London was cold, cloaked in a heavy fog that seemed to muffle even the city’s heartbeat. Towering glass buildings loomed like silent sentinels, watching.

Rin and Rae arrived under aliases, slipping past Heathrow’s security like shadows. Ji Woo remained at base, managing remote support.

Their target: an underground data exchange hub rumored to have been co-opted by Reika’s network. The intel had led them to an innocuous tech firm called AetherSys.

It took two days of surveillance, one stealth infiltration, and an improvised EMP grenade—but they got in.

Inside the hidden server room, Rae pulled a black drive from her belt and began uploading code to crack the layered firewall.

Rin kept watch. “You’d think a shadow anarchist would be harder to trace.”

“She wants us here,” Rae said. “We’re not the ones hunting.”

As the firewall cracked, screens around them lit up. A message appeared:

"Good girls. Now let’s see if you’re ready for the real test."

Then everything shut down.

Back at the hotel safehouse, Ji Woo patched into satellite feeds. “Whatever that hub was—it rerouted your signal. You didn’t break in. You walked into her trap.”

Rin rubbed her temples. “So she’s got our data, comms, heat signatures..."

Rae threw her coat onto the bed. “Then we make her regret watching.”

A knock at the door.

The sisters froze.

Rin drew a sidearm. Rae flanked the door.

Another knock—then a soft voice.

“Delivery for Ms. Do.”

Rae opened the door a crack.

A boy no older than ten stood there, holding a folded envelope. No fear. No expression.

He handed it over and walked away.

Inside, Rin unfolded the note. No signature. No threats. Just a phrase:

"Even shadows cast by fire must face the dawn."

Ji Woo’s voice crackled in: “Translation—she’s escalating. She wants a confrontation.”

Rin looked out at the foggy skyline. “Then we bring the dawn with us.”