Part 1 — Among Ash and Truth
The cave had gone quiet.
Not just from the death of the summoner, or the silence of the shadows.
But from something deeper — the kind of silence that follows betrayal.
The kind that wraps around the heart like gauze.
Thomas stood near Davi's corpse.
Or what was left of it.
Dry skin. Empty eyes. A shape that used to be human.
Walter limped forward.
Anahi pressed a bandage to her shoulder.
Lili sealed the Yandu core in silence.
They all looked at Thomas.
He didn't waste time.
— I'm not gonna explain what I did. Not now.
His voice was steady. His eyes sharp — no fury, just a line that would not be crossed.
— I don't know what the hell is happening to me. But I do know this:
He stepped closer. No blade in hand — but the weight of his presence hit like one.
— You saw what Davi did. You saw what I did to stop him.
He looked at Lili first. Then Walter. Then Anahi.
— So here's what I expect. Not ask, expect. Silence. No reports. No rumors. No mentions to the Order or to anyone else. Not until I figure out what's going on with me.
They didn't interrupt.
— I've got a wife. A daughter. A life i'm trying to protect. And in my case, staying alive means you keeping your mouths shut… That's the deal.
A pause.
Then his tone softened. Not weak — just honest.
— I trust that's not too much to ask.
Walter looked at him for a long moment.
Then nodded, firmly.
Anahi exhaled, slow.
— I'm with you. What happened here… stays here.
Lili's stare was unreadable — but after a beat, she also nodded.
— Fine. You've earned that much.
Thomas stepped back, nodding once.
— Thank you.
He glanced at Davi's ruined badge.
— When they ask… we tell them what matters.
He attacked.
We stopped him.
Together.
They shook hands. No smiles. No need for them.
A pact had been made.
And it would hold.
Part 2 – The Report and the Pact
The van rattled down the cracked road toward Seropédica.
No one spoke.
Thomas sat by the window, blood dried on his shirt, eyes unfocused. His body hurt. But his mind was sharp.
In his hand, a scrap of torn cloth — Davi's. Still faintly warm.
Renzo lay on the bench behind them, unconscious. Breathing shallow.
Walter watched him in silence.
Anahi kept adjusting the pressure on her wounded shoulder.
Lili clutched the core container — Ayvu still flickering inside, sealed.
The mission was over.
But no one looked victorious.
They arrived just after sunrise.
Same warehouse. Same rusted door.
Same cold neon inside.
A few new faces stood around the perimeter. Probably waiting for the next job.
The four of them entered through the side.
She was there — the woman from before.
Tablet in hand. Unchanged. Composed.
She looked up. Scanned the group.
Her gaze stopped on Renzo, being carried between Walter and Thomas.
— One casualty. One unconscious. — she stated, not asked.
— Elias is dead. — Walter replied. — Killed by the Yandu.
— Davi went rogue. We neutralized him.
— Left the body behind.
She didn't flinch. Just nodded and tapped a few commands.
— Core?
Lili stepped forward, lifting the container.
— Intact. Still warm. Almost ruptured mid-extraction.
The woman inspected the capsule under a scanner.
— Confirmed.
Anahi pulled a small drive from her pocket and handed it over.
— Mission log. Edited. Synced with all team recorders. Time-synced through mine.
The woman plugged it in without comment.
— Report registered.
She opened a drawer. Pulled out four black glyph cards. Handed them out one by one.
— Bonus hazard rating approved.
Davi listed as: Abandoned Post – Confirmed Hostile.
Elias: KIA.
Renzo: Pending Evaluation.
She glanced at Walter.
— Full payment for all four. Even the unconscious.
— Next-of-kin note for Elias. Do you know anyone?
Walter shook his head slowly.
— No one he ever talked about.
She tapped once. Then looked at them again.
— That's all. You're dismissed.
No ceremony. No salute.
Just the sound of boots scraping concrete as they turned to leave.
Outside, the sky had cleared.
The city still slept behind distant clouds, but the air tasted lighter.
They stood together by the bikes.
No one rushed.
Walter broke the silence first.
— You all did good. We got out because we worked like a unit.
He pulled something from inside his jacket — a burn-coded sigil card.
— If you ever need backup… use this.
Anahi sent Thomas some number and letter sequence.
