The atmosphere in the Diamond District lounge was thick with professional tension when the heavy mahogany doors swung open with a bang. Ayaka marched in, her beige trench coat billowing, followed by Luna, whose golden-engraved tentacles were twitching restlessly beneath her yellow hoodie.
Nick didn't even look up from his tea. "I thought I told you two that the walls in the apartment weren't soundproof. I didn't realize I needed to tell you that my private meetings are off-limits, too."
Ayaka ignored Nick and pulled up a chair right between Chase and Blood Eye, while Luna drifted into the seat next to her, her golden eye locked onto Blood Eye with a predatory intensity.
"What is this?" Blood Eye rasped, his mechanical eye whirring in confusion. "Chase, why is the vessel—"
"I'm Ayaka," she snapped, leaning forward. Her flirtatious mask was gone, replaced by genuine annoyance. "And we're sitting here because I want to know why my 'Old Boss' is currently trying to buy weapons from my landlord."
Chase looked at Nick, then back at Ayaka.
"Landlord?"
"She and her girlfriend are professional squatters in my guest room," Nick explained calmly to Chase. "And to answer your question, Ayaka, I'm not just a landlord. I'm the primary government contractor for specialized armament and the owner of the supply chain that Aegis Group relies on to function."
Ayaka blinked, her jaw dropping slightly. "Wait... you don't just own V.R. Electronics? You're the one making the actual weapons? The stuff that can actually hurt things?"
"I own the patents, the factories, and the logistics," Nick said, taking a sip of tea. "Being rich is a byproduct of being essential."
"Aren't you afraid the weapons might end up in a war in another country?" Luna asked, her gaze shifting to the high-tech blueprints on the table.
"No," Nick replied flatly. "I had that problem when I first started, but I fixed it. My weapons were made to kill Essence beasts or supernatural terrorists, not civilians in war-torn countries. I made it so the equipment only works in its dedicated region."
The conversation shifted as the weight of their situation settled in. Chase leaned forward, his Surgeon's Sight flickering as he scanned the room for eavesdropping devices. "Nick, how likely is it that the 'Ascended' or other Awakened groups will launch a coordinated strike?"
"The 'Ascended' are a nuisance, but they aren't the primary threat," Nick said, his voice turning cold. "The government's special units have already been deployed. They are systematically eliminating the large-scale groups. They don't want competition . Most major factions are gone; only the stragglers and the desperate are left."
"Which is where we come in," Chase realized. "Aegis isn't a front-line army; we're the cleaners. We catch the ones that slip through the cracks before they do something stupid like Theron did."
"Exactly," Nick nodded. "The government handles the war; Aegis handles the peace. And I provide the tools for both."
Nick stood up, signaling the end of the meeting. He looked directly at Blood Eye.
"One last thing, Blood Eye. I have a specialist on my payroll who understands the intersection of Essence and biology. If you're tired of looking like a walking trench-warfare relic, I can have your body and your eye restored. No more 'amalgamation of flesh'. Let me know."
Blood Eye froze, hope flickering in his crimson eye before he masked it with a grunt. "I'll think about it."
"Do that," Nick said, turning to the girls.
"Ayaka, Luna—we're leaving. And if I find a single tentacle mark on the ceiling, I'm charging it to your 'vacation' fund."
As Nick walked out with the girls trailing behind him, Chase and Blood Eye followed at a distance. Suddenly, a man dressed in all black stepped from the shadows of a nearby alley, intercepting them.
"Well, if it isn't Blood Eye's puppet," the man sneered, his eyes fixed on Ayaka. "I see you've got a new body. It matters not. It is only a matter of time before the end and we regain what we lost. The Old World may be outside our reach, but not for long. We will rise up and break the limit the gods put on this world!"
With a fanatic's gleam in his eye, he reached into his coat and pulled a gun, leveling it at Ayaka.
Chase and Blood Eye tensed to act, but before they could move, a black, gold-engraved tentacle whipped through the air. With a sickening thud, Luna slammed the man into the pavement, pinning him instantly.
"Is everything alright?" Chase asked, rushing over to the group.
"Yeah? We're good. Just confused," Luna said, staring down at the unconscious fanatic.
Nick looked between Chase, Ayaka, and Blood Eye, his professional composure finally cracking into genuine suspicion.
"What is he talking about? What is the 'Old World'? And 'Gods'?"
He gestured to the pinned man. "Were you guys in some kind of Awakened cult?"
"Or were you in a vampire coven?" Luna added, squinting at Blood Eye's mechanical eye in confusion.
The silence that followed was heavy. Chase glanced at Blood Eye, realizing that their cover as mere "refugees" was starting to fray under the pressure of their shared past.