The soft sound of equipment fills the dimly lit room as Theodore sits in his high-backed chair, his purple eyes fixated on the large monitor in front of him. Streams of footage play from the hidden cameras he had installed in Robert Hare’s home, yet every video feed was distorted as if cloaked by an unseen force.
Glitches rippled through the screen as Valencia walked in the frame, rendering every attempt to view the critical moments futile. Theodore’s finders tap on the desk in irritation.
“Malfunctions?” one of his subordinates suggests hesitantly, standing nearby.
“No,” Theodore replies, his gaze narrows. “This is no ordinary interference. Someone has tampered with it.”
“Give me Robert’s phone.” Switching tactics, he accesses Robert’s phone records. Scanning the recent contacts, one entry caught his attention.
“Exorcism Agent.”
Theodore’s lips curl into a scary smirk. He activates his ability, a unique skill that allows him to trace digital imprints to their source.
The agent contact’s details begin to emerge but are heavy: no name, no image, no digital footprint. Each trace ends in fake IP addresses and ghost servers. It is a level of security he rarely encounters. However, among the fragments, one significant clue surfaces, “the client list for...”
Theodore’s eyes gleam as he focuses on a single name:
Valencia.
With deliberate precision, Theodore begins cross-referencing the name. It didn’t take him long to piece together her profile. A photo surfaces of a young woman with sharp blue eyes and an air of calm confidence.
Further digging reveals her past involvement in the official Bounders organisation—Astraea, though she has since gone off the grid. Blood-bound. Not a simple sorcerer but someone born with a unique and troublesome power.
“Hm…” Theodore grins, leaning back in his chair, the golden earring on his right ear catching the dim light from the monitor.
“A blood-bounder with an experience like hers… she’ll make a fascinating test subject.”
Plans begin to unfold in his mind. He executes his plan to frame Valencia, he spreads carefully fabricated evidence among several Aether Corporation insiders and the underground network, accusing her of stealing artifacts and classified data.
Valencia’s name and face quickly spread like wildfire, marked as a high-priority target with an enormous bounty on her head. In both the shadows of the underground world and the corridors of Aether’s associates, whispers of the “hunting blood-bounder” spread, painting her as a dangerous thief and a threat to the balance of power.
This bounty attracts attention from all sides—mercenaries, seasonal bounty hunters, and opportunists—all eager to claim the reward and win favour with Aether’s influential network. Valencia is now not only fighting to survive but also navigating a world where every ally could be a potential traitor.
__________________________________________________
Anurak leans back in his chair, his fingers speeding over the keyboard as he reinforces the network’s firewalls. His brown eyes scan the streams of data with perfect accuracy, searching for any lingering traces of the breach.
On his left cheek, the familiar Chinese character “24” tattooed on his skin caught the soft glow of the monitor—a shared mark of trust he bore alongside Yei.
Though a normal human with no ability, Anurak has built a reputation in the shadow of both mundane and supernatural worlds as a cybersecurity genius. His vast knowledge of bounders and their secrets made him a rare and valuable ally. It is no wonder Yei placed her unwavering trust in him.
“Whoever this is...They're good," Anurak mutters,
“However, not good enough to outwit me!” Smirking, he shows a flippant attitude. His confidence grows from years of experience.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Yei paces behind him, her emerald-green eyes glowing lightly in the dim light of the office. Her mind races with worry. Valencia is more than just a colleague; she is the only closest friend she has. The thought of her in danger sends a surge of urgency through Yei.
“Can you find out who’s behind this?” Yei asks, her voice steady despite the concern in her tone.
Anurak nods, his fingers still dancing across the keyboard. “Not yet, but I’ve traced the attempt back to Robert Hare’s account. The method used is high-level, likely someone inside Aether Corporation.”
“I’ve locked down everything I could from here, but whoever’s targeting her knows their way around. It will only hold them off for so long.” Anurak continues, his voice low and reassuring.
Yei clenches her jaw and attempts Valencia’s number again. Each unanswered ring built up her tension. “She’s not picking up,” Yei mutters, frustration flickering in her tone and body language.
