The new headquarters of Brooks Corp’s Host-Alliance Division towered over the sky like a gleaming pike of glass. Sunlight caught on its mirrored panels, casting long reflections across the city. Reporters, executives, and investors poured into the atrium, their chatter a mixture of awe and speculation.Ethan adjusted his suit jacket as he stepped through the revolving doors. His reflection, fractured in the glass panels above, seemed like a dozen versions of himself staring back. Paragon’s faint hum flickered in his mind, its voice still glitching from the compromised upgrade.“You shouldn’t be here,” Paragon warned. “Probability of operational compromise exceeds seventy percent.”Ethan exhaled slowly, muttering under his breath. “I don’t care about probabilities. I need answers.”The atrium was lavish, draped in banners proclaiming Host-Alliance Technology Charter. In bold letters beneath: Unity. Safety. Progress. Applause erupted as Lena descended the grand staircase, flawless in a

The rain hadn’t stopped for three days. It slid down the glass of Ethan’s apartment like veins of mercury, blurring the city lights into a restless haze. His desk was covered in fragments of the failed assassination attempt — shattered glass, the deconstructed bullet casing, digital scans frozen mid-analysis. The air hummed faintly with Paragon’s voice, distorted by the same glitches that had plagued it since the poisoned upgrade.“Trace complete,” the System whispered. “Origin: Host DNA signature… Ethan Cole.”Ethan froze. “What?”The digital overlay sharpened, glowing like a scar across the dark. A red lattice formed — unmistakably a Host genetic print, embedded within the bullet casing itself.“That’s not possible,” Ethan muttered, rubbing his temples. “Why would my DNA be on the casing of a sniper round?”“Implanted. Precision… deliberate.” Paragon’s tone warbled, cutting in and out. “Signature cannot be dismissed. Probability of frame job… ninety-three percent.”“Specter,” Ethan

The storm began quietly.Ethan sat in the warm glow of his study, a glass of whiskey resting untouched beside him. The monitors flickered with Paragon’s vibrant display, lines of code flashing in bursts, snippets of alarms buzzing in his ears like distant thunder.“Hey there, system alert,” Paragon’s voice chimed in with a sense of urgency. “We have an integrity breach. The offshore cluster is under direct assault.”Ethan perked up, focusing intently. “Can you specify the cluster?”“It’s the Singapore vaults, Zurich redundancies, and Panama staging nodes. Things are looking shaky.”He clenched his jaw, feeling a wave of frustration. Those sites were hidden away, buried under shell companies and complicated encryptions that only he and his team knew about. No board member, not even Lena at her most persuasive, had ever seen the actual plans.“Who’s in my space?” Ethan murmured, a hint of concern creeping in.Paragon replied, almost teasingly, “Trace complete. The breach originated… fro

Ethan’s head throbbed like someone was driving nails into his skull. The room spun in distorted fragments, the sharp edges of light slicing across his vision. His breath came in shallow bursts as he staggered against the edge of his desk, palms braced to keep himself from collapsing.“Paragon…” His voice rasped out like a broken whisper. “System… run diagnostic—”Nothing.For the first time since awakening Paragon, the silence in his head was unbearable. No hum, no guidance, no steady voice correcting his missteps. Just static, then nothing at all.A soft hand touched his forehead.“Ethan…” Lena’s voice, silky and warm, reached him like a drug. “You’re burning up. You need to rest. Please, don’t push yourself anymore.”He tried to pull away, tried to gather himself, but his knees buckled. She steadied him, lowering him into the chair with practiced grace.“I don’t—” His words fractured as another wave of pain surged. “I don’t need rest… I need Paragon online.”Lena crouched in front o

The council chamber burned.The once-imposing tribunal hall, carved deep into the earth beneath the Ghost Network’s sanctum, was now nothing but smoke, charred pillars, and ash. Ethan staggered forward, his body shaking, ears ringing from the explosion that had torn through the stone like it was paper. Rubble crunched beneath his boots, and the scent of burning flesh clung stubbornly to the air.“Host Cole!” one of the surviving guards shouted, dragging himself out from the debris with half his face blackened. His voice trembled with a mixture of fear and rage. “What did you do?! You brought them here!”Ethan’s jaw tightened. He wanted to deny it immediately, but dozens of accusing eyes were already turning toward him. Survivors of the Tribunal—scarred Hosts, bruised adjudicators—were glaring as if the fire had been lit by his hands.“I didn’t—” Ethan started, his voice hoarse.“Save your excuses!” another Host snapped, blood running down his temple. “The Council was compromised the m