> [Location: Emberveil Nexus – Strategy Chamber, North Spire]
Time Until Phase V Trials: 58 Hours
Participants: Lin Suyin, Jiang Han, Tian Xue, Yan Qirou, Vyran (Verdant Ash), Shadowguard Twins (New)
Mission Briefing: Infiltrate Sovereign Academy – "Astral Ascension Grounds"
Objective: Extract Captive Flame Prodigies + Recover Monolith Shard Fragment
Difficulty: Extreme (Sovereign-Controlled Airspace + Rewrite Threat Imminent)
---
The Proposal
The room was dim, lit by three projection flames rotating an image of a mountaintop campus shrouded in clouds.
Lin Suyin stood at the head, pointer flaring as she tapped on key nodes.
> "This is Astral Ascension Grounds—a Sovereign 'academy' near Galehorn Province. Officially a research institution. In reality? A prison for high-aptitude flamebearers deemed 'non-compliant.'"
She tapped again.
> "Also sits on top of a Monolith shard—one that could complete our Nexus core."
Yan Qirou crossed her arms. "You want to walk into a sovereign fortress and just… steal it?"
> "No," Suyin smirked. "I want to infiltrate it quietly, extract ten captives, and walk out while they're still counting stars."
---
The Catch
Jiang frowned.
> "How are we getting in without being flagged by system sensors?"
Lin Suyin turned to him.
> "We use you."
The room fell silent.
> "Your chaos spark resists ID tagging and system trace glyphs. With Phoenix Sovereignling shielding, we can mask your party's presence for exactly 11 minutes before alarms fire."
Tian Xue leaned forward.
> "So we get in, split, and each retrieve our target. No backup. Just your plan."
> "And your trust," Lin added.
Yan Feng's voice cut through the air.
> "You'll also need someone who knows how Sovereigns think."
He stepped forward, cloak rising.
> "I'm going with them."
---
The Team Forms
The operation would be six members:
1. Jiang Han – Lead extraction & shard disruptor
2. Tian Xue – Combat countermeasures & air evac
3. Lin Suyin – Coordination & infiltration tech
4. Yan Feng – Memory trace suppression & internal navigation
5. Shadowguard Lira & Lio – Twin infiltration operatives (stealth-class)
Each would take one sector of the school—cells, labs, dormitories, vault, and central tower.
> "This is a smash-and-light," Lin said. "Get in. Light the stolen sparks. Walk out before the Sovereigns know we were ever there."
---
Later That Night
Jiang stood outside the Nexus relay pool again, sharpening Echofang slowly.
Tian Xue joined him, expression unreadable.
> "You sure about this?" she asked. "You just unlocked your third flame phase. This isn't the time to go throwing yourself into chaos."
> "It's exactly the time," Jiang replied. "They locked people like us away for lighting a spark too soon."
> "Now we set them free."
She smiled—sad and bright all at once.
> "You're starting to sound like him."
> "Who?" Jiang asked.
> "Long Chen."
> "Good," he said. "That means I'm aiming just high enough."