Luri sighed as she watched the victory screen flash across her monitor. The boss fight had been exhilarating at first—an intricate dance of strategy and reflexes—but now, the thrill was gone. She had won again.
Her fingers hovered over the keyboard, but the excitement she sought had already faded. It always ended like this. No matter how challenging a game seemed in the beginning, once she cracked the system and figured out the perfect strategy, the thrill vanished.
She leaned back in her chair, stretching her arms before reaching for her phone. Just as she was about to open another game to kill time, a notification popped up.
Incoming message from "CipherGhost."
Luri raised an eyebrow. CipherGhost was an old hacker friend—one of the few she actually respected in the underground world. Curious, she tapped on the message.
CipherGhost:
"Yo, Luri, you gotta check this out. That weird ’Tower Game’ is blowing up in the hacker community. Seems like there’s a coded message hidden in it, but no one’s been able to crack it. Completing all 100 floors is
insane
. Think you can beat it?"
Luri smirked, a glimmer of intrigue sparking in her eyes.
A game that even the best hackers were struggling with? Now
that
sounded interesting.
She quickly searched for the game and downloaded it onto her PC. At first glance, it looked ridiculously simple. The interface was plain, almost amateurish, with pixelated graphics and an old-school RPG layout. But Luri wasn’t fooled. If this game was getting attention in the hacker world, there had to be more to it.
She cracked her knuckles and settled in, her gaze sharpening as she clicked on the "Start" button.
"Welcome to the Tower. Climb, and you may uncover the truth."
The words flickered on the screen, and then the game began.
Meanwhile, in a
luxurious private hospital
, Diana Sebanil walked down the pristine white corridors. She had come for her usual visit, but something felt off today. The air was tense, nurses whispering urgently among themselves.
Then, she heard it—raised voices coming from the far end of the hallway.
A group of doctors stood in a panicked huddle, their expressions grim.
"What’s going on?" Diana asked, her voice sharp.
One of the doctors turned, his face pale. "Miss Diana... it’s Jaya. She’s... she’s gone."
Diana’s breath hitched. "Gone?" Her voice was dangerously cold now.
The doctor nodded. "This morning, when the nurse went to check on her... the bed was empty. There was no sign of forced entry or struggle. She just... disappeared."
Diana’s grip on her phone tightened. This wasn’t possible. Jaya had been in a coma for
months
. Even if she had miraculously woken up, she wouldn’t have had the strength to escape on her own.
"Check the security footage," she ordered.
"We already did," one of the nurses said hesitantly. "But... the cameras around Jaya’s room
malfunctioned
between 3:00 and 3:30 AM. There’s no footage of what happened during that time."
Diana felt a cold shiver run down her spine. This wasn’t just a simple disappearance. Someone had taken Jaya.
Without another word, she pulled out her phone and dialed her father.
The call connected almost immediately.
"Dad," she said, her voice urgent. "Jaya is missing."
On the other end, silence. Then, a single, measured breath.
"I’ll handle it," came the reply.
The line went dead.
Diana clenched her jaw. Whoever had taken Jaya... would
pay
.
Elsewhere, in the
grand Sebanil estate
, Jesper Sebanil sat in his study, nursing a glass of whiskey. The heavy curtains blocked out the afternoon sun, leaving the room dimly lit. He had been expecting a call—but not the one he was about to receive.
His phone rang.
Jesper answered, his voice weary. "Jesper Sebanil."
"Sir." The voice on the other end belonged to a police officer. "We... have some unfortunate news. Your younger brother, Jael, was found dead earlier today."
The glass in Jesper’s hand
slipped
. It hit the polished wood of his desk and shattered.
For a long moment, he said nothing. The words didn’t make sense.
Jael... was
dead
?
"How?" His voice came out strained, barely above a whisper.
"There was an explosion in one of the old industrial warehouses outside the city," the officer explained. "His body was found in the wreckage. We believe the explosion was intentional."
Jesper’s world tilted. The room suddenly felt too small, the walls closing in.
His
younger brother
—his brilliant, ruthless,
foolish
brother—was
gone
.
The weight of the news crushed him, and before he could say another word,
his vision blurred
.
The last thing he heard before the darkness took him was the sound of his butler shouting his name.
Then, everything went black.
The moment Jesper collapsed, the
entire estate
descended into chaos. Servants ran in panic, calling for doctors, while guards rushed to secure the perimeter.
The head of the Sebanil family had fainted.
And Jael was dead.
News of the tragedy spread fast, reaching the ears of
powerful figures
. Those who once feared Jael now whispered in hushed voices. Those who had schemed against him wondered if it was truly an accident... or
murder
.
Cain Sebanil was not a man easily shaken. Over the years, he had built his reputation as a force to be reckoned with—a father, a leader, and a man who carried the weight of his family with unwavering strength.
But tonight, everything felt like it was falling apart.
