pursue power beyond the limit of imagination?]
"That's all I ever wanted in life," Edward replied.
[Then join the Samsara Hall. You can get anything you desire.]
"Samsara Hall? What a strange name. Well, I don't care what you are and what you want as long as you can save me and provide an opportunity to continue my ambitions."
[Good answer. Welcome to the Samsara Hall.]
Edward felt an intense white light. When he reopened his eyes, he was lying on the floor with three others. "Where am I?" he muttered as he slowly stood up.
"You woke up only a minute after transportation? Not bad for a rookie."
Edward looked at the source of the voice. He saw a middle-aged man dressed in camo pants, military boots, a tight black shirt, and smoking a cigar. The man's accent was also British.
"Who are you?"
"I'm your nanny for this mission. You can call me Booth."
"Nanny? Mission? What are you talking about?" Edward asked.
"I don't want to explain myself more than once, so let's wait until the others wake up," Booth said. Edward frowned as he wanted to know more. However, a quick observation of this man told him he would not be much help. So, Edward observed his surroundings.