The climb was a study in absolute silence. Ash moved up the cold metal rungs of the utility ladder, his body a phantom in the heart of the city's most fortified structure. The only sounds were the whisper of his own breathing and the distant, mechanical hum of the tower's life support systems. Through the conduit walls, he could feel the low thrum of the corrupted energy above, a sickly pulse that grew stronger with every story he ascended.
[Nexus: Approaching source of anomalous energy. Corruption density increasing. Advise caution.]
Sixty stories. The number was arbitrary, a mental marker. The true guide was the pull of the corruption, a lodestone of malice drawing him in. Finally, he reached a maintenance hatch that, according to the schematics Kai had provided, should open into a service corridor adjacent to the penthouse's private lab.
He placed a hand on the cold metal, extending his Prana senses. The hatch was wired—a simple pressure alarm, not part of the main grid. Child's play. He focused a needle-thin thread of energy, severing the connection with a silent, precise burst. He slid the hatch open just enough to slip through, emerging into a dim, narrow corridor lined with humming server racks.
This was the backstage. The polished marble and chrome of the penthouse living area were gone, replaced by raw concrete, bundled cables, and the sterile smell of chilled air. The source of the corruption was now a physical pressure against his senses, emanating from a massive, vault-like door at the end of the corridor. It was made of a dull, non-reflective metal, covered in glowing runes that were not part of any technology he recognized. They were containment sigils, crude and inelegant, but potent.
[Analysis: Hybrid Lock. Advanced electronic keypad combined with a primitive thaumaturgical ward. The ward is keyed to a specific bio-signature. Bypassing the electronic lock will trigger the ward.]
Ash approached, his movements fluid and silent. The electronic keypad was a top-tier model, but to Kai's digital sleeper agent, it was an open book. He accessed it through his neural link, and in less than a second, the keypad light switched from red to green with a soft click. But as the electronic lock disengaged, the runes on the door flared with a violent red light, and a low, psychic hum filled the corridor, setting his teeth on edge.
The ward was active. It demanded a key he didn't have.
He could feel its nature—a blood lock, likely keyed to Thorne himself or his head scientist. Forcing it would trigger an alarm that would make the earlier smoke bomb look like a minor inconvenience. It would also likely backlash with enough force to level this floor.
A normal infiltrator would be stopped. But Ash was not normal.
He placed his palm flat against the cold metal, right in the center of the glowing runes. He didn't try to break the ward. Instead, he invited it in.
[Executing: Prana Assimilation Protocol.]
It was a risk. The Nexus had theorized the ability, but he had never tested it on something this potent and alien. He opened his own energy channels, allowing the corrupt, aggressive energy of the ward to flow into him. It was like swallowing poison. A wave of nausea and rage washed over him, images of blood and conquest flashing in his mind. The Asuric energy fought his own golden Prana, trying to corrupt and defile it.
But the Deva-Asura Nexus was not just a power source; it was a crucible. It processed the invasive energy, not by purifying it, but by understanding it. The violent, chaotic patterns were analyzed, broken down into base components, and filed away in a new, isolated section of his being. It was the ultimate counter-intelligence: to defeat your enemy, you must first know them completely.
The red runes on the door flickered, confused. They recognized a bio-signature that was both alien and familiar, a presence that contained a shadow of the very energy they were meant to guard. The ward didn't see an intruder; it saw a paradox. With a sound like a sigh, the runes dimmed and died.
The vault door was neutralized.
Ash took a steadying breath, the last dregs of the corrupt energy settling within him like a dormant virus. He pushed the massive door. It swung open silently on well-oiled hinges, revealing the heart of the serpent's nest.
The room was a temple to blasphemous science. One wall was a bank of monitoring equipment and holographic displays showing cascading data on spiritual resonance and entropy. The other wall was a single, massive pane of what looked like reinforced crystal, several feet thick.
And behind the crystal was the source of it all.
It was not a machine. It was not a beast. It was a seed.
A pulsating, organic-looking mass of black and violet tendrils, roughly the size of a man, suspended in a field of crackling energy. It had no distinct form, constantly shifting and writhing, but at its core, a single, malevolent eye, lidless and burning with orange fire, stared out into the world. Tendrils of its essence were connected to a series of probes and syphoning units, which in turn fed into banks of humming servers.
[Nexus: Entity Identified. "Asura Seed" - Class: Apocalyptic Hazard. A dormant, nascent Asura being cultivated in a controlled environment. It is being artificially fed a diet of refined Prana and data on human conflict and suffering, harvested by Chronos's global networks. Objective: Forced maturation into a bio-weapon.]
This was Thorne's "safeguard." Not just a weapon, but a god in a bottle that he planned to unleash and then, somehow, control. The arrogance was staggering.
Ash's eyes scanned the data on the primary holo-display. Project Vritra. Phase 3: Symbiosis. Thorne wasn't just planning to release it. He was planning to bond with it, to become the vessel for its power.
A soft, sibilant voice echoed in his mind, bypassing his ears and speaking directly to his soul. It was the Seed.
You… are not like the others. You smell of… the other side. Of the Deva. You are a spark in this world of tinder.
Ash didn't flinch."And you are a cancer."
A new order. The strong should not hide in the shadows, little god. They should rule. Join us. This vessel, "Thorne," is weak. His ambition is a pale shadow of what we could achieve together. We could burn this world clean.
The temptation was a physical force, a whisper that promised an end to all pretense, to the constant hiding. To simply take what he wanted with absolute power.
[Nexus: Asuric Influence Detected. Activating Deva Path Shielding.]
A wave of calm, golden energy washed through him, silencing the seductive whispers. The Seed's central eye narrowed in fury.
So be it. A rival. Then you will be the first to burn.
Suddenly, the entire room shuddered. An alarm blared, not from the lab, but from the tower's main security system. Red lights strobed. Kai's voice was sharp in his comm.
[Ash! Thorne's back! He came in through a private elevator we didn't know about! He's headed for the penthouse, and he's brought heavy backup! He knows you're here!]
Ash looked from the Asura Seed to the door. His mission was complete. He had identified the threat. But leaving it here was not an option.
He had two choices: destroy it now, triggering a catastrophic release of energy that would vaporize the top of the tower, or retreat and fight another day.
The vault door behind him hissed, beginning to cycle shut. Thorne was sealing him in.
Ash made his choice. He turned from the Seed, its mocking laughter echoing in his mind, and became a blur of motion. He wouldn't destroy it here and now. He would steal it.
He lunged for the primary server bank, the one containing all of Project Vritra's research and the control protocols for the containment field. He didn't have time to download. He placed his hand on the central processing unit.
[Nexus: Data Assimilation initiated.]
Golden light flared from his palm, and the servers screamed as their data was forcibly ripped from them, absorbed directly into the Nexus. Schematics, research notes, Thorne's personal logs—everything was consumed in an instant, leaving the machines as smoking, inert husks.
The vault door was almost closed. With a final, powerful leap, Ash shot through the narrowing gap, tumbling into the service corridor as the door slammed shut behind him with a final, definitive BOOM.
He was out. But he was not safe. He could hear the heavy tread of armored boots and the whine of energy weapons charging from the direction of the penthouse. Thorne's personal guard was here.
He had the data. He knew the true scale of the threat.
But now, the serpent knew a dragon had been in its nest.