The city didn't sleep that night.
Not after seeing Loki walk through the streets like he owned them— calm, unshakeable, flower still tucked behind his ear as if it belonged there.
People whispered. Screens replayed his face. Division Zero scrambled behind closed doors.
But only one person made a move.
The Director.
And his move was not loud.
It was precise.
Deadly.
A whisper in the dark.
Deep beneath the city, in a sealed white chamber, lights flickered on one by one, revealing a man chained to the floor.
Tall. Perfectly still. Expression empty.
A number burned across his collarbone:
H1.
Hunter One.
A voice filled the chamber—calm, clinical, and cold:
> "Hunter One. Activation protocol."
The man's eyes opened, glowing faintly like dying stars.
He didn't speak.
He didn't blink.
He simply existed— and existence itself seemed uncomfortable around him.
A metal door slid open.
The Director stepped inside.
"Wake completely."
Hunter One's pupils contracted sharply. A low hum filled the air.
The Director circled him like a scientist observing a weapon.
"A Reaper-General lost a duel," he said evenly. "To a boy named Loki."
No reaction.
Only breathing.
Slow. Mechanical.
"You will find the boy," the Director continued, "but you will not kill him."
Hunter One's head moved slightly—barely a nod.
"You will measure him."
The Director's voice lowered, almost amused.
"And then you will return."
Because Hunter One didn't fail missions.
And he didn't break.
Elsewhere in the city, Loki sat on the edge of a rooftop, legs dangling, eyes half-closed as the wind brushed against him.
Axis stood behind him, pacing.
"Okay, so let me get this straight," Axis said. "You walked through the city, took a kid's flower, ignored twenty drones, and now everyone's talking about you. We should be hiding. Planning. Breathing."
Loki didn't open his eyes.
"I'm breathing."
Axis threw his hands up. "Barely! You breathe like a bored prince."
Loki smirked slightly.
"Axis."
"What?"
"Someone powerful is moving."
Axis froze. "…How do you know?"
Loki finally opened his eyes.
The rooftop wind shifted. The city lights flickered in the distance. A tremor passed through the air—
—so faint Axis didn't notice.
Loki did.
He tilted his head.
"Because the city just got quieter."
Axis blinked. "Quieter? It's loud as—"
Loki stood.
Aura rising just a fraction. Not violent. Not threatening.
Just present.
"Something's coming."
In an alley far below, the shadows thickened— not unnaturally, not magically—
but like the world itself was making space for a presence it didn't want to touch.
Hunter One stepped into the street.
People walking nearby didn't notice him.
Not consciously.
But their instincts screamed.
Mothers picked up their children. Dogs whimpered and backed away. A man dropped his drink without understanding why.
The Hunter didn't look at them.
His head tilted upward.
He sensed Loki.
And Loki sensed him sensing him.
On the rooftop, Loki's lips twitched.
"He's fast," Loki murmured.
Axis stepped beside him, confused. "Who's fast?"
Loki didn't answer.
He didn't need to.
Because the moment Axis spoke, Hunter One was suddenly standing at the far end of the rooftop, as if he'd always been there.
Axis stumbled back.
"What—THE—WHO—how—"
Hunter One didn't acknowledge Axis.
He looked only at Loki.
Studying him. Reading him.
Evaluating.
Loki placed his hands in his pockets.
The flower behind his ear didn't move.
"Hunter," Loki said quietly.
It wasn't a question.
Hunter One took a single step forward.
The rooftop cracked beneath his foot.
Not because he tried to break it—
but because his presence was too dense for the structure.
Axis swore under his breath.
"Loki, this guy is serious—"
"He's a measuring stick," Loki said calmly.
Hunter One blurred.
One moment he was standing. The next— he was directly in front of Loki, fist inches from Loki's skull.
Axis screamed.
Loki tilted his head one centimeter
and the punch missed by the thickness of a breath.
Wind exploded behind him, shattering part of the rooftop railing.
Hunter One didn't pause.
Another strike. Another. Another.
Each one fast enough to break stone.
Loki slipped around them like he was stepping around raindrops.
Not worried.
Not tense.
Almost bored.
Axis's jaw dropped.
"How are you THIS calm?!"
Loki shrugged mid-dodge.
"He's not trying to kill me."
Hunter One stopped abruptly.
Their faces were inches apart.
"Loki," he said, voice empty, flat, almost robotic.
"Threat level: unmeasured."
Loki blinked once.
"You talk."
Hunter One stepped back.
"You exceed baseline projections."
"That's good," Loki replied.
"No," Hunter One said.
"It is not."
Hunter One shifted his stance.
This time the air bent around him.
Even Loki's eyes sharpened.
"…Ah," Loki murmured. "Now he's serious."
Axis backed away so fast he almost fell off the roof.
Hunter One vanished.
The impact hit Loki square in the chest—
the first hit anyone had landed on him since the Reaper-General.
The shockwave split the rooftop concrete and sent Loki sliding backward several meters.
Axis yelled, "LOKI!"
Dust rose.
Silence followed.
Hunter One remained still, analyzing.
"…Strength level adjusted," he said softly. "Target integrity stable."
The dust cleared.
Loki brushed off his clothes, expression unchanged.
The flower was still behind his ear.
"You hit harder than the Reaper," Loki said.
Hunter One didn't answer.
He simply watched Loki.
Measured him.
Loki stretched his neck to the side.
"Alright," he said calmly.
Now it's my turn