Ethan didn't waste time. If someone inside the Time Loop Bank had reopened Project Requiem, then his clock was already ticking. Every second he spent standing still was another second they could use to track him down. He needed to move first.
Lyra's hands flew across the keyboard, bypassing firewalls and layered security blocks faster than most government hackers could even attempt. "Whoever restarted this project, they're not leaving a trail." Her voice was tight. "This encryption is beyond anything I've seen. It's not just secured—it's designed to vanish if anyone gets too close."
Ethan's jaw tightened. That meant whoever was behind this was expecting interference. Which also meant they weren't just reviving old records. They were watching.
Lyra muttered something under her breath, pulling up a side panel of code. "There's a single trace log. An access point routed through a dead server cluster in District 6." She glanced at him. "It's a physical location. If we want answers, that's where we start."
Ethan didn't hesitate. "Then we go."
Lyra frowned. "Ethan, if this is a trap—"
He cut her off. "It's a trap." He reached for his coat, checking his weapon as he moved toward the door. "But I'd rather walk into it knowing what's coming than wait for them to come to me."
Lyra sighed but followed. "I swear, one day you're going to run out of luck."
Ethan smirked. "Not today."
They left the safe house through separate exits, meeting at a secure transit hub where Lyra had already arranged a private route. The transport capsule was old, barely functional, but it was unregistered—exactly what they needed.
As the capsule moved through the underground transit system, Lyra scanned the area through a portable surveillance jammer. "No heat signatures. No tracking pings. Either they don't know we're coming…" She glanced at Ethan. "Or they don't care."
Ethan adjusted his grip on his weapon. "We'll know soon enough."
The capsule slowed, docking at a forgotten station beneath District 6. The air was stale, filled with the scent of rust and old circuitry. The place had been abandoned for years, but the server logs said otherwise. Someone had been here recently.
Lyra pulled up a map on her wrist console. "The server should be in the back chamber. If it's still active, we might get a direct link to whoever restarted the project."
Ethan nodded, moving first. Every step was careful, controlled. He knew better than to assume they were alone.
As they reached the entrance to the chamber, Lyra scanned the door. "No security measures." She frowned. "That's not a good sign."
Ethan didn't hesitate. He pushed the door open.
Inside, the server was still active, humming softly in the dim light. But the room wasn't empty.
A figure stood in front of the terminal, waiting.
Ethan's breath slowed. He knew that face.
And in that moment, he realized the real game hadn't even started yet.