The crimson light of the Greed Engine pulsed like a dying heart, filling the subterranean chamber with sickening heat. Ashley Vance stood high above the altar, laughing as his dark cultists chanted."You can't leave, Michael!" Ashley’s voice echoed off the damp stone walls. "Protocol Alpha-Zero is absolute! You're trapped!"Michael didn't answer. He didn't care about Ashley's laughter, or the cultists, or the divine barrier pulsing around the exit. In his mind, he could only see Serena—sitting alone in the safehouse, completely unaware that an elite execution team was speeding toward her.Three minutes, he thought. I have three minutes.Michael pulled the Broken Executive's Ledger from his coat and slammed it down onto the stone floor beneath his boots. His turquoise-and-gold eyes flared with a desperate, blinding light."[Skill Activated: Emergency Audit Breach]!" Michael roared.A massive, golden tear ripped through the air right in front of him. It wasn't a standard exit; it was an

The steady, rhythmic beep... beep... beep of the heart monitor echoed softly through the quiet private room of the clandestine clinic. Outside the reinforced glass window, the rain had settled into a low, somber drizzle over the city.Michael sat on a metal stool beside the bed, his head resting lightly near Serena’s hands. His dark coat was still torn, stained with dried crimson from her accident, and his left arm hung limply in a heavy black sling—cursed and blackened from the soul rot he had absorbed to save her.A tiny movement broke the silence.Serena’s fingers twitched gently against his palm. Her long eyelashes fluttered open, gray eyes clouded with sleep and confusion as she blinked at the dim ceiling lights."Mich... Michael?" her voice was barely a breath, raspy and thin.Michael’s eyes snapped open instantly. He sat up, his right hand wrapping tightly around hers, his gaze searching her face with desperate relief."Serena," he whispered, his voice cracking. "Don't try to m

The abandoned subway station beneath the financial district was drowned in pitch-black shadow. Water dripped from rusted ceiling beams, tapping rhythmically against the broken concrete tracks. Neon city light flickered weakly through grates high above, casting long, jagged shadows down the empty platform.Michael walked down the center of the platform, his boots clicking heavily against the rubble. His left arm was still bound tightly in a black sling, the dark soul curse throbbing beneath his skin. In his right hand, he held a sleek, combat-grade trench knife—the cold steel reflecting the dim neon glow."I know you're here, Vane!" Michael’s voice echoed sharply through the cavernous station. "Stop hiding in the dark like a coward. Show yourself!"A low, deep laugh rasped out from the dark tunnels at the far end of the platform."Hiding?" Commander Vane stepped out of the shadow of a derailed train car. He wore full obsidian war armor, a massive greatsword resting casually on his shou

The rain continued to hammer relentlessly against the reinforced glass window of Serena’s private hospital room. Inside, the rhythmic beep... beep... beep of the heart monitor cast a heavy, dramatic tension over the dim room.Serena stood by the side of her medical bed, clutching the back of a metal chair with both hands. Across from her, Rebecca Vance paced back and forth near the locked blast doors like a trapped animal, her heels clicking sharply against the sterile floorboards."Stop giving me half-answers, Serena!" Rebecca suddenly shouted, turning on her heel. Her sharp executive mask shattered completely, revealing raw, frantic terror in her eyes. "I came to your room alone! I bypassed my father’s security team to meet you in this clinic! I need the entire truth right now!"Serena slowly let go of the metal chair. She looked at Rebecca—really looked at her. She saw the trembling hands, the bloodshot eyes, and the desperate fear of a daughter whose entire world was crumbling aro

The rain beat down furiously against the tin roof of the old, abandoned warehouse on the far outskirts of the district. Inside, far beyond the reach of Vance Global’s surveillance drones, the safehouse was cold and quiet. A single glowing tactical map floated in the center of the dusty room, projecting the massive, looming layout of Tower 01.Michael stood over the table, unbuttoning his blood-soaked coat and tossing it onto a crate. His left arm remained tightly bound in its black sling, but his right hand rested heavily on the edge of the holographic terminal.Serena sat nearby, wrapping a fresh bandage around her forearm, while Rebecca tapped rapidly on her private executive tablet, syncing her clearance credentials with the holographic map."The divine eclipse peaks in less than two hours," Rebecca said, her voice tight with raw tension. She pointed a trembling finger at the top of the holographic tower. "My father has already retreated into the inner sanctum on the 100th floor. H