S-2876 • L3 Sintoluna • D28 Silente
"Sintoluna tunes the sky's final thread. Silente spills luminous stillness. The tide gathers silver in a gentle curve. The narrative feels the portal opening."
They reached Trindade Island in the dead of night. The sea was rough, and mist crept across the island, enveloping it like a specter. They anchored the nanoboat in a cove and concealed it among the rocks. Then they activated the nanocamouflage, making the vessel invisible to nanoradar. The boat merged with the darkness.
Saymon carried a backpack. Hikaru carried Tanu. Both wore nanosuits composed of q-nanites, quantumnano-technological fabrics shaped by Regnante Maia's ingenuity.
They descended a retractable ramp. Their feet sank between the wet stones. They advanced over the uneven terrain, avoiding treacherous rocks and low vegetation. Nanocameras hid among the branches. Silhouettes lurked on the cliffs.
Hikaru stopped for a moment and activated Tanu.
The raccoon dog blinked his lights, stretching his little metal body. "Idiot! Took you days to switch me on." His robotic voice came out high-pitched and grouchy.
Tanu shook himself, adjusted his sweater, and raised his snout. His eyes gleamed when they found Saymon. He scanned him from head to toe. Wrinkled his snout. "Who's this sucker?"
"Quiet, Tanu. We're gonna infiltrate that mansion." Hikaru's voice came out serene.
Subtle waves chimed in the air. And inside Saymon. The mercenary turned his attention to the robot.
Tanu folded his little mechanical arms. "Imbecile won't even say hi." His ears twitched. "I'll kill you both when I'm done."
They kept advancing. Drones patrolled the sky.
Tanu projected a camouflaging nanoshield over the group, making all three disappear into the landscape.
The terrain grew steeper. The forest, denser. Old trenches appeared among the vegetation, now overrun with mud, remnants of a military past that still lingered. The tunnels had been reactivated. Guard posts protected the entrances. Guards patrolled the surroundings, aided by thermal sensors.
They heard footsteps. Voices approached. All three crouched and began crawling. Cold mud clung to Hikaru's nanosuit.
"Ever wanted to crawl through mud? No," Tanu grumbled as he deactivated sensors along the way. "My master? Filthy."
The mansion stood at the island's highest point. Imposing. Displaced in time. It seemed like a relic of the Italian Renaissance, with white marble columns, arched windows, and ornate sculptures. Security towers emerged discreetly among the architectural elements.
Tanu connected to the gates. Hacked their nanosystems. Released the codes needed for temporary passage.
With their nanosuits and the raccoon dog's protection, they crossed the security barriers. Nanobarriers. Thermal detectors. Motion sensors. Nanoalarms. The entire fortress was linked to the central Living Intelligence. No system detected them.
Inside, dark marble floors reflected floating lights. Leather armchairs adorned the luxurious hall, while minimalist works lined the walls. Holopaintings pulsed on display.
Saymon followed a discreet corridor. Red carpets covered the floor. Crystal chandeliers gleamed above them.
They reached a library. The smell of old leather and polished wood filled the room.
Saymon approached a bookcase and pulled out one of the books. The structure rotated, revealing a hidden passage.
A narrow staircase descended through the opening, illuminated by tiny lights embedded in the steps. At the bottom stood an apparently simple door. Except for its sophisticated padlock.
Saymon drew the Seven of Wands. The card's pixels merged with the lock's codes.
Shhhhhhh
The mechanism groaned. The door opened.
Darkness.
The hidden room was enclosed by reflective glass, across which holoinformation was projected. Illegal transactions. Espionage networks. Complex financial schemes.
A large table occupied the center of the room, surrounded by devices connected to the island's central server.
Saymon broke the silence. "Get all the data you can." Then he opened his backpack and took out several cans of black spray paint.
Hikaru frowned. What was this guy doing?
Saymon began moving as though in a trance. Every smear of paint was a calculated strike.
Intrigued, Hikaru connected Tanu to the power sources and plunged into the virtual systems.
Hours passed.
He found information on Lúcio Reis. International Relations at UNITED in São Paulo. A top-tier big shot. But there was more. Much more. Hikaru kept digging through the data, uncovering information far beyond anything he had expected to find.
What did Saymon intend to do with all of it? Who knew?
His body was beginning to protest. His muscles were tense. His bones ached. His brain seethed and melted under the prolonged strain.
But there was something beyond exhaustion. An oppressive sensation. Greater than fatigue. As though the air around him were deforming along with his thoughts.
Hikaru turned. And reality dissolved.
Unease. Agony. Awe. Passion. Anguish. Anger. Hatred. Fury. Vengeance.
The room was sealed in black. Paint dripped from the walls, ran down the shelves, and swallowed the space.
Erratic, aggressive strokes intertwined in chaotic patterns. Grotesque figures emerged from the smears. Distorted faces. Warped eyes. Macabre creatures. Outstretched claws. Whirling spirals. The world spun.
Beneath the faint lights, the paintings cast living shadows. A hateful torment. But it was not just the walls.
It was Saymon.
Hikaru felt something of that being spread throughout the room.
Each stroke seemed like a scar. A confession. An open wound. Raw. Bleeding. The walls spoke. The painting screamed with a disturbing resonance. The black vibrated at a chaotic frequency inside his mind.
The erratic lines danced with Saymon's aura, as though the paint had found a way to externalize something the mercenary kept hidden.
Hikaru could not decide whether he wanted to keep looking or flee. He felt drawn and repelled at once. He swallowed hard.
They left in silence. Saymon. Hikaru. Tanu. Night enveloped them again. They moved stealthily among the trees, crossing the terrain toward the cove.
But the painting was still there. The distorted faces. The shadows. The black spirals. Hikaru still carried that room inside him. Still pulsing.
They reached the boat.
The nanoengineer cast a lingering look at the island. Waves struck the hull while the dark strokes vibrated behind his eyelids. He wanted to ask. But he did not know whether he wanted to hear the answer.
"Idiot, what are you doing…" Tanu began to grumble. The robotic voice vanished.
Hikaru turned.
Saymon stood before him. Face-to-face. So close that his warm breath brushed the nanoengineer's skin. "Good kitty. Time to go night-night."