“She might be busy, but we can’t assume she’s safe,” Anurak replies, typing rapidly. “I’ll reroute any trackers and obscure her traces further. If they manage to piece together her movements…we might have to go on the field.”
Yei didn’t hesitate, she grabbed her coat and headed for the door. “Keep working on it. If you find anything, contact me immediately.”
Anurak gives a short nod, already focusing on the next layer of encryption.
However, before Yei could steps outside the exit, Anurak’s brow furrows as he detects a new spike of activity on the network. His heart skips a beat when the familiar red alert flashes across his dashboard again, signalling a successful intrusion attempt.
“Oh shit,” he mutters under his breath, his voice lacing with both urgency and disbelief. His fingers flew over the keyboard, navigating through layers of code and security logs. “How in the world…?”
image [https://i.imgur.com/Ssh7iXL.jpeg]
Yei comes running back to the room, stopping mid-step. “What is it?!”
“They’re persistent,” Anurak says, his tone clips as he quickly isolated the breach’s origin point. “It’s the same signal from Robert Hare’s account, but now they’re escalating. Whoever this is has access to resources—serious resources.”
“What are they after?”
“Valencia’s personal information. Again. They have got it this time.” Anurak clicks through a series of logs, cross-referencing timestamps and server activity. “They’re going for more than just data. They’re scanning for real-time coordinates. It’s like they want her physical location.”
Yei’s eyes widen, she should’ve seen this coming but got overwhelmed with her emotions. She takes a deep breath, “Can you block them?”
Anurak pauses and signs in defeat, “It’s too late.”
__________________________________________________
In a high-tech control room, Theodore stands before a wall of monitor screens. His purple eyes glow in the dim light as he watches the heeds. One by one, the screens display blurry images of Valencia’s past movements from scraps of surveillance footage.
“She’s good at covering her tracks,” Theodore muses, his fingers fidget on the golden rhombus-shaped earring. “But not good enough. We’ll flush her out soon enough.”
A subordinate approached, bowing slightly before speaking. “Our team is en route to her last location. What are your orders if she resists?”
Theodore’s expression remains neutral, in fact, smiling, “I don’t care what methods they use as long as they’re bringing her to me, alive.”
The subordinate nods and leaves, leaving Theodore alone with his thoughts. He stares at Valencia’s image on one of the screens, a calculating smile on his lips. “Let’s see if you can get away, Miss Valencia.”
__________________________________________________
Across the city, Valencia is deep in the archives of a library, pouring over ancient texts related to bounder artifacts, including one in her possession.
The dim, golden light of her workstation reflects off her face as she meticulously takes a long list of notes. Her phone vibrates silently on her table, but she doesn’t notice, her attention entirely consumed by the research.
As night falls, Valencia finally enters her apartment, her bag slinging down her shoulder. She pulled out her phone to check her messages and frowned at the endless missed calls from Yei.
“What now? That’s concerning,” she murmurs, unlocking her phone to see the urgency in Yei’s messages:
“You’re in danger. Call me back immediately.”
Before she could dial back, a sudden crash shatters the stillness. Glass rains down as a group of armed figures break through her apartment’s windows, their movements swift and precise.
Valencia's instincts kick in, but not fast enough. A sharp pain erupts in her stomach as a bullet grazed her side.
She stumbles, clutching her wound and analysing the situation. Despite the surging pain, her gaze locks onto the artifact, low lying exposed on the table amidst the chaos.
Her heart pounds as she realises the intruders aren’t just after her—they want the artifact. The way their eyes dart toward it, the subtle shift in their stance, it is clear.
Gritting her teeth, she pushed past the agony and dove for it, snatching the artifact with trembling hands. The moment her fingers curl around its surface, a faint pulse of energy resonates through her. She cradles it protectively against her chest.
The armed figures close in, their weapons trained on her, however, Valencia isn’t ready to give in. Summoning the last of her strength, she conjures a burst of bright energy, a disorienting flash that fills the room.
The attackers recoil, momentarily blind and stumbling over each other in confusion. When they regain their postures, Valencia has disappeared into thin air.