CHAPTER 48: THREE PILLARS OF FRIENDSHIP

At the award ceremony, plenty of prominent figures had come up to him. Shaking hands, handing out business cards, some just making small talk. One of them was a man in a black suit with sharp eyes.

At the time, Alaric only had a brief glance at the name on his badge: L. Everdane – Varlion Corporation. He smiled and returned the handshake politely, just like with the others.

He didn’t give it much thought. Quite a few even bigger businesspeople had approached him yesterday. That’s how they were always humble and supportive, even though they usually ended up outshining the ones they cheered on. That’s the way it goes. So, really, what’s the point of feeling too important?

But elsewhere in the world, not too far from the city center... a somewhat heated meeting was taking place on the top floor of a skyscraper. In an exclusive boardroom, two CEOs from well known corporations were well, having a bit of a quarrel.

Varlion Everdane, CEO of Varlion Corp, stood leaning against a large window overlooking the silver-hued skyline. He looked composed, but his voice was starting to rise.

"You never socialize, Eron. If you had shown up, it would’ve just made things awkward. Alaric isn’t the kind of person who clicks with someone too stiff."

Eron Thalbard, CEO of Vektora Industries, standing on the other side of a sleek black oval table, raised an eyebrow. He crossed his arms, then let out a short, sarcastic laugh.

"That’s rich. I’ve dealt with way more startups and research tech sectors than you have. Sounds to me like you just wanted to beat me to it. You even shook his hand last night, didn’t you?"

Varlion scoffed. "That was just a formality."

"But you enjoyed it, didn’t you?"

"Don’t start making assumptions, Eron!"

Tension began to rise. The argument could have easily gone on for another hour—if the door hadn’t opened and a man in an elegant white suit casually walked in.

"Oh great, what are you two arguing about now?" said the man, half amused, half exasperated.

It was Caelum Frost, CEO of Faksnih Group. Flamboyant but always professional. One hand held a tablet, the other rubbed his temple. He had just arrived and already looked tired. Probably for good reason.

Eron pointed at Varlion. "This guy is being stubborn, Cael. I already said I should be the one to talk to Alaric, but he refuses to back off."

Varlion cut in, "Because this is about human connection, not just technical matters. You’re not the right person for it."

Caelum sighed. "You two are tech giants, not teenagers fighting over who gets to play next."

"Well then, why don’t *you* go?" Eron said quickly, as if struck by a sudden stroke of genius.

Caelum frowned. "Me? Why me?"

"Because you’re friends with both of us. And..." Varlion added with a shrug, "you’ve interacted with Craftpartner before too, haven’t you?"

"That’s right. You helped them set up their prototype manufacturing system not long ago, didn’t you?" Eron chimed in.

Caelum pointed to himself. "So because I’m the only one who can talk to both of you without a fight, I’m the mediator now?"

"Yes. And because if we go ourselves, we’ll just end up arguing again," Varlion said, shooting a glance at Eron, who crossed his arms again.

"If I go, it’s a long-term diplomatic solution. Right?" Eron added, trying to sound wise, but really just looking for a way out. Truth was, if either of them went, nothing would get resolved properly.

Caelum let out a long sigh and stared out the window. Then he walked over and patted both CEOs on the shoulder.

"You two are impossible," he muttered. "Fine. I’ve got some patent legalization documents I need to deliver to Craftpartner’s HQ anyway. I’ll drop them off and talk to Alaric."

Both CEOs nodded at once.

"Thanks, Cael," said Eron.

"I’ll get you two coffees," added Varlion.

Caelum just waved it off. "Just pay me back by staying silent. That’ll be enough," he said, shaking his head and turning away before the sound of their arguing could give him more of a headache.

He walked out with quiet charisma, while Varlion and Eron both smiled, as if none of that shouting had just happened.

And behind the closed door, Caelum’s footsteps echoed alongside a whispered line.

"Craftpartner, here I come... Hopefully Alaric still remembers me."

