CEO of the Dead

"Congratulations, Cyprian. To the Beaumont Empire," Alaric said, raising his crystal glass toward the chandeliers.

"To the empire," I replied, though a sudden, sharp cramp twisted my gut.

"Don't look so stiff, darling. You built this for us," Isadora whispered, sliding her arm through mine. Her perfume was thick, almost cloying tonight.

I tried to smile, but my vision blurred. The champagne glass slipped from my hand, shattering against the marble floor.

"Are you alright, Cyprian? You look pale," Alaric asked, though he didn't move to help.

"Just dizzy. The heat in here is a bit much," I muttered, leaning against the balcony railing.

"Is it the heat? Or is it the arsenic?" Isadora asked. Her voice wasn't soft anymore. It was sharp as a razor.

I felt something cold and hard press against my forehead. I blinked, trying to clear the fog. We were alone on the terrace now. Alaric was standing back, his hands in his pockets, wearing a bored expression. Isadora was holding a silenced pistol directly between my eyes.

"Isadora? What the hell is this?" I gasped, my heart hammering.

"This is your severance package, Cyprian," she whispered.

"You're joking. Is this some kind of sick game for the merger?" I asked.

"Do I look like I'm playing? You were always too smart to live, Cyprian. You saw things you weren't supposed to see in the ledgers," she said.

"I built this entire company for you! I made Alaric a god in this city!" I shouted.

"And now we don't need the architect anymore. We just need the blueprints you left behind," Alaric said, stepping closer.

"Isadora, put the gun down. We can talk about this. Whatever you want, it's yours," I pleaded.

"We’ve been talking for months, Cyprian. Every time I fixed you a drink. Every time I kissed you. I was saying goodbye," she said.

"You've been poisoning me? My own wife?" I choked out.

"Just enough to make sure you couldn't fight back tonight. You’ve been so slow lately. Didn't you wonder why your head was always swimming?" She mocked.

"You bitch," I growled, trying to lunge at her.

My knees buckled instantly. I hit the stone floor, my strength vanishing. Isadora stood over me, the moonlight catching the silver of the barrel.

"Goodbye, Cyprian. Thanks for the billions," she whispered.

Phut.

The sound was tiny. The pain in my skull was a white-hot explosion. Then came the rushing wind as Alaric grabbed my collar and hauled me toward the edge.

"Give my regards to the Blackwood River," Alaric said.

He shoved me over the railing. I fell through the dark, hitting the freezing water with a dull thud. I sank like a stone. The darkness swallowed the lights of the yacht. My lungs burned as they filled with icy water. I tried to kick, but my body was a lead weight.

Then, the world stopped being dark.

A flash of neon blue flickered in my vision. It wasn't a light from the surface. It was inside my brain.

[Warning: Biological Hardware Failing.]

"What is that?" I thought. I couldn't breathe, but I could see text.

[Vital Signs: 0%. Host Status: Deceased.]

"I'm dead. I'm actually dead," I realized.

[Re-booting... Initialization of Soul-Code System beginning.]

The water around me began to glow. The bubbles from my last breath were frozen in time. The river didn't look like water anymore. It looked like falling strings of numbers and green lines of light.

[Synchronizing Soul-Code... 100%.]

[Synchronization Complete.]

"I can see the riverbed," I whispered. I didn't use my mouth. The words just existed in the silence.

I was standing on the silt at the bottom of the Blackwood. My body was gone, replaced by a shimmering, blue version of my tuxedo. I looked down at my hands. They were made of light and shifting data.

[System Notification: Welcome, CEO.]

"CEO? CEO of what?" I asked the empty water.

[The Ghost Conglomerate is now under your management.]

I looked up through the murk. I could see the hull of the yacht moving away. I could see the heat signatures of Alaric and Isadora standing on the deck, looking down at where I died.

"They think they won," I said. My voice sounded like a thousand layered whispers.

[Current Assets: 0. Current Employees: 0.]

"How do I survive this? I'm a ghost," I said.

[You are the Sovereign. Use your Willpower to manifest.]

I focused on the yacht. I wanted to be up there. I wanted to tear them apart. A surge of energy pulsed through my blue frame.

[Warning: Level up required for physical manifestation.]

"Then how do I level up?" I demanded.

[Collect the debts of the forgotten. Build your legion.]

I started to walk. My feet hit the riverbed with a heavy thud. The silt swirled around me like digital dust. I felt a pull toward the city, toward the places where people suffered.

"They took everything from me. My company. My wife. My life," I growled.

[Negative Emotions detected. Soul-Power increased: +10.]

"Is that all I get for being murdered?" I snapped at the screen.

[Efficiency is key, CEO. You must learn to manage your assets.]

I saw a shape in the distance. Another spirit was huddled near a sunken car. It was flickering, barely holding onto its form.

"Who is that?" I asked.

[Potential Asset detected. Perform Preliminary Audit?]

"Audit him," I commanded.

[Audit Initialized. Target: Unidentified Wraith.]

I walked toward the spirit. The blue light from my body illuminated a rusted sedan.

"Can you hear me?" I asked the spirit.

The ghost looked up. Its face was a blur of static.

"Help... me..." it hissed.

"I’m not here to help you. I’m here to offer you a job," I said.

[Managerial Insight Level 1 activated. Target: Thomas Miller. Role: Former Lead Developer.]

"Thomas Miller? You disappeared years ago," I muttered.

"They... killed me... for the code..." Thomas whispered.

"I know. They killed me too," I said.

[System: Offer Contract?]

"Not yet," I said. I looked toward the surface. The city lights were bleeding through the water in shades of violet.

"Alaric, Isadora... you thought you buried a man," I whispered.

I felt the power of the System surge, a cold force that made my spectral heart beat with digital fire.

"You didn't bury me. You just planted a seed."

[Objective Updated: Assemble the First Board of Directors.]

I turned back to the ghost of Thomas Miller. My eyes glowed with a predatory blue light.

"Thomas, do you want to see the Beaumont Empire burn?" I asked.

The ghost stopped flickering. Its static face sharpened for a second. "Yes."

"Then sign here," I said.

A screen flashed in my vision, bright enough to blind me.

[Welcome, CEO. Your first Audit begins now.]