THE F-RANK THAT BUILDS ABILITIES

Veera hadn't slept.

Not really.

She'd closed her eyes. Let the time pass. But her body refused to rest—trapped somewhere between worry and decision. Ever since Donnie vanished, her routines had lost rhythm. The academy drills felt muted. The instructors' voices dull. Even Lucen's arrogance had stopped bothering her.

Because everything now felt… hollow.

She had stood by while they watched Donnie grow.

She had seen him change, and she hadn't backed away.

But she hadn't stepped forward either.

Until now.

---

That morning, she stood in front of Ridgewood's main security gate.

A quiet corridor. No students. Just her, a reactivated trace pad on the floor, and a blinking console asking for one thing:

> "Do you wish to request temporary exit from Ridgewood supervision?"

She didn't answer right away.

Not out loud.

But the answer had already taken root days ago.

She stepped onto the pad.

The scanner processed her trace signature.

A warning flashed:

> "This student is linked to a flagged individual. Approval will notify administration."

She placed her hand on the console anyway.

"I'm not hiding anymore."

---

Meanwhile, Donnie was traveling under a false ID through an abandoned monorail tunnel that cut across the outer district toward Ridge City's northern fringe.

Trace Zero walked beside him, cloaked in a long, dusty coat.

No one else came.

Lora and Kaito had split off in another direction—intentionally. The Guild's surveillance was tightening again, rerouting signal drones to cover public transport paths. Staying grouped would make tracking easier.

They had agreed to scatter.

And if needed—reunite by trace imprint.

"You still don't know where to go, do you?" Zero asked.

Donnie glanced down the tunnel.

"I'm not running. I'm looking."

"Looking for what?"

Donnie exhaled. "For someone who understands what I'm becoming."

---

Two hours later, they reached a crashpoint at the edge of the forgotten rail line. Steel beams jutted out of the hillside like broken ribs. Moss covered most of the stone. Trees had overgrown the path.

But at the center of the clearing, hidden beneath collapsed scaffolding, sat a circular platform lined with trace runes—half broken, half glowing.

Donnie stepped toward it.

Zero didn't follow.

"This is where we part," Zero said.

Donnie turned. "You're not coming?"

"I can't. I'm on the List too, remember?"

"I thought that's why you'd come."

Zero shook his head. "No. It's why I can't follow."

A pause.

Then Zero handed him a chip.

A small crystal cube with a faintly pulsing core.

"If you find her," he said, "give this to her."

"Who?"

"Mara Tais."

Donnie nodded slowly.

"She sent the message, didn't she?"

Zero said nothing.

Then turned and disappeared into the trees.

---

Back in Ridgewood, Veera entered the East Wing archives through a hidden elevator shaft disguised behind the supply hall. The elevator only responded to restricted clearance.

She had copied it two days earlier.

Donnie would've been proud.

The lift descended into a library of forgotten Trace files—hundreds of shelves, rows of broken trace pods, and boxes of unprocessed combat records.

She opened one labeled:

> UNREGISTERED CASES – CLASS: CONTAGIOUS

And began to read.

She didn't expect to understand everything.

But she didn't need to.

She was looking for proof.

What she found instead was worse.

---

Donnie crossed the trace platform, chip in his pocket, sketchpad in his bag.

The platform glowed beneath his step—recognizing something in him.

> Trace Signature: Break Arc | Vanta Thread

Clearance Level: Wild-Type Entry Approved

Destination: Outpost 9 (Unlisted Sector)

A portal began to hum.

Not like a gate. Not the kind they trained on.

This one was older.

More primal.

Donnie took one last breath—and stepped through.

---

Back in the archives, Veera found a file tucked between two reports.

Smaller than the others.

Clipped with red tape.

The title read:

> STUDENT 114-B – UNAUTHORIZED OBSERVATION LOG

She opened it.

A video loaded.

Footage from weeks ago.

Donnie—barely visible—executing Spiral Surge in one of the early drills. The angle was wrong. The camera wasn't from the standard system. It was hidden.

A log played beneath it:

> "Subject displays hybrid formulation during low-pressure simulation. Potential early-stage anomaly. Do not alert handlers."

> "Observe for Vanta signs. If any emerge, initiate flag before spread."

> "If trace reaches 30%, deploy Null or move to containment."

Veera's hands shook.

They'd known.

Before he ever did.

They'd watched him evolve.

And planned his deletion.

---

Donnie emerged in a new place.

Colder.

Darker.

The sky was dim, but not from night—just distance. This wasn't Ridgewood. Not even the outer sectors.

He stood on stone—ancient, polished. A long field of cracked marble stretching into ruined towers built into a cliffside.

He wasn't alone.

A woman stood at the edge of the field, overlooking the drop below. Hair tied back. Long coat. Bare feet on stone.

She didn't turn when she spoke.

"You brought the chip."

Donnie stepped closer.

"You're Mara Tais."

"I was."

She turned.

Her eyes held no trace light.

But the pressure around her felt heavier than the fifth operative.

"What are you now?" he asked.

"An echo," she said. "Of what happens when they fail to erase us."

---

End of Chapter 14

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