The city of Novaris never truly slept. Its towers pierced the night sky, neon veins pulsing with secrets and silent deals. From the shadows, power shifted hands without a word, and every citizen knew the cost of asking the wrong questions.
On the forty-second floor of the Helix Spire, a man ran for his life. His breath came in ragged bursts, echoing off glass and steel as he clutched a slim data drive to his chest. Behind him, the hum of security drones grew louder—a mechanical heartbeat in a city that had forgotten its own.
He reached a locked terminal, hands trembling as he forced the drive into the port. Lines of code flickered across the screen, a desperate message sent to anyone who might listen. Just as the doors slid open and masked figures flooded the room, he whispered a single word: "Remember."
The lights flickered. The city's digital pulse skipped.
Far below, in the tangled streets, a journalist named Mira Kael awoke from a restless sleep, unaware that a single message—lost and found—was about to change everything.