Nothing left after last night's explosion on 14th Street.
The Aigris compound lay under a blanket of night, with only the sound of footsteps echoing against the cold steel floors. The door to the command room swung open. Kaien entered — blood dripping from his left shoulder, a long tear slashed down the back of his black coat. Behind him, Cindra was being carried by a medic, her body trembling, face pale from blood loss.
Aigris remained seated behind his desk, surrounded by monitors casting a cold green glow. The light flickered against his metallic eyes. No one spoke.
Kaien stopped in the center of the room. His voice was low, but steady:
> "Cindra can't continue. The lung wound — if she doesn't get treatment, she won't survive the night. I request permission to move her to the Zeta-level underground medbay."
Aigris raised an eyebrow. A moment of silence stretched thin.
> "She's of no further use to this investigation. Fine. Take her."
A slight nod. Kaien watched as Cindra was wheeled away on the stretcher, a flicker of concern in his eyes. But when he turned back, his gaze was cold again — sharp as steel.
He locked eyes with Aigris.
> "There's a traitor in the organization."
No one scoffed. No one moved. Only the scratching of Aigris's pen came to a halt. Then he looked up, eyes deep and calculating.
> "I know.
And I want you to find them yourself, Kaien."
Kaien nodded. No wasted words. He understood: the death match with Velgas hadn't just been a mission. It was a trap. A test. A way for Aigris to see who could keep their essence intact when drenched in blood.
---
File Archive Basement – Meeting Koden
The elevator descended into the lowest level of the Aigris compound — a place no one visited without clearance. The air was thick with mildew, dust, and rusted metal. A lone fluorescent bulb flickered above.
At the end of the hallway, the steel door creaked open. He was already there — Koden, known as the "Paperwork Sorcerer." He lived among hundreds of file crates, forged passports, doctored identities, fake documents... As if he were the one rewriting the history of Aigris with pen and counterfeit seal.
Kaien stepped in and tossed a black USB drive onto the desk.
> "This was pulled from one of Velgas's dead men. Internal code fragment. I want you to scan all secure data access logs from the last 72 hours before the op. Focus on the coordinates for the second base."
Koden glanced at the USB like it was a chewed piece of gum.
> "You think there's a mole?"
Kaien didn't answer.
> "Or maybe someone wanted Velgas to find the place?"
Still silence.
Koden powered up his terminal. The screen lit up, flooding with thousands of lines of code. As data streamed in, he chuckled softly:
> "The way you dealt with that safehouse — dropping bombs, wiping every trace... You remind me of someone. Someone who used to work here. No loose ends, no trail. I'm not surprised Aigris is testing you."
Kaien looked up:
> "Who was he?"
Koden smirked, gave no reply. His fingers kept typing — the rhythmic clack of keys like a mechanical heartbeat.
---
The Name in the Shadows
> "Got something."
The screen flashed a list of access logs. Pages long — but only one name was highlighted in red: Ravik — member of the internal recon division.
Kaien furrowed his brow as he read the name. He knew him.
Ravik — a field agent from the mid-level intel division, responsible for the political corridors and diplomatic sectors. Around 6' tall, wiry, fast. He was known as "The Shadow Listener" for his uncanny ability to reconstruct conversations from mere sound signatures. Since joining Aigris, he had no record of insubordination, always completed missions on time — the kind of name you barely remembered, but never suspected.
> "He wasn't even part of the op. Didn't have clearance to access that data."
Kaien repeated it aloud, almost testing his memory.
Koden nodded.
> "Yet he logged into the file containing the location of the second base... exactly four hours before Velgas launched his attack."
Kaien's eyes narrowed.
> "His clearance wouldn't let him open that file."
> "Maybe someone boosted his level. Maybe he had a key. Or maybe... it was a setup."
Koden shrugged.
"And Ravik — you know the type — he's not dumb enough to leave a trail this obvious. Unless... he wanted to be found."
Kaien stared at the screen. A name once forgettable now blazed like a flare in the dark.
> "Ravik... or someone using him as a pawn?"
He pulled the USB free and turned to leave. But before he reached the door, Koden spoke again — softly:
> "You know, Kaien... in this world, the first to show their face usually isn't the traitor.
It's the one who's already been betrayed."
Kaien stopped. Didn't turn back. Then walked away.
---
End of Chapter 13 – The Hunt Begins
The vault door slammed shut behind him. In Kaien's hand was the first clue. And in his heart, a cold thirst had begun to boil once more.
> "Ravik... you'll be the key.
Either a pawn already buried — or the bait someone wants me to bite."
The night outside had never been quiet.
And the game was only just beginning.
---