The city of Neo-Lagos never slept.
Its skyline shimmered with floating temples and starcruisers that weaved between spiraling towers of jade glass and steel. Neon sigils pulsed in the air—holograms of ancient cultivators overlain with digital advertisements for alchemical enhancers and spirit-tech implants. Below the glamour, however, lay the Undergrid, where light barely reached and hope clung to shadows like dust on broken screens.
Seventeen-year-old Kai Ardent stood on the rooftop of a rusted, half-collapsed hab-complex, clutching a worn datapad in one hand and a torn, stuffed rabbit in the other.
The datapad bore the death certificate.
Subjects: Dr. Relan Ardent & Prof. Talia Ardent
Cause of Death: Spiritual System Collapse—Classified
Location: Orbital Lab 7G, Event Time: 03:27 UT, 4th Jan 2135
"Liars," Kai muttered. "System collapse doesn't leave burn marks and soul shatter scars."
Behind him, a small voice whispered, "Kai... it's cold."
He turned, softening. There she was—Lina, only six years old, her cheeks smudged with ash, her eyes too large for her thin face. She clutched his jacket sleeve like it was the only thing keeping her from drifting away into the city lights.
He knelt and wrapped his arms around her. "I know, Little Star. I'll find a way out of this. I promise."
They had nothing left. No credits, no citizenship codes, no sect affiliation. Everything died with their parents in that 'lab accident' two nights ago. And yet, the government had already erased all digital traces of their work. Not even their research backups remained—except the encrypted file Kai now carried in his blood-linked datapad.
"Mom and Dad left us something," he whispered to Lina. "And I think… I think it's dangerous. That's why they were killed."
Lina looked up. "Are we going to be okay?"
Kai wanted to say yes. Instead, he said the only thing he could: "We'll survive."
Suddenly, a faint whir echoed in the distance—drones. Surveillance grade. Their infrared lenses glowed like twin red stars in the smog, scanning rooftops for fugitives. Kai's heart skipped. Someone must've tracked their retinal signatures.
Grabbing Lina, he sprinted across the rooftop, ducking low as plasma-laced wind hissed behind him. The rabbit she held fell from her grip, tumbling off the edge. She gasped, reaching back.
"No! Mr. Paws—!"
Kai grabbed her tighter. "We don't have time!"
Below, sirens wailed in the Undergrid as Sect Enforcers descended in hovering mantis-shaped crafts, their golden insignias flashing: Astral Lotus Enforcement Division.
They were looking for someone. Probably him.
They leapt to another rooftop, skidding across a solar panel array. Kai barely kept his balance. Lina whimpered but didn't cry.
She never cried. Not since the fire.
They ducked into an abandoned monastic node—once a spiritual meditation hub, now gutted by gang wars. Kai placed her gently on a makeshift bed of old robes and triggered the lockdown seal, drawing a fractured talisman from his pocket. A weak blue ward shimmered around them.
"Just a few minutes," he said, breathless. "I'll check the protocol. Maybe there's… something in it we can use."
He plugged the datapad into the wall's spiritual conduit. Energy surged—then stalled.
Then the screen flickered.
> STAR VEIN PROTOCOL // CODE: ARDENT-ECHO
Initializing neural sync…
WARNING: Forbidden technique. Galactic Sects Blacklist—Level Omega.
Proceed?