Novels by Dep Flair

The atmosphere at Lincoln Center was electric with anticipation. Fashion Week had returned, and this time So Black wasn't the mysterious newcomer—they were the main event. Michael stood backstage wearing his Black Investor mask, watching final preparations for what the media was calling "the most anticipated fashion show of the decade.""Pre-orders are already at two million units," Sophia reported, checking her tablet. "And the show doesn't start for another hour."Louise approached, radiating the confidence that had become her signature since her breakthrough performance months earlier. She was no longer the struggling model taking desperate risks—she was the undisputed face of revolutionary fashion technology."The international press is incredible," Louise said, adjusting one of the new So Black prototypes. "Journalists from thirty countries, technology reporters, medical professionals. This isn't just a fashion show anymore."Michael nodded, feeling the weight of expectations tha

Michael's phone buzzed with an urgent text as he was leaving the Crawford board meeting. The message was from Kylie, and the fear in her words made his blood run cold: "I think someone's following me. Same car for three days. Help?"He immediately called her, his enhanced intuition picking up genuine anxiety in her voice even before she spoke."Kylie, where are you right now?""The university library," she replied, trying to sound calm but failing. "There's a man in a dark suit who's been sitting across from me for two hours, pretending to read but watching everything I do."Michael's jaw tightened. Eric's investigation had clearly expanded beyond targeting Michael directly to include family members who might provide leverage."Stay exactly where you are," he instructed. "I'm twenty minutes away."As he drove toward the university, Michael called Olivia on his secure line. "I need a team at the university library immediately. Kylie's being surveilled, and it's not friendly.""Corporat

Michael stood in the Buzzer Tech conference room, surrounded by screens displaying global market data that would have been impossible to imagine just months earlier. Olivia was coordinating with manufacturing partners across three continents while Megan reviewed distribution agreements that spanned twelve countries."The Asian rollout exceeded every projection," Olivia announced, pulling up sales figures that made Michael's head spin. "Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan are reporting demand that's literally crashing retailer websites.""European pre-orders are similar," Megan added. "London, Paris, Berlin—every major fashion capital wants exclusive launch events for So Black."Michael felt a mix of pride and anxiety as he watched their revolutionary technology spreading across the globe. The therapeutic applications Louise had developed were genuinely helping people manage mental health challenges, but the success was creating visibility that made his double life increasingly precarious.

The Crawford family dining room hadn't hosted a dinner like this in years. Richard sat at the head of the table, still pale from his recent cardiac episode but determined to project strength. Eric and Katherine flanked one side, while Michael sat alone on the other, the seating arrangement making the family divisions physically obvious."I thought we should celebrate," Richard announced, raising his wine glass with deliberate ceremony. "Michael's Project New Day has received preliminary approval from the Department of Energy. Federal recognition of our renewable energy initiative."Michael's enhanced intuition immediately picked up the complex emotional currents around the table. Richard's pride was genuine, but mixed with concern about something he wasn't sharing. Eric's congratulatory smile masked fury and calculation. Katherine's supportive expression hid deep anxiety about something specific."Congratulations, brother," Eric said, his voice perfectly calibrated for family harmony.

Michael woke up feeling different. Not physically different—the health apple the System had given him hadn't changed his body in any obvious way. But something fundamental had shifted in how he perceived the world around him.Walking into Crawford Enterprises that morning, he immediately noticed things that had been invisible before. Board Member Harrison's micro-expressions when he greeted Michael suggested anxiety mixed with guilt. Vanessa's posture indicated she was hiding something significant. Even the security guard's greeting carried undertones of nervousness that hadn't been there yesterday.It was like gaining a sixth sense for reading people's true intentions beneath their surface presentations."Enhanced Intuition," Michael realized, remembering the System's reward description. The health apple hadn't just improved his physical condition—it had upgraded his ability to perceive the emotional and psychological states of everyone around him.The new ability was immediately use

The green flag dropped and Michael floored the accelerator, feeling the Porsche surge forward with raw power. For the first few seconds, he stayed even with Claire's Ferrari, matching her acceleration through the initial straightaway.Then she pulled ahead.It wasn't a dramatic gap—maybe half a car length—but it was decisive. Claire took the racing line through the first turn with precision that made Michael's driving look amateur by comparison. She hit the apex perfectly, carried more speed through the exit, and extended her lead down the back straight.Michael pushed harder, using every technique he'd learned over years of track days. His enhanced reflexes helped him brake later and accelerate sooner, but Claire was simply better. Not because of superior equipment or luck, but because of pure skill developed through countless hours of practice.By the end of the first lap, she was ahead by nearly three seconds. In racing terms, that was an eternity.Michael tried different approache

The new passage breathed like a living thing.Each exhale stirred dust that hadn’t moved in centuries. The air grew colder with every step, damp stone giving way to smooth marble veined with faint gold light.No one spoke. Words felt wrong down here.Only their footsteps and the hiss of torch-flame echoed off the walls.Sera finally broke the silence. “This tunnel wasn’t carved—it was grown.”She ran a hand along the wall. “See the texture? Magical crystallization. The tomb rebuilt itself.”“Then it wanted us to find this,” Jin muttered. “Great.”They emerged into a vast circular chamber. The ceiling arched high overhead, engraved with constellations that shimmered faintly when their torches flared. At the center stood a dais of cracked marble, and on it… a throne.King Aldrich sat there. Or what was left of him.The crown was broken cleanly in half across his brow. His armor gleamed like molten silver, but his face—his face was hollow light, flickering like a candle trapped in glass.

