Night didn't bring silence.
Not anymore.
Not after a Reaper-General lost a duel underground and fled like a wounded animal.
The entire city felt it—
a vibration in the streets,
a whisper in the alleys,
a tension in the air like a storm trying to form.
Something had shifted.
Something impossibly dangerous…
and its name was spreading faster than the wind.
Loki.
Above ground, a group of soldiers staggered out of the station entrance—helmets dented, armor scorched, stunned beyond belief.
Civilians gathered instantly.
"What happened down there?"
"Were we attacked?"
"Did something explode?"
"Was it a gas leak?"
The commander shook his head, pale as a ghost.
"No explosion… no gas… we… we witnessed something."
"What?"
The commander swallowed painfully.
"A boy."
"A what?"
"A boy," he repeated, voice cracking slightly.
"With a sword. And eyes like he'd already won."
Whispers erupted.
"A boy…?"
"Is he with Division Zero?"
"No—Division Zero was fighting something."
"What kind of kid scares a Reaper?!"
The commander's hands trembled.
"He didn't dodge danger.
Danger dodged him."
Screens across the city flickered—
billboards, phones, drones, holo-terminals.
A cold voice transmitted:
> CONTAINMENT PRIORITY UPDATED.
NEW TARGET CLASSIFIED: LOKI.
THREAT INDEX: UNKNOWN.
DIRECTORIAL OVERSIGHT INITIATED.
Citizens froze.
Directorial Oversight meant one thing:
The city was now hunting a ghost it didn't understand.
Meanwhile, Loki stepped out of the station with Axis beside him.
The city's panic washed over him like wind.
Not affecting him.
Not touching him.
Barely acknowledged.
His hands were in his pockets.
His breathing calm.
His expression unreadable—
as if he hadn't just fought someone who could level buildings.
Axis, on the other hand, could not believe Loki's pace.
"Slow DOWN—man, do you ever process things?!"
"No," Loki answered casually.
"We literally just fought a Reaper."
"You fought," Loki corrected, "by yelling in the background."
"EXCUSE ME—"
"And we won."
Axis opened his mouth.
Closed it.
Opened it again.
"…Okay, fine. But still—Division Zero already knows. Look around."
Drones hovered above them, scanning the crowd.
Hologram warnings reflected in puddles.
People whispered as Loki passed—eyes wide, terrified, curious.
"Loki…" Axis lowered his voice.
"…your name is everywhere."
Loki raised an eyebrow.
"Good."
Axis stared at him.
"You say that like it's a flex."
"It is," Loki said calmly, stepping around a checkpoint drone without even glancing at it.
Up on a balcony, a teenager filmed Loki with shaky hands.
"That's him," he whispered to his friend.
"That's the guy who fought the Reaper."
Another voice nearby:
"No way—he looks too calm."
Someone else whispered:
"Calm is the scary part."
A taxi driver slowed down as Loki crossed the street.
"That boy… he walks like gravity doesn't apply to him."
In a dark bar on the corner, an information broker muttered:
"If Division Zero is scared of him, the city should be terrified."
Everyone talked.
Loki didn't.
He kept walking.
Every step deliberate.
Every breath slow.
Every movement radiating an aura that said:
If I wanted the city to stop, it would stop.
Axis jogged beside him.
"Listen—people are watching us. A lot of people."
"I noticed."
"Division Zero is escalating by the minute."
"I noticed."
"And the citizens think you're some kind of walking disaster."
Loki shrugged.
"They're not wrong."
Axis stopped walking.
"I'm serious!"
Loki stopped too, finally turning to face him.
His voice stayed soft, but the weight behind it pressed the air downward:
"I'm not hiding."
Axis felt the hairs on his arms rise.
"…Why?"
"Because running tells the world I'm afraid."
Loki turned away again.
"And I'm not."
A child—maybe eight—peeked out from behind a vendor stall as Loki passed.
She didn't run.
She didn't hide.
She held out a tiny flower.
Axis blinked.
"Uh… Loki…?"
Loki glanced at the girl.
She was shaking—terrified—but still holding the flower out to him.
"…For you…"
Loki slowed.
Everyone watched.
He reached out—
—and took the flower gently.
The girl gasped.
Loki placed the stem behind his ear with the calmest expression in the world.
"Thank you."
Her fear melted instantly.
She smiled.
Axis whispered:
"…You have no idea what you just did."
"I accepted a flower."
"No—you just made half this street rethink their entire fear of you."
Loki kept walking.
"Good."
From the top of the tallest spire in the district, a tall figure watched Loki through a transparent mask.
He folded his hands behind his back as the city whispered Loki's name.
"…Interesting."
His voice was low, cold, professional.
"The boy doesn't behave like a threat."
He tapped his earpiece.
"He behaves like a storm."
A drone responded:
> ORDERS, DIRECTOR?
The Director's eyes glowed faintly beneath the mask.
"Observe.
Do not engage."
He watched Loki place his hands in his pockets again, flower in his hair, expression unbothered.
"…I want to see how high this boy can climb before he breaks."
---
Axis looked over and sighed.
"Loki… everyone in this city now knows you exist."
Loki nodded.
"That's the point."
"Why?"
Loki's expression didn't change.
His aura didn't shift.
His voice came out quiet—almost too soft.
But the entire street felt it:
"Because if they know me…
then Division Zero can't erase me."
Axis froze.
"…You're forcing the world to make you real."
Loki walked forward again.
"Exactly."