Cataclysm: Undead Dragons and Zero Empire

"I'm sorry, those heretical words disgusted me, I hope you didn't find them laughable," Terence quickly calmed down, and Howard was still waiting for him to continue.

"I know you have doubts about the Lord's blessing. Believe me, you just lack proper guidance. Let me show you the power that the Lord has given you."

Terence pulled a branch from under the bar counter; it still had tender green buds and leaves hanging on it, looking fresh and touching amidst the ruins after the disaster.

He held the branch as if waving a conductor's baton, and an illusory black and red flame ignited from his fingertips. The branch in his hand instantly decayed, and the tender buds withered, as if it had reached the end of its life in an instant.

"The vitality contained in plants is too weak. Perhaps you didn't see it clearly. Then take a look at this."

Terence took the birdcage down so Howard could observe the lively bird inside up close.

He snapped his fingers lightly, and the familiar black and red flames appeared. This time, they ignited directly on the bird's body, leaving no wounds. The bird fell to the bottom of the cage, its feathers losing their luster, as if it had died peacefully in its nest on a branch, and slumped to the ground.

"Like magic, isn't it? Witness the grace of our Lord. You too possess this talent. We are all chosen by the dragon."

Terrence picked up the dead bird in front of Howard, held it out in his palm, and made sure the only spectator could see it clearly.

He gently touched the dead bird with his fingertip, and the once intact body quickly disintegrated, as if it had been weathering for a considerable time, transforming into a skeleton, and then miraculously began to tremble.

The bird made of bones stood up again, and even though it had lost its flesh and organs, it still hopped and skipped in Terence's palm, as if it had forgotten its own death.

Terence put the skeleton bird back in its cage and said to Howard, who was frowning, "How about it? Before the power of our Lord, death is merely a state of being, just as being alive is our current state."

"Even if we mortals receive the grace of our Lord and wield this meager strength, we still cannot reach the true great power, which is the power that only our Lord can wield, namely, death that ends everything. We humbly offer it a name: 'Death of Zero'."

"Our greatest aspiration is to follow the path of our Lord until death, so that we may call ourselves 'the ones who return to nothingness' and contribute to the great work of our Lord."

Howard kept staring at the skeleton bird that was moving around in the cage. The mysterious power that Terrence had shown him was something he couldn't explain from a scientific point of view.

"If you possess such power, why not seize greater power so that you can better serve your Lord?"

Terence smiled and said, "It seems you still haven't grasped our ideals."

"Our faction has never sought rule. We don't care about power, nor do we concern ourselves with temporary gains or losses. In places you can't see, many generations have already dedicated their lives to this great cause."

"We once had illusions about culture. From printing books in the past to setting up entertainment companies for publicity in the Internet age, people have always kept their distance from us, or even looked down on us. They cannot understand the unknown, let alone lofty achievements."

"We have tried the approach of ruling by violence. Throughout history, we have built experimental environments and even converted a king and all the upper-class nobles into believers in an attempt to create a suitable society. However, the human fear of death is still ingrained in our instincts."

"Our ultimate conclusion is that humanity has been mired in ignorance and infighting for too long, and has lost its collective judgment and the ability to self-correct."

"Unless civilization is recreated, and the potential within humanity is fundamentally stimulated, transcending the limits of physical existence and bringing about a great awakening for the entire civilization, humanity has no chance of embracing death, serving our Lord, and ultimately embarking on the right path."

Terence closed his eyes in lament for the struggles and failures of the pioneers of the Death Movement. In his description, humanity as a whole was terminally ill, and only truly drastic remedies could work, such as this global earthquake.

Howard ignored the sadness in Terence's words and calmly commented, "It sounds like you're no different from the so-called other Death Party; you're all trying to overthrow the world."

Terence opened his eyes, regaining his gentlemanly demeanor. He didn't directly refute him, but instead smiled and said:

"The reason I keep emphasizing that we can absolutely cooperate and achieve a win-win situation is because, perhaps in ways you haven't noticed, we have many things in common."

Are you satisfied with the current state of human civilization? If you weren't cynical, why would you participate in wars and assault your superiors? You could have lived a more ordinary and peaceful life.

Terrence rested his hands on the bar counter, met Howard's gaze, and continued his explanation:

"Our ideals are aligned, Mr. Jones. We both hope that humanity can become better, and we are both making efforts within our own understanding."

"You may not see serving our Lord as a form of salvation, and this is where our wills diverge. But think about it carefully: our ideals all need to be achieved in the same way."

Terrence took a book from the bookshelf behind the bar and placed it in front of Howard. The title on the cover was "Report: Giant Corporations".

Howard happened to have read this book, and it was its content about the current state of the world, the history of the company's development, and the company's impact on the world that enlightened him, giving direction to his original thoughts that were spontaneously born from his life experiences, and from then on, he devoted himself to the new career without hesitation.

"In the past, there were so many royal families and noble clans in the world. Now there are so many companies. They are all hijacking the future of the world, depriving people of their freedom and choices, and turning people into slaves."

"We share the same hostility towards the company as those lunatics, but they are trying to climb the chaotic ladder in order to replace the company, while we want the awakening and salvation of all human civilization. We don't care who holds power, only our Lord is supreme."

"Peaceful means are no longer able to produce meaningful change; we need more radical approaches, and we are no strangers to violence."

Terrence pulled a box of bullets from under the bar and placed it in front of Howard, then took one out for the latter to examine.

Howard was quite familiar with arms, and he was certain that the box of bullets in front of him did not come from any arms manufacturing company he knew.

"Let's reconsider the conditions I proposed. Time is of the essence. Before our Lord truly awakens, human civilization needs to make preparations."

"If we miss this window of opportunity, perhaps only we, the chosen ones, will have the chance to serve our Lord, and humanity as a civilization will remain only in history."

Howard twirled the bullet in his hand, listening to Terrence's eloquent speech, "So, after all this talk, this is why you came to me."

Terence said earnestly, "Yes, we hope you can form a Ranger force to continuously strike at the company's power and rescue more people from its rule."

"We can provide everything you need: living supplies, weapons and ammunition, tanks, missiles, fighter jets, and more. We also guarantee that your logistics will not be affected by the company. Everything is produced in-house, including the entire upstream and downstream supply chain."

"We know your ideals, and now you know ours. With our support, why not set your sights even further ahead?"

"If we can reach an agreement, I will teach you how to awaken and harness your talents. In time, you will be able to do what I do, and perhaps then you will be able to understand our faith."

Howard remained noncommittal, then posed his final question:

"I won't ask why it has to be me. If you want to shake the company, military force alone won't work, even if this army is fully armed and technologically advanced, unless you put nuclear weapons on the table."

"Nuclear weapons are certainly not a problem," Terence said confidently, "but that's all we need, and funding you is only a small part of the plan."

"What we're trying to accomplish is not simply overthrowing the corporate order. What we're trying to do is ensure that no new royal families, aristocratic families, or corporations will emerge. You think so too, right?"

Howard nodded silently, putting his sidearm back into its holster under his clothes, while Terrence smiled and reached out to shake Howard's hand tightly.

"Now, we are comrades."