System Rebirth: The Rise of Jace Ronan

Chapter 5: The Clan That Never Forgot

There are places in Blackrift where the air itself forgets how to move. The district they call Dagger Mile was one of them. Twisting alleys filled with rusted pipes, boarded windows, and the leftover whispers of those who vanished without headlines. It wasn't the kind of place people went unless they wanted to disappear, or bleed.

That's where Yui sent me next. A name. A location. No explanation. I didn't ask why. I didn't need to. Something was always unraveling behind her eyes these days. Like she knew more than she was ready to say. And maybe she did.

The building was buried behind a burned-out market. Three floors of concrete covered in black soot and faded blood glist. The doors were welded shut. The windows shattered. But something told me the place hadn't been abandoned. Not truly. I pushed through the side gate, hand resting on the hilt that the blade's growl had given me.

The grip felt warmer these days, like the weapon had decided to stop judging me and start listening.

Inside, the hallway smelled of damp stone and mold. Every step echoed against walls that hadn't heard footsteps in years. Or maybe they had, and just never told anyone. At the far end, a curtain made of chain links swayed gently.

I stepped through it, and found myself in a room lit by a single flickering bulb. Three figures sat around a broken table. All of them looked up. Two I didn't recognize. One I did. Malric. He hadn't changed much.

Same shark's grin. Same predator's poise. His eyes still scanned every inch of me like he was measuring muscle and weakness all at once.

“Jace Ronan,” he said, voiced smooth like oil across wet glass. “Didn't think I'd see your face again.”

“I was hoping the same.”

He laughed. Once, short, sharp. “Yui sent you?”

I nodded. “She said you owed her.”

He leaned back, steepling his fingers. “That debt ran out years ago, so let's pretend she didn't, and you tell me why you're really here.”

I studied him.

The man didn't blink often, and when he did, it felt like a strategy.

“I need information,” I said. “About the clan, and about the Ghost Circuit.”

The room went still.

The woman to his left, with tattoos down her throat, eyes like broken glass, shifted slightly. The man on the right, tense, hand brushing under the table. Malric didn't move.

“Brave,” he said, “but stupid.”

“Sounds about right.”

“I heard about Vico,” he went on. Word is you cracked his core and left him drooling on the floor.”

“I didn't hear you asking for an autograph.” I blurted.

His eyes narrowed. “That bite's making noise, and not the kind you can walk away from. The gilded fang has your scent now.”

The name hit harder than I expected.

The fang was one of the city's major clans. Old blood, magic buried in lineage, power carved into ceremony. The kind that kept eyes everywhere and smiles sharp as razors. I knew them once, or rather, they knew me, when I was younger, dumber, and desperate for belonging. I hadn't seen their sigils since the night my life imploded.

“Then I guess I need to move faster,” I said.

Malric nodded once, slowly. “The Ghost Circuit isn't just some rogue artifact, Jace. It's a legacy piece, buried tech, forbidden because it doesn't obey, doesn't follow hierarchy. It evolves beyond control.”

“That's what scares them, huh?” I asked. “Something they can't leash.”

“No,” he said. “What scares them is that they built it.’

Back on the street, the sky had turned the color of old bruises. Clouds churned with lazy malice overhead, and the air had that pressure again, like something was about to break.

Yui met me near a steam duct, her hood drawn low, breath fogging in the chill. “You saw him?” She asked.

“Yeah.”

“And?”

“The fang's moving. Probably already sent someone to confirm the system's still alive.”

She didn't blink. “Then we'll need to act before they do.”

I raised an eyebrow. “We?”

She glanced at me. “Unless you want to be hunted alone.”

I didn't answer.

Because the truth was, I already was.

We set up for the night in the skeletal remains of an old high-rise. Half the floors had collapsed into dust, and the rest were barely held together by rusted beams and decay. It was perfect.

Yui built a small fire near the elevator shaft, flame low and flickering. I sat across from her, my blade across my lap, watching shadows dance across her face.

“You said the Clans made the system,” I said finally. “Is that true?”

She nodded. “They made a prototype, a consciousness layer meant to adapt to chaotic combat environments. But something went wrong. It bonded too deeply, started rejecting orders. And when they tried to shut it down, it rewrote itself. And escaped. Into someone,” she said, “my brother.”

She didn't say more. She didn't have to.

The look in her eyes told me everything.

“Why are you still helping me?” I asked.

She stared into the flame, “because I see the same shift in you, the same edge. But you're still you. He wasn't...” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “Not by the end.”

Around midnight, I woke to the sound of footsteps.

Not Yui's.

Heavier.

Measured.

I rose slowly, blade in hand, and moved toward the stairwell. The fire was already out. Only ash remained, glowing faintly. On the third floor landing, I saw him. A man in a long, gold-threaded coat. No visible weapon. Head shaved clean. Scar running from brow to collarbone. Fang Clan. No doubt. He stood there, relaxed. Almost bored.

“Jace Ronan.”

I didn't respond.

He smiled. “I've come to deliver a message.”

“That right?”

He held up a hand. “The Clan offers you one chance. Surrender the system. Return to containment. They'll let you live.”

I laughed.

It wasn't even forced.

“You people are funny,” I said. “You cage me, ruin my life, and now you want me to kneel?”

His smile vanished. “I was told you'd be stubborn. I hoped otherwise.”

He moved fast.

But I moved faster.

Steel clashed with bone as I ducked, sidestepped, and slammed my shoulder into his chest. He staggered, but didn't fall.

His hands lit with gold as he spun and sent a burst of kinetic force toward my ribs. It hit. I gritted my teeth and dropped to one knee. He raised a glowing palm. I slashed upward. The blade tore through his coat and bit into flesh.

He hissed and leapt back, blood staining his collar.

“You shouldn't have done that,” he said.

“You should have brought friends.” I tilted my head at him.

He vanished in a flash of light, retreating into the shadows of the stairwell. I stood there, breathing hard, blood ringing in my ears.

Yui appeared seconds later, eyes wide.

“Who was he?”

“A warning shot.” I looked down at the blood on my blade.

No more running.