OP Absorption

Scarlet pushed off the doorframe. She walked over to peer at the floating schematics. "Upper floors? That's where the real teeth are. Elite guards, dedicated response teams. We'll be fighting our way through a damn army."

"We won't be fighting an army," Fin corrected her. "We'll be precise. Surgical." He looked up at her, his eyes flat. "Fast in, cripple their eyes, fast out. Like Arclight, but on a larger scale."

"Arclight was knocking over a corner store," Scarlet countered, though a grin touched her lips. "Valerius Spire is trying to rob the central bank during a parade." She tapped a glowing red marker on one of the upper levels. "That's where their Arch-Diviner usually nests. Old bastard named Elara Vayne. Supposedly sees futures like we see breakfast. Take her out, and they're blind for months."

Fin zoomed in on the marker. Arch-Diviner Elara Vayne. Her file was thin, heavily redacted, but the threat assessment was high. 'A priority target, then.'

Arachne spoke. Her voice was quiet but firm. "The Spire's internal defenses will be formidable. Wards, psionic traps, automated sentinels. And the Hunters stationed there will be of a higher caliber than Guild liaison staff."

"We adapt," Fin said simply. He looked at the holographic representation of the conduits. "These are the weak points. Destroy them, and their ability to coordinate a response across the city, let alone wider, is crippled. They'll be relying on runners and basic comms. Chaos."

"Chaos is good," Scarlet agreed. Her eyes gleamed. "My specialty."

The door to the war room opened again. Meg stood there, holding her wooden staff. Her training clothes were damp with sweat. Her face was flushed but resolute. She looked from the holographic schematics to Fin, then to the others.

"Am I interrupting?" she asked, her voice a little breathless.

"Just planning our next vacation," Scarlet said cheerfully. "Five-star accommodations in the Association's most secure facility. All-you-can-fight buffet. Probably still no decent snacks, though."

Meg ignored her, looking at Fin. "Valerius? Already?"

He nodded. "The longer we wait, the more prepared they'll be. Arclight put them on notice."

Meg walked further into the room, stopping beside the table. She looked at the complex schematics, her brow furrowed. "Can I… can I help? With the planning?"

Fin looked at her. The faint white light of her core pulsed steadily. She was still weak, a novice. But her determination was a tangible thing. And her perspective, the way her mind worked… sometimes it saw things he missed in his own cold calculations.

"The schematics are complex," Arachne interjected gently, before Fin could reply. "Perhaps your energies would be better focused on your continued training, Meg."

Meg's jaw tightened slightly, but she did not argue with Arachne. She looked back at Fin, waiting for his decision.

He considered it. Her knowledge of Guild protocols, of city layouts from her time scrabbling in Arclight… it might be useful. And keeping her involved, giving her a role, even a small one… it seemed to settle the restless energy in her.

"Show her the outer perimeter defenses, Arachne," Fin said. "Focus on potential escape routes if the primary insertion fails." He looked at Meg. "Your knowledge of city underbellies might be useful there."

Meg's face lit up with a small, surprised smile. "Okay. Yeah. I can do that."

Arachne inclined her head. "As you command, my Lord." She touched the hologram, shifting its focus to the Spire's external grounds and surrounding city blocks.

Scarlet watched the exchange, a smirk playing on her lips. 'Boss is going soft,' she thought, but did not voice it. A happy Meg meant a less broody Fin, usually. Which was good for everyone's continued survival.

Fin turned his attention back to the primary conduit schematics. His mind was already calculating infiltration vectors, contingency plans. The Spire was a risk. A huge risk. But crippling the Association's eyes was the only way to buy them the time they needed. Time for what, he was not entirely sure yet. Just… time.

---

Across the void, in the cold, sterile heart of the Association headquarters in Valerius, Director Gabriel listened to Rowena's report. His face remained impassive. His pale blue eyes were fixed on the city lights beyond his office window.

"Arclight liaison office compromised," Rowena stated. Her voice was clipped, professional. "All three primary trackers confirmed neutralized. Local data servers corrupted. The breach was… efficient. Minimal collateral damage outside the target office."

Gabriel did not turn. "Jericho?"

"No contact, sir," Rowena replied. Her voice tightened almost imperceptibly. "His tracking signal went dark approximately seventy-two hours ago. Last known vicinity matched Carver's suspected domain resonance point."

A long silence filled the office. Gabriel continued to stare out at the city. Rowena waited, motionless. Jericho failing to report was unprecedented. Jericho going dark entirely… that was alarming.

