By the time Liam arrived at Celestia Bio-Corp’s private lounge the following evening, the Neural Lotus had already been refined.
The process had taken hours of concentration, controlled heat, and a degree of precision that would have driven most trained practitioners into exhaustion. What remained now was a single alchemical capsule sealed inside a narrow crystal vial. It glowed softly in the dim lounge light, like a captive star.
Titus Zane watched it from across the low table without blinking.
The room itself was all leather, dark wood, expensive liquor, and invisible violence. Men like Titus built empires out of ports, blood, and leverage. They did not impress easily. But even he could not fully conceal the hunger in his eyes.
“I’ll speak plainly,” Titus said at last. “I’ve been tra
