[Ravenfall: Hydra(luce), Leviathan(lev), Phoenix(ishaan), Griffin(veer), Valkyrie(avni), Cerberus(sayaka), Kraken(erik), Wyvern(raiden), Nymph(saira), Sphinx(dev). Others: Amber(isolde), Azure(damien), Chimera(elior), Basilisk(Vance), Pegasus(Sol)]
The man with golden hair and hazel eyes sat at the edge of the dim-lit rooftop, bottle dangling lazily between his fingers. His posture was casual, but the smirk on his lips was a blade’s edge — the kind of smile meant for people who wouldn’t live to see it twice.
Bootsteps approached, deliberate and heavy.
Valken emerged from the shadows, collar turned up against the night wind. He looked older tonight, not in years, but in weight — like someone who had just dragged a coffin across continents.
“You did well,” the golden-haired man said, raising the bottle in mock salute. “COMA’s sad. Valgrave’s sad. Me? I’m very happy.”
Valken didn’t return the smirk. “And I’m finished.”
The man’s brow twitched. “Finished?”
“They figured it out,” Valken said flatly. “My cover’s blown.”
A pause. The man took a slow sip of beer, gaze fixed on the lights below.
“You knew this day would come.”
“I knew it might,” Valken replied. “But you needs someone inside Umbra. If I’m out, you lose your eyes.”
The man’s smirk deepened. “Don’t worry about that.”
Valken frowned. “What?”
“You’re not the only one I know in Umbra.” The words were soft, almost playful, but they hit like a gunshot.
Valken’s expression didn’t change, but the air between them felt sharper.
The man stood, tossing the empty bottle into the darkness. “The game’s already in motion, Val. All you need to do is stay alive until the board resets.”
And then he was gone, melting into the night like he’d never been there.
Midnight — Ravenfall’s Quarters
The room was quiet, except for the soft creak of Valkyrie leaning back in her chair. “So. Whoever killed Elior wasn’t just trying to hurt us — they wanted something covered up.”
Hydra sat cross-legged on the table, elbows on his knees, eyes like knives. “We find out what. We find out why. Then we burn them for it.”
Amber crossed her arms, her usual calm edged with tension. “Azure and I have been digging for weeks. There’s one place you need to see — the Old Archives.”
Azure added, “Most of COMA’s dirtiest files are there. If Elior’s death links to Yuriko Hanabira or Rokuro Korugane, it’ll be in those stacks.”
Griffin cracked his knuckles. “Stacks? Sounds boring. I was hoping for a fight.”
Amber gave him a look. “You’ll get one if the security catches us.”
Cerberus leaned forward. “What kind of security?”
Amber’s lips curved slightly. “Three stages. Corneal scan. Handprint. And then… the code”
Leviathan grinned. “Easy. We’ve got a Hydra.”
Hydra didn’t smile. “Gear up. We move now.”
Old Archives — 00:47 hours
The facility was buried three stories underground, hidden beneath a derelict wing of COMA’s main base. The entry was disguised as a rusted storage door, but the second the retinal scanner lit up green under Luce’s gaze, steel shutters slid back, revealing a narrow corridor.
One by one, they passed through the palm scanner. Avni joked about how warm it was; Erik muttered about germs. Finally, Luce approached the final security wall — an obsidian slab with a single input panel.
He exhaled and typed: DALAI.
The door hissed open.
The Archives were massive — not just rows of physical files, but floating holo-shelves, server columns stretching into blackness above. Somewhere in the ceiling, invisible drones hummed faintly, tracking every movement.
“Alright,” Luce said, “time to meet our guide.”
From a side terminal, a soft mechanical voice chimed to life.
ARGUS ONLINE.128Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJMSxEQRDrF
Adaptive Real-time Guidance & Utility System at your service.
Leviathan tilted his head. “It talks?”
“Of course I talk, Leviathan. I also compute, analyze, cross-reference, and occasionally insult—though I try to keep that subtle.”
Ishaan chuckled. “I like him already.”
Luce stepped closer. “ARGUS, we’re looking for files. Yuriko Hanabira. Rokuro Korugane. Project Seraphim. Project Vulture.”
“Processing… That’s quite the cocktail, Hydra. Almost as if you want me to get shot.”
“Just find them.”
“Locating… ah. Yes. Multiple cross-linked files. Dates range from fourteen years ago to eighteen months ago. Pulling summaries.”
Screens lit around them — faces, reports, fragments of classified missions. The names came up again and again. Yuriko’s dossier was marked Terminated. Rokuro’s was stamped Eliminated.
Project Seraphim — black budget military trials.128Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNNRWgjxoLN
Project Vulture — deep infiltration ops across all Leagues.
But one thing kept flashing in the Vulture documents — two words repeated like a warning: Sleeping Gate.
Saira frowned. “What the hell is that?”
“Classified to Apex-level only,” ARGUS replied. “I’m afraid even my clearance protocols hit a brick wall there.”
Luce narrowed his eyes. “Search deeper.”
“Ah, you’re one of those users. Hydra, when something’s this locked, it’s not because they forgot the key — it’s because the room behind the door doesn’t legally exist.”
Amber leaned in. “Anything else tied to it?”
“Plenty of redactions. Enough to wallpaper your quarters twice over. My suggestion? If you value your oxygen supply, you might want to—”
A shrill beep cut ARGUS off.
Azure checked her phone. “Mission alert. We’re needed in a few hours.”
Veer groaned. “Perfect timing.”
Luce stared at the glowing files. “This ‘Sleeping Gate’ — it’s connected to all of this. Yuriko, Rokuro, Elior. Everything.”
Sayaka touched his shoulder. “Then we’ll find it. But not tonight.”
He nodded reluctantly. “Fine. We prepare. And we wait.”
As they filed out, ARGUS’s voice followed them:
“Hydra… one last thing.”
Luce glanced back.
“In my experience, gates only sleep until someone opens them.”
Luce thought maybe yuriko or rokuro opened it or someone else.
ns216.73.216.33da2
and then Add to home screen.