The room was too quiet.
Not the peaceful kind.The kind that presses against your ears until your thoughts get loud.
Rain slid down the glass walls of the Obsidian House, turning the city below into broken lines of neon and shadow. The investor stood near the holographic table, relaxed, as if this meeting was already won.
Elaris sat straight.
Calm face.Steady breath.
Inside, every instinct screamed.
Kael stood beside her, arms crossed, eyes sharp. He wasn't looking at the investor's smile. He was watching his hands.
People like this always revealed themselves through what they touched.
Investor (pleasant, smooth):"Virelia never stops evolving. Neither do its prodigies."
Praise.The soft opening move.
Elaris nodded once. "We prefer results over compliments."
The investor chuckled. "Good. Results are expensive."
The table lit up. Charts, routes, data streams rose into the air. Numbers floated like ghosts.
Investor:"Your operation has expanded fast. Too fast for someone without… protection."
His eyes flicked to her. Measuring. Weighing.
Investor:"How many assets do you control outside Sector Five?"
A strange question.
Elaris answered evenly. "Enough to survive."
Kael's jaw tightened slightly.
Investor (smiling):"And how many of them would die if your network collapsed tonight?"
Silence.
That was the blade.
Not strategy.Not business.
Threat.
Elaris felt it — cold, precise, aimed straight at her spine.
Kael leaned closer, his voice barely a breath."He's testing your nerve. Don't give him fear."
She didn't look at Kael. She didn't need to.
Elaris:"Every system has losses. Only amateurs pretend otherwise."
The investor's smile widened.
Approval… or interest.Both were dangerous.
He tapped the table once.
The lights shifted.
A new projection bloomed in the air.
A single image.
A young man. Bruised. Tired. Alive.
Elaris's heart stopped.
Not metaphorically.
Actually.
Her vision narrowed. The room tilted — just for half a second.
Kael felt it.
His hand brushed the edge of the table, grounding himself… and her.
Investor (softly):"Family is a powerful weakness."
The name burned in her chest.
Brother.
Her hands stayed still. Her face didn't change.
But inside, something cracked.
Investor:"You've been searching for him. Quietly. Cleverly."
He stepped closer, voice lowering.
"I admire loyalty. It's rare these days."
Elaris finally spoke, her voice sharp as cut glass."Where is he?"
The investor raised both palms. Calm. Patient.
"Alive," he said. "For now."
Kael's eyes darkened.
Investor:"People like us don't kill leverage. We invest in it."
He mimed snapping something thin between his fingers.
"Careless handling leads to… losses."
The threat hung there, heavy and deliberate.
Elaris forced air into her lungs.
Think.Don't react.Don't give him power.
Elaris:"What do you want?"
There it was.
The real negotiation.
The investor smiled like a king being offered a crown.
"I'll fund your rebellion," he said casually. "Weapons. Routes. Clean exits."
Kael turned sharply. "No."
The investor didn't even look at him.
Investor:"But there's a condition."
The table shifted again. A new map formed — black water, glowing red lines.
CRIMSON COAST
Kael's expression hardened.
That place was a graveyard dressed as a paradise.
Investor:"There's an item. Data. Prototype."He shrugged. "Names change. Power doesn't."
Elaris stared at the map.
Crimson Coast meant syndicates. Mercenaries. Kill zones disguised as parties.
Investor:"You bring it to me."
He leaned back, relaxed.
"And your brother stays breathing."
Kael slammed his hand on the table."You're insane."
The investor finally looked at him.
Cold. Sharp.
Investor:"I'm honest."
Silence crashed down again.
Rain struck the glass harder now, like the city itself was listening.
Elaris closed her eyes for one second.
One.
When she opened them, they were steady.
Controlled.
Dangerous.
Elaris:"When do we leave?"
Kael turned to her. "Elaris—"
She didn't look at him.
Not because she didn't care.
Because if she did, she might break.
The investor stood, fixing his cufflinks.
"Three days," he said. "Crimson Coast awaits."
He paused at the door.
"Virelia isn't the only city where wings burn."
A smile.
"Survive the week."
The door closed.
The room felt empty.
Too big.
Too sharp.
Kael stepped closer, his voice low and intense."This is a trap."
Elaris stared out at the storm-lit city.
"I know."
Kael:"Then we don't play."
She finally turned to him.
Her eyes weren't afraid.
They were resolved.
"We do," she said. "Because I won't trade his life for my pride."
Kael searched her face.
Then nodded once.
Slow.
Controlled.
"Then we play," he said quietly."But on my terms."
Outside, thunder rolled over Virelia.
Somewhere far away, chains tightened around a prisoner.
And somewhere even deeper —
The game truly began.