The encrypted message arrived at 2:17 AM.
Slade was awake when it came, sitting alone in the dimly lit command center. Sleep had been elusive for weeks—every time he closed his eyes, he saw faces. The king. Sera. Cross. The real Raven. The labyrinth's endless parade of ghosts.
The message was short, cold, and clinical:
**Unknown:** You've been dismantling the labyrinth piece by piece. Impressive. But you've missed one. The oldest fragment. The one that predates the Society, the Inheritors, the Congregation, and everything else you've destroyed.
**Unknown:** They call themselves the Purity Collective. They've been watching you since the beginning. And they've decided you've become a problem.
**Unknown:** They're based in Shanghai. Their leader is a man named Jun. He's been planning the
