In 2046, the Pope is found dead. His eyes glowing. No wounds. No witnesses. No salvation.As the world reels, Father Caleb Stone-a skeptical FBI agent undercover as a priest-is summoned to Vatican City under the cover of night. What begins as a political investigation into Pope Gregory XIX's bizarre death spirals into something far stranger: a hidden vault, sealed for centuries, and a relic that defies all theology.Teamed with Maria Vance-a brilliant U.S. liaison with secrets deeper than the catacombs-Caleb uncovers a truth buried by time: an alien artifact pulsing beneath the Vatican, a beacon not of God, but of something... other. Something watching.Hunted by the Circle of the Veil, a secret order older than the Church itself, Caleb and Maria must navigate encrypted doctrines, corrupted faith, and coded prophecies. As drone surveillance fails and ancient texts rewrite themselves, Caleb realizes this isn't just a cover-up-it's a countdown.The Pope may be dead, but the message he died protecting is very much alive.