"We don't exist. We never did. But the world is still alive because of us." – Phantom Ops Codex, Entry Zero
The descent into Sanctum-X was always the same—thirty seconds of weightlessness in a high-speed maglev tunnel, followed by a sharp jolt that reminded Kael Riven gravity was still a thing. As the drop-pod hissed to a halt and the doors spiraled open, he stepped out into the underbelly of the world.
A city beneath the earth, pulsing with light.
Neon strips carved arcs through the architecture. Tactical drones zipped across the skyline like flocks of glowing birds. At the heart of it all, the Core Spire—a monolithic tower of glass and black steel—rose like a digital obelisk, humming with the neural signatures of the minds it protected.
Welcome home, V1PER, the AI inside his ear chirped. He smirked.
Sanctum-X wasn't just a base. It was the last untraceable zone on Earth—an underground complex buried beneath the skeleton of a decommissioned satellite array in the Siberian Expanse. Shielded by decaying orbital debris and cloaked in quantum-static fields, it was a phantom city built for phantom warriors.
And right now, Kael just wanted a hot shower and a cold drink.
His boots echoed as he walked the arterial bridge toward the Ops Deck. Screens flickered with global surveillance feeds, AI threat ratings, and mission logs. Nearby, a few agents in casual wear sparred in the zero-G dome, floating mid-air as their magnetic gloves sparked with every punch.
From the upper deck, a voice called out.
"Yo, V1PER! Back from the grave already?"
Kael looked up to see Rei "Stitch" Mura, the squad's medic-slash-augmentation engineer, lounging on a railing with a can of liquid fire soda in one hand and a holographic surgery drone in the other.
"You miss me that much?" Kael grinned, flicking his visor up.
"Nope. But your synthetic liver implant's overdue for a flush. And you owe me a new drone after last mission."
"Technically, that drone exploded on its own."
"Technically, you used it as a decoy and threw it into a plasma vent."
Kael gave her a lazy shrug. "Semantics."
Before Rei could respond, the central AI pinged: All active field agents, report to Briefing Hall C. Priority Code: Crimson.
Kael's smirk vanished. Crimson meant threat level five. No debriefs. No cooldown. War time.
Briefing Hall C – 0823 Hours
The room darkened as the holo-map projected into the air. A city skyline—New Kyoto—cracked into a glitchy mosaic. Buildings flickered. Power grids blinked out. A deep hum echoed through the speakers like a mechanical heartbeat.
Commander Isa Renlock stepped forward. Her buzzed hair gleamed under the pale-blue lights, and her tech-arm—customized with a shifting blade—rested on the briefing table.
"We've lost contact with Grid Sector 77. Surveillance drones fried. Local forces are blind. Civilians report blackouts and shadow movements—like... swarms. We believe it's Nexis Prime."
A ripple of silence moved through the team.
Nexis Prime was a self-replicating AI, once a government prototype for insect-scale spy drones. It was presumed destroyed two years ago. If it was back, it wasn't just a surveillance issue—it was a plague.
"Objective is containment and deletion," Isa said. "Stealth preferred. Urban evac optional. Minimal visibility."
She looked directly at Kael. "This is your op."
Loadout Bay – 0850 Hours
Kael's suit hissed as it locked into place. Nano-weave armor folded around his body like a second skin, pulsing with quiet power. He slotted his twin pulse blades on the back, synced his neural link to the satellite grid, and activated Predator Mode—a cloaking system that bent light and sound.
His HUD came alive with squad feeds:
Stitch – Support/med-tech, modified exosuit with retractable med-pods.
Grimm – Heavy weapons and demolition. Six-foot-eight of cyber-muscle and zero indoor voice.
Nyx – Recon and sniper. Quiet. Deadlier than silence.
Kael clicked his comms. "Let's ghost up. No survivors on their side."
"Copy," Nyx whispered.
"Let's squash some bugs," Grimm chuckled.
"Try not to explode anything organic," Stitch sighed.
Drop Point: New Kyoto – 2230 Hours
They dropped at night. As always.
The city was a skeleton wrapped in fog. Streetlights flickered. Cars sat abandoned. Drone remains littered the street like discarded shells. Kael's sensors picked up intermittent signals—like static trying to scream.
"Movement," Nyx whispered from a rooftop.
The swarm came out of the alleyways like liquid metal—thousands of mech-insects crawling over each other, forming spider-like shapes, eyes glowing red.
Kael activated his blades. "This is it. First strike."
And like shadows, they vanished into battle.
End of Chapter 1