A few minutes earlier, before the three had gone inside for lunch, Aster's phone had rung.
Aster stood behind the resort's main building with his phone pressed against his ear. The sound of waves drifted across the island. Palm trees swayed lazily in the ocean breeze. Though his focus remained entirely on the voice coming from the phone.
"Sir."
The voice sounded tired. Excited and a bit nervous.
"We have progress."
Aster remained silent. Letting the voice continue whatever it was about to say.
"It is functional."
For several seconds, nothing happened. Then Aster slowly lifted his gaze toward the sky. A smile spread across his face. Not his usual playful smile. Not the smile he wore whenever he annoyed the senate. Not the smile he used whenever he decided to make someone else's life more difficult. This one was different. It was smaller. Quieter. Relieved.
"Finally."
The word escaped him almost as a whisper. Years. It had taken years. Research. Failures. Funding. Research again. Several ideas that should have remained back then before the age of heresy. And one very long argument with himself regarding whether the project counted as genius or insanity. The answer remained unclear.
Aster found that acceptable.
"Keep up the good work."
He continued staring upward.
"I'll visit tomorrow to check in personally to check."
The voice on the other end immediately straightened.
"Yes, sir."
Aster ended the call. For several moments he remained standing there. Thinking. Smiling. Then he turned and headed back toward the resort to make his two coven daughters to eat for lunch.
Far away, on the opposite side of the world, another man slowly lowered his phone. His name was Wyatt Jones.
The identification badge attached to his coat read: Wyatt Jones — Head Engineer.
He slid the phone into his pocket before taking another sip of coffee in the building's breakroom. Across from him sat another man. This one's coat carried a different title. Noah Davis — Head Magical Researcher.
Noah was currently eating a sandwich. Very slowly. Very carefully. The look in his eyes suggested the sandwich might have been the only thing preventing him from collapsing out of fear. Wyatt sat down, slowly.
"He's coming tomorrow."
Noah stopped chewing.
"...Tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow."
Noah swallowed. Then sighed. Then leaned backward in his chair. Then stared at the ceiling. Wyatt took another drink.
"You're nervous."
"I'm terrified. What if it fails during presentation? Fuck…"
"Fair enough."
The break room fell silent. Beyond the reinforced windows, researchers moved throughout the facility. Some wore lab coats. Others wore enchanted robes for handling the aether, created and provided by Aster himself even before the publicization of the Witching Hour. A few wore both.
Several glowing mana circles lit entire sections of the building. Some reinforced the facility's defenses, while others concealed the vast amounts of aether being used within from curious witches and magical observers. Engineers discussed schematics. Researchers hurried between departments carrying reports. Months of work had finally produced results.
Functional results.
That was somehow worse. Because now Aster was coming. Noah looked toward the windows. Toward the project. Toward the thing they had spent years helping build.
"I still can't believe we're actually doing this. And just right after those from Witching Hour showed up? The boss is taunting them."
Wyatt laughed.
Noah glanced toward the laboratory beyond the glass. They had both stopped questioning reality several months ago. Working under Aster tended to have that effect on people. Either one learned to accept the absurd, or one spent every waking hour developing headaches. The second option had proven unsustainable.
Both men sat quietly. Then Noah finished his sandwich. The break was over.
Back to work.
The two stood and returned to their respective laboratories. Neither noticed the growing excitement spreading throughout the facility. News traveled quickly. The founder was coming. The entire building somehow became more productive. Despite the generous salaries, absurdly good benefits, and funding that rarely seemed to have a limit, most employees had never actually met Aster Collins in person. To many of them, he was less a boss and more a mysterious figure who occasionally approved impossible budgets and then vanished again.
Stories about Aster circulated throughout the company. Some were true. Well, most were probably true. A few sounded completely fabricated and somehow ended up being accurate anyway.
One story claimed he had personally solved a problem that had stalled an entire department for eight months. Another claimed he had walked into a meeting, glanced at a blueprint for less than thirty seconds, pointed out three mistakes, and left before anyone could ask questions. A third claimed he regularly disappeared for weeks at a time before returning with materials that technically should not exist. The magical researchers knew that one was true. Several materials currently used by the company literally could not be found anywhere on Earth, or perhaps it was just because it was hidden. Nobody questioned where they came from. The employees valued their sanity. Mostly. The only thing everyone agreed on was that Aster Collins never seemed worried. Deadlines did not worry him. Budgets did not worry him. Governments certainly did not worry him. The man treated obstacles the same way most people treated minor inconveniences. Which was why the phone call earlier had surprised Wyatt so much. For the first time in years, the founder had sounded genuinely excited.
Not amused. Not curious.
Excited.
That alone was enough to make the entire facility nervous.
Several thousand kilometers away, Aster ended the call and slipped his phone back into his pocket.The rest of the day passed quietly.
Aurora and Emilia eventually gave up trying to pry answers out of him. Whatever had prompted that unusually serious expression clearly wasn't something he intended to reveal yet. The two spent the remainder of the afternoon enjoying the beach while Aster returned to his usual carefree self, much to their annoyance.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, preparations continued. Researchers worked late into the evening. Engineers reviewed reports. Magical researchers checked formations one final time. News of Aster's upcoming visit had spread throughout the facility faster than anyone expected.
Tomorrow would be important.
Everyone knew it.
Most importantly, Aster knew it. After years of planning, failures, revisions, and experimentation, he would finally be able to see the results with his own eyes.