Crucible Initiative - Sublevel 9 Archives - 4:47 AM
The body was still warm.
Senior Investigator Park crouched beside the corpse, careful not to touch the blood spreading across the vault floor. The dead man wore a researcher's white coat, now soaked red from throat to hem. His eyes stared at the ceiling, wide and empty.
"How long?" Park asked.
"Fifteen minutes, maybe twenty." The medical examiner pressed two fingers to the corpse's neck, checking for residual warmth. "Single clean cut, Professional."
Park stood and looked around the vault. Steel walls. Reinforced door. Cameras in every corner. The kind of security that cost more than most hunters earned in a lifetime.
"Cameras?"
"Looped. Someone fed them old footage for exactly eighteen minutes." The security chief pulled up a hologram from his wrist terminal. "From 4:23 to 4:41, our system shows an empty vault. Reality? Dr. Chen was being murdered."
Park walked to the open file cabinet. Drawers hung loose, papers scattered across the floor. But not randomly—someone had been searching for something specific.
"What did they take?"
"That's the problem." The security chief gestured at the mess. "Nothing. Every classified file is accounted for. Nothing missing from inventory."
"Then why kill him?"
"Maybe they didn't find it. Maybe—"
"Sir." A junior investigator held up a data chip between gloved fingers. "Found this in his pocket. Hidden in the lining."
Park took the chip carefully. It was small, civilian-grade, the kind you could buy at any electronics shop for twenty credits. Not Crucible standard issue.
"Get this analyzed. Now. Full scan, isolated terminal, no network connection." Park looked back at the corpse. Dr. Chen's hands were clean—no defensive wounds. His coat had no tears except where the blood soaked through.
"He knew his killer," Park said quietly. "Stood still while they cut his throat. That means someone he trusted."
The security chief's face went pale. "An insider?"
"Or someone who could fake the right credentials perfectly." Park knelt again, studying the blood pattern. It had sprayed forward, hitting the file cabinet. "He was standing here, looking at the files. Killer approached from behind. One motion."
He stood and turned, mimicking the attack. "Fast, No hesitation."
"Rank estimation?"
"Gold minimum. Maybe Platinum." Park gestured at the cut on the corpse's throat. "See how clean it is? No ragged edges, no second attempts. One stroke that severed everything important. That takes strength and precision."
The junior investigator returned, face grim. "Sir, you need to see this."
Park followed him to a isolated terminal in the corner. The screen showed a list of files.
DAMASCUS PROTOCOL - CLASSIFIED
PROJECT: PRIMORDIAL SEED INTEGRATION
SUBJECTS: 47 RECIPIENTS (40 DECEASED, 7 ACTIVE)
DATA INCLUDES: BIOLOGICAL MARKERS, INTEGRATION RATES, KILL METHODS
"This was on the chip?" Park's voice was tight.
"Partial copy. Maybe 30% of the full archive." The investigator scrolled through pages of data. "Subject profiles, weaknesses, real-time tracking information. Sir, if this data leaked—"
"Every faction in Seoul would want it." Park grabbed his communicator. "Get Director Kwan. Now. And seal this floor. No one in or out without my authorization."
"Sir, there's more." The investigator pulled up another file. "Look at Subject 47."
Park read the screen:
SUBJECT 47: YOO SEUNG-YOON
AGE: 2 YEARS (APPEARS 8)
CURRENT RANK: IRON 19
SEED ORIGIN: KAELTHAS - ILLUSIONARY LINEAGE
INTEGRATION: 53% AS OF 03:42 THIS MORNING
LOCATION: FACILITY 7, DISTRICT 14, SUBLEVEL 3, CELL 47
ESTIMATED MARKET VALUE: 8,000,000,000 CREDITS
"Real-time data," Park whispered. "This was updated as of recent."
"Sir, how is that possible? Dr. Chen died fifteen minutes ago. Who updated this after he—"
Park's mind raced. Dr. Chen had the chip. Dr. Chen was murdered. But the data was fresher than his death.
Someone else had access.
Someone was still feeding information.
"Lock down all terminals. Check every researcher's access logs for the past week. Anyone who touched the Damascus files, I want them in interrogation within the hour."
