The neon lights of Valeris City cast long shadows in the night as Ethan sat inside his rented hover truck, parked in a secure lot he guild headquarters. The faint hum of Iris, his AI, filled the vehicle's as the holographic dispy on his workstation projected fragments of decrypted files. These were the first pieces of the puzzle passed on by Captain Thorne, purportedly provided by shadowy tacts aboard the governor's space station.

  "Decryption plete," Iris announced, her calm, ral tone breaking the silehe files reference cssified projects uhe Federation's military research division, fog on psychic phenomena and experimental applications."

  Ethan leaned forward, his sharp eyes sing the glowi. The flickering holograms reflected in his face, casting him in an eerie blue light.

  "Let's see what kind of madness we're dealing with," he muttered.

  The first file outlined Project Lucid Horizon, an experimental initiative uhree decades prior. Ethan's eyes darted over the text as Iris narrated:

  "This project aimed to enhahe itive and physical abilities of Federation soldiers using psychic ore. The researitially showed promise, with subjects demonstrating improved reflexes, faster neural processing, and sporadic bursts nition."

  The holographic dispy shifted, revealing grainy footage of test subjects hooked to maes glowing with the same pale blue hue as the carvings on the molecur dagger.

  "But," Iris tinued, "the ore's influence proved votile. Long-term exposure caused severe psychological degradation. Halluations, paranoia, and violent outbursts. The project was terminated after multiple fatalities amo subjects."

  Ethan's jaw ched as another name fshed on the s: Drakor Krenna.

  The file expanded, showing an image of Drakor as a Federation officer. He looked younger, his cold, calg eyes unburdened by the years of infamy that would follow.

  "This is where it started," Ethan murmured. "His obsession with the ore."

  The notes detailed Drakor's role as one of the project leads, his writings filled with phrases like unlog humanity's true potential and bridging the gap between the seen and unseen.

  "He didn't just want ons," Ethan said, his voice heavy with realization. "He wao rewrite what it meant to be human."

  The decrypted file shifted focus to a pivotal event in Drakor's life. It described a battle on a remote world where Drakor's unit was surrounded, outnumbered, and on the brink of annihition.

  "Drakor cimed that exposure to psychic ore during the battle gave him visions," Iris expined. "He reportedly saw Kynara, a p he had never visited. Its sands, its people, and a moment he referred to as the vergence of Fates."

  Ethan frowned as he read the attached logs. Drakor had used the information from these supposed visions to lead his unit to an improbable victory. His tactics were so precise, so calcuted, that they bordered on supernatural.

  "That's wheopped being a soldier and became a fanatic," Ethan said bitterly.

  The final decrypted file revealed a location tied directly to Project Lucid Horizon: Echo Spire, a long-abandoned Federation research facility perched on Kynara's western cliffs.

  The holographic map dispyed a treacherous ndscape of jagged roations and t cliffs battered by relentless winds. The b, led withiural defenses of the cliffs, was barely visible amidst the terrain.

  "Echo Spire was deissioned after the project's termination," Iris expined. "All personnel were evacuated, and the site was sealed. Official records cim the facility was abandoned, but the ck of security measures in this data suggests someone wanted us to find it."

  Ethan's eyes narrowed. "Drakor's obsession with the ore started there. If he's trying to perfect his experiments, this b might hold the answers we need."

  Iris responded, "However, the ease with which we obtaihis intel increases the likelihood of a trap."

  Ethan's gaze lingered on the map. "If it's a trap, we'll spring it. But we'll do it on our terms."Coalition Pnning

  The m, Etha with Guild Branch Master Darrik Voss aance Leader Joran Kren via secure holo-ferehe tensioween the leaders alpable, each man wary of the other yet united by y.

  "Echo Spire," Ethan begauring to the projected map. "It was one of the main hubs for Project Lucid Horizon. If Drakor's trying to replicate or expand on those experiments, this is where he'd start."

  Joran's holographi leaned forward, his sharp features etched with suspi. "And the intel came from Thorne?"

  Ethan nodded. "Through his tacts in the governor's space station. I know it's ve, too ve. But if there's even a ce this b holds the key to stopping Drakor, we have to act."

  Voss crossed his arms, his expression grim. "You're right. But we don't walk into this blind. The Syndicate doesn't leave trails like this without a reason."

  Joran agreed relutly. "Fine. But we go in prepared. Minimal personnel, maximum caution. If it's a trap, we o get out alive."

  Ba his hover truck, Ethan reviewed the mission pn. The western cliffs were a dangerous frontier, battered by powerful winds and unstable terrain. The Syndicate's influen the region was minimal, but that only heightehan's suspi.

  "Iris," he said, "prepare reaissance drones and equipment fh terrain. We'll need climbing gear, energy cutters, and anything else that get us through those cliffs."

  "Uood," Iris replied.

  As the AI worked, Ethan's eyes drifted to the molecur dagger. It rested in its sheath, its faint carvings seeming to pulse with an inner light.

  "You're too much of an enigma to be used at the moment," Ethan muttered. "I'll finish this mission the way I always have, oep at a time."

  As Ethan finalized his preparations, he couldn't shake the feeling that Echo Spire was more than just another mission. The ruins of the Federation's past and Drakor's dark ambitions awaited him, each step pulling him closer to the truth.

  For better or worse, Ethan knew ohing for certain: answers y within Echo Spire's shadowed halls, and he would uhem.