Chapter 180 A Story For Another Time, Below Antarctica
He was impressed with the size of the group and how good at managing the executives are. Although he thought that there could be some improvements here and there, he evaluated the group as a very successful one that could be considered a giant here in the Philippines.
The group tackles different types of business fields, but the majority of their businesses are in the entertainment industry. Although the majority of their businesses are in the entertainment industry, its main business that produces the highest profit would be Zeon Motors, a company in the automobile business that is involved with vehicle and engine production.
Zeon Motors could be considered as a mid to top-tier automobile company, being placed just behind Volkswagen in terms of engine power. Its products also have a top-notch aesthetic that could be compared to BMW vehicles.
Another interesting fact that he saw was that the Zeon Group also has a joint partnership and allied relationship with the behemoth that is the Gaius Group, causing the group to be even more successful in manufacturing and advertising.
After reading everything, Calcifer thought to himself, "Does Uncle Andre want me to join Zeon Group?" While thinking that, he clicked on the second file, and to his utter shock, he saw that the contents of the second file was..
"Zeon Group of Companies\' Transfer of Proprietorship?" Calcifer widened his eyes as he read the article. He browsed through the document as the feeling of shock consecutively hit him.
"Zeon Group\'s ownership would be transferred to me? What? Why? How?" As soon as he finished reading the document for the nth time, he immediately dialed Andre\'s number and, once he answered, asked him what is that all about.
"For your first question, Yes. For the second, read it again if you\'re confused. Third, because it\'s yours– your family\'s business. And as for the last question, the same as the third." Andre replied to him.
Andre then explained everything about the Zeon Group to Calcifer, but of course, with some of the details changed.
He told him that the Santos\' was once a subordinate of his family. When Calcifer\'s great-great-grandfather retired, he created the Zeon Motors and the Zeon Group for the family. When his great-grandfather took the helm and saw that there was no descendant capable of managing the group well, he handed the ownership of the company over to Andre\'s "family" to manage until the Santos Family produced a capable offspring.
When Calcifer was then born, Andre tested Calcifer if he was good enough to take the helm. And when he proved it right, will be the time that he will hand over the company to him.
"I\'m giving this to you now, seeing that you need it to prove that you\'re not just a weak and well-off person. I\'m sure that, by now, that father of hers has already mulled over his past decisions. With you having a powerful company in your hands, you will then easily be able to do whatever you want, and even have a much better woman with you, or women." Andre stated.
"I love Mady and no one would be able to be as good as her, even if we\'re talking about thousands of girls." Calcifer\'s voice suddenly turned cold when Andre mentioned having a better woman.
Andre was surprised that he felt a little tinge of nervousness when he heard how strong Calcifer\'s conviction to Madison is. Of course he wouldn\'t say anything about that as he laughed, "I was just testing you. I really didn\'t make a wrong decision." He replied.
"Well then, the group is yours and you can do whatever you want with it, but I am going to seize it if all you do is perform badly." Andre said with a smile before ending the call.
Minutes after that conversation, Gaius Group\'s suppression on the Mendoza\'s were lifted. News also reported that because of the previous events, the president\'s daughter Madison was scheduled to return to the Philippines, shocking everyone.
Madison\'s father once said in front of the press conference that his daughter was first going to finish and get her master\'s degree before going back. Maybe because of the current events, Mr. Mendoza made Madison return and help her mother.
With the abrupt turn of events, everyone was shocked and dumbfounded. It\'s so fast that the media didn\'t even have time to react.
At the same time, the Philippine spokesperson from the Gaius Group has also finally faced the press. They apologized for the current events that happened and promised to provide the pharmaceutical company and the corporation compensation for the issue. In regards to the reason, the spokesperson did not give the answer that they were looking for and instead told the press a very vague response; "It is because of a private matter between our companies."
After that, it was as if nothing even happened. Except for the delay with the research, the stocks of the two businesses under the Mendoza\'s returned to normal and the stockholders returned to support the Mendoza\'s, albeit the latter\'s trust towards them went down.
In Calcifer\'s apartment, his hands were shaking as he called his friends, "Boys, call your girlfriends and let\'s meet up at the airport. Let\'s fetch Mady."
"Yes, boss!"
"On it."
"Coming!"
His friends answered consecutively. While on the call, Calcifer was getting ready as he grabbed his leather jacket and wore it. He ended the call and grabbed his keys, rushing straight to his car that was parked in his garage.
What happens next is going to be another story, as theirs is only starting, with trials and tribulations going their way as they continue to love each other until the end.
Going back to the Snow Court, after finishing what he was doing, Cris eventually left the Snow Court, onboard the Hover. In regards to Andre, he descended deep below the ice, where some things that were locked out from the world were contained.
With the current development of things, and him thinking what worse things might come next, he felt that it was urgent to break the seal that is surrounding the codex and fully obtain the knowledge that is stored inside it.
The only thing he can think of is to go all out, and to do that, he needs to return to the ancient past that he left behind.
After walking down for hours, he was finally deep inside the ice. The temperature, instead of going hotter, became incredibly colder, reaching a freezing temperature of -150°C.
Although the cold was already at that level, Andre only had one layer of wool jacket to cover him, although it didn\'t really work because even the jacket was just relying on Andre\'s heat to stay soft and not turn into an ice sculpture.
Andre stood in front of a thirty-meter tall ice wall and shook his head, "This wasn\'t like this before." He then raised his hand and placed it on the ice\'s surface. He ran his hand on the ice and pushed forward.
Crack! A loud sound of the ice breaking echoed throughout the icy walls. The ice wall in front of him crumbled, causing a huge quake all across the cavern. Andre conjured a flame and held it up. The ice that was falling apart suddenly melted and evaporated as it went near him.
After a while, everything was cleared up. The thing that was once concealed by the thick and dense ice finally revealed what it was; a huge metallic black gate that had inscriptions, runes, and images scribed on its surface. He looked at the humongous gate with reminiscence as he remembered the past that had been long lost in the infinite river of time.
"Il, Inhesum, Barum, Cohis." He glossed over the four mystical runes that were etched on the gate as he uttered four unrecognisable words with a deep and archaic voice.
Duuum.. Deep rumbling sounds thundered as it bounced all around the walls. The gate slowly parted as the things inside were once again exposed to the outer world after the gate closed hundreds of thousands of years ago.
Walking inside, Andre saw the vast primeval hall that was filled with olden fables of the greatest glories from the ages before history as torches and braziers lit up one after the other, lined up in a straight row, casting a warm glow that encompassed the entire hall.
Eight pillars made from different meteorites held the hall\'s high ceiling while old and dusty engravings of wars, bloodshed, ruination, and chaos that reached up to all the different corners of the world and the realms were portrayed on the side walls and the ceiling. In contrast to the chaotic images on the two sides of the hall, the image that was depicted in front was that of an eternal glory, with a huge sun, with the older gods Uranus, Hathor, Ancient Heaven, Buddha Antiquity, the Tianzun, Brahma, together with the new gods Zeus, Ra, Hleferoc, The Buddhas, Odin, Vishnu, and the Jade Emperor below it, basking in the glorious eternity that the sun had made.