The security chief hesitated. "Sir, that's 47 people. Including three department heads."
"I don't care if it's the Director himself. Do it."
Park looked back at the corpse. Dr. Chen had been with Crucible for twelve years. Loyal, competent. Why would he copy classified files?
Unless he was planning to sell them.
Or unless someone forced him.
"Sir!" Another investigator burst into the vault, breathing hard. "Hunter Association just contacted us. They found a body in the warehouse district. Gold-rank, throat cut, same method. Dead exactly one hour ago."
Park felt ice in his stomach. "Who?"
"Independent contractor. Name's Jin Wei. Records show he did occasional work for us—data analysis, external consultation. Non-sensitive part."
"Let me guess. He had access to the Damascus Protocol?"
"External viewing only, sir. Couldn't copy or download. But he could read it."
Two bodies. Same kill method. Both connected to the Damascus files.
This wasn't a simple theft.
This was a purge.
Someone was eliminating everyone who knew about the Protocol. But if they wanted it secret, why leak partial data to multiple factions?
Unless...
"They want chaos," Park said slowly. "Leak enough information to make factions fight each other. Kill anyone who knows the full story. In the confusion, grab the real prize."
"Which is?"
Park looked at Subject 47's profile on the screen. Eight billion credits. Primordial seed recipient. Currently sleeping in a cell three floors below them.
"Not what. Who."
---
Hunter Association - Investigation Bureau - 5:23 AM
Captain Lee stood over the second body, identical wounds, different location.
Jin Wei had been found in an abandoned warehouse, slumped against a wall. Blood painted the concrete behind him in a dark fan. His terminal lay beside him, screen cracked but still functional.
"What was he looking at?" Lee asked.
The forensics team carefully extracted the terminal. "Some kind of encrypted file. We're breaking it now, but—"
The screen flickered. Text appeared:
WARNING: DAMASCUS PROTOCOL BREACH DETECTED
MULTIPLE FACTIONS COMPROMISED
PRIMORDIAL SEED RECIPIENTS AT RISK
Then the terminal sparked and died, circuits melting from the inside.
"Self-destruct," the forensics lead said unnecessarily. "We got maybe 15% of the data before it wiped."
"Show me what you have."
They pulled up a holographic display. Fragments of information:
...Subject 23: Location compromised...
...Subject 31: Deceased via extraction attempt...
...Subject 47: Highest value target...
...Ritual components: Serpent's Eye, Damascus Mirror...
...Predicted convergence: 72 hours...
Lee read it twice. "Ritual components? What ritual?"
"No context, sir. Just those items listed with procurement codes." The forensics lead highlighted another section. "But this part's interesting. 'Predicted convergence: 72 hours.' Whatever's happening, it happens in three days."
"Run those item names through our database. See if any black market dealers have moved them recently."
Lee walked around the body, studying angles. The killer had struck from behind, same as the Crucible victim. Jin Wei never saw it coming.
"Captain." One of his team held up an evidence bag. Inside was a small stone, smooth and black, with strange markings. "Found this in his pocket. It's warm."
Lee took the bag carefully. The stone radiated heat, not from fire but from something internal. The markings shifted when he looked at them directly, forming patterns that hurt his eyes.
"Get this to Analysis. Seal it in a containment box first. I don't want anyone touching it directly."
"Sir, there's something else." The team member's voice was uncertain. "The stone... it was counting down."
"What?"
"Before it went inert. Numbers appeared in the markings. Descending sequence. Stopped at 68:42:17."
Lee stared at the stone. Sixty-eight hours, forty-two minutes, seventeen seconds.
Three days minus a few hours.
Right when the "predicted convergence" would occur.
"What happens in three days?" Lee muttered.
His communicator buzzed. Message from headquarters:
PRIORITY ALERT: CRUCIBLE INITIATIVE REPORTS DAMASCUS PROTOCOL BREACH. MULTIPLE FACTIONS MOBILIZING. HUNTER ASSOCIATION ORDERS: SECURE ALL PRIMORDIAL SEED RECIPIENTS UNDER ASSOCIATION JURISDICTION. USE OF FORCE AUTHORIZED.
Lee read the message three times.
Then he looked at his team.
"Gear up. Combat loadout. We're going hunting."