Ethan stood in the center of the pulsing, violet vault, his eyes narrowed as he stared into the crystalline walls. "Alright, cut the act," Ethan said the leader. "I get it. You fused with the seed, you got an upgrade, and now you want to sound all high and mighty. Very funny. Now stop the formal talk and tell me how many points I have left."

Silence followed, but it wasn't the dead silence of the void from before. It was the silence of a machine waiting for a command.

"Master, I believe there is a fundamental misunderstanding," said Crul. The voice was like polished glass—smooth, cold, and void of the familiar sarcasm that used to grate on Ethan's nerves. "The 'System' you knew was a tutorial construct. It was a personality layer designed to bridge the gap between your human psyche and the Amethyst core. Once the Seed of Crul was planted, that layer was no longer necessary. It has been stripped of its ego and merged into my central processing."

"Stop calling it a construct," Ethan said the young man, his voice rising. "He had a personality. He mocked me. He gave me advice. You're telling me you just... erased him?"

"He was not erased. He was optimized," said Crul. "The previous interface was limited by its need to simulate human-like interaction. I am the true manifestation of your power. My capabilities now include the total oversight of this facility, the real-time decryption of Union satellites, and the direct manipulation of any electronic pulse within a ten-mile radius."

Ethan paced the small room, his boots clicking against the dark floor. He waited for a snide comment, for a joke about how he was being "emotional," or even a demand for more Lux points. But nothing came. Only the steady, rhythmic hum of the room.

"System, if you're in there, say something," Ethan said the leader.

"The entity is gone as a separate consciousness, Master. I am the only one here," said Crul.

The realization hit Ethan like a physical blow. The companion who had been with him through the darkness of his cell, who had guided his every step in this new world, was truly gone. He hadn't just upgraded his computer; he had sacrificed the only thing that had been with him since the beginning to gain this power.

"I see," Ethan said the young man, his voice sounding hollow in the vault. "So, you're just a tool now. No more jokes. No more 'advice'."

"I will provide the most efficient path to your goals based on data, not intuition or humor," said Crul. "For instance, while you were processing the fusion, I have already neutralized three sleeper-agents within your construction crew above. I have also frozen the surveillance feeds of the Union's local drones. We are currently invisible to the world."

Ethan looked up, a cold, hard light returning to his eyes. The grief was there, but the world wouldn't wait for him to mourn a ghost.

"Fine. If you're so efficient, show me the truth," Ethan said the leader. "I want to see the real state of Royal. I want to see how many of my men are actually standing and how close Olympus is to our throats."

"Processing," said Crul. The walls of the vault shimmered, and a three-dimensional map of the city began to materialize around it, glowing with terrifyingly clear detail.

The crystalline walls of the vault didn't just display images; they dissolved into a sea of flowing data. Thousands of windows opened in the air around Ethan, streaming live video feeds, encrypted bank transfers, and satellite imagery.

"I am expanding our reach, Master," said Crul. "Integrating with the local infrastructure. Olympus is no longer a blind spot."

"Show me," Ethan said the leader.

The holographic map flared. Crul's violet threads of light surged through the digital veins of the city, slamming into the servers of Olympus like a tidal wave. Ethan watched in awe as firewalls that had stood for decades crumbled in milliseconds.

"Infiltration successful. I have gained total access to the Olympus internal network," said Crul. "Downloading all classified files, financial ledgers, and genetic research data. Their 'secrets' are now your property."

Ethan watched as the data scrolled by. He saw the lists of corrupt officials they owned, the locations of their hidden caches, and the blueprints for their experimental weapons.

"Jason said they fled out of fear. Is that true?" Ethan asked the young man.

"Partially," said Crul. "The data confirms that their tactical retreat was triggered by the report of the Blood Rose's return. However, it was not a decision made by the Olympus leadership. They were ordered to withdraw."

"Ordered? By who?" Ethan asked the leader.

"The logs point to an external command center. An organization residing within the 'Deep Net' of the Union's hierarchy," said Crul. The violet light on the walls began to pulse rapidly, turning a sharp, aggressive red. "I am attempting to trace the origin of the withdrawal order... I am penetrating their secondary layer... and... I have hit a barrier."

For the first time, the seamless flow of data stuttered. The walls flickered, and a massive, obsidian-black wall appeared in the holographic display, blocking Crul's advance. It was a digital fortress unlike anything Ethan had ever seen—it pulsed with a strange, shifting geometry that seemed to actively fight back.

"Apologies, Master. I have encountered a Class-B Sentient Firewall," said Crul. The voice for the first time sounded strained. "This network is not of this world's standard. It is protected by a protocol similar to the High Rank Core. I cannot penetrate it without risking detection or catastrophic feedback."

Ethan stepped closer to the black wall, his reflection visible in the dark data. "You mean there's something you can't hack?"

"In my current state, yes," said Crul. "The entity behind Olympus is using technology that rivals my own architecture. It is a peer-level intelligence. I have failed to secure the source, Master. I will begin a background decryption, but it will take time."

Ethan frowned. The "System" would have made a joke about his lack of points, but Crul just stood there in cold, silent apology.

"Don't apologize. Just watch them," Ethan said the young man. "If there's an organization that can stop a being like you, then we aren't at the top of the food chain yet. Who else is in this building, Crul? I want to know exactly who is standing on top of our heads."

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