21.0

January 1, 2070, @ 1927
The Net, Cyber Depths

The telepathic speech was their group's preferred conversation mode, faster than any technology could convey. Its unique characteristic of leaving no digital footprint gave it an edge in the vast, sprawling digital city. Standing in a concealed alley, Eve watched the pulse of data and energy that flowed through the streets, mimicking the ebb and flow of the real world. She found this place mesmerizing, a world where everything was rendered from raw data and electric energy. Here, those with the ability to manipulate data, to enhance their gear and processing speed could potentially ascend to divinity, not unlike the Artificial Intellects in the world outside the Blackwall. Yet, this city lacked fully sentient AI, a stark contrast but a telling clue. Clearly, the masters of this domain had no interest in competing with fully digital entities that could run rings around them.

"In essence, those with such prowess are akin to the wizards of our realm, no?" Nota joined Eve's reverie, reflecting her thoughts back at her.

"Exactly," Eve agreed, her fingers unconsciously tracing the hilt of her Jian sword. "Our companion, Hakugin, is dormant now, and we are short on information. We need to interrogate the inhabitants of this digital city for insights. Nota, can you secure one of them for our cause?"

"No women. No children," Nota questioned, seeking confirmation of the limitations.

"No children," Eve affirmed, soft yet firm, "Use your telepathy to gauge their age. We should steer clear of any prodigies; they could prove to be too unpredictable. As for gender, we can't afford to discriminate in this world. Missing a crucial piece of information could cost us."

Nota nodded in understanding before transforming into a young woman adorned with cybernetic enhancements. With a determined stride, she left the safety of the alley.

"Should I initiate a root protocol?" Kudzu asked. After a moment of contemplation, Eve gave her consent. As she busied herself with sprinkling Witch's Dust to obscure their digital tracks, Kudzu morphed into a vast network of thorny vines. The alley's walls were soon covered in a lush green tapestry, its exotic flowers blooming to release dark pollen that painted the digital environment with deeper shades of black.

As Eve monitored the time through a cantrip spell, she found her power reserves overflowing, thanks to the Traveling Dust Witch's Core. It extracted nourishment from the energy prevalent in the digital landscape.

Soon, Nota returned with a young man who seemed quite taken with her. As Kudzu's vines ensnared him, Eve touched his temples, invoking the Extract Memory ritual. She sifted through his mind, obtaining a comprehensive picture of this digital realm and reality outside it, reminiscent of Earth in the early 2070s but with significant differences. Their location was known as Noir City, one of the nine Free Cities in the USA. Her ritual pulsed through the young man, instantly pulling the entire mind’s information like removing a data drive from a server.

"Hut, these nine cities might correspond to a nine-pointed trigram seal," Eve posited. The seal could act as a focal point for their operations in the Cyber Depth, potentially giving them control over not just the USA but possibly even Canada, South America, Antarctica, the Arctic, Europe, and Asia.

The plan was simple: establish control over each of the Free Cities, expand their influence, and manifest the seal into this reality. This would purge the USA of external power and create a safe zone for deploying forces into the Cyber Depth.

"All the birds with one stone, then?" Nota asked. Kudzu, ever the practical one, added, "Dead birds are the best birds," eliciting a smirk from Eve.

"Manifesting, in reality, will be impossible without a summoning," Eve asserted. She had already tried, and the rules of the Cyber Depth stopped her. "That's why we need an ally. Someone to be our channel."

"A secondary focal point for the Coven Ritual?" Nota proposed, immediately latching onto Eve's train of thought. Eve nodded affirmatively, "We have sixteen potential slots. Each of you already occupies four: Child, Maiden, Mother, and Crone - represented by Hut, Nota, Felix, and Kudzu."

"The interpretations of 'Mother' and 'Crone' are admittedly quite loose in this context," Felix grumbled, his tone light. Eve shrugged nonchalantly, "Despite being a Twisted Ritual, it functions effectively due to my power."

"Longevity is longevity, no matter how it's obtained," Kudzu interjected, his vines gesturing in dismissal. The rest nodded, accepting the ends as a justification for the means, mainly when immortality was at stake.

"Speaking of which, there are numerous gangs in the real world," Eve began, her eyes gleaming a metallic silver. "But one holds a special interest for me. It adheres to the main religion of my lineage – The Valentino."

"What's our strategy for infiltrating reality?" Felix inquired, curiosity piqued.

A gleam of anticipation appeared in Eve's eyes as she summoned a small angel figurine. "We shall embody our true nature. Entities from the Outer Realms."

"A pact," Nota inferred, instantly catching onto the idea.

"Precisely, a Witch’s Pact, a variation of the Warlock Pact," Eve confirmed, transforming the angel into a contract parchment that shimmered in mystical runes.

Felix's sapphire blue crystal pulsed as he asked, "An augmentation of sorts?"

Eve confirmed with a nod, pacing back and forth, "Most individuals have undergone some form of physical augmentation. By forming and signing a Pact with our selected individual, we can bestow upon them certain advantages."

