The night was silent.
Too silent.
Jin Hwan stood in front of the graves. Two crude wooden crosses marked the resting place of his wife and daughter. His fists bled from how tightly he had clenched them.
"I failed you…" His voice trembled, low and broken.
"But I swear… I'll make them bleed. I'll burn their world down."
The shadows around him stirred — alive, restless, feeding on his rage. His eyes glowed faintly, not with tears, but with something darker: power.
He left the cemetery with only one purpose: vengeance.
No police. No justice.
Only him.
The trail was easy to follow. The Fire Dragons weren't subtle. They painted their initials, DF, wherever they went — a mark of arrogance.
And tonight… Jin was hunting.
He tracked them to a warehouse on the edge of the city. Music boomed inside, mixed with laughter and drunken shouting. They thought themselves untouchable.
Jin stepped into the darkness of the alley, his shadow stretching unnaturally across the walls. His body trembled — not from fear, but anticipation.
The System had awakened.
Cold, mechanical, emotionless words echoed inside his head:
[System Activation Complete.]
[Shadow Hunter identified.]
[New Quest: Slaughter the Fire Dragons.]
[Reward: Evolution.]
Jin's lips twisted into something between a smile and a snarl.
Perfect.
He pushed the doors open. The warehouse went silent for a second, then filled with mocking laughter.
"Look who we got here!" one thug sneered.
"The husband of that b*tch we killed!"
The others roared with laughter.
Jin's answer was simple.
From the shadows, a blade formed in his hand — black, jagged, alive.
"I am your nightmare."
That night, screams tore through the warehouse. Blood splattered against the walls. One by one, the Fire Dragons fell, their laughter replaced with terror as the shadow consumed them.
And in the middle of the carnage, Jin stood — drenched in blood, eyes glowing like an abyss.
The hunt had just begun.
End of Chapter 2. The shadows rise.