(3rd Person POV)
The John Wick opening scene was set at the dockside. Hellfire had easily secured filming permits, and night shooting was scheduled to begin immediately.
With filming taking place in the middle of the night, few crowds were present—only Hellfire crew members with their equipment trucks and hastily erected tents.
Fire trucks were positioned strategically, their purpose to create artificial rain for the scene's atmospheric effect.
Scarlet observed everything with quiet amazement. 'I never expected filming a single scene would require such elaborate preparation...'
Despite living for centuries, this was her first time witnessing movie production firsthand. She was here to familiarize herself with the cast and crew before filming her own scenes.
She watched Arthur coordinate everyone efficiently, signaling the fire trucks to begin the artificial downpour.
Keanu, portraying John Wick, collapsed against his car, wounded and bleeding. He held Impact's latest digital camera—released just a month ago—with its small screen displaying a video of John Wick's deceased wife.
Keanu attempted to capture John's grief, but the emotion felt forced. Arthur called cut, and they reset for another take.
Only after several attempts did Keanu finally nail the scene's emotional core.
'Finally. I didn't expect acting to be this challenging,' Keanu thought as he headed to the tent to review the footage.
Arthur discussed the takes with key crew members before finding himself alone with Keanu. "How do you feel about acting now that you've experienced the difficulty firsthand?"
Keanu smiled wryly. "It's harder than I anticipated, but I enjoyed the process. I didn't realize acting requires such awareness of camera angles, lighting, and technical elements. That's why we needed so many takes."
Arthur nodded approvingly. "You still have much to learn, though I'll admit you're progressing faster than most. Perhaps having divine control over your body provides certain advantages."
"Speaking of divinity," Keanu's expression grew serious, "what's your reasoning for allowing that woman, Scarlet, into this project? Isn't she an enemy—part of the Solarus Faith?"
The question reflected Keanu's genuine confusion. Their primary enemy was indeed the Solarus Faith, and he couldn't understand why Arthur would risk involving an angel in their movie project. If she discovered their secrets, they could face Solarus's wrath while still being relatively weak.
"There's a saying: 'Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer,'" Arthur said, his eyes growing cold. "I have my reasons for involving her. I believe she can serve as a tool to spread my influence within Altair Station."
Keanu was familiar with Altair Station, though he hadn't known of it during their exile by the Three Known Gods. As an older deity, he only remembered the Sky Island—a high-altitude landmass that served as a docking station for Divine Ships, where gods from other planets visited for competitions, information exchanges, and diplomatic purposes.
Since his imprisonment, Keanu had heard nothing about Sky Island. He shared Arthur's conclusion that the location had been renamed Altair Station.
"Arthur, whatever you're planning is extremely risky," Keanu warned seriously. "Drawing the angels' attention is dangerous. Even with my recovered power, I'm not confident about facing them."
His concern was justified. While he could handle Scarlet individually, he knew other angels existed. If three angels of even lesser rank than Scarlet attacked simultaneously, he would be defeated.
"I understand the risks, but they're worth taking," Arthur replied with unwavering determination. "After accumulating monetary faith, I've advanced significantly in power. I believe I'm approaching Supreme Deity status."
Keanu gasped audibly. "Supreme Deity?!"
He was genuinely shocked. His knowledge of divine hierarchy made this revelation staggering.
The divine realms were organized into three major tiers, each containing five minor levels. For example, a beginner god-king represented the lowest minor realm. The highest minor realm was "Supreme"—achieving this status meant becoming a Supreme Deity.
Reaching peak Supreme Deity brought one close to the next major realm: Eternal Deity—though such advancement was nearly impossible.
Beyond Eternal Deity lay the ultimate tier, known by various names: The All-Powerful, Architect of All, Infinite One, Omniscient Being. This represented the absolute pinnacle of divine existence.
Arthur approaching Supreme Deity status meant he was nearing power levels that could challenge even established divine authorities.
'If he's truly approaching Supreme Deity status, then he's leaving me completely behind!' Keanu thought with growing concern. Currently, he remained at High God-King level—the same tier as Arthur. But if Arthur ascended to Supreme Deity, the power gap would become enormous.
