The Sculptor’s Macabre Masterpieces

Outside the Forensics Division, the streets had quieted, though the glow of Capital's holo-ads still flickered like restless ghosts across the air. CIX, Vega, and Lira walked toward the vehicle bay where CIX had parked the transport.

As they reached it, CIX stopped mid-step, eyeing Lira’s sleek black car. It was low to the ground, matte-finished with the distinct triangular emblem of a personal permit stamped across the hood.

“Wait… this is yours?” he asked, incredulous.

Lira tapped her car key, and the vehicle hissed as its doors slid open. “One of the perks of being Grade A,” she said, grinning.

CIX stared at her, then turned to Vega. “You have one of these, too?”

Vega gave a slight nod, arms crossed. “Yep. Sucks to be you.”

CIX groaned. “Oh man… I need to get into Grade A.”

“You do have a temporary certificate,” Vega said, her voice laced with dry amusement. “That’s sort of impressive.”

CIX gave her a look of absolute annoyance.

As the doors sealed shut, the car hummed to life, gliding silently through the city streets. Lira’s house wasn’t far, nestled in one of the residential pockets designated for upper-tier agents. When they arrived, CIX nearly stumbled out of the car.

“You live here?” he said, gawking at the ultramodern house with its sweeping glass façade, wraparound garden, and sleek black exterior panels that shifted in color with the light.

“Again,” Lira said, unlocking the front door with a palm scan, “Grade A.”

Inside, the house was minimalist but lived-in, filled with art prints, old bike parts mounted like trophies, and the occasional half-assembled drone on the shelves.

A synthetic voice chirped as they entered.

“Welcome home, Lira.”

“Hey KAI,” Lira called to her AIBI. “Run a full scan on the last data dump from the lab and set up a secure sandbox for it.”

“Understood. Initializing now.”

CIX’s eyes were drawn to the walls, where several framed posters of vintage bikes—some decades old—hung with reverence. One, in particular, caught his attention: the N-V12 Skybike, an experimental model banned in most cities for being too fast and too loud.

“No way,” he muttered, stepping closer. “You still have that.”

Lira grinned. “Of course, it was the first bike we tried to mod together. Before we realized we weren’t any good.”

“You still think we had a shot at the Engineering Division?” CIX asked, fiddling with a trinket on a top table.

Lira stopped and looked back. “Maybe, if Graypharene hadn’t chosen field Ops instead. Remember that model he built when he was fifteen. He … was…”

She stopped mid-sentence, trailing off. CIX noticed the shift in her eyes.

“He was… good,” she said quietly.

A short silence crept up as CIX paced around the room. Then he cleared his throat. “Hey, you ever get to ride the Zenith model yet? I saw it in the expo today, and it was sick.”

Just like that, her eyes lit up. “You know they restricted that one to Special Grades only. But…I may have taken a test ride…”

“Tell me… everything,” CIX said, getting close to her face.

The two launched into a rapid-fire exchange of engine specs, energy modulations, altitude stabilizers, and clutch enhancements, completely immersed.

Vega stood awkwardly behind them, watching the two spiral into technobabble. 

“Riveting,” she muttered.

Eventually, Lira caught herself and cleared her throat. “Anyway... yeah. I’ll help you guys. But I need to finish uploading the Sculptor data first. Give me a minute.”

As the upload began, the atmosphere settled. Vega walked toward the floor-to-ceiling windows, watching the cityscape flicker under dusk’s blanket. Behind her, CIX and Lira talked in hushed tones. There was a warmth there—not romantic, but intimate. The kind of bond you only build through years of friendship

She didn’t like the feeling that bubbled up inside her. So she pushed it down and tried to act normally.

“So, CIX?” Vega asked, trying to shake off the feeling crawling beneath her skin. “You wanted to be an engineer?”

CIX turned, catching her watching. “Not really, only my brother had the gift for it, I was just following along. Before I became an Enforcer, I was more into Forensics. In Namidara City, Engineering is a core training for graduating Grade C. I was gearing to apply to the Capital’s Forensics when we got transferred to Central after our mother got a job there.”

Vega raised an eyebrow. “Does she work at the Precinct?”

CIX nodded. “Yeah. To be honest, I think she only wanted my brother there but he wouldn’t go without me. I don’t know why, because he became Grade A in less than a month, while I’ve been stuck in Grade B for years.”

