The Tactical Operations Office of the Commission of Inquiry lay shrouded in darkness, illuminated only by the cold blue glow of holographic projections.
Captain Thiago Vane stood motionless before the tactical table, having gone forty-eight hours without sleep.
Faint burn marks from his confrontation with Morgen still stained his uniform, while streams of security data from Central Academy scrolled endlessly across the floating displays before him.
The equation left no room for doubt.
The Academy’s Spirit detection barriers had not been breached through brute force from the outside, but had instead been systematically put to sleep, sector by sector, using Class-A bypass authorization codes.
“An internal breach,” Thiago murmured into the silence, his voice barely louder than the hum of the machinery.
The traitor had been far more than a simple informant.
Whoever they were, they possessed authority high enough to access the Academy’s Spirit server network or even the administrative council itself.
Morgen had walked through the central courtyard as though he owned the place because, in every practical sense, someone had handed him the keys.
The reinforced office door slid open with a soft mechanical hiss.
Thiago did not flinch, yet the Spirit-forged chains concealed beneath his sleeves chimed instinctively in response.
Only Rank-A officers possessed the clearance required to enter this room unannounced.
“Knock, knock.
Captain Vane…
I hope I’m not interrupting some profound revelation?” The voice carried an almost melodic cheerfulness, completely out of place within the sterile atmosphere.
A young man stepped inside with both hands tucked casually into the pockets of a long black coat trimmed with silver stitching, his blond hair swept back in artfully careless fashion and a dazzling smile spread effortlessly across his face.
The air surrounding him felt strangely light, almost buoyant.
While Goman Arashi used his bloodline affinity to generate crushing atmospheric pressure, the true mastery of the Arashi Clan lay within microscopic variations of air density.
By subtly reducing the density around their bodies, skilled users could silence their footsteps, lessen friction during movement, and cloak themselves in an almost deceptive sense of weightlessness.
With a dismissive gesture, Thiago closed the holographic report.
He recognized that face immediately.
“Jin Arashi,” he said, his tone flat and unmistakably military.
“I wasn’t informed that a member of the Five Great Families would be inspecting my division.” A crystalline laugh escaped Jin as he wandered toward the tactical table, studying the floating reports with amused curiosity.
“Come now, Captain, don’t be so formal.
I’m not here for an inspection,” he replied, casually leaning against the table with his ankles crossed.
“The Patriarch sends his regards, by the way.
He holds the Vane Clan’s discipline in very high esteem.
Unlike certain uncles of mine, our family head knows how to appreciate the people willing to do the dirty work.” Thiago’s expression remained carved from stone as his gray eyes never left the young noble.
“What do you want, Jin?” The smile on Jin’s face widened ever so slightly, though a distinctly predatory gleam flickered through his eyes.
Jin slowly uncrossed his legs, smoothing the collar of his coat with effortless composure.
“My dear little cousin, Goman, is currently confined to a hospital bed,” he said, his smile never quite reaching his eyes.
“Apparently, he was trampled by a terrorist without even getting the chance to deploy his magnificent pressure dome.
A tragedy, really.
The Patriarch is…
how shall I put it…
deeply displeased that the Arashi name was dragged through the dirt of that Academy.” He straightened his posture and folded his hands behind his back, the playful façade giving way to something colder.
“The Patriarch wants Morgen’s head.
More importantly, he wants to know who dared open the gates for him.
Since your division is leading the investigation, the head of my clan graciously requested that I join your team.” “So, an imposed escort,” Thiago translated in a low voice.
“The Commission Council will never allow one of the Five Great Families to interfere directly in a classified investigation.” Jin simply chuckled before producing a small black accreditation card from his pocket, spinning it lazily between his fingers with practiced dexterity.
“The Council already approved my assignment, Thiago.
Don’t take it personally.
I have no intention of stepping on your toes,” Jin replied with an almost disarming grin.
“I’ve always admired your mastery over battlefield control.
You lead the investigation.
I merely serve as your…
new liaison officer.” He strolled around the office with almost childlike curiosity, briefly inspecting every terminal and display before stopping beside one of the holographic projections.
His carefree attitude appeared genuine, yet every glance lingered just long enough to absorb another detail.
Nothing escaped his attention.
“By the way,” Jin continued, his expression suddenly turning serious, “your internal sabotage theory is fascinating.
Someone erased every trace of Morgen’s Spirit signature before he entered the Academy.
