[LOCATION: Undisclosed Syndicate Briefing Room, Old Kyoto]
The flicker of outdated holograms cast jagged shadows over the rust-stained walls. Mao, the Syndicate's mission coordinator and strategist, stood at the center of the room, leaning heavily on his cane. His cybernetic eye rotated slowly, processing data fed directly into his neural core.
Lin stood silently before him, cloaked in black from the previous mission. Dried blood lined the jagged threads of his coat, and his corrupted arm twitched faintly beneath the cloth — the aftershock of his encounter with Yuki and Shota still simmering beneath his skin.
Mao turned sharply. "Black Reaper. New job."
He waved his cane, and a rotating hologram projected into the air — a vast, underground facility rendered in dull blue light.
"Central Void Research Complex. CVRC."
Lin's eye narrowed. "They're still operational?"
"More than that," Mao muttered. "They're accelerating."
He gestured again. A new image materialized: a swirling, pulsing ring of silver and red alloy, held in stasis.
"The Heart Reactor Ring. Not just a power source. It's a proto-evolution core. Fused with crystallized Gatelight and early Asetter DNA. They've stabilized a pseudo-heart taken from a God-level Contractor."
Lin remained silent.
"They're trying to build an artificial Spirit Gate inside a human body," Mao said. "Whoever controls that Ring, controls evolution. They call it Project Shiva."
A pause. The air buzzed with tension.
Mao's face darkened. "I don't need to explain the consequences if they succeed. You're to infiltrate CVRC, locate the Reactor Ring, steal it—and vanish."
"Support?" Lin asked flatly.
Mao shook his head. "Nel's compromised. Chi is grounded. This mission's off-the-record. You're the only one who can do this."
Lin tilted his head slightly. "I'll need access."
"You'll have it. False identity. Cleaner. Low-level maintenance staff. Badge will hold for seventy-two hours before the system re-flags your presence."
"Target location?"
"Sub-Level 7. Vault 3-Alpha. Heavily guarded. Spiritual security. Biometric gates. And… one more thing."
The hologram flickered, displaying a woman with sharp eyes and silvered hair tucked behind one ear.
DR. DEVIKA RAMASWAMI Chief Etherologist, CVRC Bio-Spiritual Division.
"She designed the vault. She's the only one who can bypass the soul-lock algorithm."
"Why would she help me?"
"She won't," Mao said, eyes glinting. "Not at first."
To be continued