Chapter 20: The Catalyst Protocol

The flicker of candlelight danced against the curved walls of the underground crypt in Florence, illuminating ancient Latin script carved into marble. Lucien Ricci stood in the center of the chamber, flanked by Gabriel's old allies, now his reluctant subordinates. The scent of age-old incense still lingered in the air, masking the smell of damp stone and something older something buried deeper than just memory.

He moved slowly toward the vault door, his fingers grazing the golden sigils embedded into the stone symbols of the original Ricci bloodline. The same blood that now boiled in his veins, pulsing with the weight of choices made and still to be made. Behind him, Kazuo Shin stood silently, his arms folded, his face unreadable.

"We don't have much time," Kazuo murmured.

Lucien glanced over his shoulder. "I know. But this key... it's not just about what we unlock. It's about what we can't afford to let out."

He turned the sigil-ring on his hand. The vault trembled, gears shifting beneath the floor. A low growl echoed through the chamber, and with a hiss of displaced air, the vault door opened. Inside: scrolls, memory crystals, and a single containment unit labeled Catalyst Protocol.

Kazuo approached. "Is that it?"

Lucien nodded grimly. "The original failsafe. My father never meant for this to be found." He opened the casing. Inside was a biometric drive and a name.

Yuna Kim.

On Jeju Island, Yuna stared at the glowing holographic display of her mother, Ji-Hyun, playing out in a secure room beneath the Phoenix lab. Her mother looked younger, softer before the wars, before the betrayals.

"If you're watching this," Ji-Hyun's voice said, "then Phoenix has entered Phase Two. And your blood... is the key."

Yuna clenched her fists. Elena Vescari, bandaged but alert, sat in the corner reviewing Drevin's notes that they had salvaged during the breach.

"He's accelerating his trials," Elena said. "He's already enhanced at least six other test subjects. You need to understand what you're facing. They're not human anymore."

Yuna turned away from the screen. "Neither am I."

Elena looked at her, almost sadly. "That's not true. You're the bridge between what we were... and what we could become."

Yuna said nothing. She pulled up a new document a scan of a Ricci insignia embedded in the DNA report from Drevin's files. It matched the seal in the vault Lucien had just unlocked.

In Seoul, Min-Jae moved through the wreckage of what used to be a Syndicate intelligence post. Soot still clung to his jacket, and his breath puffed white in the early morning chill.

His comm crackled. "Min-Jae."

"Lucien?"

"I found it. The Catalyst Protocol. It named Yuna. Not as a weapon. As a failsafe."

Min-Jae's blood ran cold. "Meaning?"

Lucien's voice was grave. "If Phoenix ignites fully, she's the only one who can stop it or ensure it burns everything."

In New York, Amari Quinn stood before a hidden command terminal deep beneath the ruins of Ricci Enterprises' North American branch. The lights flickered on, revealing a chamber of weapons, relics, and digital archives.

She uploaded the latest footage of Yuna's power surge. Her phone buzzed. A single message from an unknown number:

You are not authorized to intervene. Let the Protocol run its course.

She deleted it.

Lucien stood on the balcony of a crumbling villa overlooking the Arno River. The drive containing the Catalyst Protocol lay in his hand.

Kazuo joined him, lighting a cigarette. "You ever think about burning it all down? Just letting the world collapse so we can rebuild it from the ashes?"

Lucien didn't answer right away. His eyes scanned the horizon. "Sometimes. But then I remember what happens to the innocent when men like us lose control."

Kazuo exhaled smoke. "You think you can still control this?"

"I think..." Lucien paused, closing his hand around the drive, "...that the only thing more dangerous than Drevin is the part of me that agrees with him."

Back on Jeju, Yuna walked alone down the coastline. Waves crashed violently. Her eyes flicked to the data Elena had given her. The Catalyst Protocol wasn't just a safeguard it was a trigger. A moment in history pre-determined by the Ricci founders.

Ji-Hyun's voice echoed in her memory.

"Your love will be your weapon. But it may also be your undoing."

She looked up as a silhouette emerged from the trees behind her.

Min-Jae.

"You knew, didn't you?" she asked.

He nodded slowly. "Not everything. But enough."

"And you still followed me."

"Because you're not the threat here, Yuna. You're the answer."

They stood in silence, the roar of the ocean between them.

In the ruins of Phoenix's Siberian lab, Drevin smiled as he watched the screen. Yuna's DNA scan glowed brightly. A countdown initiated.

"Catalyst sync complete," the AI intoned.

Drevin raised his glass. "Let the world burn."

Back in Florence, Lucien turned to Kazuo.

"We activate it on my signal. Until then... no one knows the truth."

Kazuo nodded. "And Yuna?"

Lucien's voice was low. "She's the storm. But she's also the shield. And we'll need both."

The clock had started.

The Catalyst Protocol had begun.