Kael and Vex retreated to a safehouse: an abandoned subway station deep in the Under-City. It smelled of damp earth and rust, but it was dry.
Vex slumped against a pillar, clutching his mechanical arm. "The Syndicate won't stop, Kael. They burnt my shop for a drive. That means whatever is on it could bring down the Oracle."
Kael sat on a crate. He looked at the Bone Drive in his hand.
[Quest: Decrypt the Drive]
[Requirement: High Intelligence or Hacking Skill Lvl 5]
He looked at his own stats floating in the blue air.
[Available Attribute Point: 1]
He could choose Strength. He could become a brute who smashes through walls. But brute force wouldn't open this drive. And brute force wouldn't help him outsmart a computer god.
He needed to see the connections others missed. He needed to be sharper.
Kael made his choice.
[Attribute Selected: Intelligence.]
[Intelligence: 10 -> 11]
[Passive Skill Unlocked: "The Mind Palace"]
Schwing.
The world shifted.
The headache from the memory loss vanished instantly. In its place, a cool, clear sensation washed over his brain. It felt like stepping out of a sauna into a snowstorm.
Kael looked at the Bone Drive again.
Before, it was just a piece of bone. Now, faint blue lines overlaid the object. He could see imperfections. Tiny scratches near the base. A seam.
[Observation: Micro-SD Port hidden in calcium structure.]
"It's not a solid bone," Kael murmured. He ran his thumb over the seam. "It opens."
Vex blinked. "How did you see that? I've had that thing for two days and I didn't see a seam."
"I... I just know where to look," Kael said.
He pressed his fingernail into the microscopic gap. Click. A small section of the bone slid back, revealing a modern data port.
"Do you have a reader?" Kael asked.
Vex scrambled to his bag. "Yeah. Old tech. Independent network. Untraceable."
He handed Kael a bulky tablet. Kael slotted the drive in.
The screen flickered green.
[Accessing Drive...]
[Encryption Level: Omega.]
[Warning: Biometric Lock Detected.]
A red laser scanned Kael's face.
Beep-beep. [Access Denied.]
"It's locked to a specific DNA signature," Vex groaned. "Subject 89? Is it locked to him?"
"No," Kael said, his mind racing faster than ever before. "89 was just a courier. He didn't own this. He was delivering it."
Kael looked at the screen. The error message had a timestamp.
[Last Access: 48 hours ago. Location: The Spire, Penthouse 1.]
Kael froze.
The Spire. The headquarters of the Oracle Corporation. The home of the Hollows.
"This drive came from the top," Kael whispered. "Someone inside the Oracle stole it and sent it down here."
Vex's face went pale. "A traitor in the Spire? Kael, if we touch this, we are declaring war on the gods."
Kael looked at the blue system text floating next to Vex's head.
[New Quest Chain: The Traitor's Legacy.]
[Objective: Find the owner of the Bone Drive.]
[Reward: Unknown.]
"We don't have a choice," Kael said. He stood up. The new Intelligence stat made him feel cold, calculating. "They already burned your shop. They know we have it. The only way out is through."
He looked at the tablet.
"Vex, can you bypass a biometric lock?"
"Me? No. I fix toasters." Vex hesitated. "But I know someone who can. The best hacker in the lower districts."
"Who?"
"Her name is Riven," Vex said. "But she hates Hunters. And she hates me."
Kael checked his revolver.
"Where is she?"