— Encrypted forum. Darknet. Secure. You can find info there… or share, if you ever feel like trusting people again.
Thomas took it.
Then turned to Lili.
She didn't move. Didn't speak at first.
But after a pause, she said:
— I said I'd keep your secret. And I will. But whatever you're turning into… Be careful.
He nodded.
— I will.
They held the moment.
Then one by one, they walked to their bikes.
Engines ignited. Helmets clipped on.
Thomas waited until the others were gone.
Then he turned to the wall.
Raised his hand.
Focused.
Ayvu flickered between his fingers. Shaky. Raw.
A blade began to form — translucent, fragile, vibrating like glass.
Then—
Crack.
It shattered mid-air.
Thomas closed his fist.
Well, that's interesting.
He reached into his pocket, pulled out his phone. Opened a note.
Typed:
Davi – Assimilation suspected.
Energy spike: confirmed. No system registration.
Hekato influence: unstable.
Manual testing required.
He hit save.
Then mounted the bike.
One last glance at the warehouse.
Then he vanished into the morning.
Part 3 – Home
The gate creaked.
Same as always.
Thomas pushed it open with a quiet breath, the smell of early morning mixing with concrete dust and blooming jasmine from the neighbor's wall.
His shirt was clean now. Bandages under the fabric. The pain was still there — but it had settled into the background, like a familiar scar.
The door opened before he could knock.
Olivia.
Hair tied back, dark circles under her eyes. But still her. Still strong.
She didn't say a word. Just hugged him.
Tight. Fierce.
He dropped the bag at his feet and let her hold him.
— You came back late. — she murmured against his neck.
— Got stuck underground. Nothing unusual. — he whispered back.
She pulled away, scanning his face like she was trying to read the whole story without asking.
— You okay?
He thought about it.
— Mostly. Yeah.
Tiny footsteps echoed down the hallway.
— DAAAAAAD!!
Gabriele ran at him full speed, in a purple dinosaur onesie two sizes too big.
He crouched and caught her mid-leap. Nearly lost balance.
— Whoa—did you grow again?
— I had juice! Juice makes me grow faster than ANYBODY!
He laughed. It felt strange. Not forced — just distant, like he was remembering how.
— That explains everything.
They walked inside together.
The house smelled like coffee and oatmeal. Sunlight cut through the curtains.
For a moment, Thomas let himself believe everything was normal again.
Just long enough to sit at the table.
Later that afternoon…
They sat on the balcony. Thomas had a cold compress on his shoulder.
Gabriele slept in the hammock, fingers still gripping a toy lizard.
Olivia sipped her tea.
— I looked into things while you were gone. Protection. Rituals. Not just charms — real ones. Indigenous, Afro-religious, South American roots. Stuff that speaks Ayvu, even if people don't call it that.
Thomas raised an eyebrow.
— And?
— And I think we should move.
She didn't hesitate.
— This house isn't safe. Too open. Too known. I found an apartment near Praça Seca. Three locks. Private access. Underground parking. Top floor.
He nodded.
— Gated?
— Twenty-four-hour guard. And space for a "studio."
She made air quotes.
— You know… training. Coding. Whatever you call it.
Thomas smirked. Then grew serious.
— I have to build something better. Not just the body.
The system needs an upgrade.
She leaned in, elbows on the table.
— You've already done more than most.
— Not enough.
He opened his notebook.
A real one. Paper. Ink.
Inside were diagrams. Notes. Flowcharts.
Some in Portuguese. Some in symbols he didn't remember learning.
He pointed to a section:
"Voice command integration – natural language parsing."
"Biometric fail-safes – Ayvu-reactive lockout."
"External Ayvu sensors – wearable, modular."
"Data projection: HUD interface + core pulse alignment."
Olivia blinked.
— You've been dreaming again, haven't you?
Thomas nodded.
— Thag'Zhul. Sometimes Calil. Sometimes… I think I'm dreaming someone else's memories.
She reached across the table. Placed a hand on his.
— Just don't forget what's real.
He turned his hand and gripped hers.
— I won't.
That night, after they put Gabi to bed, the house fell into that rare kind of silence — the one that only comes after children fall asleep.
Thomas sat on the couch.
Still shirtless. Still bandaged.
Olivia joined him with a cup of tea, but she didn't drink.