"Physical augmentation will be trivial for us," Felix asserted confidently, his words accented by a light illuminating both him and Kudzu.

"I can assist in maintaining cleanliness," Hut offered. "Clean and Prestidigitation."

"Those spells will be pivotal in keeping our Initiate away from significant trouble. The corporations here, the Corpos, squabble like mongrels over prized scraps. If we are apprehended, we'll face a multitude of complications. Ensuring a clean crime scene free of DNA or other evidence and maintaining their cleanliness will be crucial," Eve elaborated, giving Hut an approving look.

"I'll take care of using this digital world," Nota volunteered, a tome of spells appearing in her hand. “Attack, defense, storage, it is all information here. This world is a perfect battleground for me. They have weaponized data programs called Daemons, so I’ll make Angels fight them.”

"In that case, I'll supply the power source for the Witch’s Pact," Eve declared. "I'll need to rest to ensure everything operates smoothly. Make it clear to our Initiate that I will not be disturbed unless necessary. If I'm to be awakened, it better be for a bloodbath, not a minor inconvenience." Points of interest were raised and argued as each individual brought possible problems to light.

After exhaustive refining among the group, the strategy of acquisition for the Initiate-to-be shimmered with perfection. Each member, except Eve, was then reshaped into exquisite paper talismans capturing the complex, compressed essence of their digital identities. Eve, meticulously intertwined these talismans into her silver-lit tresses. With a serene breath, she dissipated into a nebula of twinkling silver nanoparticles.

Propelled by the encrypted energy streams, Eve flowed ethereally through the labyrinth streets of cyberspace. She was a phantom, slipping through digital alleyways and concealing herself within the cryptic shadows of the city’s server matrix.

Guided by the memories of the Netrunner memory she had ruthlessly assimilated, Eve navigated the sprawling digital maze with the grace of a spectral ballerina. Her presence dissolved into the obsidian recesses of the network. She breezed past the formidable defenses of the Valentinos' database with unmatched elegance and efficiency, peeling back layers of digital deception to expose the web of registered and covert members. This virtual heist was a high-stakes identification game, a delicate balancing act to locate the ideal subject for their covert operation. The perfect target must be magically inclined, emotionally desperate, and demonstrate exceptional talent in multiple areas.

Her search culminated in locating a new target: an unsuspecting 18-year-old girl whose significance to their secret operation was unbeknownst to herself. Medical reports and academic files whispered a wealth of information to Eve, painting a comprehensive portrait of her quarry.

Eve's digital grin mirrored the wickedness of a devil's smile as she pinpointed her target. Without hesitation, she activated the relocation protocol to Megabuilding H3, Apt #4381. With a brutal strike of power, the once majestic lobby of the future Initiate's residence shattered into digital fragments like a glass palace before elegantly reforming in harmony with the pulsations of the digital epoch. An intricate digital code sparkled and throbbed within a perfectly inscribed square, providing an impenetrable shield against any forthcoming threats. Eve was resolute, ensuring no opportunities for escape would be afforded to her quarry.

After she sealed the artificial confines of Megabuilding H3, Apt #4381, she swiftly assumed the persona of a routine digital maintenance algorithm. To the casual observer, she was merely a cog in the machinery, keeping the digital environment operating seamlessly, an ideal subterfuge to mask her true intentions.

The virtual dwelling pulsed with the living energy of the target. Eve set to work, silently unraveling the intricate encryptions protecting the multi-variable encoded data matrices. Every microsecond, her digital consciousness skimmed across the vast expanse of complex data, expanding the border of comprehension.

The interior server of the Megabuilding exuded virtual opulence, teeming with digital recreations of physical wealth. It was a dazzling maze of radiant art pieces, luminescent trinkets, and looping video memories. Every object was encrypted, every surface a potential encrypted landmine. Yet, Eve's mastery dwarfed the system's sophistication. She harmonized with the rhythm of the apartment's infrastructure, her consciousness blending seamlessly with the data flow.

After an ageless moment, her relentless pursuit bore fruit. She uncovered a concealed portal into the primary server, masquerading as a benign background task. Seizing this vulnerability, she burrowed into the server, leaving a trail of silver particles swirling in her wake.

Within the mainframe's depths, she discovered the invaluable information she sought. Detailed accounts of the target’s daily routines, preferred locales, encrypted communications, and all the data needed to orchestrate the perfect snare. A wave of satisfaction coursed through her as she duplicated the data with the precision of a master surgeon, her grin mirroring the devilish pleasure of a predator perfectly poised to spring the trap.

The target, a young woman, Crystal Moss, had ambitions beyond the ordinary. She aspired to secure her place in a prestigious corporate academy, Arasaka Academy. Gaining admission into such an institute meant being fast-tracked into the esteemed recruiting cadre of Arasaka, one of the Big Four megacorporations that held the world in its iron grip. The lucrative benefits included a fully financed accommodation and a performance-based stipend throughout her school tenure.

