**The sleek, surgical environment of Dr Seraph Morn's personal lab buzzed like a hive of digital alarm. Normally a sanctuary of cold science. Now chaos. Morn's face paled slick with anxiety. He stared at the central holoscreen. It cycled through three catastrophic reports.
The first. Systemic security breach on the cargo transit platform. Signed with the rogue military identifier. Ascendant-Alpha-1. The second. Confirmed massive leak of Federation thermal grid data to the Underworld's black market. A leak that pointed directly to the illegal contacts of The Weaver. The third. Most terrifying. Abrupt aggressive surge of activity from the archaic long-dormant comm-channels of the Sanguis Order.
"He's using military discipline to execute treason," Morn hissed. He slammed his fist onto the sterile counter. "Vale! That arrogant dutiful fool! He didn't just escape. He scorched his identity. He weaponises his knowledge."
Morn hadn't truly feared Lyra Kain. She was an experiment. A biological host that inconveniently asserted consciousness. He always believed the Aether Fragment would eventually drown her. Leave a beautiful powerful vessel waiting for him.
But Rheon Vale. The ultimate soldier. The man who knew the Federation's tactical weaknesses better than Vance himself. A variable Morn failed to neutralise. Vale translated Lyra's monstrous power into strategic disciplined warfare.
He must be retrieved immediately. Morn's mind raced. Before he exposes the Cognitive Merge.
The door to the lab hissed open. General Korr Vance stormed in. His presence filled the room with icy rage.
"Morn! Explain the Code Gamma alerts! Vale has gone rogue. He's not just missing. He systematically dismantles our asset security! You assured me his loyalty was absolute!" Vance's voice growled low and dangerous.
"General, Vale's psychological profile showed only absolute dedication to the Federation's highest principles," Morn retorted. He struggled to maintain composure. "His defection is a direct result of the Nosferis Subject's Bloodlink. A parasitic psychic dominance that we knew would be an unpredictable variable. Lyra Kain has hijacked his mind."
Morn carefully avoided any mention of the Cognitive Merge. He blamed the ancient uncontrollable power of Dracula instead.
"He is now a tool of the Nosferis, General. A dangerous tool. He systematically turns her mythological power into a real-world military threat. They communicate with the Sanguis Order. The cult that waited centuries for this very event."
Vance slammed a data-slate onto the table. The screen displayed the Sanguis Order's suddenly active wide-band network. "Look at this! They mobilise their assets! They went from dormant myth to active threat in less than twelve hours! We need to sterilise Sub-Sector 33!"
"A futile measure, General," Morn argued quickly. "The Sanguis Order is a hydra. You cut off one head. Two more appear. We need to neutralise the head of the command. The Nosferis Subject and her rogue Ascendant."
Morn accessed the Sanguis data that Rheon traded to the Broker. The sheer volume of safe houses and intelligence channels confirmed the terrible success of Rheon's mission. Lyra secured an army of devoted shadows.
Yet Morn still felt deep arrogant confidence about Lyra herself. He created her body. He knew the limitations of the Crimson Bio-Fluid nanites.
"The key is the Subject's body," Morn stated. He tapped the screen. "Her regeneration and speed rely on the continuous function of the Phase Two Nanite Stabilisers. If we find a frequency to disrupt the Phase Two components specifically. We temporarily disable her healing. Force her to revert to human vulnerability. It would be fatal to her."
Vance narrowed his eyes. "Find her, Morn. Bring Vale back in a stasis tube. I want him questioned before I publicly execute him for treason. Double the security detail on the Nanite Refinement Lab in Sector 18. That facility is vital."
Morn felt cold dread at the mention of the Nanite Lab. Rheon used his deep knowledge of Morn's covert operation. He would recognise the lab's importance immediately. It held the key to both the Cognitive Merge and the Nanite Stabilisers.
"I need immediate access to a Black Ops asset, General. A dedicated untraceable hunter. Not a standard Vanguard unit. Someone who operates in the deep Underworld. Bring me the Ascendant intact."
Vance sighed. He ran a hand over his face. "We have one. The Revenant. A shadow operative. I'll divert his current assignment. He works for no one but me. He never fails. But he takes his payment in kind, Morn. You understand the cost."
"I understand," Morn agreed. The cost is irrelevant compared to losing the throne.
Vance left. The door sealed with an ominous hiss. Morn stood alone. His facade of control crumbled. The Cognitive Merge was his life's work. His immortality. He would not lose it to a technician and a traitor.
Morn immediately accessed a deeply hidden file labelled [PROJECT: CHRONOS-MORN-BETA].
This was his final desperate gambit.
He couldn't rely on the Nanite Lab anymore. Rheon would hit it first. He had to accelerate the core process.
Morn quickly activated a high-intensity neural scanner positioned behind his personal command chair.
"Initiate Chronos-Morn-Beta Protocol," Morn commanded the AI. His voice shook with the intensity of his ambition. "Bypass Phase One. Begin immediate Full Cognitive Mapping. Upload the entire synaptic structure to the Chronos Vault. We do this now."
The scanner descended around his head. Internal lights glowed with intense brain-mapping energy.
If I can't merge immediately. I make myself digitally immortal. Morn rationalised. The process of mapping his entire personality began. I become pure data. Then I upload a fragment of my consciousness into a dedicated war drone. I hunt them myself.
Morn then focused on the Nanite Lab's countermeasures. He designed a frequency disruptor. A weapon capable of emitting the counter-frequency that would kill the Phase Two Nanite Stabilisers in Lyra's body. He coded the blueprint. Encrypted it.
"Transmit this disruptor blueprint to the Sector 18 Lab's defence grid," Morn ordered. "Implement it immediately. They will not breach my sanctuary."
He finished the sequence. His body slumped in the chair. Exhausted but triumphant. He was now a digital ghost in the Federation's network. A scientist planned a desperate armed assault.
Morn looked at the data screen. It displayed the profile of The Revenant. The black ops assassin Vance provided.
"Find them, Revenant," Morn whispered to the empty air. His mind already planned the next move. "Bring me the Ascendant's head. The Nosferatu subject's body. Or destroy them both. Failure is not an option for immortality."
The hunt became infinitely more lethal. Lyra and Rheon were no longer hunted by soldiers. But by a ghost and a desperate digitised madman.
The air tasted of rust and ozone. Silence thick as wool pressed from the alarms.