"Target secured."
The voice was calm, but laced with tension. The squad of black-clad agents stood in the dim light of a rooftop, overlooking the charred remains of the Kahaderi apartment.
"Repeat — family eliminated. One survivor extracted. The boy."
A brief silence.
Then, another voice — cold, smooth, composed:"Status?"
The squad leader exhaled slowly. "He… saw it coming, sir. The flashbang. Somehow, he noticed. The kid's instincts kicked in seconds before it detonated."
A murmur spread among the operatives.
"Tactical awareness at five years old. Reflexes. Calm under pressure. Genetic memory, perhaps. The kid's father — a marine legend. It's possible the boy's inherited more than just blood."
From the other side of the line, there was only silence. And then — a chuckle. Quiet. Calculated. Almost delighted.
Axios was listening.
The man behind the world's most feared assassination network — a shadow organization with no name, no flags, no survivors. Governments denied their existence out of fear. Corporations offered tribute to keep them away. Axios was the eye of this unseen storm — and now, he had found something… interesting.
"Bring the boy to me," Axios ordered, his voice like velvet and venom. "I'll mold him myself. I want to see what a wolf born from grief looks like."
In the back of a black, unmarked van, Itsumi stirred.
Gas hissed quietly from vents above him, keeping his mind submerged in fog. Every breath dragged like lead through his chest. His fingers twitched — barely. His eyelids fluttered, but remained closed.
Where… where am I...?
His thoughts were fragments. Images. Blood. Cake. Silence.
He tried to speak — nothing came. Tried to move — his arms refused to respond.
Then, eventually, the gas stopped.
Voices. Doors opening.Hands grabbing him.His feet dragged over cold tile.
As his vision returned, the world bled red.
The room was bathed in crimson light. The walls were dark — metallic, sterile. Monitors blinked in the background, and cables ran like veins across the floor.
Before him stood a man.
Tall. Impeccably dressed. Eyes sharp like a blade.His smile — wide, cruel, and wrong.
"So," the man said. "You're the boy."
Itsumi blinked, barely able to lift his head.
"My name is Axios," the man continued. "And from this moment forward, I will be your father, your teacher… your god."
He leaned closer, his grin widening.
"You will cry. You will scream. You will beg for mercy no one will give.You will learn pain, not as a punishment — but as a teacher."
"You will kill when told. You will forget your name.The world took everything from you. And now, you will become the world's nightmare."
Itsumi's eyes widened faintly, but he couldn't speak.
"Say goodbye to innocence," Axios whispered. "The lamb is gone.It's time for the wolf to rise."