Chapter 3: The Luxury of a Shadow
The subway train was nearly empty as it rattled through the dark tunnels of New York. I sat in the corner, my back pressed against the cold plastic seat, clutching my backpack like it held the last piece of oxygen on Earth. Inside that bag, hidden under a dirty shirt, was the rusted phone. And inside that phone was fifty thousand dollars.
I kept checking my banking app every two minutes. $50,000. It wasn't disappearing. It wasn't a glitch. For the first time in my twenty years of life, I wasn't wondering if I could afford a three-dollar slice of pizza. I was wondering where I was going to hide.
I looked at my reflection in the dark subway window. The 'Body Reconstruction' from the phone had changed me. My skin was clearer, my shoulders were broader, and my eyes... they had a sharp, silver spark in them that wasn't there before. I looked healthy. I looked like someone who mattered. But deep down, I was still the same Ethan who had spent the last three months sleeping on a thin mattress in a room that smelled like mold.
"I have to move," I whispered to myself. "They saw me. Mammon knows my face."
I got off at the 42nd Street station. The bright neon lights of Times Square usually made me feel small and invisible. Rich tourists in expensive coats would push past me as if I were a ghost. But tonight, I walked through the crowd with my head held high. I felt like I was the one holding all the secrets.
I walked into a high-end clothing store. The salesman looked at my dirty hoodie and my boots covered in junk-yard mud. He started to walk toward me, probably to tell me to leave. But before he could speak, I pulled out a thick roll of hundred-dollar bills I had just withdrawn from an ATM.
The salesman froze. His rude expression melted into a fake, wide smile. "How can I help you, sir?"
"Give me the best jacket you have. And a pair of boots that don't leak," I said. My voice didn't shake.
Ten minutes later, I walked out wearing a black tactical jacket and sturdy leather boots. I threw my old, muddy clothes in a trash can. It felt like I was throwing away my old life. But as I turned a corner into a quieter street, the phone in my pocket vibrated with a violent, purple light.
[WARNING: HIGH-LEVEL THREAT DETECTED.]
[ENFORCER IDENTIFIED: 'THE HOUND' (LEVEL B).]
[ORDERS: CAPTURE THE DEBT-COLLECTOR. DEAD OR ALIVE.]
My breath hitched. I looked around. The street was empty, but the shadows under the streetlights seemed to be moving. Suddenly, a man stepped out from behind a parked car. He was huge, at least seven feet tall, wearing a long leather coat. His eyes weren't golden like Mammon's—they were a burning, angry red.
"Ethan," the man said. His voice sounded like two heavy stones grinding together. "You took something that doesn't belong to you. The God of War wants his property back."
"The God of War?" I laughed, though my heart was hammering against my ribs. "You mean the CEO of Ares Tech? Tell him if he wants his luck back, he should have paid his bills on time."
The Hound didn't smile. He reached into his coat and pulled out a jagged blade that glowed with a dull red heat. "I'm not here to talk, boy."
He moved faster than any human I had ever seen. He was a blur of red light. I barely had time to react. I dove to the right, feeling the heat of the blade slice through the air exactly where my head had been a second ago.
[SYSTEM ALERT: ENEMY IS FASTER THAN USER.]
[RECOMMENDED ACTION: USE 'INVISIBLE CLOAK' (TRIAL VERSION).]
I didn't hesitate. I tapped the screen of the phone. Suddenly, a cool wave of energy washed over my body. I looked down at my hands and gasped—they were turning see-through. In three seconds, I was completely invisible to the human eye.
The Hound stopped. He looked around, his red eyes glowing brighter as he scanned the alleyway. "A cloaking skill? You're just a scavenger! You shouldn't have access to such high-level tools!"
I stayed perfectly still, holding my breath. My heart was beating so loud I was sure he could hear it. I watched him walk past me, his heavy boots making deep thuds on the pavement. He was looking for me near the trash bins, thinking I was hiding like a rat.
But I wasn't a rat anymore.
I crept up behind him, stepping as lightly as a cat. I felt the blue whip coiling around my fist. I didn't want to just run. I needed to show them that I wasn't an easy target.
I swung the whip with everything I had. The blue sapphire light cut through my invisibility, hitting the Hound right across his broad back.
CRACK!
The man roared in pain, his leather coat burning where the whip had touched him. He spun around, swinging his red blade wildly, but I was already moving. I used the energy in my legs to jump onto a fire escape ladder, climbing high above him.
"You're going to pay for that!" the Hound screamed, looking up.
"Put it on my tab!" I shouted back.
I didn't stay to fight him to the death. My invisibility was running out. I ran across the rooftops, jumping from one building to the next. The wind was whipping against my face, and for the first time, I felt alive. I felt free.
I finally stopped at a luxury apartment building in the Upper West Side. It was a place for the ultra-rich. I used the phone to 'hack' the digital lock of a penthouse that was listed as 'Empty/For Sale.'
I walked inside and gasped. The apartment was massive. The floors were pure white marble, and the windows went from the floor to the ceiling, showing the entire glowing heart of New York City. There was a king-sized bed with silk sheets and a bathroom that was bigger than my entire old apartment.
I walked to the kitchen and opened the fridge. It was empty, but it didn't matter. I picked up the house phone and ordered the most expensive steak and lobster from a nearby 24-hour restaurant.
When the food arrived, I sat on the floor by the window, looking at the lights of the city. I ate like a king. The steak was juicy, the butter was rich, and for once, I wasn't worried about tomorrow.
But as I finished my meal, I looked at the broken phone sitting on the marble table. The screen was still glowing with that mysterious blue light. I realized that this luxury—this food, this bed, this view—it wasn't free. It was bought with the blood of Gods.
[NOTIFICATION: NEW DEBT DETECTED.]
[TARGET: THE GODDESS OF BEAUTY (APHRODITE).]
[LOCATION: THE MET GALA, NEW YORK.]
[TIME LIMIT: 24 HOURS.]
I sighed and leaned my head against the cool glass of the window. I had fifty thousand dollars in the bank, but I had a target on my back that was growing bigger every hour. The God of War was sending hunters, and now I had to go after the Goddess of Beauty in the middle of the biggest party in the world.
"No rest for the broke," I whispered to the empty room.
I laid down on the silk bed, feeling the soft pillows sink under my head. It was the best sleep I had ever had, but my dreams were full of red eyes and golden coins. I knew that tomorrow, the hunt would begin again. And this time, I wouldn't just be collecting luck. I would be collecting heads.