But have you considered the extraction protocols?” Thiago’s brow tightened almost imperceptibly.
“What exactly are you implying?” The mischievous smile immediately returned to Jin’s face, as though he had been waiting for the question.
“Morgen never used a transfer gate.
He escaped on foot through the capital while carrying an artifact saturated with condensed Spirit, all with a Captain of your caliber hunting him,” Jin explained calmly.
“To disappear that quickly inside an urban environment without triggering the city’s surveillance grid, he needed more than a collaborator inside the Academy.
He needed a ghost network beneath the city.
Someone who controls the underworld…
or the unofficial evacuation routes.” The strength of a spy does not lie in remaining unseen.
It lies in noticing the evidence everyone else overlooks.
Jin Arashi was far more than a royal operative; he was an intellectual predator who weaponized his effortless charm to lower the guard of everyone around him before striking where their reasoning failed.
Thiago stared at the young noble in silence.
Behind the theatrical manners, the easy laughter, and the casual arrogance, Jin had identified one of the investigation’s greatest blind spots in less than two minutes.
That realization alone made him far more dangerous than his carefree attitude suggested.
“I’m a simple man, Captain Vane,” Jin said as he rested one hand on the office door.
“The Patriarch gave me one assignment: find the traitor and restore my family’s honor.
I’m perfectly willing to cooperate with your methods.
But if we find that traitor before the Council does…
I hope you’ll allow me to deliver my cousin’s regards personally.” He offered Thiago a conspiratorial wink, let out one final amused laugh, and disappeared through the doorway as it sealed shut behind him with a muted hiss.
The office fell silent once more, leaving only the pale glow of the holographic displays suspended in the darkness.
Standing alone, Thiago slowly exhaled.
The board had changed.
Morgen was no longer his only concern.
He now had a fox from the Arashi Clan operating inside his investigation…
and somewhere beyond the Academy’s walls, a traitor still lurked in the shadows.
He reactivated the holographic displays with a swipe of his hand.
“Computer,” he ordered coldly, “filter every communication sent or received by Academy faculty members over the last three months.
We’re starting from the beginning.” As the system processed thousands of encrypted records, Thiago’s attention drifted toward another isolated file resting in the corner of his interface.
It contained neither information about Morgen nor reports concerning Academy personnel, but rather a collection of seemingly insignificant incident reports paired with fragmented surveillance footage.
A frozen image filled the display.
It showed a young boy from the slums wearing worn-out clothes, his hardened gaze fixed on an unseen opponent as he manipulated the moisture in the surrounding air with astonishing instinctive precision during an altercation near the Academy’s perimeter.
Thiago pressed the secure communicator built into his desk.
A low tone echoed through the office before a composed voice answered with measured politeness.
“Captain Vane.
It’s rather late for a strategic meeting.” “Director Nazari,” Thiago replied respectfully, wasting no time.
“The Arashi liaison pointed out that Morgen most likely escaped through an underground evacuation network hidden within the slums.
If we’re going to hunt someone like him on his own territory, our current recruits, talented as they may be, lack the street instincts and practical experience required.” “I’m listening, Thiago.” “While cross-referencing perimeter patrol reports with the surveillance footage from last week’s incident, I found an anomaly.
Several of your guards reported the intervention of an unregistered individual.
A kid lingering around the Academy’s outskirts who analyzed Spirit flows and reacted to pressure changes with an instinct sharper than any of our third-years.
None of them knew his identity, but the city’s biometric database produced a name.” Thiago transferred the file through the Director’s secure channel.
“Soura Sayal.
Unenrolled.
A child forged by the streets, but his survival instinct is a weapon.
His mastery of fluid mechanics under extreme stress is exceptional.” A brief silence followed as Director Mazen reviewed the dossier with the analytical eye of a seasoned strategist.
“You want to bring him into the Seminary,” he concluded, a trace of amusement slipping into his voice.
“Throw him into the arena alongside the elite while bypassing every theoretical admission requirement.” “We need a wildcard, Director.
Someone who doesn’t think like an academic,” Thiago answered without hesitation.
“Authorize me to recruit him directly for the practical survival examination.
It’s a test.
If he fails, he returns to where he came from.
If he survives…
the Commission gains an asset capable of detecting what our own systems consistently overlook.” Mazen Nazari’s answer arrived softly, politely, and with absolute finality.
“I like the proposal.
Go bring him in, Captain Vane.
The Academy is in desperate need of unexpected talent.”