Vega nodded, her thoughts taking over:

That explains why CIX was sent to investigate the murders then. But she couldn’t help but wonder who CIX’s mother is, and had she met her? She could be a captain or a general. Or maybe she was no longer at Central.

“My brother was the real prodigy,” CIX continued. “I thought by sticking close to him, some of his strengths would rub off on me.”

“Hey,” Vega said, briefly brushing his shoulder. “You’re better than most Grade A agents I’ve met. Don’t sell yourself short.”

Before CIX could speak, Lira called out from across the room. “Guys. You need to see this.”

Lira stepped away from her screen, eyes narrowing as both of them arrived at her terminal. “Look at this.”

CIX stepped into view, “Ly, this is what you were working on at the Precinct, right?”

“Uh-huh, so you guys have seriously never heard of the Sculptor, right?”

Both CIX and Vega shook their heads, glancing at the screen projection of a rotating model of a human skull, hollowed out.

Lira smirked, but the humor didn’t reach her eyes. “Well, this is the worst news you’ll hear today, then. People, our beautiful little utopia is falling into pieces.”

CIX frowned. “Alright, alright. Slow down. Between the Sculptor and the capital lockdown, something’s clearly up. What the hell is going on?”

“Yeah,” Vega added, stepping closer. “Start from the beginning and don’t skip any details.”

Lira touched her temple alerting her AI. “KAI, seal the house. And close all the curtains and lock all exits.”

Immediately, the room shifted. Thick curtains hissed down, the soft lighting dimmed, and the overhead lights shifted to a deep red hue.

“…Okay, can we not do the horror movie lighting?” CIX said, squinting. “And why are you locking down the exits?”

“Sorry,” Lira laughed. “It’s how I usually set up when analyzing material... red light keeps my brain sharp and doesn't interfere with the holo projections.”

She brought out glasses of wine for Vega and herself then poured juice into a tumbler for CIX.

“Alright. Let’s talk Sculptor. You know about the Musk and Elara murders, obviously. But months before that, the Forensic Grade A team—my team—was sent to the outskirts of Namidara City. Musk Gen and Constantine Tech had reported multiple thefts. Which happens from time to time, so we didn’t think much about it. But then…”

“Let me guess,” CIX said. “Nothing was stolen?”

Lira nodded. “Exactly. Nada, Zilch. Everything was smashed to bits. But it wasn’t restricted to the Tech companies. The Nilhus Energy Plant also had a break-in, and some information was stolen…”

CIX nodded, thinking. 

The Nilhus Energy plant was also recently broken into by three suspects. Special Grade Cain engaged them but suffered injuries as they escaped. Could those two break-ins be connected, or was it just coincidence?

“…I was leading my first independent op that day with Captain Grant Morrow assigned as oversight.”

“Wait,” Vega interrupted. “Isn’t that the guy from earlier? Heavy English accent?”

CIX snapped his fingers. “Yeah! That’s him. You think it's connected to the black masks he told us about?”

“Same guy,” Lira said. Her tone darkened. “I think so too but the captain didn’t believe me. He said it was probably some rogue tech group trying to stir up fear.”

She stood and walked to a nearby table, grabbing a thin holo-disc and activating it. A projection flared to life: images of shattered labs, walls slashed by inhuman strength, machinery melted at the core.

“No fingerprints. No DNA. No entry or exit points. The only clue was a symbol etched into one of the reactor walls. We didn’t know what it was back then, but now…”

She blinked her eyes. The next image appeared: a close-up of a lifeless body—one arm stretched upward like a puppet’s, wires threaded through flesh. Blood had been used to paint the same symbol across her chest.

“It’s all connected,” Lira said quietly. “The raids began after the Sculptor’s first 'piece'. He always leaves a signature in every kill. It’s not just murder. It was a message: to rebel and destroy the system.”

Vega leaned in, her expression hard. “Why haven’t we heard about this?”

“For the same reason, we found out about the murders in Central after a week,” Lira spoke with her eyes intense. “You know the Ministers like to keep their city’s problems under wraps.”

“They think they can stop it quietly.” CIX exhaled, “That explains the lockdown.”

Lira nodded grimly. “Yeah. The sculptor, somewhere in the Capital and has already begun his art.”