The meeting invitation arrived before dawn.
No threats.
No demands.
Just an address.
[Attention Level: Major Faction — Confirmed.]
Alpha Phantom stood on the rooftop of the warehouse, watching the city breathe below him. Sirens faded. Lights flickered. Somewhere, decisions were being made about whether he was worth killing—or using.
Rex joined him. "People are talking," he said quietly. "Not street talk. Higher."
Alpha nodded. "Good."
A black sedan waited at the curb when Alpha arrived. The driver didn't speak. The doors unlocked themselves.
The building they entered wasn't tall.
It didn't need to be.
Inside, the air was heavy—cultivation pressure woven carefully into the walls. Not oppressive. Measured.
Someone wanted him alert.
A man sat alone at the far end of the room, pouring tea.
Silver hair. Calm eyes. No wasted movement.
"You claimed territory that didn't belong to you," the man said.
Alpha didn't sit. "It was empty."
The man smiled faintly. "Nothing is empty."
Alpha met his gaze. "Then no one defended it."
Silence stretched.
Finally, the man gestured to a chair. "You have rules."
"Yes."
"You enforced them with blood."
"Yes."
"That disrupts systems older than you."
Alpha's voice was steady. "Then those systems were weak."
The man laughed softly.
"I am Chairman Lu," he said. "I manage balance in this city."
Alpha nodded once. "I don't challenge balance."
Chairman Lu's eyes sharpened. "You already have."
Alpha leaned forward. "I challenge waste."
Another pause.
Then—
"You may keep Dockside," Lu said. "For now."
[Major Faction Recognition: Temporary.]
"But," Lu continued, "you will not expand for six months."
Alpha smiled.
"No," he said.
The room chilled.
Chairman Lu studied him for a long moment. Then nodded slowly.
"Interesting," he said. "Then let me be clear."
He stood.
"If you rise," Lu said, "you will cast a shadow over people far above me."
Alpha stood as well.
"Then they should move."
Chairman Lu laughed—genuine this time.
"You'll survive," he said. "Or you'll become an example."
Alpha turned to leave.
As he reached the door, Lu spoke again.
"The woman who watches you," he said casually. "She's not just a healer."
Alpha stopped for half a second.
Then kept walking.
Outside, Nyx waited.
"You met him," she said.
"Yes."
"You didn't bow."
"No."
She exhaled slowly. "Then things just got dangerous."
Alpha looked at the city.
"They already were."
[Power Base Progress: 31%]
[Hidden Variable Detected: FMC — Restricted Data.]
Somewhere above street level, the giants had noticed the ground shifting.
And Alpha Phantom was no longer beneath it.