Elaris Luxe Headquarters, West Aureline
The sun dipped behind the obsidian skyline of Velmora, casting golden shadows through the sweeping glass of Elaris Luxe's executive tower. From the 73rd floor, the city looked unreal—like a simulation made of molten gold and trembling steel. But Elsa Jefferson didn't see the beauty.
She saw weakness.
She saw opportunity.
She saw the hollow empire her family had built—now riddled with cracks and betrayal.
The room was quiet, filled only with the low hum of quantum servers and the faint click of data reels being processed. Elsa stood before a massive wall of screens. Holograms bloomed before her, displaying neural interface designs, smart-fiber prototypes, and the projected heatmaps of global fashion trends.
Her hands moved with surgical grace, fingers dancing through the data as if she were conducting a digital symphony.
Her company, Elaris Luxe, was no longer just a luxury brand. It was a weapon. A phoenix, rising from the ashes of legacy rot.
Zara Nyong, her COO and closest ally, walked in wearing tech-weave heels and holding a sleek tablet. Her eyes sparkled with nervous excitement. "Elsa… you need to see this."
Elsa didn't turn.
"They're swarming," Zara continued. "Venture firms. Disruptive tech groups. Even one from East Arven sent a rep. Everyone saw what happened to Jefferson Global. And they think you're next—but in a good way. They want in."
Elsa finally turned, her voice smooth but commanding. "They'll get their moment. But not until I unveil Project Phoenix."
Zara blinked. "You mean... that AI-coded fabric initiative? We shelved it because the neural calibration wasn't ready."
Elsa nodded. "It is now. And I'm reviving it with something better. Let the world chase after smart tech. We're going to wear intelligence. Skin-deep."
Zara raised a brow. "That'll bankrupt competitors."
A shadow of a smile touched Elsa's lips. "Good. Let them feel what it's like to drown."
Elsewhere – Obsidian Heights, Aeris Holdings Black Tower
High above the city, veiled in government-exempted airspace, stood a monolithic tower made of matte black glass and hidden runes—Aeris Holdings, the invisible hand behind thousands of industries.
Inside, Chess Golding stood alone on a suspended skydeck, the city beneath his feet like a fading memory. The wind toyed with the edges of his coat, but he stood unmoving. His gaze wasn't fixed on the skyline—it was focused inward.
Behind him, Iroh Vaen, Aeris' most trusted strategist and a silent cultivator himself, approached.
"We've flushed out the last of Milo's cells," Iroh said. "But Silas Kade... he's still slipping through."
"I'll take care of Silas," Chess replied, his voice calm as still water. "He was never the main game."
Iroh hesitated, then added, "There's more. Elsa Jefferson... she's activating something."
Chess turned slightly. Just enough to signal interest.
"She's brought back a project from Elaris Luxe's shelved division. Quantum-coded neural fashion. It's bold. Even dangerous."
Chess's lips twitched. "She always had it in her. The world just kept trying to cage her."
"She's rising fast," Iroh said. "You realize she'll become a threat to you... if she ever connects the dots."
Chess didn't respond. Not with words. Only a slow, knowing smirk.
Back at Elaris Luxe HQ
Elsa moved into her private lab—a glass chamber above the server vaults, lit by soft blues and whites. Here, the heart of Project Phoenix lived.
She placed her hand on a scanner. The system blinked, and a custom AI voice welcomed her:
"Welcome, Director Jefferson. Neural sync initialized."
As she approached the central console, a blinking alert caught her eye.
Unauthorized Investment Log Triggered.Source: Black Tier Node – AERIS GROUP HOLDINGS.Timestamp: 5 years ago.Value: $1.5 Million Seed Injection.
Her pulse stopped.Her breath caught.She tapped further.
The node was buried—six layers deep, behind ghost LLCs and firewall-protected shells. But Elsa wasn't just a fashion mogul. She was a Jefferson. Raised on secrets. Baptized by betrayal.
And what she found chilled her.
Aeris Holdings.Five years ago.Before she ever met Chess Golding.
A knot twisted in her stomach. Could it be him? Had he been near her… watching her… long before their "accidental" meeting?
Zara entered just then, reading her face.
"You okay?"
Elsa minimized the window, her voice composed. "Yeah. Just chasing a ghost."
Zara tilted her head. "You're sure?"
Elsa nodded. "I'm sure."
But her fingers trembled behind the console.
That night, she lay in her minimalist penthouse above the lab, watching the rain stripe across her windows. The city pulsed below like a wounded beast.
Everything had changed.
She used to think Chess Golding was just a brilliant nobody—quiet, strange, oddly composed. She thought she saw through him.
Now, she wasn't so sure.
And for the first time…She didn't know whether to fear him—…or to thank him.
Obsidian Heights – Chess's Private Suite
Chess leaned back in a high-backed chair, a steaming cup of ancient oolong in hand. The room was filled with glowing orbs—each representing someone's fate being shifted, somewhere in the world, by Aeris Holdings.
"Move Elaris Luxe to Watch Tier 1," he instructed without looking up.
A digital voice confirmed:
"Tracking initiated. Ms. Jefferson's evolution now under observation."
He set the cup down and whispered to himself,
"Let's see what kind of fire your phoenix truly breathes, Elsa."