The strategy room—once a disused storage bay on sub-level 3—had been hastily converted overnight.
A long metal table dominated the center, salvaged from warehouse scrap. Holo-projectors cast flickering maps of Neo-Tokyo and Chiba Prefecture across the walls. Essence dampeners hummed in the corners to block external scans.
Five people sat around the table under cold white light.
Hana at the head—quiet, watchful.
Rin to her right—cybernetic fingers tapping slow patterns on the table.
Jiro across from her—arms folded, still not fully convinced.
Saya beside him—violet hair tied back, eyes sharp.
And Ren and Aoi—side by side at the far end, hands resting close but not touching. Not yet.
Hana broke the silence first.
"The Order's orbital array over Chiba is charging. They're calling it 'containment protocol.' Satellite imagery shows suppression arrays being trucked to the forest perimeter. If the Shard fractures completely, they'll glass the entire prefecture from space. Civilian casualties projected at 1.2 million minimum."
Rin slid a data-pad across the table.
"Mei's moving faster on the ground. She's buying every essence black-market contact from Yokohama to Saitama. Her people are already probing the forest edges—testing guardian response. She wants the Shard's corpse before the Order can burn it."
Jiro snorted.
"So we're screwed either way. Hand it over to Mei and she weaponizes it. Let the Order burn it and they kill half the region. Great choices."
Saya leaned forward.
"We don't have to choose between them. We choose a third path. Like they did."
She nodded toward Ren and Aoi.
Ren met her gaze—steady.
"We need the suppression-seal schematics from the Purification Hall."
The room stilled.
Rin's fingers stopped tapping.
"You want to break into the Hall. The most fortified building in Tokyo. Where they train Miracles and store every relic they've ever seized."
Ren nodded once.
"Not break in to fight. Break in to steal. The schematics are stored in the restricted archive—level 9 sub-basement. Hana knows the layout. If we can get the blueprints, we can reverse-engineer the seals. Turn their own technology against them. Make suppressors that don't choke vessels—they stabilize them. Let Pagans and Miracles coexist without rejection. Without needing the Shard to force it."
Jiro laughed—short, bitter.
"You're talking about stealing the Order's crown jewels. With what army?"
Aoi spoke for the first time—voice calm, certain.
"With us. With twilight. We don't need an army. We need precision. A small team. In and out. No bodies if we can help it."
Hana leaned back—storm-cloud eyes unreadable.
"I still have clearance codes from eighty years ago. Expired, but the system hasn't fully purged legacy access. A backdoor exists—maintenance conduit under the east wing. Narrow. Unmonitored. But it's guarded by automated sentinels and essence detectors. Even Miracles trigger them if they're not careful."
Rin looked at Ren and Aoi.
"You two are the only ones who can walk through those detectors without setting off every alarm. Your polarity balance—it reads as neutral. Not Pagan. Not Miracle. Just… stable."
Saya crossed her arms.
"So what's the play?"
Ren traced a finger along the holo-map projection—following the maintenance conduit line.
"Three-person team. Me and Aoi go in. We need one more—someone who knows the Hall's internal layout post-2040s. Someone who can disable the sentinels without fighting them."
All eyes turned to Hana.
She was quiet for a long moment.
Then she reached up—unclasped the cracked jade pendant from around her neck.
"I'll go."
Aoi's breath caught.
"Hana—"
"I built those sentinels," Hana said simply.
"I can unbuild them. And if we fail… I'm the oldest one here. I've lived long enough."
No one argued.
Rin exhaled.
"Then it's settled. Infiltration in forty-eight hours. We'll need fake IDs, essence dampeners tuned to your signature, and a diversion on the surface—something big enough to pull security away from the east wing."
Jiro cracked his knuckles.
"I can handle the diversion. Give me three runners and some low-grade rift bait. We'll make it look like Mei's launching a full assault on the outer wards. They'll scramble everything they've got."
Saya nodded.
"I'll run overwatch from the Current's drone net. Eyes in the sky. Comms relay. If anything goes wrong, I'll pull you out."
Ren looked around the table—meeting each pair of eyes.
"This isn't just about the Shard anymore. It's about proving the third path exists. If we pull this off… we don't just save Chiba. We give every vessel—Pagan or Miracle—a choice that isn't death or erasure."
Silence followed—weighty, but not heavy.
Hana stood first.
"Forty-eight hours. Rest. Prepare. Pray if you still believe in that sort of thing."
She walked out—jade pendant still in her hand.
The others dispersed slowly.
Ren and Aoi stayed seated a moment longer.
Aoi turned to him—voice soft.
"You really think we can do this?"
Ren reached over—took her hand.
"I think we already did the impossible once. Twice. Three times. What's one more?"
She smiled—small, real.
"Then let's make it count."
They rose together.
Walked back to the pod—shoulder to shoulder.
Tomorrow would be planning.
The next day would be infiltration.
But tonight…
Tonight was still theirs.
Outside, the city lights flickered back to full strength—neon bleeding into wet streets.
Inside the pod, two impossible souls lay down side by side.
Not planning.
Not fighting.
Just breathing.
For one more night.
Essence Level: 10.0
(stable – anticipation resonance building)
Current status: Infiltration plan locked – 48 hours to execution – Team assembled – Hope sharpening into purpose
End of Chapter 28