Location: Dova Heights – Council of Titans Assembly Hall
Far above the mountainous border between Tavara and Xendor, the hidden enclave of Dova Heights emerged from centuries of secrecy. Carved into a mountainside and surrounded by anti-surveillance barriers, it was here the Council of Titans convened—an ancient order of elite families and sovereign magnates who operated beyond nations and currencies.
Tonight, they had gathered under emergency protocol: a Kane had reawakened the Phoenix.
Inside the grand obsidian hall, a dozen figures in ceremonial robes took their seats around a vast circular table. Each seat represented a dynasty, and at the head sat Lady Xian—matriarch of the Chen Dynasty and keeper of the neutral balance.
"The Phoenix Protocol has been activated," she said coldly. "By Damien Kane."
Murmurs rippled across the room.
"The Kane bloodline was once our shield," muttered Lord Ravich from the Garuda Empire. "Now he moves as a sword."
"He's declared war on ghost networks," another added. "And by extension, on all unsanctioned holdings the council uses for shadow influence."
A man cloaked in green leaned forward. "We underestimated him. We believed Damien Kane to be a grieving son… not a strategist who could outmaneuver Voss."
Lady Xian's voice silenced them. "He did not act alone. His partner—Dr. Nora Blake—is no ordinary physician. She is a tactician, a ghost healer, and rumored to possess ties to the Scarlet Cloisters."
Eyes widened. The Scarlet Cloisters were myth—an order of hidden elites trained in both healing and destruction.
"And you propose?" Lord Ravich asked.
Lady Xian stood, eyes burning with icy resolve.
> "That we summon the Old Pact."
Gasps echoed.
"That hasn't been invoked in four decades," said one.
"Because it hasn't been needed," another snapped. "Until now."
---
Location: Tavara – Kane Family Estate
In the war room, Damien reviewed intelligence logs. Nora stood behind him, arms folded, eyes fixed on an image—a satellite view of Dova Heights.
"They've convened," she said.
He nodded. "The Council of Titans. I expected as much."
"Will they declare you rogue?"
Damien glanced over his shoulder, his expression calm. "They already have. Now, they'll move to contain me… or worse, recruit me."
Raven walked in, placing a thick dossier on the table. "Spies are whispering about a possible 'Old Pact' reactivation. If true, they may resurrect their sleeper assets."
Damien's jaw clenched. "Then we prepare our own summons."
Nora raised a brow. "You're assembling the Phoenix Circle?"
He turned to her. "No. Something older. Something deeper."
He reached into a drawer and pulled out a black emblem—a sun entwined with chains.
> "It's time to awaken Obsidian Protocol."
---
Location: Unknown – Voss's Offshore Fortress
Voss stood before a cracked digital mirror, his mask in his hand. His real face remained hidden in shadows.
"They think they're ahead," he said softly. "They think the Phoenix can cleanse the ashes."
Behind him, a dozen figures in lab coats worked frantically, building a new neural interface.
He turned to them. "Begin Project Lazarus."
A screen lit up behind him.
> "Input sequence initiated: Damien Kane."
Voss's voice echoed in the silence.
> "If he's going to destroy the old world… let's show him the monsters that birthed it."