CHAPTER 137: MIND IN THE MACHINE

The team was gathered in the Omega briefing room. In the center of the room, a holographic blueprint glowed with a soft blue light, casting sharp shadows on their serious faces.

The image was of a skyscraper. It wasn’t a ruin or a monster-filled cave, but a sleek tower of glass and steel that rose into the sky over Cinderfall City.

"Aethelred Bio-Mechanics," Captain Seraph said, her voice a low and sharp. "According to Vanessa’s trace, this is where the device that stole your blood sent its data. Our first target."

Draven, leaning against the far wall, whistled softly. "That’s a fortress. A corporate one. The most heavily guarded kind."

Vanessa zoomed in on the blueprint. Layers of the building disappeared, showing a complex web of red and gold lines. "He’s right. This place is fully locked down. It has the latest tech security, the best money can buy, and strong magical defenses too."

She pointed to the glowing golden lines. "These are high-level Runic Wards. Think of them like magical alarm systems. They’re designed to detect unauthorized energy signatures. Trigger one of those, and every guard in the building knows where you are."

"So, we can’t just force our way in," Jonah murmured, his eyes tracing the complicated defenses. Just smashing through the front and fighting their way in wouldn’t work at all. They’d be surrounded and captured in minutes.

"This isn’t a battle," Seraph stated, looking over the team. "This is a different kind of war. A war of secrets and shadows. You might call it espionage."

When she saw their blank looks, she clarified. "Spying. We need to get inside, find their computer servers, and figure out where they moved your research. And we need to do it without anyone ever knowing we were there."

Jonah’s mind immediately began working, running through his assets, his tools. His Progeny were his toolbox. But what tool was right for this job?

His first thought was Maul. That was his hammer, an unstoppable force of nature. He imagined the beast trying to sneak through the halls of a corporate office. The idea was so ridiculous it was almost funny. Maul was too big, too loud, and would probably bring the entire building down just by walking through the lobby. Definitely not an option.

His second thought was Sylva. The beautiful Verdant Guardian was the opposite of Maul. It was quiet, peaceful, a being of life and healing. But it wasn’t a spy. Its very presence was a strong source of life energy. Those advanced magical sensors would likely pick up its aura instantly. It was like trying to sneak a bonfire into a dark room.

That left Specter.

On the surface, his Phantom Weaver was the perfect choice. It was a Grade-4 Nexus Progeny, a masterpiece of stealth. It could turn invisible, move silently, and even teleport short distances. It was his ultimate assassin and scout.

But that was the problem.

Specter was a Nexus Progeny. It was woven from four different powerful essences, and its own energy signature, the magical buzz it gave off, was powerful. It was quiet, yes, but it was still a legendary tier being. It was like a high-performance engine running so smoothly you could barely hear it. But a sensitive microphone could still pick up its low sound.

"The sensors in that building are top of the line," Jonah said, thinking out loud. "They’re designed to detect powerful magical beings. Specter... it might be too powerful. Its energy signature might be just loud enough to trip their alarms."

It was a huge risk. If Specter got detected, they would lose their best asset, and the Bureau would know they were coming. Their one chance would be gone.

He needed something else.

This job didn’t require power. It didn’t require a weapon. It required a key, one designed to fit a very specific lock.

He needed something new.

The idea hit him suddenly, clear as day. He didn’t need a strong, permanent creature that used up one of his four precious slots. He needed a one-time tool, a creature made for just one job.

He thought back to the Resonance Drone, Echo, that he had built in the Chimera nest. He had created it on the fly, a simple thing made from cricket and bat essences. It wasn’t a permanent part of his soul; it was a tool he built, used, and then let go of.

He could do that again.

He could create a new kind of Progeny. Not a combat unit, not a living being meant to grow and evolve, but something simple and stable. A Tool-Class Progeny. A creature he could create for a mission and store away in his Beast Space without it taking up one of his four main slots.

A new idea began to form in his mind, a blueprint for the perfect spy.

It wouldn’t need claws or tusks. It wouldn’t need an aura of serenity. It would need two things.

First, it needed the ability to become intangible. That’s a fancy word for being able to pass through solid objects. It had to be able to move through walls, floors, and security doors as if they weren’t even there.

Second, it needed to be able to interact with technology. It had to be able to touch a computer system, a magical network, and read the information inside.

He didn’t need a monster. He didn’t need a soldier.

He needed a ghost.

A ghost in the machine.

The frantic energy of the past few hours faded. The shock, the fear, the heavy weight of his new reality, all gone. Replaced by a familiar, focused calm. He was a creator with a new project. This was a problem he could solve. This was a machine he could build.

He looked up from the glowing blueprint, his eyes meeting Vanessa’s.

"I can’t use what I have," He said it quietly, but with clear new confidence.

"I need to build a ghost."