TRASH TO TITAN

Chapter 6: The Obsidian Circle

The war room’s lights burned low as the holographic table came alive. Veylor tapped a few keys, and an encrypted dossier unfolded in the air: grainy photographs, blacked-out names, and a symbol like a serpent eating its tail The Mark of the Circle. Aiden stared at it.

The name had only been whispered until now. The Obsidian Circle. “A shadow syndicate,” Veylor said grimly. “Older than Vallion Enterprises. Smaller in number, but vastly influential. Thinkers. Strategists. Puppeteers.”

“Why haven’t I heard of them before?” Aiden asked. “Because you weren’t supposed to. Not unless you became a threat.” He nodded slowly. “And inheriting the empire made me one.” Maera entered with a secure case. “We recovered this from Jacen’s cell. Hidden in the bedding seam. Almost missed it.” Inside was a single drive. No markings. No label.

They loaded it into the offline terminal. The screen flickered. A video appeared grainy, distorted. Jacen. Sitting in what looked like a bare, concrete bunker. “If you’re watching this, it means I’m gone. And they’ll be coming for you next.” He leaned closer to the camera. “They trained me to take everything from you. To replace you. But they also underestimated me. I’m not their puppet anymore.” He paused, eyes burning into the lens.

“The Obsidian Circle wants the Vallion empire. And you… are standing in their way.” “I’ll give you one warning: There’s a mole inside your walls. One of your top people. Feeding them everything.” “Trust no one.” The screen cut to black. Then came a final message, scrolling in blood-red font. “Look beneath the Vatican Vaults. That’s where it begins.”

The room fell into stunned silence. Aiden felt his heartbeat thudding in his ears. “Vatican?” he said aloud. Veylor turned pale. “There’s only one known Vallion site beneath the Vatican. It was sealed over forty years ago. Code-named: Sanctum IX.”

Maera crossed her arms. “What the hell was Jacen doing digging that deep?” “Maybe looking for leverage,” Aiden said. “Or answers.” “Or bait,” she shot back. Twelve hours later, under cover of night, a Vallion stealth jet crossed European airspace. Aiden, Veylor, and a handpicked team of loyal agents descended into Vatican City using underground credentials forged decades ago by Julian Vallion himself. They reached a narrow corridor beneath the Apostolic Palace, where centuries-old catacombs had been quietly annexed by Vallion engineers.

Sanctum IX. The door was sealed by two locks retina and blood. Only a Vallion could open it. Aiden placed his eye to the scanner. A brief sting of pain followed as a needle drew a drop of blood. The vault hissed open. The chamber was unlike anything Aiden expected. Ancient scriptures. Blueprints. Weapons designed decades ahead of their time. A holographic globe depicting real-time geopolitical tensions and a black circle slowly growing across Eastern Europe.

“What is this place?” Aiden breathed. Veylor replied, “Your father called it ‘The Watchtower.’ A place where future threats were predicted, even shaped.” They approached a console marked with Vallion’s crest. Inside was a locked box obsidian black, coded to biometric identity. Aiden opened it. Inside lay a single object. A ring. Pitch black, carved with intricate symbols. Ancient. Not Vallion tech. Older. Maera reached toward it, but Veylor stopped her. “That’s not just jewelry.”

“What is it?” Aiden asked. Veylor looked grave. “It’s the Ring of Sable. The original sigil of the Obsidian Circle. Your father stole it. It’s why the war between them never ended.” Aiden picked it up. The metal felt alive cold, then burning, then… calm. Like it recognized him. Suddenly, the holographic globe shifted. A voice filled the chamber. “ACCESS GRANTED. Welcome, Chairman Vallion.” The globe zoomed in on a flashing signal.

London. Incoming Threat Level: RED. Operation “Gorgon’s Eye” – Active. Back in the estate, an encrypted message blinked onto the war room screen. Aiden’s chief cybersecurity agent decrypted it. It was a warning. One word. “Run.” Seconds later, the entire Vallion Swiss estate lost power. The estate's AI blared a new message: “SYSTEM BREACH. CODE BLACK. CONTAINMENT FAILED.”

Maera grabbed her weapon. “They found us.” Veylor shouted, “Evac now!” Aiden looked back once at the screen as smoke began seeping from the floor vents. It showed the seal of the Circle. And a new line beneath it: “You may have the empire. But we own the world.”