A month passed. The first few days at Eden Academy after the martial arts class had been a strange kind of quiet. Damon and his friends had tried to get me in trouble, to get me sent away, but my perfect grades and my calm behavior made their words sound empty. Soon, they just stopped trying. The other students, who had once called me "Bhosty," now gave me a wide path in the hallways. I wasn't just Balen; I was a name with power. My corner in the classroom wasn't a hiding place anymore; it was a throne.
My life outside of school was just as new. I spent my days learning, getting stronger, and my evenings at Alex's house. Sky was now a constant, warm weight on my shoulder. Alex taught me things about the company, about the world I had been away from for so long. My new watch, the one Alex gave me for my birthday, was more than just a piece of tech; it was a link to my new family, and a powerful tool for Aura. For the first time, my life was real.
The payback on Damon was almost over. I had used Aura to make his academic life a slow, painful fall. His parents were called, and he was always in trouble. He learned that some fights you can't win with your fists. The secret criminal network at the school was also coming into focus. I was getting closer to the truth, to the mastermind.
Then, a new message came from Alex. He called me to his office. He was sitting at his big desk, not with his usual smile, but with a serious look on his face.
"I know you're in the middle of a big project," he said, "but something else has come up. Something we can't ignore."
He pushed a tablet across the table to me. I picked it up. A new mission brief. The words were short and to the point. "Subject: Operation Phoenix. Target: Cerberus Robotics. Mission: Acquire and escort data package from Agent Icarus."
It was a security escort mission, just like the one he had tricked me with for my birthday, but this time it was real. Cerberus Robotics was a new company, a rival to Alex's father. They were a company no one knew much about. My job was to meet a person named Agent Icarus, get a data package from them, and bring it back safely. It was a simple job, but it felt big.
I looked through the files, my fingers moving fast. Most of the data was about Cerberus Robotics, their new technology, and their plans. But then, my eyes stopped on one name in the list of their top scientists. It was a name I didn't know, but the file was big. I saw a date and a location, and a strange code. The code was an old one, one that Aura had to work to read.
As I stared at the screen, a new piece of information appeared. A video file from Elen's old data chip, the one I had found at the school, suddenly opened. Aura had found a link. The video was old and dark. It showed Elen, his face tired and his eyes full of worry. He was not talking about the school. He was talking about a different place. He was saying a name.
He was saying the name of the same scientist from the Cerberus Robotics file.
My heart stopped. My first mission was about Balen. My second mission was about Elen. I looked up at Alex. The simple escort mission was not so simple anymore. Elen had been looking into this company before he died. This wasn't a new mission. It was a continuation. I was stepping onto the same path he had walked, a path that had cost him his life.