The meeting point was an abandoned off-Broadway theater on the eastern edge of the hazard zone. Its marquee still advertised a play that had canceled permanently during the invasion, and the lobby was pitch black save for a single row of candles leading toward the main stage.
Theatrical. Of course.
Reyes's agents held position outside, covering the fire escapes and street exits under the cover of a routine building inspection. Sophia had argued to come inside, but Adrian refused.
The man was waiting center stage, sitting in an ornate prop chair dressed in a tailored coat. He was older than Adrian expected—silver-haired, sharp-featured.
"Mr. Hayes," the man said, standing up smoothly. "Or should I say, the Blue-Eyed Vigilante. I confess I prefer the title. It has a certain poetry."
"You have a name?"
"Several but none matter tonight." He gestured to a second chair across from him. "Please. Sit. Negotiations usually go smoother when both parties are comfortable."
Adrian remained standing. "You said you watched something like Anomaly Zero wake up before. Tell me what you know."
The Collector smiled warmly. "Direct. I like that. Decades ago, in a place I won't name, something similarly dormant finally woke up. Not naturally—but because a group of well-meaning fools decided thier curiosity outweighed caution and tried to study it directly."
Voss's exact plan.
"What happened?"
"A city ceased to exist within the hour," the Collector said mildly, as if discussing the weather. "I only collect artifacts, Mr. Hayes not grief. But then I remember the energy signature that preceded that catastrophe, and Anomaly Zero matches it."
Adrian felt a chill run down his spine. "So the sensor probe..."
"Will provoke the exact response you fear. Yes." The Collector folded his hands. "Which brings us to the price for the rest of my information."
"What do you want?"
"A demonstration," the Collector's smile sharpened. "I've heard rumors of your capabilities for weeks. I want to see what you can actually do when pushed to your limits."
He raised a hand. Behind him, the stage floor split open with a grinding mechanical groan.
Something climbed out of the dark.
It stood nearly nine feet tall, its body a fused mass of blackened chitinous plates. Four limbs ending in curved, serrated claws scraped sparks against the floor. Its head was a smooth, featureless dome that split vertically to reveal overlapping rows of jagged teeth.
[WARNING: GRADE 1 CURSED SPIRIT DETECTED. CONTAINMENT SIGNATURE INDICATES PROLONGED CAPTIVITY UNDER EXTERNAL BINDING.]
Grade 1. He had a Grade 1 spirit caged under the stage this whole time.
"Don't worry," the Collector said, stepping back toward the wings. "I have no intention of losing my investment. I simply want to see how you earn your answers."
The creature lunged.
It moved with blinding speed. Adrian barely gathered cursed energy in time before a claw strike hit his guard, sending him skidding backward through splintered floorboards.
He rolled to his feet, Six Eyes instantly tracking its movements. Its attacks carried enough force to shatter solid stone, but his perception caught the subtle shifting of its joints a fraction of a second before each swing, allowing him to dodge by razor-thin margins.
Adrian caught a fourth strike on a reinforced forearm, deflecting the momentum into the floor. He countered with a heavy, targeted strike directly into the overlapping chest armor.
The creature didn't even flinch.
Armor. Real structural armor.
Adrian shifted to pure evasion, Six Eyes analyzing the creature's anatomy. Every armored creature had weak points. A moment later, he spotted them—the joints connecting the limbs to the torso were soft and unplated.
So Adrian reached into his inner pocket for a prepared anchor—a sealed, cursed-energy-treated vial of his own blood he'd prepared after his talk with Sophia.
He cracked the vial open mid-dodge, smeared the blood across his palm, and drove his hand directly into the creature's exposed shoulder joint as it overextended.
The strike landed. Adrian channeled the resonance through the prepared anchor, firing a concentrated pulse of cursed energy straight into the joint's internal structure.
The spirit shrieked. The joint detonated from the inside out.
Adrian pressed the advantage instantly, driving a relentless barrage of reinforced strikes into the compromised flesh until the entire arm tore free in a spray of black ichor.
[STRAW DOLL TECHNIQUE (PREPARED ANCHOR VARIANT): SUCCESSFULLY APPLIED.]
Much better. No self-inflicted damage.
Enraged and off-balance, the three-limbed creature swung wildly. Adrian ducked beneath the lunge, drove a reinforced knee into its side, and delivered a final, maximum-output strike through its core.
The spirit collapsed, convulsing once before dissolving into a thick, oily black mist.
[ +71 EXP ]
[LEVEL UP!]
[HOST IS NOW: LEVEL 8 (GRADE 2 SORCERER)]
Adrian stood among the wreckage of the stage, breathing heavily, but largely unhurt.
The Collector emerged from the shadows, clapping slowly. "Controlled and Efficient."
"The information," Adrian demanded, wiping sweat from his brow. "As you promised."
"I'm a man of my word." The Collector's expression turned serious. "Direct physical intrusion—drilling, sampling, invasive sensor arrays—will be registered as an attack by Anomaly Zero. If your government proceeds, they will not be studying a dormant entity. They will be waking an ancient predator with an appetite."
Confirmation. The absolute worst-case scenario.
"Is there a way to stop it without fighting it?" Adrian asked.
The Collector smiled mysteriously. "That is a far more expensive question, Mr. Hayes. Perhaps if you survive the next two weeks, we can discuss it."
He stepped back into the shadows and vanished before Adrian could move, leaving behind only the smell of ozone and burnt cursed energy.
An hour later, Adrian laid out the details to Reyes and Sophia in the diner.
"Thirteen days," Reyes said grimly. "Until Voss walks in and triggers a disaster."
"We can't just delay the operation anymore," Adrian said, looking at them both. "We have to stop it completely."
Sophia placed her hand over his, her grip tight and steady. "Then we figure out how. Together."
Outside, the city slept peacefully, completely unaware that the clock on its survival was ticking down fast.