The Jade Vulture hovered in the silent gulf of the Null Stratum—a blank zone on every map, wedged between gravitational anomalies and long-abandoned war routes. No comm relays. No satellite networks. Not even a whisper of regulated traffic. It was the kind of place you only found if you weren't looking, and Kairos had made sure of that.
The black around him felt alive with potential. Or danger. Possibly both.
Kairos stood on the dimly lit command deck, staring at the obsidian shard in his hand—the First Sovereign Key. It didn't glow, didn't hum, didn't react with grandeur. But the second his fingers tightened around it, the console in front of him blinked to life, strings of red code flickering across its display.
[Shadow Market Interface: Beta Channel Detected]Warning: Connection will place user outside GEA protection protocols. Interactions are irreversible. Enforcement response: High probability.Proceed? Y/N
A grin twitched across his lips.
"Y."
