The rain had returned by the time Shinomiya Reiji left the square.
Behind him, the bodies lay silent — three broken, one barely breathing. The masked leader's blood trailed into the gutter, washed away by the night.
Reiji didn't look back.
The streets of Minato Ward seemed emptier than usual, even for this hour. Lanterns swayed on rusted chains, their light flickering as if afraid to reveal too much. Somewhere above, a crow cawed once before disappearing into the fog.
That was when he heard it.
A voice.
Soft. Low. Too close.
> "You survived."
Reiji stopped walking. The voice didn't come from in front of him, or behind him, but from everywhere. The kind of voice that crawled into the ear and stayed there.
"The Silent Court has taken notice," it continued. "You've shown defiance… yet you've earned the right to listen."
Reiji didn't speak. Instead, he scanned the alleys, the rooftops, the mist. No one. No movement. Only the voice.
"You stand on a path that leads to only two ends," the whisper said. "Service… or annihilation. The Court will give you one chance. There will not be another."
Something cold brushed against his shoulder — and when he spun around, there was nothing. Only a black feather drifting to the wet cobblestones.
> "Midnight. The old district. The Hall with No Doors."
The whisper faded, leaving only the rain. Reiji stood still for a long moment, the feather at his feet. The Hall with No Doors was more than a location — it was a place you went to vanish. Some entered and came out as different people. Most didn't come out at all.
Reiji bent down, picked up the feather, and tucked it into his coat.
If this was the Court's invitation, he would answer. But not as a pawn.
If they wanted to test him, they'd soon learn that he was not the kind of shadow they could control