[El'Vertigo Keep — Level 3, Command Spire]
Kiro moved like a shadow through the underhalls of the mountain keep.
The interior walls shimmered with obsidian alloy, forged in the Empire's star foundries. Between the glowing viora conduits and polished bone-marble floors, this wasn't a stronghold—it was a throne carved from war itself.
[Bio-Log Container Secured][System Note: Biometrics match—Access to Floor 4 Unlocked]
Kiro's stolen ID continued to fool the internal systems. Each scan pad and gate he passed offered no resistance.
Guards stood like statues.
He didn't speak to them.
Didn't look up.
Just walked, cold and confident—until he reached the inner corridor marked with the Sigil of the Mind Crucible, the neural data vault said to hold the Empire's war logs for Velmora.
Get inside. Locate El'Vertigo's orders. Learn their next move.
He reached for the container.
[House El'Vertigo — Inner Chamber, Red Marble Hall]
Pablo stood stiff, dried blood still crusted in his hair.
Kavo circled him like a wolf evaluating a wounded cub.
The chamber was cold—lined with the preserved bones of those who'd failed the family. Ancient warriors. Defectors. Even past heirs.
Pablo swallowed hard. "I didn't mean to destroy it. The crate—it was unstable. It—"
"You fled to the gutters of Velmora. Let them see you. Let them hunt you," Kavo growled. "What were you doing near the Black Market?"
"I... I was just trying to—"
"Lie again, and I will carve the truth from your tongue."
Pablo flinched.
Kavo walked to the wall and pulled free a black rod of condensed Viora. It shimmered with internal light—a punishment tool used on imperial defectors.
"You think this house is yours to shame?" he whispered. "Your blood is El'Vertigo. That means your failures are mine. And I will not wear the crown of a fool."
He raised the rod.
Pablo didn't beg.
He only closed his eyes.
[El'Vertigo Keep — Command Spire Vault]
Kiro placed the stolen container into the vault's reader.
Needles of light stabbed through it, decoding strands of DNA and command-layer encryption.
[Decoding... MATCH FOUND]
The vault door hissed open.
Rows of servers and memory conduits flickered in dim gold. Kiro moved quickly, patching a system port to his neural link.
[System Infiltration — Begin Extraction]Target Directives: Troop Movement • High Command Signals • Family Archives
Streams of intel began flowing into his mind—encrypted directives, orbital movements, energy routes—and beneath it all...
PROJECT: ECLIPSE HARVESTStatus: Active — Velmora Nexus Core Preparations UnderwayKavo El'Vertigo: Overseer
Kiro's eyes narrowed.
They weren't just conquering Velmora.
They were feeding something.
A weapon. A machine. A god?
He pulled the last thread of data.
[System Alert: Trace Detected — Security Sweep Incoming]
Kiro's blood venom surged in his veins as the room lights snapped red.
Time to move.