Project Athena: Dawn of War Season 1

Checking In And Checking Out

Arthur

The behemoth of a tower made the other skyscrapers look like the seven dwarves as it rose towards the infinite darkness. The Somnus Tower illuminated the city with its phantom green light that fought with the night sky. The tower was built by a long-lost coven of witches to harbor magic from the otherworld that powered their wretched abomination children. It was then reduced to nothingness, a shadow of its former unglory, when the Alliance took a stand to put an end to their decades-long reign of terror. After the earthshaking battle for humanity, it was turned into a building most loathsome, a spawn of the abyss, a commercial building.

Now it was being powered again, being rebuilt in a desperate attempt to restore its power. At least that’s what I saw. The annoying citizens of this miserable city didn’t have the ability to see the supernatural creatures and the occurring unnatural phenomenon. They probably just saw it as some sort of firework show or something, maybe they would even broadcast it as a violent storm. Who cares what they think?

I, being the handsome individual I am, did what any prince charming would do. I barged through the front door and walked in with grace and elegance. Wait, do those words mean the same thing? Grace and elegance? Ah, who cares?

It looked like my mesmerizing appearance shocked the souls out of the people in the lobby. The clerk even dropped her jaw as she gazed at my angelic face. As they should, it wasn’t every day that they would have the privilege to gaze upon my glorious presence.

As I approached the beautiful receptionist, though not as beautiful as I am, I felt the coldness of the room seeping through my skin like a mole digging its way in the ground. It didn’t come from the air outside nor the air conditioner, rather the freezing atmosphere appeared to be coming from the top floor, where the witch was conducting her ritual. Probably the topmost floor since that’s what villains do, they don’t want to be stuck at the bottom floor with the pesky commoners.

A poster about a missing teenage girl hung on the wall behind the clerk. The girl was the daughter of one of this building’s owner, maybe a director. It was funny how they were losing their minds finding the director’s daughter when she was just at the top floor the whole time. I know the witch cloaked their presence, but imagine walking into a witch’s occult laboratory and thinking it was just an abandoned stockroom.

The woman— who was in her mid-thirties wearing a sophisticated red evening gown, a matching red posh hat, a brown scarf made of fur and a golden necklace—talking to the clerk smiled at me seductively as I approached the desk. I’m sorry, but it would take more than just an awkward smile to win me over fair lady. She should practice more because her poor attempts at charm won’t work at prince charming here.

I showed her how it’s done by shooting the clerk a smile that would melt even the stone cold snow princesses of the north. “Good evening, lovely ladies. I would like to enter the ballroom if you may.”

The clerk frowned at me. “Name?”

This one was playing hard to get and trying to make my job difficult, but that too wouldn’t work. Just another smile and she would be falling for me. Again, I shot her my shining smile. “Kevin Milanro.”

“Name’s not on the list.”

It seemed like she didn’t even look at the list properly. That or I was given a wrong name. Maybe I forgot what the name I was supposed to use. Well then, let’s just do this the good old fashion way. I motioned to my luxurious white suit that fitted my body perfectly. My neatness alone would put the other rich people to shame. Sparkling clean. “Are you sure love? Cause it’s obvious that I’m the star of the show and couldn’t be absent from the party.”

The clerk sighed and read it again, “Are you sure your name’s Kevin Milanro?”

“Am I sure my about my name?” I asked feigning a confused face. Did this lady just thought that I had forgotten my name? Like who does that?

She sighed again. If she kept sighing the room would be filled with her toxic fumes of death and kill everyone inside the building before the witch does.

“There’s no Kevin Milanro here, only Kelvin Milanor.”

“That’s it,” I exclaimed with glee. “So can I go now?”

The clerk tried to imitate my facial expression, though hers was a face so weird and so unsightly. She raised her brows. “You said your name is Kevin Milanro?”

“Did I? I must have forgotten.” I shot her a smile again, hiding my annoyance which I was completely good at. This pesky lady was making my job harder. It wasn’t like I get paid enough for this. “You know, busy schedule. Too much work. Lots of meetings.”

The woman beside me nodded. She leaned on the desk and emphasized her curves. “You can come with me.”

I mean, she wasn’t really my type, but an opportunity is an opportunity and so I grabbed it. “Sure.”

She wrapped her hands around my arm and turned to the clerk. “He’s my guest.”

The clerk sighed. This time I could smell her poor attempt at trying to have a pleasant breath. Her menthol mouthwash conflicted with her cherry toothpaste, chocolate candy, and her dinner which was microwaved pizza with hints of bacon and eggs from her breakfast. Like yuck, microwaved pizza?

Talking about smell, the scent of the lady beside me seemed off. I couldn’t distinguish it even with my spectacular and one-of-a-kind sense of smell. All I knew was that it wasn’t normal and she probably was one of the witch’s servants, maybe even the witch herself. But as of this moment, I could only go along with her game.