The 4th Precinct was a fortress of limestone and old-world authority, but to Arthur's Sonar Mapping, it looked like a flickering cage. Blue pulses of sound—the idling of squad cars, the heavy footfalls of officers, the hum of fluorescent lights—painted a wireframe map of the building in his mind.
[STATUS: BLINDNESS – 14:02 REMAINING]
[ABILITY: PHANTOM GRIP (ACTIVE)]
Arthur stepped out of the car, wearing a long trench coat and dark aviators to hide his vacant eyes. Sarah walked a half-step behind him, her hand on the hilt of a concealed blade. Elena stayed in the car, her fingers flying across a laptop to suppress the precinct's digital distress signals.
"The lobby has six officers," Sarah whispered into his earpiece. "Three at the desk, two by the elevators, one by the water cooler. They look on edge."
"They should be," Arthur replied. "The Man in White has already seeded them."
Through his Sonar, Arthur saw it: a jagged, violet distortion in the center of the officers' chests. They weren't just cops anymore; they were System-Linked.
[The Entry]
Arthur walked through the glass doors. The chime of the entrance sent a massive ripple through his mental map, detailing every corner of the lobby.
"Hey, kid! The station is closed to the public—" an officer began.
Arthur didn't wait. He extended his hand, palm open.
[SKILL: PHANTOM GRIP]
He didn't grab the officer's body. He grabbed the air around the officer's throat. A shimmering, violet spectral hand materialized from the void, slamming the man against the marble wall with enough force to crack the stone.
"Arthur! What are you doing?" Sarah hissed, even as she drew her suppressed pistol to cover the other five.
"Cleaning the house," Arthur said.
The other officers drew their weapons, but to a man who could "hear" the tension in a trigger finger before it pulled, they were too slow. Arthur swept his arm in a wide arc. The Phantom Grip followed his movement, a massive spectral limb swatting the officers aside like flies.
They didn't bleed; they leaked violet code.
[The Interrogation Room]
They moved deeper into the precinct. The elevator dinged—another ripple, another map update.
[NOTIFICATION: TARGET DETECTED – MARY VANCE]
[LOCATION: HOLDING ROOM B – 3RD FLOOR]
As they stepped into the hallway of the third floor, the temperature plummeted. The Sonar in Arthur's head began to glitch, the white lines turning into static.
"Boss, something's wrong," Sarah warned, her voice trembling. "The shadows... they're moving."
From the ceiling, a figure uncoiled. It wasn't a cop or a Thrall. It was an Inquisitor—a sleek, faceless entity made of black glass and violet light, sent directly by the "Other" Arthur.
[MINI-BOSS: THE SILENT INQUISITOR (LVL 18)]
"The Architect sends his regards," the entity hissed, its voice a discordant mess of radio static.
It lunged. Arthur couldn't see the blade, but he felt the displacement of air. He tilted his head a fraction of an inch, the blade whistling past his ear.
"Sarah, get to my mother!" Arthur roared. "I'll handle the glass!"
"But you're blind!"
"I've never seen more clearly!"
[The Blind Duel]
The Inquisitor was fast, moving in "blinks"—short-range teleports. To a sighted person, it would be invisible. But every time it reappeared, the displacement of air sent a massive "ping" through Arthur's Sonar.
Blink. Left side.
Arthur slammed his Phantom Grip into the floor, creating a shockwave that knocked the entity off balance.
Blink. Above.
Arthur grabbed a fire extinguisher from the wall with his spectral hand and crushed it. The explosion of white powder filled the hallway.
[SONAR REFINEMENT: POWDER MEDIUM DETECTED]
Now, the Inquisitor had a physical form. The powder coated its glass body, making every movement a clear, white silhouette in Arthur's mind.
"My turn," Arthur whispered.
He didn't just use one hand. He summoned four Phantom Grips. They erupted from the walls and ceiling, pinning the Inquisitor's limbs to the hallway. Arthur walked up to the vibrating entity, his dark glasses reflecting the violet light of its core.
"Tell the 'Other' me," Arthur said, his hand glowing with raw power. "That if he wants to talk, he should come himself. Stop sending his toys."
He closed his fist. The Phantom Grips crushed inward. The Inquisitor shattered into a thousand shards of useless glass.
[The Reunion]
[TIMER: 00:45 UNTIL VISION RESTORED]
The door to Holding Room B kicked open. Arthur felt a warm, blue aura—his mother. She was huddled in the corner, her eyes wide with terror as Sarah stood guard.
"Arthur?" she gasped. "What is happening? Those men... their eyes were glowing..."
Arthur walked to her, his movements stiff. He reached out, his hand trembling, until he found her shoulder. "It's okay, Mom. We're going home."
"Arthur, your eyes... why are you wearing those glasses?"
Before he could answer, his vision snapped back.
The world exploded in color and light. The gray walls of the precinct, the red of the emergency lights, and the blood on his coat. But most importantly, he saw the HUD update.
[SYSTEM ALERT: THE FIRST 'TRUE' ANOMALY HAS BEEN DETECTED]
[LOCATION: YOUR HOME]
Arthur's blood ran cold. The precinct wasn't the trap. The precinct was the distraction.
"Sarah! The car! Now!"