The marching didn’t stop. It echoed beneath the academy, faint and rhythmic, like footsteps underwater. The kind of sound that didn’t belong in the world of the living.For two nights, none of them slept properly. Even the city’s noise couldn’t mask it. Merchants said it was the wind in the old pipes. The guards blamed underground tremors. But Draven knew better. So did Sera.By the third day, he made the call. “We’re going back.”Jin dropped his cup. “Back where?”“Aldrich’s tomb.”Lyra stared at him like he’d lost his mind. “You mean the one that tried to bury us alive?”“Yeah, that one.”Sera didn’t look surprised. She’d already packed her gear. “You’ve been hearing it too, haven’t you?”He nodded. “The sound. It’s spreading. If it reaches the city, we’ll have a problem no one can contain.”Jin groaned, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “And you think four people are going to fix what an entire kingdom couldn’t?”Draven buckled his sword. “I think we’re the only ones who know how.”T

They met in the middle like two storms looking for a spine to break.The first ranks hit hard—shields of scorched iron, spears of bone and light. The dead didn’t shout or snarl. They moved in silence, each step measured, each strike precise, like a memory looping on command.Jin broke the line with a roar and an axe swing that cratered the ground. Shock ripples knocked three soldiers sideways. Lyra slid through the opening he made, twin blades flashing, wrists turning sharp and clean. Knees first. Necks next. Back out before the formation closed.Sera didn’t rush. She spread her hands and let the shadows drop like a curtain, a wall of black that swallowed the first volley of light-spears and spat them back as slivers of night. A dozen undead fell, headless, their bodies hanging upright for a beat before folding as one.Draven stepped into the space they’d carved and the world bent toward him.The air around his blade shivered. Golden lines ran along the steel like veins, brightening w

The next morning, the city didn’t wake normally.At first, it was quiet. Too quiet for a place that usually came alive before sunrise with bells, merchants, and the sound of training in the academy courtyards.Then came the horns.Three long notes from the northern watchtowers—an old signal. One that hadn’t been used in centuries.Draven was already up when it started. He and Sera were standing on the roof of their dormitory, watching the horizon. The towers along the outer walls were lit one by one, torches flashing like warning stars.“What do you see?” Sera asked.“Smoke,” Draven said. “North ridge. Same direction as Aldrich’s tomb.”Sera’s voice was calm but low. “That ridge was empty. Nothing should be burning there.”“Something is.”The door below creaked open. Jin climbed up, armor half-buckled, eyes still heavy with sleep. “What now?”Lyra followed, tightening the straps on her gloves. “Please don’t say we’re going north again.”Draven didn’t answer. The smoke rising in the di

The first tremor hit just before dawn.Draven was awake before it started—he hadn’t been sleeping much. The candle beside his bunk had burned down to a pool of wax. His sword rested against the wall where it always did, but tonight its faint lines of light had grown brighter, pulsing in rhythm with his heartbeat.When the tremor came, it wasn’t violent. Just a slow, rolling shudder that moved through the stone floor like something exhaling beneath the academy. The walls creaked. Books fell from the shelves. Then it stopped.Draven sat perfectly still. The pulse in the blade slowed again, almost like it was listening.Footsteps echoed in the hall outside. Then Sera’s voice: “You felt that too?”He opened the door. She stood barefoot, hair slightly disheveled, eyes sharp despite the hour. “Another tremor?”She nodded. “Third one this week.”Draven stepped into the corridor. Other doors were opening now. Students whispering. Nervous faces. Somewhere down the hall, Jin’s voice boomed, “If

The city didn’t look the same when they returned.It was brighter, noisier, full of life—but after the tomb, it felt hollow. Too alive, maybe. The colors were too sharp, the air too clean. Every sound hit like an echo from a world that didn’t know how close it had come to collapse.Draven led the way through the north gate, cloak torn, armor still carrying dust from Aldrich’s grave. They didn’t speak. They hadn’t spoken much since they left the cemetery behind.Jin broke the silence first. “We tell the academy we found nothing.”Lyra shot him a look. “Nothing?”“Better than saying we woke a dead king and burned down his kingdom underground.”Sera nodded. “He’s right. No one will believe it anyway.”Draven adjusted the strap on his sword. “We’ll report structural instability. Dangerous ruins. Sealed for safety.”Lyra smirked. “The short version.”“The only version.”The guards at the gate recognized them instantly. The whispers started before they even reached the inner streets. Word a