–

That day, Alaric’s private office felt quieter than usual. The second floor of Craftpartner’s headquarters, where he usually worked, was calm and still. Just the soft hum of the air conditioning system and the occasional ping from the notification panel in front of him kept him company.

He had just finished documenting his latest project when there was a soft knock on the glass door.

Knock. Knock.

The door slid open automatically, and a tall man in a charcoal-grey shirt with slightly tousled hair entered. It was Caelum—the CEO with a commanding presence.

His face wasn’t unfamiliar to Alaric. He was known as one of the senior members of the Regional Innovation Council. Rarely in the public eye, but highly respected among engineers and developers of experimental tech. His expression was neutral. Not warm, but not cold either. Calm, measured.

"Good afternoon," Caelum said simply with a nod. His voice was deep and steady.

"Good afternoon. Please, have a seat," Alaric replied, gesturing to the chair across from his desk.

Caelum sat down, his eyes sweeping the room—not to judge, but simply to observe.

Alaric assumed the conversation would be stiff. Still, he stayed professional and welcoming, offering a drink as usual. Caelum accepted it, nodded briefly, and fell silent for a moment.

The small talk began: questions about the recent competition, Alaric’s modular AI system, a little about the Craftpartner team. It all flowed smoothly, calmly, predictably.

But then Alaric happened to mention one phrase—"human creativity-based transformative energy" and something changed in Caelum’s expression.

His eyebrows lifted slightly, and for the first time, his gaze sharpened. Like his mind had fully entered the room.

"You believe that’s more than just theory?" he asked, suddenly.

Alaric was a little surprised but nodded slowly. "I can’t explain it perfectly, but I’m convinced there’s something about emotional and creative connections in people that can drive intelligent systems to be far more flexible... more alive, even."

Caelum leaned in slightly, and for the first time since he arrived, he spoke with visible interest. There was depth beginning to surface.

"I once developed a system like that. But it wasn’t for commercial use or for any institution. More of a personal research project," he said quietly.

"Did it work?" Alaric asked quickly, his eyes lighting up.

"In part. But I didn’t finish it. I stopped midway." He then looked at Alaric for a long moment, as if seeing a reflection of his younger self.

The minutes that followed turned into an unexpectedly deep discussion. Alaric hadn’t thought the conversation would go that far. They talked about the interaction between human emotions and machine reasoning, about how systems could be empathetic, and about learning that went beyond raw data and dry theory.

The further the conversation went, the clearer it became that Caelum held onto many ideas and concepts he hadn’t had the chance to realize.

And now, he was starting to see that Alaric, the young man sitting across from him—might just be the person capable of pushing those ideas forward.

"I can tell you have a different kind of instinct," Caelum finally said. "If you’re interested... you can learn directly from me. I have a small team working on advanced research. It’s not large, but I can guarantee everyone there is serious."

Alaric paused.

A thousand thoughts raced through his head. It was a huge opportunity... but also daunting. He knew who Caelum was. The man wasn’t just brilliant. He was incredibly selective. Joining his team wasn’t just about pride it was about real challenge.

"Can I think about it for a moment?"

Caelum nodded. "Of course. But I don’t like waiting too long."

Alaric gave a small smile, looking down at his fingers loosely interlocked on the desk. Tension hung there like a thin thread between hesitation and courage. But then he took a breath.

"Okay. I’ll take the offer."

Caelum studied him for a moment, then gave a slow nod. No big smile, no congratulations. But it was enough. Alaric knew that was the highest form of approval from someone like him.

The rest of the conversation was lighter, though not meaningless. A break in the intensity. They talked about the new workspace, when to schedule the first meeting, and a few technical matters.

Finally, Caelum stood, picked up the folder he had brought with him, and gave a brief nod to Alaric.

"See you soon. Don’t be late."

Alaric nodded firmly. "Understood."

And as the glass door closed behind him, Alaric remained standing, still processing everything that had just happened. Is this true? Lately, the world’s fortunes seem to be on everyone’s side. It’s truly unexpected, and someone who was once on the verge of giving up seems to be...

Instead, the world has given it a stage at a different time. Perhaps this is the right time.