The moment Ezra and Rei stepped out of the vault, the sky above Sector 3 had already changed.
Not visually. Not by weather.
It was the feeling.
The pressure of being watched—not by drones or scouts or mercs—but by something colder. Trained. Lethal.
Rei felt it too. She tightened her grip on her blade, her gaze sweeping the rooftops.
"We need to move," she said.
Ezra didn't argue.
They took the back alleys, shadows tucked tight between abandoned towers and gutted stores. The Bone Rat curled under Ezra's cloak, twitching every few seconds.
They reached a drainage tunnel on the edge of Sector 3's border. Rei knelt beside the entrance, checking for traps.
Then the world snapped.
Literally.
A sound like fractured silence rippled through the alley.
Ezra's body jerked backward, thrown against the wall by a pressure wave that folded the air around him.
The Bone Rat hissed. Rei screamed his name.
And then they appeared.
Reapers of the Dawn Authority
They weren't armored like regular Guild agents.
No, these wore robes—ink-black, etched with silver thread that glowed faintly. Their faces were covered with smooth, mirrored masks that shimmered like water. No eye holes. No voices.
Three of them.
Each one radiating Rank A pressure.
Ezra pulled himself to his feet, staggering, already bleeding from a gash on his brow he hadn't seen happen.
"Targets confirmed," came a cold mechanical voice from the mask of the first Reaper. "Ezra Vale. Hollowborn. Engage with capture-level force. Terminate companion if resistant."
Rei drew her blade. "You're not laying a finger on him."
The second Reaper raised a hand—bones and glyphs forming in mid-air like puzzle pieces.
[Hostile Detected – Combat Initiated]
Ezra's system screamed warnings.
His heart was hammering.
[Soul Gem Activation Suggested – Chrono Rift Ready]
He gritted his teeth.
"Bone Armament."
The air rippled as armor snapped up his arm in jagged swirls.
"Hollow Mercy."
The scythe surged to his hand in a flash of shadowed light.
Behind him, his undead rose: Gravetusk, the enhanced Ghoul, and two fresh Bone Walkers formed from scavenged bodies buried in the sewers beneath them.
He pointed the scythe forward.
"Rei—left flank. Don't stop moving."
She didn't answer.
She was already running.
The Fight Begins
The first Reaper moved like a ghost—no footfalls, no sound. He appeared before Ezra in a blink, blade of pure mana raised.
Ezra barely parried with the scythe, the force of the strike sending shockwaves through his arms.
He staggered, reversed his grip, and swung wide.
The Reaper ducked, spinning in a blur of robes—and then stabbed upward.
[Chrono Rift – Activated]
The world paused.
Ezra's undead froze—shimmering, intangible for two seconds.
Ezra used it.
He stepped into Gravetusk's position mid-attack, letting the enemy blade pass through the phased creature.
Then, when the Rift ended—
Snap.
Ezra struck with the scythe, cleaving through the Reaper's shoulder.
Black fluid—not blood—splattered.
The Reaper's mask cracked. He hissed.
"Adaptation required."
Ezra didn't give him time.
[Soul Siphon – Triggered]
Gravetusk howled, growing jagged bone plates as it fed.
Rei clashed with the second Reaper across the field, using terrain to dodge a barrage of thrown mana needles. Her movements were sharp—smarter than Ezra had seen before.
But the third Reaper… was gone.
Ezra's eyes widened.
"Rei—above!"
Too late.
The third Reaper dropped from the rooftop like a vulture and slammed her into the ground, driving a blade through her side.
She screamed.
Ezra moved before he thought.
[Mark Prey – Activated: Reaper #3]
[Chrono Lock Triggered – 1.5s Stun]
The Reaper froze mid-kill.
Ezra closed the distance and buried Hollow Mercy in its back.
The Reaper convulsed.
Then exploded in a burst of mana backlash.
Ezra hit the ground hard, scythe knocked away.
Smoke. Pain. Static in his skull.
But when he turned—Rei was still breathing.
He crawled to her, dragging her back behind cover.
"Stay with me," he said.
She coughed. "Just a scratch."
He pressed a stim patch to her chest, her blood hot under his fingers.
The first Reaper was limping now. The second was missing an arm.
They were powerful—but they weren't expecting Ezra to fight like this.
To use a scythe made from war and death.
To command undead enhanced with soul fragments.
To choose death… like it was a tool.
Ezra stood again.
The scythe returned to his hand with a pulse of violet light.
[Hollow Mercy – Resonating]
Slot 2 Active – Chrono Rift Recharged
"Let's end this."
Final Clash
He charged—not like a soldier, but like a weapon.
The first Reaper raised a barrier of glass mana. Ezra phased through it using Chrono Rift and slammed into the Reaper's chest, blade carving upward.
[Soul Drain – Triggered]
The Reaper collapsed, armor twitching.
Ezra spun just in time to catch the second Reaper's blade with his own.
Steel screamed. Mana cracked.
Then Rei, bleeding but alive, threw her plasma knife—
—straight into the Reaper's mask.
The mirror shattered.
And behind it?
Nothing.
No face. No skin. Just light.
The body flickered, stumbled, and dissolved.
Ezra stood panting in the silence.
His system chimed.
[Combat Complete: Threat Level A Neutralized]
[Experience Gained: +421]
[Level Up: 8 → 10]
[System Alert: You are now officially ranked.]
[Rank: F+]
Ezra blinked.
Finally. Ranked.
After everything.
He looked down at his hands.
The scythe shimmered. Gem slots glowed.
He wasn't nothing anymore.
Later – Sector 9 Outskirts
Ezra and Rei limped into a burned-out building near the sector wall.
Rei collapsed onto an old mattress.
Ezra sat beside her, wrapping gauze around her ribs.
"So," she muttered. "We're officially wanted by half the city."
Ezra smirked faintly. "Half? That's a good start."
She elbowed him.
The Bone Rat chirped, curling beside them.
Then, his system pinged again.
[New Objective Unlocked: Third Gem Signal Detected]
Location: Black Spine Mountains. Gate Status: Corrupted. Affinity: SPACE.
Note: This Gate has no exit.
Ezra's eyes narrowed.
A dungeon with no exit?
Or a trap.
Either way… he was going.
Because he'd promised Milo.
Because he'd chosen Rei.
Because one day, he might have a child.
And when that day came…
He would be strong enough to hold the world at bay.
Even if it took all five Gems.
Even if it cost him everything.