The neon-red lights of the Nexus drones flickered like malevolent stars against the pitch-black Dhaka sky. Every second felt like a heartbeat stolen from fate. Aryan leaned on Zoya, his breath coming in ragged gasps. The Mana Patch was working, but his soul felt like it was being stretched thin across a bottomless abyss.
[New Main Quest: The Great Escape — Progress: 2%]
[Time Remaining: 05:48:12]
"They're closing in," Zoya whispered, her voice a sharp contrast to the mechanical hum of the drones. She swung her scythe, the jagged blade now etched with glowing black runes from their contract. "The 'Silent Harvest' used up a lot of mana, Aryan. I can't keep taking out armies if we don't find cover."
Aryan looked at the map being projected in his mind. Old Dhaka was a maze of crumbling history and new-world destruction. "We don't fight them. Not yet. We use the 'Librarian's Territory' to mask our presence. If we can reach the secret tunnels under the university, the drones lose our thermal signatures."
As they moved through the narrow alleys of Nazimuddin Road, the loudspeakers continued to blare the bounty announcement. 1 Million Credits. To a starving survivor in the Dhaka Safe Zone, that wasn't just money—it was a ticket to a god-like life in the upper-tier sectors.
Suddenly, a group of survivors armed with rusted iron pipes and makeshift crossbows stepped out from behind a burnt-out bus. Their eyes weren't filled with the fear of monsters; they were filled with greed.
"That's him," one of them pointed at Aryan. "The white-haired boy. The Librarian. Nexus will give us the New World for his head!"
Zoya's scythe flared with a crimson light. "Step back," she warned, her aura turning the falling rain into steam. "I won't warn you twice."
"Zoya, stop!" Aryan grabbed her arm. "They're civilians. If we kill them, our 'Karma Meter' drops, and the Archive will lock certain high-level skills."
Aryan stepped forward, ignoring the pain in his chest. He didn't use a weapon. He used the Librarian's Quill he had purchased from the shop. He began to write in the air—not with ink, but with pure mana.
[Skill Activated: Mass Suggestion (Rank F)]
[Target: Unawakened Humans]
The glowing golden words hung in the air: 'WE ARE GHOSTS. YOU SEE NOTHING.'
The mob stopped. Their eyes glazed over as if they had suddenly forgotten why they were standing in the cold rain. One by one, they turned around and walked back into the ruins.
"The Quill... it consumes EXP instead of Mana," Aryan realized, checking his balance.
[Current EXP: 9,000. 500 EXP consumed for Mass Suggestion.]
"Expensive, but effective," Zoya remarked, looking impressed. "But drones aren't human. Your Quill won't work on them."
"I know. That's why we're going to give them a different target." Aryan pointed toward a massive, shimmering gate in the distance—the one where the shadow-beasts were still pouring out. "If we can lure the drones into the monster's path, we slip through the cracks."
The journey to Curzon Hall was a deadly dance. They jumped over rooftops, slid through sewage pipes, and at one point, hid underwater in a flooded basement while a Nexus Hunter Team passed inches above them.
Finally, the majestic red-brick walls of Curzon Hall appeared through the mist. But it didn't look like the university building Aryan remembered. Huge, pulsating purple vines were wrapped around the domes, and the ground was littered with the bodies of Azure Dawn guild members who had tried to enter earlier.
[Alert: Entering 'Class-3 Archive Site'.]
[Atmospheric Mana Density: 400% above normal.]
[Warning: Spatial Distortion Detected.]
"Something is wrong, Aryan," Zoya said, gripping her scythe. "The building... it's breathing."
As they stepped onto the marble floor of the main hall, a heavy silence descended. The sound of the rain, the drones, and the screams of the city vanished. It was as if they had entered a different dimension.
In the center of the hall, beneath the grand chandelier, stood a tall, slender man in a black business suit. He was holding a holographic tablet, calmly scrolling through data while standing amidst a pile of corpses. He looked out of place—too clean, too calm.
"Ah, the Librarian," the man spoke without looking up. His voice was smooth, like silk over a razor blade. "I was beginning to think you'd died in the warehouse. My name is Director Vane. I represent the Interest of the CEO."
Aryan felt a surge of cold fury. This was the man who had authorized the destruction of the shelter. "Where is the Archive's core, Vane? I know it's here."
Vane finally looked up. His eyes weren't human. They were glowing hexagonal lenses. "The Archive? Oh, you mean the 'Prison of the Gods'. Your father was a brilliant man, Aryan. He hid it in the one place no one would look—his own son's subconscious. But he left the Key here."
Vane snapped his fingers.
The floor beneath them began to shift. The ancient bricks slid away to reveal a massive, high-tech vault doors made of a material that shouldn't exist on Earth.
"The vault only opens with Inheritor blood," Vane smiled, revealing metallic teeth. "So, I'm going to need you to bleed for me. Zoya... or should I say, Subject #09? I see your evolution has progressed. Sadly, Nexus owns your heart—literally."
Vane pressed a button on his tablet.
Zoya suddenly screamed, her obsidian armor turning a jagged, painful white. She fell to her knees, clutching her chest.
"A kill-switch?" Aryan roared, rushing toward her.
"No," Vane laughed. "A command. Zoya... kill the Librarian. Bring me his head, and I will deactivate the bomb in your brother's brain."
[System Warning: Host's Ally has been compromised.]
[New Objective: Survive Zoya's Attack!]
Zoya looked up at Aryan. Her eyes were no longer crimson; they were a hollow, glowing white. She raised the Harvester of Regret, her hands trembling, but her body moving under Vane's control.
"Aryan... run..." she managed to choke out before the scythe swung with a force that shattered the pillars of Curzon Hall.
Aryan dodged just in time, the blade missing his neck by a hair's breadth. He looked at the vault, then at Zoya, then at the smiling Director Vane.
He didn't have enough EXP for a miracle. He only had his wits and the Librarian's Quill.
"You want blood, Vane?" Aryan whispered, his golden eyes glowing with a terrifying intensity. "I'll give you blood. But not the kind you're expecting."
Aryan didn't attack Zoya. He stabbed the Librarian's Quill into his own heart.
[Warning: Forbidden Command Initiated!]
[Rewriting the System Logic...]
The air in Curzon Hall began to scream as the very laws of physics started to bend.