Lassen looked at each of them, one by one. He took a second, then another.

He liked letting silence stretch just long enough for tension to settle and for everyone's nerves to sharpen. Then, in a voice that was calm yet edged like a blade, he said : "For the first step, we need to unify the countries."

The shock was immediate.

Kaela flinched, just a little. Adrian blinked. Elias lifted his head from the hologram, looking lost between numbers and reality. Alex, true to form, kept a neutral expression… but his pen stopped mid-stroke.

Kaela was the first to break the quiet, her voice slightly shaky: "You… you're not going to start a world war, are you?"

Lassen let the theatrics hang for a beat before shaking his head with a faint, crooked smile: "Of course not. I'll leave that to the Germans."

Kaela stared at him, mouth half open. Adrian cleared his throat. Elias didn't seem to get the joke. Alex rolled his eyes toward the ceiling.

Lassen continued as if nothing had happened: "Some time ago I spoke with Elias about a new kind of energy. Something that could gradually replace oil. It's the only lever strong enough to force countries to cooperate."

He turned toward the scientist: "Where do we stand?"

All eyes swung to Elias. He slowly lifted his head, still half buried in his calculations, and answered in an even tone:"It's moving forward."

A heavy silence fell over the room. Long.... Too long.

Awkward, even for a team used to Lassen's absurdities. In everyone's head, the same silent message flashed: That's it?

Lassen cleared his throat, visibly irritated: "How long to finalize it and produce at scale?"

Elias gave a tiny shrug: "Ten years. Minimum."

Lassen closed his eyes. A short breath escaped his lips: "We don't have ten years."

He stood, hands clasped behind his back, and began to pace slowly around the table. The low hum of the screens and the faint buzz of the vents seemed louder in the pause between his steps:

"We don't have the luxury of waiting a decade. We need a solution now. Other ideas?"

Alex spoke up, measured as ever: "We might look for a temporary compromise. Another path to unification… a network of targeted alliances?"

Lassen shook his head: "Not sturdy enough. Alliances collapse at the first real crisis."

He stopped in front of the conference room's wide glass wall, staring at the distant skyline. The lights of Macro glittered as if nothing were wrong. And yet, in the shadows, the world's foundations were already trembling.

Then Adrian, who had said nothing until now, spoke calmly: "Why not just take control of the countries?"

Lassen looked up, exasperated: "Were you listening? I don't want a war."

"Who said anything about war?"

Lassen turned, intrigued: "Then what do you mean?"

Adrian lifted a shoulder: "Every country has dissident groups—people who hate the system in place and dream of toppling it. We just help them."

Lassen folded his arms, wary: "And what tells us those people will obey once they're in power?"

Adrian answered in a tone that was almost too calm: "Remember the assassination attempt? The one you survived a few years ago."

Lassen nodded slowly: "Of course."

"Since that day, I started recruiting. Former soldiers, refugees, people with no ties. In several countries. Quiet profiles, but steady. They owe you their lives. And their loyalty is absolute."

Lassen stayed silent, surprised. Even he hadn't known about this initiative.

Adrian went on: "We don't need to seize an entire state. We just have to place a single person in the right spot. A leader, a decision-maker. Someone who looks legitimate, but answers to us. The rest will follow. We don't need to control the whole organization, only the key members."

Alex broke the silence, thoughtful. "A kind of silent revolution. Control the levers without the structures."

Kaela, more nervous, murmured: "It's risky… and borderline dictatorial."

Lassen turned his head slowly toward her: "Kaela, do you think we still have the luxury of being idealists? I'm talking about preventing the world from collapsing. Not writing a fairy tale."

He closed his eyes for a second and thought for a long moment, the room holding its breath with him.

When he opened them again, something in his gaze had shifted. "All right. We'll run a test."

Adrian lifted his chin, just a fraction.

Lassen's voice dropped a shade darker. "But if even one of these people betrays me… I want them gone before the world ever hears a whisper."

A chill rippled through the room.

Then silence.

Lassen looked at each of them again, this time without a smile. "We're not playing anymore. We're building a world that can survive. Even if, to do that… we have to tear it down first."

Lassen exited the room in silence, his footsteps echoing against the polished floor like the ticking of an invisible countdown.

Behind him, no one moved.

Kaela was frozen in her chair, still chewing over the implications. Adrian's gaze was locked on the table, cold and focused. Elias had stopped fiddling with his holograms. And Alex… Alex was already calculating probabilities, playing out future scenarios in his mind.

They had just crossed a line and they all knew it.

It wasn't just about politics anymore, not about economics, not about innovation or power.It was about rewriting the very rules by which the world operated.

Not with bombs...Not with armies.

But with precision, influence and control.

The kind of control that doesn't announce itself.

The kind that slips into place quietly, like a shadow behind the curtain, until one day, you wake up and realize it's always been there.

Outside, the city of Macro glowed peacefully, oblivious to the storm that had just begun to take shape.

And somewhere far from this quiet room, a spark was already catching fire.

The world didn't know it yet but someone had already begun rewriting the future.

One decision at a time.One name at a time.One throne at a time.