The wind on the helipad was no longer just air; it was a pressurized wave of static and ozone. Kaelen stood at the edge of the skyscraper, watching the city below descend into a frantic mosaic of panic.
The armored helicopter, a black-painted "Night-Raven," hummed behind him. Its pilot, a former mercenary named Jax, kept his eyes on the dashboard. He didn't ask questions. He only cared that Kaelen had paid him in solid gold bullion four hours ago.
"Sir, the instruments are failing!" Jax shouted over the roar of the blades. "If we don't lift now, the EMP from the sky will ground us for good!"
"Lift," Kaelen commanded, his voice as steady as a surgeon's.
As the helicopter rose, Kaelen looked down at the penthouse. He could see the silhouettes of Elena and Marcus through the reinforced glass, tiny and desperate, pounding on the windows of their golden cage. He felt no pity, only the cold satisfaction of a completed calculation. In his past life, their betrayal was a tragedy. In this life, it was just a variable he had successfully isolated.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
[Sub-Quest Completed: The Architect's Revenge (Part 1).]
[Reward: 500 Exp, Mental Fortitude +2.]
[Current Level: 1 (95% to Level 2)]
"Almost there," Kaelen whispered.
The helicopter banked sharply toward the industrial district, heading for Warehouse 14. But halfway there, the first "Zero-Day Event" officially struck.
A bolt of violet lightning tore through the sky, striking the central power grid. In an instant, the lights of the metropolis blinked once and died. Suddenly, from the dark alleyways below, a sound rose that made Jax's hand tremble on the flight stick. It was a high-pitched, rattling scream—the sound of the first Hollows awakening.
"What is that?" Jax gasped.
"The neighbors," Kaelen said. "And they're hungry."
Below them, the first wave of monsters—twisted, grey-skinned humanoids with glowing purple eyes—began to swarm the stalled traffic. It was a massacre. People were being dragged from their cars, their life force literally being inhaled by the creatures.
"One of them is on the landing skid!" Jax yelled, the helicopter lurching to the left.
A Hollow, its body impossibly fast, had launched itself from a rooftop. Its claws scraped against the metal, searching for a grip.
Kaelen didn't reach for a gun. Instead, he reached out his hand, palm flat against the interior wall of the helicopter.
Technomancy: Structural Overload.
Kaelen's mind surged through the wiring of the Night-Raven. He redirected a massive surge of current from the backup batteries toward the exterior skids.
The Hollow let out a screeching hiss as 5,000 volts of Mana-charged electricity slammed into its body. It charred instantly, falling like a stone into the darkness.
[Target Neutralized: Level 1 Hollow.]
[LEVEL UP! Current Level: 2.]
[Class Skill Unlocked: Binary Vision.]
Kaelen's vision flickered. Suddenly, the world wasn't just dark. He could see the "code" of everything. The buildings were blue skeletons of structural integrity; the monsters were pulsing red heat signatures; and the Mana-Cores at Warehouse 14 were shining like sapphire beacons.
"Land at the warehouse," Kaelen ordered. "The Mafia guards will be terrified. They'll try to shoot. Ignore them."
The Night-Raven touched down at Warehouse 14. Boris, the lead guard, leveled his rifle at Kaelen, his hands shaking. "Voss! Stay back! Those things... they're everywhere!"
Kaelen stepped out, his eyes glowing with a cold, sapphire light. "Boris, your rifle is a Mk. 4 Carbine. It has a flaw in the firing pin. At this Mana density, it's about to fuse."
"Shut up! I'll kill you!" Boris pulled the trigger.
Click.
The gun jammed. The metal began to glow a dull orange in Boris's hands. Kaelen reached out and gently took the weapon, crumpling the reinforced steel barrel with a single twist of his hand as if it were a tin can.
"The old world is dead, Boris," Kaelen said, dropping the ruined metal. "Go inside. Tell Viktor the Architect has arrived. And tell him to start opening the Mana-Core crates. I'm hungry."
Kaelen walked into the warehouse, the shadows parting before him. He had his base. He had his weapons. Now, it was time to build a throne.