Russell's eyes shifted, and a faint smile curled at the corners of his mouth.
It was good that an executive had come.
That way, wearing this wolf skin hadn't been for nothing. There was finally room for him to put it to use.
"This looks much more comfortable. Before, it was far too lifeless."
Black snow fell endlessly. The man in the snow looked over the surrounding chaos and smiled with satisfaction.
His smile was dark and pleased, like that of some evil spirit.
"Lifeless? I don't see it that way."
"The Company brings all things together. Wealth can give birth to knowledge, create joy, curb destruction, and build harmony."
"An unyielding, stubborn boulder is hardly an apt description of the Company, sir from the Buli Tribe."
Just as the heavy snow seemed ready to swallow everything, a golden curtain was drawn back at some unknown moment. Golden rivers collided with the ringing of precious metals, tearing open a corner of the pitch-black snowscape. Divine light from Preservation shone down, seeming ready to melt the ancient snow that had never thawed.
With his arrival, the cries of agony that had once filled the ground had already faded into a low murmur.
A man over two meters tall, wearing a strange mask, had appeared here at some point. A gemstone resembling gambling equipment spun endlessly in his hand.
It radiated warm, orderly light—though the light was probably charged for, and very expensive at that.
"Oh."
"So you mean the Company is not Preservation at all, but flowing, ever-changing water? Or perhaps metaphysical fire?"
The man whose face was mostly hidden beneath his hood seemed to show interest at the amusing remark.
"You may see it that way."
"After all, the Company excels at circulating wealth rather than standing firm as a