Medieval Company

Prologue - The Last Deal

The air in the boardroom was hummed with an almost tangible tension. The walls, a sleek combination of steel and glass, reflected the city skyline that stretched far below. It was nearly midnight, but the sky was alive with the lights of the metropolis, a reflection of the endless ambition that had driven ~him~ to this moment.

He leaned back in his leather chair, fingers drumming lightly on the polished mahogany table. His gaze rested on the contract in front of him, numbers so large they seemed abstract, almost unreal. Yet, they were very real. This was the deal of a lifetime, the culmination of years of calculated risks, sleepless nights, and a cold, relentless focus on winning. He had clawed his way to the top, built an empire from the ground up, and now, he stood at the pinnacle.

~Johnathan Reed~, CEO of Reed International, was a man who had come to define success in his field. His face, sharp and composed, had graced the covers of business magazines for years. He had made a name for himself by being ruthlessly efficient, a genius negotiator, and a visionary who could see trends before they even emerged. Everyone knew him as a man who never missed, a man who turned deals into gold.

But this deal ... this merger ... was his crowning achievement. Reed International was about to absorb its largest competitor, a company that had once been too large to even imagine overtaking. Now, they were sitting across the table from him, waiting for his final signature.

The room was filled with high-ranking executives, their suits tailored to perfection, their eyes watching him with anticipation. He felt their eagerness, their envy, but most of all, their respect. They knew this moment was historic, and that they were about to witness the final move of a game that Johnathan had been playing for years.

As he picked up his Montblanc pen, he allowed himself a brief moment of reflection. This was it. The final chapter in the story of his career. His net worth would skyrocket, his influence would expand beyond anything he had ever imagined. No longer would he be just a businessman ... he would be a legend.

He scribbled his name with a flourish, sealing the fate of both companies. The boardroom erupted in applause, champagne corks popping as assistants brought out the glasses. His team ... his loyal, hard-nosed team of sharks ... congratulated each other. They had all played their parts, but they knew, just as he did, that this was ~his~ victory.

"To the man of the hour!" one of his senior VPs declared, raising a glass high into the air. The others followed suit, and soon, the entire room was toasting to him.

Johnathan stood, a subtle smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. He could feel the warmth of their admiration, the heady rush of his own achievement. He had done it. He had won.

He raised his glass as well, preparing to savor the moment. "To the future," he said, his voice was cool and commanding, just as it had always been.

But just as the words left his mouth, a strange sensation washed over him. At first, it was subtle ... a flicker in the corner of his vision, like a light bulb dimming for just a second. He blinked, thinking it was the exhaustion of the long negotiation finally catching up to him.

Then, it hit harder. His hand, which had been steady a moment ago, trembled slightly, and a cold wave of nausea swept through his body. He felt... off. Wrong. The room around him, once sharp and clear, seemed to blur at the edges, the faces of his colleagues warping and twisting, as though he were looking at them through water.

What the hell?

He stumbled backward, trying to steady himself, but the floor beneath him seemed to give way. His glass slipped from his fingers, shattering on the marble floor in slow motion. The champagne splattered across his polished shoes, but he barely noticed. He could hear voices ... concerned, alarmed ... but they sounded distant, muffled, like he was hearing them from the end of a long tunnel.

Johnathan reached out, gripping the edge of the table for support, but it was no use. The sensation was overwhelming now, pulling him under. His heart raced in his chest, pounding so hard it drowned out everything else. His vision darkened at the edges, narrowing to a pinprick of light.

The last thing he saw before the world went black was the city skyline, the lights blurring together in a kaleidoscope of colors. Then, silence.

For a moment, there was nothing. No sound, no sight, no thought. Just a vast, empty void, stretching in every direction. He didn't know if he was dead or alive, or if this was some kind of fevered dream. But whatever it was, it was all-encompassing.

And then, just as suddenly as it had started, it ended.

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