The flight to Tokyo was silent. The hum of the jet engines filled the air like a heartbeat, steady but suffocating. Ethan sat by the window, watching streaks of cloud drift past the moonlight. Every time he blinked, he saw flashes of the digital world — the masked faces of the Digital Saints, and his father's voice buried in static.
> "Don't trust the halos."
Those words echoed over and over. They weren't just a warning — they were a riddle.
Across from him, Rhea Morgan cleaned her sidearm for the third time. "You're thinking too hard again," she said without looking up.
"I'm trying to connect the dots," Ethan replied.
Taro, sitting behind his laptop, chimed in without glancing away. "The coordinates hidden in the crystal point to an old data center in Shibuya. Built in the early 2000s. Government-grade security, but there's been no official record of its use for ten years."
"Which means someone repurposed it," Ethan muttered. "Probably the Veil Syndicate."
Taro's eyes flickered as lines of code reflected on his glasses. "I already ran a dark scan. The server signatures match what we pulled from the Saints' network. Whatever's there—it's still alive."
Rhea looked up. "And we're walking straight into it."
Ethan gave a faint smirk. "Wouldn't be the first time."
---
Tokyo greeted them with neon light and drizzle. The city pulsed like circuitry — its signs, its sounds, its rhythm. The team moved through the crowded streets disguised as tourists, but Ethan's eyes scanned every face, every reflection in the glass.
Something felt off.
When they reached the safehouse — a small apartment above a ramen bar — Ethan ran a quick sweep for surveillance. "Clear," he said, setting down his duffel. "We move in two hours."
Taro was already plugging into his mobile rig, the glow of multiple screens illuminating his focused face. "I'll need at least ninety minutes to map the interior of the Shibuya data center. Their firewalls aren't just code — they're layered with live encryption."
"Meaning?" Rhea asked.
"Meaning someone's in there," Taro said grimly. "Right now."
Ethan's jaw tightened. "Prep for insertion."
---
By midnight, the team stood across from the old building. The structure was forgotten — its steel gates rusted, its logo erased by time. But to Ethan, it radiated danger.
He pressed his comm. "Rhea, cover the south flank. Taro, run surveillance from the alley."
He slipped inside through a broken side door. Dust coated the floor, but the deeper he went, the cleaner it became. Then he saw it — faint red lights pulsing in rhythm along the corridor.
The servers were still active.
He knelt beside one, tracing a gloved hand along the cold metal. "This system shouldn't even have power."
That's when he heard it — footsteps.
He turned instantly, gun raised.
A figure emerged from the shadows — a woman, tall, wrapped in a white coat that shimmered faintly under the emergency lights. Her eyes were a piercing silver.
"Ethan Vale," she said in perfect English, her tone calm but dangerous. "You finally found us."
"Who are you?"
"They call me Seraph," she said. "Leader of the Fallen Angels."
Ethan froze. The message had mentioned a Fallen Angel — he hadn't expected her to be real.
"I've been expecting you," Seraph continued, stepping closer. "The Saints told me you'd come. You're your father's son, after all."
"You knew my father?"
"I fought beside him… and against him," she said softly. "Before he tried to destroy what he created."
Ethan's grip on his weapon tightened. "The Veil Syndicate."
Seraph smiled faintly. "So he told you."
"No," Ethan said. "I learned it from his ghosts."
Her expression darkened. "Then you already know what he tried to hide — that he built the network that runs the world's shadow economy. Assassinations, coups, data manipulation — all born from his algorithms. He thought he could shut it down. But you can't kill a god once you've created it."
Ethan took a step closer. "Then tell me why he did it. Why he disappeared."
Seraph's eyes softened, just for a moment. "Because he realized the Veil couldn't be destroyed from outside. He went inside it — became one of them — so he could dismantle it from within."
Ethan's breath caught. "You're saying he's alive?"
A faint smile curved her lips. "Alive… but not the man you remember."
Before Ethan could reply, Rhea's voice screamed through the comm:
> "Ethan! Multiple heat signatures inbound — Syndicate enforcers!"
Seraph turned, her coat fluttering as alarms blared to life. "They've found us. You have a choice, Agent Vale — trust me, or die with them."
Ethan hesitated for only a second. Then he said, "Lead the way."
---
They moved through the data center's maze-like corridors as armed men stormed in — black suits, masks, silenced weapons. Rhea sniped two from the roof while Ethan and Seraph covered each other's flanks.
Taro's voice crackled over comms, frantic.
> "They're cutting power to the exits! I'm rerouting the backup grid!"
Ethan ducked behind a server tower as bullets sliced through the air. "Do it fast, Cipher!"
"Working on it!"
Seraph fired a burst from her submachine gun, hitting two enforcers before diving behind cover. "You fight like your father — reckless and stubborn."
Ethan smirked. "And you talk too much."
A grenade rolled across the floor. Ethan kicked it away a second before it detonated, the blast throwing sparks across the room.
"Taro!" he shouted.
"Done!"
The emergency doors snapped open. Rhea dropped in from a ceiling vent, landing beside them with a grin. "Miss me?"
"Move!" Ethan barked.
They escaped into the Tokyo night, the data center exploding behind them — a mushroom of smoke lighting up the rain-soaked streets.
---
Hours later, they regrouped at the safehouse. The air was heavy with smoke and exhaustion.
Ethan sat at the table, the faint glow of the stolen data drive reflecting in his eyes. Seraph stood across from him, bandaging a wound on her arm.
"You could've killed me," he said.
"I still might," she replied evenly. "Depends on what you do next."
Rhea crossed her arms. "Why should we trust you?"
Seraph looked at her calmly. "Because I'm the only one who can take you to Maximus Vale."
Silence filled the room.
Ethan's heart pounded once, hard. "Where is he?"
"Somewhere only the Syndicate's core operatives can reach — The Mirror Citadel. But you'll never get in without me."
Rhea's voice was sharp. "And you'll help us… why?"
Seraph's silver eyes glinted. "Because your father once saved my life. And I owe him a debt I intend to pay — before the Syndicate burns the world."
Ethan leaned back, expression unreadable. "Then we go after the Citadel."
Taro looked between them nervously. "That's suicide."
"Maybe," Ethan said quietly. "But it's also the only way to find out the truth."
He turned to the window, Tokyo's lights flickering below like stars reflected on wet glass.
> "We move at dawn."