"Regrettably, I cannot let that transpire," Eve muttered to herself, her silver eyes glittering with a cunning resolve. She manipulated the acceptance letter, transforming it into a harbinger of disheartening news. She needed Crystal under duress, her situation desperate enough to make Eve's proposition more enticing.

With the modified message sent, Eve turned her attention to the Player's Handbook, her mind racing to create a strategy. She knew what she wanted to achieve was within the realm of possibility, yet modifications were inevitable. Crystal's development had to be a natural progression to gain acceptance within the Cyber Depths. Handing over half of Eve's power was not viable. It would fracture the young woman's psyche like brittle porcelain under stress.

Eve's eyes shone luminescence intensely as if housing twin nebulae within her irises. She was calculating an array of possibilities for Crystal's evolution. Pure soul mana was the ideal nourishment for growth within this intricate, virtual dominion. It was not only potent but also untraceable, thus safeguarding their operation from Eve's persistent adversaries. Within this realm, souls were categorized into ranks - Normal, Strong, Elite, and Boss, each signifying a particular power quotient. The convoluted dynamics of level progression in The Cyber Depths were laid out explicitly in the Fifth Edition of Cyberpunk, complete with an all-encompassing table.

"Our powers stagnate at the hundredth level," Eve contemplated aloud, scrutinizing the experience allocation chart. The mortal capacity was tragically confined to a meager level of fifty. Despite such constraints, they were entities of substantial strength, potential orchestrators of destiny. Eve's lips curled into a conniving smile as an audacious plan crystallized. "Instead of forging a mere Initiate, we shall mold an Apprentice - a veritable tempest of power!"

Eve pored over the nuances of the Cyber Depths system, delineated in the Fifth Edition of Cyberpunk:

Body

• Annihilation

• Athletics

• Street Brawler

Cool

• Cold Blood

• Ninjutsu

Intelligence

• Breach Protocol

• Quickhacking

Reflexes

• Assault

• Blades

• Handguns

Technical Ability

• Crafting

• Engineering

Attributes were boldly accentuated, with Skills listed subordinately and Perks presented beneath each Skill. A glaring issue leaped out at Eve.

The Skill's elevation could not exceed its controlling Attribute. Similarly, a Perk could not surpass its associated Skill.

"An obstacle," Eve murmured to herself, "but not an insurmountable one." The power of a pact offered significant flexibility in bestowing benefits. She needed to circumvent this limitation cleverly. A minor annotation in the Player's Handbook ignited a spark of triumph in her eyes.

Race Alteration. The ominous phrase could provide the exact loophole she required. She could sidestep certain restrictions by transforming the base race from human to an alternative entity. Of course, this action was a double-edged sword, instigating a new set of problems. However, Eve remained undaunted; the race change posed more solutions than complications. The array of skills now came with certain restrictions.

Body

• Vampiric Blood (Annihilation)

• Regeneration

• Vampiric Bones (Athletics)

• Crystal Skeleton

• Vampiric Flesh (Street Brawling)

• Shapechanging

Cool

• Frost (Cold Blooded)

• Veins of Ice

•Nightwalking (Ninjitsu)

• Unseen Terror

Intelligence

• Angels (Breach)

• Agents of Light

• Demons (Quickhacking)

• Agents of Darkness

Reflexes

• Elegance (Assault)

• Graceful Murder

• Fencing (Blades)

• Rapier Arts

• Blood Manipulation (Handguns)

• Drain

Technical Ability

• Rituals (Crafting)

• Blood Rituals

• Mana Theory (Engineering)

• Blood Mana Theory

"Indeed, the essence of power lies in specialization," Eve declared, her attention riveted to the new abilities. "Gaining immunity to the ravages of time from Regeneration is an unforeseen bonus. This benefit is invaluable because realizing our goals might span many decades."

Although detectable under extraordinary scrutiny, these radical transformations would be hard to discern. The Unseen Terror Perk played a pivotal role in obstructing electronic surveillance. It was the digital manifestation of a vampire's inability to cast a reflection, a phenomenon ported seamlessly into the Cyber Depths. This feature wouldn't arouse suspicion, as many in this realm utilized scrambler static shields to evade the probing gaze of surveillance systems.

"However, there is a caveat. She will not be able to hijack cars or any other vehicle, as these remain traceable," Eve pondered. It was a minor sacrifice to make, considering the numerous advantages. Once the Body attribute had achieved significant growth, the limitation would be inconsequential. A fully grown vampire was a match for sonic jets. Mere cars or motorcycle bikes had no comparison. "The most promising aspect is our ability to share and augment our power, a slow but consistent growth without boundaries."

Five attributes were allocated to five distinct Entities. She was rather proud of that little trick. Eve would take the reins of Body, which demanded the most intensive development. Cool would fall under Felix's jurisdiction, Intelligence without question to Nota, Kudzu would steer Reflexes, and Hut would oversee Technical Ability, drawing on Eve's reservoir of experience when necessary.

There was the slight caveat that their newly minted Apprentice would require blood. However, given that the world was steeped in perpetual conflict and violence, Eve didn't anticipate any difficulties in meeting this requirement.

Now all that could be done was to wait.