The rain over Onyx City acted as a natural veil for Shin as he moved between the shadows of the skyscrapers. He wasn't rushing. His movements were calculated, mirroring the cold logic that now governed his every thought. He reached the Vanguard Plaza, the secondary headquarters of the Organization, where he knew the lower-tier Council members gathered to discuss "asset redistribution"—which included his own life.
Inside the 44th-floor boardroom, the air was thick with the scent of expensive cigars and the hum of holographic displays. Three men sat around a glass table, their faces illuminated by the blue light of the data streams.
"Van Croft's disappearance in the Fortress was a setback, but his Void research is now ours," one of the men remarked, tapping a digital file. "We just need a new vessel to contain it."
[Visual Effect: The Light Flicker]
Suddenly, the holographic displays flickered. The steady blue light turned into a violent, pulsing royal purple. The temperature in the room dropped instantly, not because of the air conditioning, but because the very energy of the room was being drained.
"A vessel? You're thinking too small, Director Marcus," a voice echoed from the corner of the room.
The three men froze. From the darkness emerged Shin Van Croft. He wasn't wearing his tactical gear; he was in a simple black coat, yet he looked more like a king than a rogue agent.
"Shin? Impossible... the report said you were erased!" Marcus stammered, reaching for the silent alarm under the table.
[Visual Effect: Void Suppression]
"I wouldn't do that," Shin said softly. As Marcus touched the button, a small arc of Black Lightning jumped from the table, short-circuiting the entire security system of the floor in a shower of sparks. The room plunged into darkness, lit only by the faint, ominous glow of Shin's eyes.
"The Fortress didn't erase me," Shin continued, walking slowly toward the table. "It refined me. It took the parts of me that were loyal to you and turned them into ash."
"What do you want?" another member asked, his voice trembling. "Money? Power? We can give you your rank back."
Shin let out a dry, mirthless laugh. "Rank? You're offering a Sovereign a seat at a servant's table?" He leaned over the glass table, and where his fingers touched the surface, the glass began to frost over and crack in a spider-web pattern.
"I'm here to tell you that the contract is over," Shin whispered. "Not just mine. Yours. The Organization is now a ghost story, and I am the one telling it."
[The Exit]
Before they could respond, Shin turned and walked toward the floor-to-ceiling window. He didn't open it. He simply walked through it as if the solid glass were made of smoke, his body momentarily shimmering with purple void particles.
He left them in the dark, paralyzed by a fear they couldn't name. He didn't kill them—not yet. He wanted them to spread the word. The Nameless Sovereign had returned to Onyx City, and the hunt had officially shifted.