The Red Emperor

[Kauket]

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PLANET MANHATTAN, NEW YORK

A rare circumstance allured Revenant to the heart of Liberty, Manhattan -- and even more unusually, accompanied by Gamayun, her ever-silent, ever-fierce protégé. The dark city skyline was alive with buzzing energy; trams and small craft streaked light trails across the horizon in a spectacle of artificial brilliance. Manhattan: the capital of vanity, greed, and ambition. It had everything.

But this wasn’t a pleasure trip. Revenant came with purpose. Disguised under her Kusarian persona, she entered the building with Gamayun, presenting a secure access pass to the reception desk. A key word to accompany her imminent arrival.

They approached the elevator, ascending in silence.

Midway through the elevator’s climb, Revenant staggered. Subtle, but visible. Gamayun turned, her impassive stare sharpening with the faintest glimmer of concern. Blood touched Revenant’s lip. Her hands trembled. Vision blurred. Something struck the psychic field like a needle through skin.

A rupture. Tainted. Wrong. Within a single second, dread, grief, and mortality surged like a wave. Her skin drained of warmth, her mind plunged into a void—death’s whisper brushing the edge of consciousness. One scream, echoed through eternity. A corridor with no end, filled with a singular cry repeated a million times.

As if the stars stopped breathing for a split second.

"I'm... I'm ... wh-... w-wh-"

She exhaled sharply, pressing herself against the elevator wall, her composure shattered. The color in her cheeks slowly returned. Gamayun’s expression remained unreadable--cold, calculating. She offered a tissue without a word. Revenant accepted it, wiping away the blood and tears clinging to her face.

"We can move on. I'm sorry, I don't know... what that was."

Revenant straightened her shoulders, forced steadiness into her breath. She needed this mission to go smoothly. Get the data. Get out. The relevation, whatever it may have been, can wait for another time. In her mind, she could not afford to lose focus, not right now, there was too much at stake. Time was a sensitive commodity, and it always seems to be in short supply.

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Moments later, the elevator opened. Revenant emerged first, lifting her glasses with a renewed smirk, masking the unease behind a veil of confidence.

"Ahh... It’s not every day I receive such an intriguing invitation to such an exotic location. So tell me..."

She stepped forward toward the table, cutting straight to the point of her visit. Gamayun shadowed her with the briefcase in hand.

"How do matters fare? What is the status of my project?"

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