A Moment in Time – 1910 / Kaizen Executive Council / Beijing, China
Kai stood in front of a water-filled cauldron in the council chamber. While he gazed outside, lost in thought, the Assistant Director of Kaizen, Lisa, entered the room.
Lisa, unable to accept what she had heard, burst out in a sharp voice."How is this even possible after all these years?"
Without breaking from his thoughts, Kai began to speak."Strange, isn't it? The feeling you get when you realize the world is about to end. You could see it on the faces of the council members during this morning's meeting."
"You didn't say a single word back there. You must have some idea of what's behind this!" Lisa's voice was filled with urgency. Kai, though clearly angered, continued speaking without raising his tone.
"It would be foolish to answer the questions of a murderer. The real killers were sitting at that table, Lisa. I've run the calculations countless times. I had stabilized the Deterioration Process. Humanity had tens of thousands of years left—time they could've lived without tipping the balance. But that bastard Neon… he began preparations for the Transformation Process far too early. They're planning something. And they won't get away with it."
Lisa took a deep breath, weighing Kai's words. He could be right. Lately, the council members had acted as if they shared a secret."Those are heavy accusations… But deep down, I can see you might be right."
"Every word I said is true, and you know it. I don't know why Neon is doing this—but I will make him pay for it," Kai replied, his voice steady but resolute.
Lisa responded with a tone filled with warning."Even if you want to stop him, you can't. What you're attempting is like trying to start a fire in the middle of an ocean."
"Maybe you're right, Lisa. But there's one difference between us…" Kai narrowed his eyes. With a flick of his hand, he summoned a tiny spark of fire and let it fall into the water-filled cauldron in front of him.
The moment the spark touched the surface, the water ignited in a sudden burst of flames. As the cauldron burned with unnatural fire, Kai stared into it and continued:"I know the ocean is made of oil. And everyone's just waiting for a single spark… I'm going to be the one to light it."