"How can you advance this quickly?" Keanu demanded incredulously. "When you freed me from the Nether World a year ago, you were still at beginner level. Now you're approaching Supreme status? That's completely unfair!"
Arthur chuckled and shrugged casually. "Honestly, I can't fully explain it myself. But accumulating Monetary Faith has definitely accelerated my power growth."
Keanu shook his head in disbelief. "You're siphoning faith from another deity's domain. That's considered theft, and you'll eventually have to face the original owner of Monetary Faith."
Arthur remained unconcerned. "I don't care. In fact, I plan to expand my banking system globally to claim the majority of Monetary Faith."
"You truly are a demon," Keanu chuckled despite his concern.
Arthur smiled but didn't mention the hidden observer he'd detected nearby.
Thanks to his Divine Artifact purchased from the system—the "Scent of Divine Awareness"—he could track any individual regardless of their concealment abilities. The artifact's feedback revealed a distinct scent of money emanating from their watcher, carrying the familiar essence of Monetary Faith.
If his suspicions were correct, the hidden figure was the deity who possessed authority over monetary faith—the God of Wealth himself. Logic suggested this person was likely accompanying Scarlet as well.
'I don't know exactly who you are yet, but when we finally meet face-to-face, I'll ensure my victory,' Arthur thought with calculating satisfaction.
---
The next day, Billy returned to Hellfire Park and met Arthur in his office. "Five billion is impossible to accumulate all at once. But I managed to gather two billion here—I borrowed from major banks and several tycoons in this kingdom just to raise this amount."
Arthur remained calm as he observed the dozens of cases Billy's people had brought in. "Getting five billion in a week is quite difficult, so I understand." He could already smell the Monetary Faith emanating from the money and began siphoning it immediately. "Accumulating two billion in such a short time is genuinely impressive."
Billy laughed with relief. "Of course. My name still carries considerable influence in this kingdom."
Arthur studied him carefully. "Yes, very impressive. But you still owe three billion. What's your plan for the remainder?"
Billy sighed heavily. "I'll secure the remaining three billion within the next month. I'm even willing to sign a magical contract to guarantee this promise—my soul will be bound to ensure I fulfill the obligation."
Arthur's expression grew serious. "I should warn you—if you think you can escape such a contract through clever loopholes, there will be severe legal consequences even without soul binding. I have connections that ensure contract enforcement."
Billy gulped nervously and nodded. "Understood."
"As a gesture of good faith," Billy continued, "I'll travel to other countries immediately to help you establish discussions for Hellphone distribution and negotiate country codes for the SIM card system."
Arthur smiled with satisfaction. "I look forward to seeing results."
---
John Wick production continued as usual, with the crew and cast completely unaware that the Skull Organization had already dispatched criminals to target Keanu.
Later that evening, while Keanu was at home, thugs suddenly burst through his door and began their assault. Fists and boots struck him repeatedly as he collapsed to the floor, seemingly defenseless.
Hidden throughout the house, several ghost cameramen hovered silently under Diddy's leadership, capturing every moment of the "attack" from multiple angles. Keanu allowed himself to be beaten, playing his role perfectly, though his eyes occasionally flashed with dangerous intensity that the cameras caught in close-up.
After several minutes of brutality, the leader finally called out, "Enough! Let's go." He spat contemptuously. "This is what you get for refusing to sell me your car."
One thug wiped sweat from his brow, looking confused. "What car, Iosef? What are you talking about?" The criminal genuinely didn't understand—he hadn't been present during the earlier scripted scenes.
Their "leader" was actually Clint Foster, though heavy makeup and prosthetics made the famous actor completely unrecognizable. He was playing Iosef Tarasov while commanding a gang of real criminals who believed they were conducting an actual robbery and assault.
The gang had willingly accepted what they thought was a legitimate job from the Skull Organization, having no idea they were unwitting actors in Arthur's film.
Clint ignored his confused subordinate's question and moved toward a small dog cowering in the corner, preparing to complete the scene that would drive John Wick back into his world of violence.
The real criminals watched as their "leader" completed what they assumed was part of their intimidation tactics, completely unaware they were delivering Oscar-worthy performances while participating in their own organization's downfall.