He stared ahead for a while.
Then said:
— I killed a man.
Her hand paused halfway to her mouth.
He didn't turn. Just kept talking.
— Not like a soldier in a firefight. Not in the chaos of battle.
He was down. On the ground.
He begged.
And I ended him anyway.
Olivia didn't speak.
— He tried to kill us. All of us.
He wanted to take the cores and disappear.
He would've left Anahi bleeding out. Walter… maybe dead.
Thomas finally looked at her.
— I didn't hesitate. That's what scares me the most.
Olivia looked into his eyes.
There was no judgment there.
Only… truth.
— Did you enjoy it?
— No.
— Then you didn't lose yourself.
She placed the cup down.
— You made a decision no one should have to make. And you're still here.
He exhaled. Closed his eyes for a second.
— I'm getting stronger, Olivia. A lot stronger.
Too fast. Faster than anyone should.
Sometimes I feel like I'm carrying a storm in my ribs.
— And you think that storm could hurt us?
He hesitated.
— Not unless someone tries to take me from you.
She smiled, sad and proud at once.
— Then I trust you.
Later that night, Thomas sat alone at his desk.
Gabi's tiny drawings were still stuck to the wall.
He moved them gently aside and opened his laptop.
The system came online.
Static icons blinked on the dark interface. The voice assistant pinged softly:
"System ready. New data detected."
He ignored it.
Instead, he opened a second tab.
Typed into the deep web adress Anahi gave him:
"Nhagatu Engineering - Ayvu Interfaces - Ayvu Technology"
The results were scattered.
Unstable forums. Broken links. But eventually — something real.
A document. Old. Scanned. Marked with stains and smudges.
NHANGATU ENGINEERING: Mastering the fundamentals of Biological, physical and spiritual aspects of Ayvu – Volume I
The art of uniting electricity, Ayvu, and human intention is not just technical — it's ritual. True Nhangatu engineers are not merely engineers: they must be as abstract as philosophers, as precise as scientists, and as intuitive as an Exu in sacred motion. We must observe, perceive, and translate behavior into data and programs. There's no need for sensors to detect Ayvu — the body itself is a sensor, living and absolute. To go beyond, we must emulate the human body, shaping matter as it does: through intention, rhythm, and flow.
Then hit another site — a forum for Nhangatu tinkerers.
There, buried in an encrypted thread, he saw the mention of someone:
@aratu_rj – "Crafter. Engineer. Illegal but brilliant. Mixes tech and Yandu fragments."
Thomas stared at the name.
The user profile was inactive.
But one post stood out.
If you want to power an Ayvu-integrated system, you'll need more than talent.
You'll need to read every volume of "NHANGATU ENGINEERING: Mastering the Fundamentals of Biological, Physical, and Spiritual Aspects of Ayvu", memorize them all — or feed the entire collection into a super AI.
Then you'll need to master electrical, electronic, and computer engineering — all at PhD level.
On top of that, you'll have to be absurdly creative and abstract.
Not everyone meets those requirements.
But I do.
If you're looking for someone like that, reach out through the network. I'm available.
So he dove deeper.
Started crawling through forum chains, dead threads, invite-only chatrooms from darknet hubs.
That's when he found it.
A user named @solnascente_io had commented on a job listing in one of the encrypted job boards.
A bounty hunt mission. Medium risk. Spiritual tracking required.
The post was short.
"Offering equipment, Ayvu-gear, encrypted HUD relays. No upfront fee. Only share of the core or artifact. Field deployment optional."
The name wasn't @aratu_rj.
But the description? It matched.
"Crafter. Engineer. Illegal but brilliant. Mixes tech and Yandu fragments."
Same style. Same signature.
Thomas narrowed his eyes.
He clicked "apply".
Added minimal data. No real ID. Just credentials, scan logs from his last mission, and proof of performance.
Then he leaned back.
The system confirmed the submission.
He opened a clean note on his notebook.
"Objective: Join the mission. Meet the engineer. Request system enhancement. Integrate Ayvu-readable architecture."
He stared at the screen for a long moment.
The AI in his watch blinked:
[Objective added]
Find the man
Let's do this, Thomas. ;)
The system is excited. And so do i. — Thomas thought.
He turned off the lights and slept, tight in Olivia's arms.