Kael wandered through the semi-deserted city until he found Sophie near the old railway station. She was alone, wrapped in her light coat, the only spot of color in a world that was turning gray. When she saw him, her eyes lit up with desperate recognition.
"Kael! They took me away from the bar... but the bar doesn't exist anymore, does it?" she cried, running towards him.
But before they could reunite, a black car with tinted windows sped onto the sidewalk, blocking their path. Three hitmen stepped out of the vehicle, armed with submachine guns. Kael pushed Sophie behind a concrete pillar.
"Stay down, Sophie! Don't look!" he ordered, drawing his assault rifle.
A brutal firefight began. Kael was no longer the hesitant soldier of the previous days. He fired with lethal precision, aiming at the hitmen's joints and heads. Every time a bullet hit its mark, the black mist exploded into the air. He managed to blow up the hitmen's car by hitting the fuel tank, creating an explosion that lit up the night.
One of the hitmen, wounded but still standing, approached Kael. "The Commander... wants your most precious memory, Kael. You cannot protect her forever."
Kael finished the enemy with a point-blank headshot. He grabbed Sophie by the hand and dragged her towards the subway tunnels. He knew this was only the beginning. The Hitman Organization would hunt him relentlessly, and the Entity would watch him from the top of every building. But now Kael had a mission: to protect the last person who still knew his name. The baptism of lead was over; now began the war for the survival of memory.