They moved quickly after the signal faded.
Nova led the way through the winding remains of Forgotten District Nine. Her eyes never left the map in front of her. The tower behind them flickered in and out of visibility like a memory the system was trying to erase.
Damien said nothing at first. His mind was still echoing with the voice he had heard. The Revenant had spoken like someone who knew him better than he knew himself. That was what unsettled him most.
Myles broke the silence. You said it was a warning and a promise. Explain.
Damien glanced at him. He said I was not ready. That I would be. Whatever that means.
That means he is watching you, Nova said. And if he thinks you are not a threat yet, he is letting you live.
Or testing me, Damien replied.
They reached a safer zone beneath the skeletal remains of what once was a transit hub. It had been cleared long ago and now served as a temporary haven for wanderers and rogues. A small dome of pale light surrounded the area. No system presence. No corruption. Just silence.
They entered without resistance.
Inside, the glow was soft and the air still. Vendors sat with glowing wares on digital blankets. A few hunters cleaned their weapons. Nobody looked twice at them. Here, everyone had secrets and no one asked questions.
Nova found an empty corner behind a broken pillar. They set up temporary cover using a patch of cloaking cloth Myles had salvaged from a dismantled drone. The cloth shimmered, creating a bubble of invisibility around them.
Damien sat and pulled up his interface. His thoughts were racing but he forced himself to focus.
The system responded immediately.
New Entry Unlocked
Corrupted Thread Identified
Tracking Option Available
He tapped it.
A web of faint red lines spread across the map. They moved like veins stretching outward from a single hidden point. The Revenant was not just influencing zones. He was spreading. Feeding corruption into sectors the system had no reach over.
Nova looked over his shoulder.
He is building a network. That is how he moves undetected.
Myles leaned forward.
If that is true, then each one of those lines is a gateway. He can move faster than we can. And strike before we even know where to look.
Damien frowned. Then we need leverage. We need someone who has seen behind the system. Someone who can read these threads without alerting it.
Nova hesitated. There is someone. But he does not work for free.
Damien looked at her. What does he want?
She answered without blinking. Secrets.
A few hours later they were standing at the edge of another blind zone. This one was smaller. It sat between two unfinished blocks, both suspended in a permanent crash state. Code fragments floated in the air like dust motes.
A soft melody drifted from the center of the space. Music. Actual music. Something rare in the system.
A man sat cross legged on a metal plate surrounded by floating data pads. His hair was silver and slicked back. His eyes were hidden behind mirrored lenses. He looked up as they approached.
Nova gave a small nod. Ferren.
The man smiled.
Nova. Still alive. That is comforting.
She motioned toward Damien.
He needs a decoder. You are the best.
Ferren tilted his head and studied Damien with amusement.
So this is the ghost who triggered a system pulse last cycle. You left quite a footprint.
Damien remained calm. I need to track the corrupted threads. I need to know how deep they go and where they lead.
Ferren tapped a pad. Why should I help?
Because if the Revenant is not stopped, you will lose your safe zones. You will lose the freedom you value.
Ferren laughed quietly. So dramatic. But not wrong.
He reached into a compartment beneath the platform and pulled out a single black card. It shimmered with encoded light.
Place this into your interface and I will show you the roots.
Damien took it and hesitated.
Ferren smiled wider.
Nothing good is ever free. But nothing useful is ever easy.
Damien inserted the card.
The world around him shifted again. Maps peeled away. Zones rearranged. Threads changed color from red to gold.
And in the center of it all, a hidden icon pulsed with steady rhythm.
Nova leaned in. That symbol. It does not belong to any known faction.
Ferren closed his pad.
It belongs to the Architect.
Damien stood still, every part of him alert.
The Revenant was not the end. He was a pawn. The real game was just beginning.