Chapter 8: The Gathering of Shadows
Power attracts power. And Lucien knew his silence would not last forever.
His collapse of Galtien had sent shockwaves across the world's upper crust. Some dismissed it as a fluke. Others investigated in fear. But a few… watched with interest.
Those were the ones Lucien wanted.
And so, the next phase began.
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Codename: Project Umbra
Lucien didn't want a normal organization.
He wanted a network. A web. A global system that operated in shadows so vast and so precise that no one would ever know where it began — or where it ended.
And it would have two faces:
1. A legal organization — The Verdant Dominion, a philanthropic think tank with branches across all major empires. Officially devoted to peacekeeping, technological innovation, and diplomatic stability.
2. An illegal core — Umbra Manus (Hand of Shadow), an underground information cartel, master of espionage, sabotage, identity erasure, and strategic manipulation.
He would rule both.
And neither would ever be traced back to his name.
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The Recruits
Lucien began gathering his pieces — not through force, but precision.
Aether Nox – A former royal torturer from the Sarravine Empire, now a mercenary with a code of silence. She could extract secrets from memories, even those locked by death.
Velian "Cipher" Korr – A masked exile from the Techno-Covenant of Rith, known for dismantling entire governments through code. Disappeared five years ago. Lucien found him living in a ghost city, building machines that dreamed of dying.
Mira Solthorn – A disgraced priestess who once led a rebellion within the Holy Flame Empire. She had connections to forbidden libraries and the whispers of dead gods.
Each received the same letter:
> The world has cracks only those in the dark can see.
Come. I will not promise redemption — only purpose.
None of them said no.
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Elsewhere – In a Tower Without a Name
A young man stood alone beneath a silver moon.
He was tall, calm, dressed in scholar's robes stitched with symbols from ten lost languages. A mechanical owl rested on his shoulder. His eyes were mismatched — one silver, one gold.
He'd watched Galtien fall.
He'd read Lucien's false documents and found the subtle inconsistencies no one else noticed.
And he'd smiled.
"Finally," he whispered. "A mind worth challenging."
His name was Cyras Vale — the Heir of the Gray Library, a genius raised by AI ghosts( "AI ghosts" refers to artificial intelligences that are no longer maintained by their creators — remnants of advanced, now-lost civilizations or secret organizations) and forgotten warlords.
Lucien Valtore was not the only one building an empire of shadows.
Another had begun his own silent rise.
And one day…
They would meet