Night wrapped the facility in a suffocating silence, broken only by the faint hum of electronic systems and the whispering breath of the ventilation grid. Tiflos woke from another nightmare—as he had almost every night lately.
He sat up in the darkness of his room, staring at the ceiling as if answers might be hidden in the emptiness above him. The message he had received in secret from cassander during their brief encounter still burned in his inner pocket, like an ember waiting to ignite a greater fire.
Meet me at the public library at midnight. There is something you need to know about your father.
The words were simple. Direct.
And unbearably heavy.
They made him feel as though he were standing on the edge of an abyss, one step away from uncovering a truth that could rewrite everything he believed about his past—and his present.
He glanced at the clock.
11:30 PM.
There was still time.
Yet anxiety gnawed at him from the inside.
---
At the other end of the facility, Noor sat alone in her room, holding an old, half-burned photograph. Several figures were barely visible in it—her family. Memories of the Valley of Phantoms rose in her mind, vivid and painful, like a beautiful dream that had decayed into a nightmare.
Dr. Lina—the enigmatic physician who, for reasons still unknown, could challenge even Cain within the facility—had left Noor a cryptic note beneath her pillow earlier that night. There was no romance between them, no clear bond at all, yet Lina's position and freedom remained an unsolved mystery.
The note read:
Medical wing. Midnight. Someone wishes to see you.
Despite her fear, Noor decided to go.
Perhaps this was her chance to understand what was truly happening in this place.
Or perhaps it would be the last time she ever saw the light.
Still, she felt that risking action was better than waiting for a fate Cain would draw for them inside the Organization.
---
Tiflos arrived at the public library.
It was deserted at this late hour. Dim lights cast elongated shadows across shelves packed with ancient books, as if ghosts were wandering silently between the aisles. cassander was waiting at a table in the darkest corner, several neatly arranged files spread before him—old, worn, and neglected.
"I knew you would come looking for the truth," cassander said, his deep voice vibrating through the stillness.
"Your father did the same… before he paid the price."
Tiflos sat opposite him cautiously, his eyes never leaving the man who might be either an enemy—or an ally.
"What do you know about my father?"
cassander raised an eyebrow, faintly surprised.
"Didn't Cain tell you anything important about your family?"
"He told me my father didn't die naturally," Tiflos replied, his gaze drifting across the library, as if the surroundings mattered more than cassander himself.
"He said he was killed."
Cassander sighed and placed both hands on the files.
"There is something I wanted to tell you… but I don't have the authority to say more than this."
Tiflos met cassander's eyes, confusion tightening his expression.
Authority?
Authority over what?
He didn't press further. Not yet.
He still didn't understand the true connection between Cain and the State.
"Cain is hiding something," cassander continued, sliding a weathered leather-bound folder toward him.
"Something far more dangerous than power or glory. These are documents your father collected before his death. He was investigating something called Project Phoenix."
Tiflos stiffened. His hand trembled as he opened the folder.
Inside were letters, diagrams, and reports—evidence that Agabius had been uncovering Cain's secret experiments on Seers. Experiments designed to extract visual powers… and transfer them to others.
The images and data were horrifying.
"If this is true," Tiflos asked, his voice barely holding together,
"then why was he killed? What crime did he commit?"
Cassander lowered his head, shadows of sorrow crossing his face.
"That… I can't tell you. Not yet. Not here. Surveillance is everywhere."
Tiflos rose to leave, but cassander stopped him with a question.
"Tiflos. Is Cain involving you in anything… suspicious?"
Tiflos turned slowly. Cassander's expression was severe, unyielding.
He still didn't trust him.
Was Cassander working with Cain?
Had Cain ordered him to hand over these files—to drive a wedge between him and Orion, pull Orion to his side, and turn Tiflos into the perfect disposable tool?
Or was cassander truly on his side?
Tiflos chose the middle path.
Wait.
Observe.
Analyze.
"Don't worry, Minister cassander," Tiflos said, forcing a clearly artificial smile.
"I'm only sent on missions that benefit both the State and the Organization."
And with that, he left—without adding a single word.
---
Cassander remained seated in the library.
"What did you do to the boy, Cain?" he murmured.
"That was your twisted smile… wasn't it?"
He raised his head toward a dark corner of the wall.
"If he had spoken—if he had said you dragged him into your diseased schemes…"
Cassander stood and walked toward the hidden camera.
"I would have burned you. This branch. And everyone who stood with you."
His voice dropped to a cold whisper.
"Remember this: if you harm anyone from that family… I will be the one who burns you."
---
Cain was watching from the control room.
Cassander's words sank deep into him.
"Tiflos," Cain said softly, almost amused,
"you were only steps away from making us burn the city tonight. But instead… you're walking my design slowly. Steadily."
He smiled—and shifted his gaze to another camera.
---
Tiflos walked down the corridor, the leather folder heavy in his hands. cassander's words echoed endlessly in his mind:
Cain doesn't just want power… he wants something that will destroy everything we know.
The puzzle wasn't coming together.
It was growing larger.
And more dangerous.