Chapter 4 — Whispers and Shadows
[Raiden Mei's POV]
I've always lived in someone's shadow.
My father's legacy. My family's name. My own image—polished and perfect. People looked at me and saw a Raiden, not a person. Elegance, grace, control. All expectations. All roles I didn't ask for.
Even as a child, I learned to be poised. To walk with dignity, speak with precision, and smile at investors who only wanted to see the heiress of ME Corp.
And yet, I didn't resent it.
Not at first.
My father wasn warm, and he was fair. He taught me responsibility and accountability. His rules were harsh, but I understood the intent. He believed power was weight—and I had to learn to carry it.
Then the world crumbled.
It started quietly. A whisper at first—"Your father was arrested."
Then came the flood.
Fraud. Corruption. Treason.
The media twisted everything. They showed half-truths, fabricated evidence. The board of directors severed all ties. His assets were frozen. Our name dragged through dirt.
And I... was left alone.
Even at school, whispers grew like mold.
I told myself to stay composed. That it would pass. That justice would clear his name.
But the silence remained.
The isolation deepened.
And then... I started hearing it.
"You're weak."
The first time, I thought it was my own voice. A harsh self-criticism. A stress-induced slip.
But it kept happening.
"Everyone leaves you."
"You were always meant to be alone."
"You don't deserve their smiles."
I tried to drown it out. With books. Training. With Kiana's laughter. With Aiden's quiet strength.
But the voice remained—slithering at the edge of thought. I never saw its source. I never heard its tone.
It just... was.
And it knew exactly when to speak.
Every time I felt warmth.
Every time I smiled.
Every time I let myself believe I wasn't alone.
"He'll leave too."
I flinched at that one. My hands trembled. I stared down at them.
Aiden's image surfaced. His smirk after sparring. His calm words. His strength. The way his eyes sometimes met mine—like he saw more than I showed.
I hated how the voice infected those moments.
I hated that I listened.
But I still smiled when we sat together.
Even if I feared it would all be ripped away.
Even if some shadow inside me longed for control.
Even if, somewhere in that darkness...
Something ancient was waiting.
[Aiden Yukishiro's POV]
The moon was full. The streets were mostly empty.
Aiden walked home alone, his hands in his coat pockets, footsteps soft on the sidewalk.
He had stayed later at the dojo, helping Mei lock up. Kiana had already skipped home, whining about a new gacha event. Mei had smiled, just slightly, when their fingers brushed as she handed him his bag.
It lingered with him.
So did the subtle tremor in her hand.
Something's bothering her, he thought.
He would ask her about it—soon.
A rustle behind him snapped him back to the present.
He stopped.
Then moved.
Fast.
A flash of silver sliced past where his head had been. He ducked low, spun, and raised his hand.
Infinity.
"What the-... The bullet stops".
A translucent veil shimmered around him. The air itself pushed away any incoming projectile or force.
Ten figures surrounded him, clad in black. Tactical gear. Blades, guns, coordination.
Professionals.
Aiden's expression darkened.
"They sent ten? That's flattering."
One raised a gun.
Aiden blinked. The bullet stopped midair—suspended an inch from his cheek. It quivered before dissolving, atomized by spatial dissonance.
He stepped forward.
And the battle began.
It wasn't a fight. It was an execution.
The assassins struck with formation tactics—two-man flanks, overlapping fire lanes, suppressing spells. But none of it touched him.
Aiden moved like smoke. Dodging was unnecessary. Their attacks never reached him.
His katana sang.
Infinity-enhanced strikes passed through armor like paper. He didn't aim to kill—not yet. Tendons severed. Legs disabled. Guns broken. Bodies slammed against walls by the curvature of warped space.
He cut through their formation like wind through grass. Every motion was efficient—refined. His blade left trails of shimmering light.
One tried to flee.
Aiden appeared behind him with a shimmer.
"No one leaves."
He captured all ten.
An hour later
The warehouse was cold. Makeshift chairs had been lined up. Ten restrained bodies slumped in chains reinforced with my honkai and curse energy.
It's been 3 months since her tries to master using it but he understood it quick and been using it to enhance tools.
Aiden crouched in front of the leader. His own shirt was stained with blood and dust. He rolled up a sleeve and wiped his face with a handkerchief.
"Who sent you?"
Silence.
The man spat at him.
The saliva froze midair.
Then shattered.
Aiden's eyes flickered blue.
"Right. Rude."
He stood and walked behind the man, pressing a palm to his spine.
A blue colors energy start to gather to his finger aiming it to the man like a gun.
"Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue" Aiden said in a cold tone
The man screamed.
It wasn't pain. Not physical. It was dissonance—a forced unraveling of the senses. Light bent. Time stretched. Nerves confused signal for agony.
Aiden spoke again.
"You attacked me. You endangered two people I care about. I could strip you into atoms and no one would find your remains."
More silence.
Another pulse.
More screams.
He walked to the next. And the next. Each refused. Each endured the torment with clenched teeth.
"Damn fanatics," he muttered.
Eventually, he stopped.
Ten broken bodies. Unyielding.
He closed his eyes.
His heart pounded. Not from anger. Not from adrenaline.
From resolve.
He couldn't leave loose ends.
He stood above them and whispered.
"Sorry."
The Infinity flared.
Ten bodies evaporated. No trace left.
Ashes into wind.
Aiden collapsed onto a nearby crate, breathing slowly.
His shirt clung to him. His katana lay beside him, sheathed.
The warehouse creaked in the wind.
He leaned back against the wall and stared at the ceiling.
"Cocolia..."
His eyes narrowed.
He knew who had sent them. The timing, the precision—it all pointed back to the puppetmaster in shadow.
But this was no longer just his fight.
Mei was involved.
And if they ever laid a finger on her or Kiana—
He would make them regret it.
He stared at the flickering light above him. The humming electricity sounded like faint voices, barely louder than the blood pulsing in his ears.
He thought of Mei again—her smile, her hesitation. Her strength.
He had to protect that light.
He would.
Outside, rain began to fall.
And somewhere, in the back of Mei's mind, the voice whispered again.
"You'll lose him too."
A pause.
"And when you do... I'll be waiting."