Chapter 5: Uninvited Presence

The door clicked softly shut behind Cora, sealing Kate and Alina in their own quiet world.

She didn’t hesitate.

If there was anywhere that could cure her boredom—or at least make it interesting—it was Mr. Albert’s office.

The moment she stepped inside, the atmosphere wrapped around her like a perfectly tailored suit. Still air. Neatly stacked papers. Curtains drawn just enough to control the light. Everything in its place.

Control, in its purest form.

Naturally, Cora disrupted it.

She sprawled across the couch as if she owned it, one leg draped lazily over the armrest, flipping through a book she had no intention of actually reading.

April 5th — 9:00 AM

A long, exaggerated sigh broke the silence.

“Haaah… I think I’m dying.”

Mr. Albert didn’t even look up from his desk.

“How unfortunate,” he replied dryly. “Try to do it quietly.”

A smirk curved her lips as she turned another unread page.

“Boredom is a cruel fate, old fox,” she said lightly. “Don’t you have anything fun hidden in here? Secret files? Dangerous missions? A dramatic reveal?”

“If I did,” he answered calmly, “I certainly wouldn’t announce it to someone lying upside down on my couch.”

Cora tilted her head back over the armrest, her gaze settling on him now—sharp beneath the playfulness.

“So you admit there are secret files.”

His pen paused.

Just for a second.

Then continued.

“I admit nothing.”

Her eyes narrowed, just slightly. The smallest crack in her carefree demeanor.

“Liar.”

*Cora's thought*

"That hesitation said otherwise."

This time, her sigh was quieter. Real.

She pushed herself upright, stretching as though she had already lost interest—though whether that was true or not was another matter.

Slow, unhurried steps carried her toward the door.

Her hand rested on the handle.

Paused.

Without turning back, her voice dropped—stripped of its teasing edge.

“Whatever you’re hiding… I’ll find it myself.”

The door clicked shut behind her.

Silence returned.

Not the calm kind.

The heavy kind.

Mr. Albert remained still for a moment, then slowly set his pen aside.

His gaze shifted to the stack of papers on his desk.

Carefully, he reached for the top document—the one he had deliberately ignored since she entered.

Stamped across it in bold:

URGENT.

He exhaled quietly.

“…Troublesome girl.”

Leaning back in his chair, a faint smile touched his lips—something softer than amusement, something almost fond.

Then his gaze drifted to the window, distant.

“Nyzen… Clarissa…”

The names lingered in the air like ghosts.

“She’ll remember… little by little.”

For a moment, his expression softened—caught in memory.

A younger time.

Warmer.

Nyzen and Clarissa stood side by side, smiling. And between them, a small child—Cora—safe in their arms, unaware of everything waiting ahead.

The weight lifted.

Just briefly.

Then reality returned.

The smile faded.

His eyes hardened as they fell back onto the URGENT file.

“…I just hope it’s not too soon.”

Location: NovaTech Building — Sublevel Conference Room

Time: 2:00 PM

The air felt wrong.

Heavy. Pressing. As if the room itself resisted letting anyone leave.

Seven figures sat around the table.

And at the center of it all—

A name no one understood.

“…Report,” Mr. Vireo said, his voice was low and controlled.

Rei glanced at his tablet. “The entity designated Serene Hunter remains untraceable.”

“Drop the title,” Mr. Calder said coldly.

“…We don’t have anything else,” Rian added.

A pause.

“Identity?” Vireo pressed.

“Unknown.”

“Gender?”

“Unknown.”

“…Age?”

Silence stretched longer this time.

“…Unknown.”

For a heartbeat, the room held still.

Then—

BANG!

Vireo’s hands slammed against the table, the sound cracking through the room like thunder.

“What kind of hackers are you two?!” he snapped. “You let a bug slip into NovaTech’s system?!”

The accusation lingered.

But Ryan and Rex didn’t flinch.

Ryan’s gaze stayed steady. Unbothered.

“…It wasn’t a bug.”

“…Excuse me?”

“A bug doesn’t bypass layered encryption,” Ryan continued calmly, “erase its own trail, and rewrite security protocols in real time.”

A quiet beat.

“And it doesn’t just sit there…” Rex added, eyes fixed on his tablet.

“…watching.”

The room shifted.

“Watching?” Calder repeated.

Ryan tapped a key.

The screen behind them flickered—then froze.

A shadow.

Distorted.

Glitched.

And within it—

Two faint, glowing green eyes staring straight through the camera.

Silence swallowed everything.

“We didn’t let it in,” Ryan said.

“…It found us.”

Rex exhaled quietly, unimpressed.

“Whoever this is…”

He tilted his head, studying the image.

“…is smarter than anyone in this room.”

A beat.

“…or anyone in the entire NovaTech company.”

It hit harder than the outburst.

Because it wasn’t arrogance.

It was certainty.

“And it wanted us to see it,” Ryan added.

“…Why?” Vireo asked.

Ryan didn’t blink.

“That’s the problem.”

Silence deepened—

Until—

BANG!

The door flew open.

The lights dimmed—not suddenly, but as if brightness had simply been deemed unnecessary.

A soft click echoed.

One of the empty chairs at the far end of the table slowly turned.

And someone was already sitting in it.

Legs crossed. Fingers steepled. Expression unreadable.

No alarms.

No breach warnings.

Nothing.

“…How did you get in here?” Vireo demanded, though his voice wavered slightly.

“This room is sealed,” Calder added sharply. “Triple-encrypted. Biometric locks—”

“We would’ve seen something…” Ryan muttered.

The young man finally spoke.

“You’re asking the wrong question.”

His voice was calm. Almost amused.

“Your security is impressive…”

A faint smile formed.

“…if I had arrived.”

Silence crushed the room.

“Who are you?” Vireo demanded.

The man rose slowly, every movement deliberate.

Effortless.

Measured.

As if time itself adjusted around him.

“Ohh my… where are my manners.”

He brushed an invisible crease from his sleeve, then placed a hand over his chest in a gesture almost polite.

“I’m… Mephisto Delacroix.”

The name lingered.

Heavy.

Unwelcome.

He sat again, as though he had always belonged there.

“Now… where were we?”

His fingers tapped lightly against the table.

A pause.

Recognition flickered in his eyes.

“That’s right.”

He leaned forward slightly.

“The Serene Hunter.”

A smirk curved his lips.

“I believe you’ve been looking for her.”

He leaned back, completely at ease.

“I already found her.”

His eyes ignited—golden, predatory.

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