The city of Zenithar never slept.
But high above the smog-choked streets, it almost felt like it did.
Raiga lay on the flat roof of a broken tower, arms behind his head, eyes half-closed.
The distant roar of the streets faded into a low hum, like the world itself was sighing.
He glanced at the skyline. Metal towers stabbed into the clouds. Neon lights flickered against the grey, toxic air. Somewhere below, sirens cried. Somewhere else, a gun went off.
Raiga: "Late again..."
He exhaled. Closed his eyes.
⸻
The Dream Came Fast.
The village was burning.
The sky was red, the earth black with ash.
His feet dragged through the snow—no, through blood.
A voice. Weak. Fading.
His grandfather, crawling through the mud, his body torn apart.
Grandfather: "You... have to... save... A... your—"
The name broke apart, swallowed by the fire.
The dream twisted. The screaming started. The sky cracked open like a wound. Meteors fell. Shadows moved in the flames.
Raiga gasped, his fists clenched tight. His chest burned.
Then—
Liara: "RAIGA!"
⸻
His eyes snapped open. The city roared back to life.
Liara: "RAIGA, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!"
Liara's voice blasted through his earpiece, sharp as a blade.
Liara: "Are you sleeping on a damn rooftop again?! You know the patrol drones sweep that sector twice an hour! What if they—"
Raiga sat up slowly, brushing his hair back.
Raiga: "Calm down. I'm awake now..."
Liara: "Don't 'calm down' me! You're gonna get yourself killed being lazy like that!"
Raiga smirked faintly, rolling his shoulders.
Raiga: "Worried about me, huh?"
Liara: "Worried? I'm worried you'll ruin my perfect drone-hacking network if they blast your stupid face off!"
Raiga: "Such a warm heart you have, Liara."
Liara: "You're impossible!"
Another call. This time, it wasn't Liara.
Barren: "We got a problem. Those idiots at The Hollow Fang lost the shipment. Got hit hard."
Raiga leaned his head back against the concrete, eyes on the grey sky.
Raiga: "I'll handle it."
The line went dead.
Seconds later, Liara's voice returned. Quieter this time.
Liara: "Raiga... don't overdo it, okay?"
Raiga: "Relax."
Liara: "Wait—"
Raiga: "What?"
Liara: "Just... be careful. That's all."
Raiga stood up, stretching his arms.
Raiga: "Yeah... I wll."
He stepped toward the edge of the rooftop and vanished into the night.
⸻
The dive bar known as The Hollow Fang was a front. Everyone in Zenithar knew it.
Officially a place for cheap drinks and dirty deals.
Unofficially, it was a weapons drop point for the Night Covenant.
Tonight, it burned.
Blaster fire ripped through the air. Smoke rolled out into the streets.
A battered cargo truck roared away from the scene, tires screeching. Inside, four men laughed like hyenas, high on adrenaline and the scent of blood.
Krush: "Ha! Did you see that fat bastard run? Dropped his gun and pissed himself!"
Rott: "Forget him! You seen what we got? Category Next-Tech, boys! That's worth a fortune!"
Ven: "And the fragments, man. Two clean shards. I held one—felt like my damn soul was vibrating!"
Krush barked out a rough laugh, pounding his fist against the dashboard.
Krush: "With this haul, we'll carve up our own corner of Zenithar! The army ain't got nothing on us now!"
Driver: "Let's lay low till sunrise. Then we sell the gear, buy our tickets outta this gutter."
Ven leaned back, lighting a battered smoke.
Ven: "Ain't nobody stoppin' us now."
Then—
CRASH!!!
The roof of the truck caved in.
The vehicle flipped violently, steel groaning under the impact. The world spun. Glass shattered. Metal screamed against the pavement.
Silence.
Then coughing. Groans.
Krush dragged himself out through the twisted door, blood streaming from his forehead.
Krush: "What the... the hell just—"
A shadow fell over him.
Krush looked up—and saw death.
Raiga stood there, his coat fluttering in the cold wind, eyes cold and empty.
Before Krush could speak, Raiga's boot came down hard.
CRACK.
The sound was sickening. Skull. Neck. Gone.
Rott and Ven stumbled out, screaming.
Ven: "IT'S HIM! IT'S THE SHADOW!"
Rott: "Shoot him! SHOOT—"
Too late.
Raiga drew his katana in a single, fluid motion.
The blade sang.
One step forward—Rott's head hit the ground before his body realized it was dead.
Ven turned to run, sobbing.
Raiga moved like a phantom. Three precise cuts—Ven collapsed in pieces, eyes still wide in horror.
The driver tried crawling away. Raiga grabbed him by the back of the neck and slammed his face into the pavement with a brutal CRACK.
Silence returned.
Raiga cleaned the blade with a slow, practiced motion.
He recovered the stolen bags, slinging them over his shoulder, and plucked the two glowing fragments from Ven's twitching fingers.
⸻
The Hollow Fang was half-destroyed, smoke still curling from its broken windows.
Inside, the survivors of the Night Covenant's mob sat bleeding and humiliated.
Raiga walked in without a word. The heavy doors groaned open at his presence.
He dropped the bags and fragments in front of Morn Tregg, the local boss.
Raiga: "Lost these?"
Before Morn could respond, BAM!
Raiga's boot slammed into his stomach, folding him in half.
Raiga: "Next time you lose my time... I'll bury you with the crates."
The others watched in silence, fists clenched, eyes full of hate—but no one dared speak.
Raiga turned to leave.
One man, Grint, couldn't hide his glare.
Raiga stopped. Turned slowly.
Grint looked away.
Raiga strode out, vanishing into the smoke and steel of Zenithar's night.
As his figure dissolved into the shadows, a faint red light pulsed high above—steady, silent, unseen.
From the control rig deep in their hidden refuge, Liara watched through the drone's cold lens.
Her fingers tightened on the controls. Her eyes didn't blink.
She told herself she shouldn't feel this way.
Not about him.
Not about Raiga.
But her heart beat faster, her throat tightened, and in that moment—watching the merciless way he moved, the brutal calm after the storm—
she was afraid.
Afraid of him.
And that...
That hurt more than anything else.
She reached out and killed the feed with a sharp breath.
Darkness filled the screen.