First, his youngest daughter,
Jaya
, had vanished from the hospital without a trace. Then, news reached him that his
wife, Jesper
, had collapsed after hearing about
Jael’s death
.
The weight of it all crushed him, but he didn’t have the luxury to break.
He strode through the hospital corridors, his mind racing with unanswered questions and unspoken fears. As he reached the
VIP hospital room
, the sight of Jesper sitting on the bed,
his golden hair disheveled and his eyes empty
, sent a painful stab through his heart.
He looked so
lifeless
.
Cain quietly stepped forward and sat beside him, his strong hands reaching out to gently stroke his long blonde locks.
"Jesper," he called softly.
At his voice, Jesper lifted his head and looked at him. For a moment, there was silence—then,
tears burst forth like a broken dam
.
He clung to him,
sobbing into his chest
, his fragile frame shaking.
"My brother..he..why...Cain... Jael is gone," he choked out, his voice filled with immeasurable grief. "And Jaya... she’s missing, Cain... What if she’s..."
Cain
held him tightly
, rubbing slow circles on his back to soothe him. "We’ll find her, Jesper. I promise you."
Jesper continued to cry until his body could no longer handle the exhaustion. Eventually, he
collapsed in his arms, unconscious from the emotional strain
.
Cain gently laid him back down on the bed and immediately called for a doctor.
"Check his condition," he ordered, his voice calm but firm.
The doctor nodded and rushed forward, while Cain stepped aside, running a hand through his hair in frustration.
And then his
phone rang
.
He picked it up. "Cain Sebanil speaking."
"Sir, Dr. Rowen is looking for you. He says it’s urgent."
Cain exhaled slowly, as if aging ten years in that single breath. "I’ll be there in ten minutes."
Cain arrived at Dr. Rowen’s private office, the tension in his body coiling tighter with every step.
The moment he entered,
Rowen was waiting for him, holding a small package—a disc.
"This arrived at my office earlier today," Rowen said, his voice carrying the weight of something
monumental
.
Cain frowned. "From who?"
Rowen hesitated, then said, "
Jael Xain.
"
Cain’s body
froze.
Jael Xain.
His
wife’s younger brother.
A man who had been entangled in dark secrets for
years
. And now, just after his
death
, he had sent Cain something.
"What’s on it?" Cain asked, his voice steady but laced with urgency.
Rowen sighed. "The way to wake
Ethan
, and the way to
restore Adrian’s lost memories.
"
The world seemed to
tilt
beneath Cain’s feet.
Ethan—his
son-in-law
, the one Adrian had married in a forced arrangement, was
still in a coma
. Despite all their efforts, nothing had worked to wake him.
And Adrian—
Adrian was the child who had gone missing at the age of two
.
The child he had just recently found again.
His son.
But just as he had started
to mend things, to get Adrian back into the family
, everything was
falling apart again.
Just like 20 years ago.
Cain’s hands clenched into fists.
"Why did Jael send this to you?" he demanded.
Rowen shook his head. "I don’t know. But he sent it
before he died
. That means he knew something... something important."
Cain took the disc, his grip tightening. "I want to know what’s on here. Right now."
Rowen nodded and led him to a secure computer.
They inserted the disc.
The screen flickered before a
video file
appeared.
Cain and Rowen watched as Jael Xain’s face
filled the screen
. He looked tired, his usual sharp demeanor replaced by something weary—something
desperate
.
"If you’re watching this, then I’m probably dead," Jael said in a low voice. "And if I’m dead, then it means I didn’t have enough time."
Cain’s jaw clenched.
Jael sighed. "I don’t have much time to explain, but listen carefully. Ethan’s coma isn’t natural—it was induced by a method connected to an
old experiment.
An experiment that was supposed to be
erased
from history."
Cain’s breath
hitched.
"The same experiment that took Adrian’s memories," Jael continued. "You remember, don’t you, Cain? The project that ruined everything twenty years ago?"
Cain’s fingers
dug into his palm
.
How could he forget?
That project was the reason Adrian was taken from them in the first place.
Jael’s voice turned grim. "They never stopped, Cain. The people behind that project—they’re still out there. And they
have Jaya.
"
Cain
stiffened.
Jael exhaled, as if
accepting his own fate
. "There’s a way to bring Ethan back. And there’s a way to fix Adrian’s memories. But you’ll need to act fast, before they erase everything again."
The screen
cut to black.
Cain sat there,
staring at the dark screen
, his mind reeling.
The same people who had taken Adrian...
The same people who had
experimented on him
as a child...
They had Jaya.
And Jael was dead because of it.
Cain’s entire body
shook with rage.
"Rowen," he said, his voice
dangerously low
. "Get me everything we have on that old project. Now."
Rowen nodded. "I’ll get the files."
Cain’s grip tightened on the disc.
If those people thought they could take from him again—if they thought they could repeat history—
They were wrong.
This time, he would destroy them.