181 Chapter 181: Resurgence

At around noon in Washington D.C on the very day the formula was up for bidding, the office of the president made a public addressing, stating that they were in the final stages of reaching a deal with Ark Academies, or rather their parent organization, Leviathan Corporations, renamed after Arias's "criminal" status as a sign of the company separating itself from him.

Anyone with half a mind could tell this was nothing more than political and business jargon that was done to just appease the noisy part of society that demanded the company be held accountable for Arias's actions.

But, for such an action to truly occur, it would be a long and arduous legal battle, one that would need an insurmountable amount of evidence to be successful.

Sadly, not only was there a severe lack of evidence, but also a lack of prosecutors willing to go against the rising juggernaut that was Leviathan Corporations.

Normally, such large groups usually had one or two rivals who would always impede them and also love to see them fail. Such a hostile environment meant anytime a company or organization, it had to be done carefully, lest their competitors capitalize on it.

Yet Leviathan Corp had no such competition, or rather none that could be taken seriously enough when pitied against them.

For this reason, even as the sudden news of the U.S already being in deals for the formula, not much hate was given. Questions and concerns were raised but hate was certainly minimal at best.

While this public address was going on, Arias, Harley and Cheshire were on private Jet that soared through the skies, rapidly approaching American airspace.

And just outside it, Diana could be seen flying alongside it, her gaze occasionally roaming around as if looking for something.

Arias was seated comfortably near a window when Cheshire came over into his cabin and looked at the window, seeing Diana in flight.

Cheshire tilted her head at this and asked curiously, "Are we expecting company?" As she spoke, a smile appeared on her face as she twirled a kunai on her index finger, seemingly excited by the prospect.

Arias followed her gaze and looked at Diana in the distance before shaking his head. "Unlikely, she just enjoys the freedom the skies offer, she hates being in one place for too long."

The answer Arias provided only made Cheshire smile more as she leaned forward and raised one hand on her hip, "You sure know a lot about her boss, do you give all your employees this much attention or is she special?"

Arias turned his gaze away from the window and faced Cheshire, though his gaze lacked any hint of amusement. Even if Ra's sent Cheshire to him as an act of goodwill, it didn't lessen the distrust he had toward her.

It hadn't been long since she arrived but she was very adaptive and had a calm yet wild personality, smart yet fond of disorder and even inciting it.

This meant she got along well with the likes of Harley but Diana more than once wanted to cut her in half.

As for her place with Arias, it remained stagnant as he himself didn't interact much with the others until today, when they off to a destination none of them even knew.

The only change that did occur was Cheshire addressing Arias as boss instead of master, finding the later term very difficult to take seriously.

"You could say it's a combination of both," Arias replied cryptically before continuing, "I think you'll find that I always keep a close eye on my people, even if they don't fully realize it themselves."

Cheshire shrugged her shoulders at this and maintained a mischievous smile, "Not sure if that's really hot or really creepy, maybe both."

Saying nothing more, she left the cabin, and Arias who was about to sink back into his thoughts was prevented from doing so when he felt a familiar sensation occur in his mind.

"Apeiro?" He muttered in a low tone, a bit unsure himself if it was really her.

[ Who else if not me Ari? Unless… you have another entity sharing this vessel of a body.] Her voice carried more life to it than before, lacking the sure cold manner of speech.

"You sound like you're in a good mood, I take it that means this time away has been beneficial to you?" Noticing the change in tone, Arias couldn't help but ask about it.

A part of him curious but another part concerned. Even in this time that had passed, getting used to having a foreign entity in his mind was still uncomfortable.

[ It has been certainly… enlightening, for both of us it would seem. Yet you still do not use your power fully, why is that so?]

Apeiro's words were clearly referring to Arias's use of Telekinesis and telepathy rather than increasing his mastery over his Law Disregard power.

"I have my reasons." Arias could only answer with this flatly but that on its own was an answer.

[ It was no understatement when I said no one can understand you better than I, Ari. Even now, I can guess what your true thoughts in regard to the matter are. It is not my intention to incite you, I only wish for you to not waste your ever rising power.]

"My transition into greater power simply has me cautious. Before I have a better understanding of what I am now and just what I can or cannot do, I will not act chaotically. Especially when I can achieve the results I want using my other means."

[ I knew you would say something along those lines, but I cannot say you are wrong. Maybe it is I who lacks understanding of lower life forms. Regardless, that will change very soon.]

"What do you mean?" Arias asked with a cautious brow raised but no answer came, instead, the tranquil state of mind returned and he could feel no foreign presence there.

Apeiro's cryptic words left him wondering as to what her thoughts and aims were. Even if he doubted she would turn against him, they were other actions she could possibly perform that worried him.

Wiping out said lower life forms that she didn't understand, so as to create a world for only her/it and Arias or forcibly altering the mind of Arias to better understand her. These and many more things were possible, hence the never dwindling caution toward Apeiro.

She/it was the one thing Arias had no solid solution for, even with his newfound power, he wasn't foolish enough as to have lofty ambitions regarding Apeiro or even Cosmic entities.

Sitting in silence and pondering, he could only shake his head. 'I shouldn't stress over what I can't control. Rather, let me continue to build power and focus on what I can achieve.'

Arias's vision for progress was simple. To climb the ladder of power at a steady pace, leaving many ignorant as to what his full capabilities were.

As he climbed these steps, he wanted to create a cult like following of capable individuals, that he himself could use to achieve desired results.

A/N: It's that time of season, I've been really sick the past couple of days, vomiting, fever and dehydration. Today my mouth was in pain like had tonsillitis but thankfully that's over and the ORS is helping with the dehydration. Still don't have much of an appetite but hopefully I can eat something by evening. Anyways enjoy the chapter and thanks for the support, I'm gonna rest my eyes a bit, they're looking a little bloodshot just after a little screen time.