"The boy is more resourceful than anticipated," Gabriel murmured finally. His voice was flat. "And more ruthless." He turned from the window. His gaze settled on Rowena. "He possesses the Mana Cell, he can create and seal a personal domain, he has evaded or neutralized our top retrieval specialist, and now he's actively targeting our infrastructure."

He steepled his fingers, tapping them together softly. "This is no longer a simple retrieval operation. This is… an emergent threat."

"Contingency Sigma is active, sir," Rowena reminded him. "All Guilds are on high alert. Carver is a priority target."

"Sigma is insufficient," Gabriel stated. "He struck Arclight. Logically, his next target will be here. Valerius. The Spire." He paused. "He's coming for our eyes."

Rowena's expression remained neutral, but a flicker of unease touched her eyes. A direct assault on the Spire? Even for someone with Carver's apparent power, that was suicide.

"Reinforce the Spire's defenses," Gabriel ordered. "Triple the guard rotations. Activate all dormant psionic wards. I want every diviner, every precog, focused on detecting any anomalous energy signatures, any potential breaches. And… recall Unit 7."

Rowena's head snapped up. Genuine shock finally broke through her composure. "Unit 7, sir? Are you certain? Their methods are… extreme. And their loyalty—"

"Their effectiveness is unparalleled," Gabriel cut her off. His voice was like chips of ice. "If Carver intends to bring war to our doorstep, we will meet him with overwhelming, decisive force. I want him found. I want him neutralized. And I want that Mana Cell retrieved." He leaned back in his chair. "By any means necessary."

Rowena swallowed hard. Unit 7. Things were escalating far faster than she could have imagined. "Yes, Director," she said, her voice barely a whisper. She turned and left the office. The order felt like a death sentence – for Fin Carver, and potentially for anyone who got in Unit 7's way.

Gabriel watched her go, then turned his gaze back to the city lights. A faint, almost imperceptible smile touched his lips. 'Anomaly-774,' he thought. 'You are becoming quite the fascinating problem.'

The war room was quiet again, save for the soft hum of the holographic projector. Fin traced lines on the Spire schematics, his brow furrowed in concentration. Escape routes. Contingencies. The Arclight raid had been clean, almost too clean. Valerius would not be so easy. Gabriel was not a fool; he would be expecting them.

Meg sat opposite him. She pointed to a section of the outer city map displayed beside the Spire. "These old maintenance tunnels here," she said, her voice gaining confidence as she spoke, "they run beneath the lower commercial district. Some of them connect to the Spire's older foundation levels, before the last security refit. If the main insertion through the service shafts goes bad, this could be a secondary exfiltration route. They're narrow, unmapped on most official Guild charts, probably flooded in places, but…"

"But less likely to be actively monitored," Fin finished, looking at the highlighted tunnels. "Good. That's a viable backup." He made a mental note.

Arachne stood beside Meg. She occasionally offered quiet corrections or pointed out structural weak points in the Spire's lower defenses that Meg might have missed. Scarlet lounged in a chair. She sharpened one of her daggers with a whetstone, occasionally interjecting with cynical comments about the Spire's likely kill zones.

"They'll have psionic dampeners around the divination sanctums," Scarlet said, not looking up from her blade. "And probably some nasty energy leeches in the conduit corridors. Standard high-security playbook. Try not to get your brain scrambled or your fancy powers sucked dry, Boss."

"We won't be there long enough for it to matter," Fin stated, though he filed away Scarlet's warning. Psionic interference was a concern.

A faint chime echoed from the main hall. It was a soft, almost melodic sound, utterly out of place in the castle's ancient stone silence.

All four of them froze.

Fin's head snapped up. His eyes were instantly alert. Arachne was already moving towards the war room door, silent as a wraith. Scarlet's dagger stilled. Her head was tilted, listening. Meg looked from Fin to the doorway. Her hand instinctively tightened on the wooden staff that now leaned beside her chair.

"What was that?" Meg whispered.

"Company," Scarlet breathed. A dangerous grin spread across her face. "And they didn't even knock. How rude."

Fin was already on his feet. The holographic schematics winked out. "Arachne, with me. Scarlet, Meg, secure this room. Bar the door. Let no one enter."

"But Fin—" Meg started, pushing her chair back.

"Stay," he commanded. His voice was flat, leaving no room for argument. He did not wait for a reply. He was already moving towards the door, Arachne a shadow at his side.

They stepped into the main hall. It was empty. The vast space was silent, save for the faint, lingering echo of the chime. It had come from the direction of the main entrance doors.

Fin exchanged a look with Arachne. Not a breach, not a forced entry. The wards around the castle perimeter were intact. He could feel their steady hum. So how…?

The chime sounded again, clearer this time. It was not an alarm. It sounded like… a bell. A small, precisely struck bell.