Rain poured in sheets, drumming against steel and concrete. The city's neon glow shimmered on the wet streets, making the world look like it was bleeding color.
From the shadows of a ruined rooftop, Kaien watched. His breath slow. His heartbeat steady.
A black tattoo — the Key of Power Sigil — wrapped around his arm, the mark dark as the night itself.
"Target is on the move. Strix. Confirmed sigil wielder. Kill or strip the sigil. Leave no witnesses. No traces."
Kaien tapped the comm once to confirm. No words. He didn't waste them.
He moved. Silent as mist, dropping from the rooftop into a narrow alley. His boots splashed in puddles as he ran, weaving through the skeleton of Valeborne's forgotten district.
The target was near.
Kaien spotted him — a tall man in a torn coat, breath fogging in the cold. The faint silver glow of a sigil traced down his neck.
Strix.
The ex-agent turned rogue. The government called him a threat. A terrorist.
Strix's eyes widened as Kaien appeared from the dark.
"Shit…"
Steel wires erupted from Strix's sigil, slashing toward Kaien like fangs.
Kaien slid low, rain spraying from his coat. The wires sliced the air above him. He came up fast, hand outstretched. The Key Sigil on his arm pulsed, black lines shining under the storm.
His fingers gripped Strix's wrist.
⚡ Steal.
Strix gasped as the glow of his sigil dimmed, the wires vanishing mid-swing. His knees buckled as his power drained into Kaien's mark.
"You… you're just like them…"
Kaien's eyes narrowed.
"I'm nothing like you."
⚡ Erase.
Black energy flared. Strix's sigil burned away. leaving only scorched skin where the mark had been.
Strix collapsed in the rain, his strength gone.
"Kaien… they'll use you. Just like they used me. When they're done, you'll see…"
The light in Strix's eyes faded.
Kaien stood there as the rain washed the blood into the gutter. The Key of Power's mark on his arm had spread — the black pattern larger, reaching toward his shoulder.
For a moment, he just stared at it.
Kaien raised his comm.
"Target neutralized. Sigil stripped. No witnesses."
"Understood. Return to Central Command. Debrief at 0200. Good work, Kaien."
He lowered the device, his reflection visible in a puddle at his feet. Cold. Empty. A shadow wearing the face of a man.
Kaien turned, disappearing into the night.
The city lights kept glowing, unaware of the monsters they had created — and the one they called their weapon.