System Check-In: Phantom Tower – Gala Heart
Check-In Complete
Status: Dracas-Blooded Alpha – Sovereign Gala Activated
Rewards:
– $7,000,000
– New Passive Unlocked: "Echo Pulse"
→ You now radiate a frequency detectable by only the rarest of beings — triggering attention from things not fully human
Side Effect: You may now sense presences that defy classification
The Gala Floor — Midnight
Masked elite laughed, drank, whispered.
Damon watched from above — his Dracas-Blooded seated like royal guardians around him.
Cipher stood three levels down.
Silver mask. Calm posture.
But his hand hovered just close enough to the pressure-triggered blade beneath his coat.
ARCHAIOS:
"Threat level: High.
DNA markers show augmentation not registered in human combat databases."
Damon sipped his wine.
Then moved.
The Dance Begins
He walked into the ballroom — mask on, presence unmistakable.
The music slowed.
And guests began to part like a wave responding to tide.
Nova joined him first — black lace dress, crimson heels.
They danced. Slow. Heavy. Dangerous.
She whispered,
"The world is watching you."
He whispered back,
"Then let them see why it bows."
Cipher moved in.
Smile polite.
Hands twitching.
He reached for his blade—
But Elina was faster.
Blade to his spine, hidden in her glove.
"Don't.
You don't bleed like us…
And that means you'll die quicker."
System Surge – Hidden Data Triggered
Cipher is not human.
Partial genetic read: Obsidian Strain – Synthetic Hybrid Model.
Tied to Project: ECLIPSE
System Thought Echo (Whisper):
"They sent something artificial to test the organic god."
"But you… are not a test subject.
You are the answer."
The Kill — Executed in Silence
Cipher twitched.
Damon didn't flinch.
He reached out — pulled Cipher forward by the mask.
"Tell your masters," he said quietly.
"Next time they send something like you… I'll learn how to build it from the bones."
Then?
Nova's blade pierced his heart.
Cipher crumbled into sparks and ash — not blood.
And half the room never even saw it happen.
Final Moments — Phantom Tower Balcony
Zhenyu joined Damon overlooking the city.
"That wasn't tech," she said.
"That was something else."
He nodded.
"And now it knows I'm here."
Far below, in the shadows of Manhattan…
something ancient stirred.
A heartbeat that hadn't pulsed in a hundred years.
Watching.
Smiling.
Waiting.