The rain had stopped, but the streets still gleamed under the pale glow of the lanterns. Shinomiya Reiji stood at the edge of an abandoned market square, the wind carrying the scent of rust and forgotten blood. His coat clung to his back, still damp, and every step he took was echoed by the faint drip of water from the rooftops.
He had been walking for hours, not to escape — but to find the crossroads. Not a literal one, but the kind whispered in underworld rumors. A place where decisions changed fates, where debts were paid in silence and lives were weighed like coins on a scale.
Reiji's gloved hand brushed the handle of his blade as he reached the center of the square. The air here was different — heavy, watching. And then, they came.
Four silhouettes emerged from the misty alleys. No words, no introductions. Their presence alone was enough to declare they weren't here for a conversation. The leader, a tall man with a porcelain mask cracked down the middle, stepped forward.
"You're late," the man's voice was distorted, almost mechanical. "The Court doesn't like being kept waiting."
Reiji didn't answer. He had learned long ago that silence was a weapon sharper than any knife. His eyes scanned their stances, their weapons, the subtle shifts in weight. Every detail was a possible opening, every breath an invitation to strike.
The masked man tilted his head. "You've been given an offer. Tonight, you decide: walk away, or serve the shadow."
A flash of memory hit Reiji — the whispers from The Silent Court, the labyrinth of lies, the trail of corpses left behind. And now, here he was. At their so-called crossroads.
"I don't serve," Reiji said finally, voice low and cold. "I end things."
The man chuckled behind the mask. "Then end us."
Steel sang as four blades were drawn at once. The square, moments ago a graveyard of silence, erupted into chaos. Reiji's movements were precise, calculated — each strike meant to dismantle, to cripple. The porcelain mask shattered with a single upward slash, revealing a face pale from blood loss and rage.
The others fell back, regrouping, but Reiji advanced. His heart wasn't racing. His mind wasn't clouded. He was at the crossroads — and his choice had already been made.
Somewhere deep in the shadows, unseen eyes watched, recording every movement. This wasn't just a fight. It was a test. And the outcome would decide whether the shadows swallowed him whole… or feared him forever.