"Kael! Left now—!"
Raegal's voice tore through the static in Kael's earpiece as he pushed into the smoke.
"NO! NOT THERE—!" Kael shouted, voice cracking—BANG!
Then, silence.
The door creaked open, a low, mournful groan—like it grieved what lay beyond.
Kael froze. His breath hitched, trembling in his throat."…No… no, no…"
The whisper broke apart mid‑air.
Raegal's body slumped against the wall. Blood poured from a wound in his neck.
The shattered ceiling lamps painted the room in angry red streaks.
His father's eyes were open. Blood trickled from his mouth into them.
Kael's knees gave way before he even noticed. The world tilted. His ears rang. For a heartbeat, only the sound of dripping blood remained.
Then—
""Prendilo, subito!""
Italian. Mercenaries.
Instinct screamed.
Kael sprinted toward the nearest window.
"AHHHHH!"
Glass exploded outward, slicing his arm as he plunged through. Wind whipped at his face—vision spinning—until his fingers found the grappling hook on his wrist.
The cable shot out. The sudden jerk nearly dislocated his shoulder, but he swung hard and broke through another window.
Wood splintered as he rolled across the dusty floor of an abandoned house.
Everything hurt—back, ribs, mind.
He forced himself upright, gun trembling in his grip. No one followed. Outside, sirens wailed through the storm of gunfire.
He exhaled. The air reeked of smoke and metal.Click.He tapped his smartwatch.
"Hey… h-how's everyone holding up?" His voice was weak, shaking.Only static answered.
--
"Father… no…"
The word fell like ash. His throat burned with it.He looked down.
His leg was torn open, blood soaking his boot. A bullet had punched through his knee. Pain surged in blinding waves—white, screaming, endless.
"I can heal… I just… need to…"
"You okay?"
The voice came from nowhere. Everywhere. His own—but colder. Detached. Noir.
"Fuck you!"
Kael roared.
"No, fuck you. It's not my fault my plan didn't work."
"Well technically—it was your plan, Kael."
"Shut up…" he groaned.He stared at the bullet wound, hands trembling as he drew his combat knife.
His breathing came in short, shallow bursts."…I can do this…"He dug the blade in.
"AHHHHHH SHIT!"
The scream ripped from his throat as blood spattered across the boards.
"See? Not that hard. Quit whining like a bitch," Noir muttered.Kael's breaths slowed. He slumped against the wall, vision tilting at the edges.
Before darkness swallowed him, the watch hissed softly—a near‑imperceptible whisper beneath the static.
A voice.
A ghost.
SAFEHOUSE POV
"WHY WON'T YOU—!" Alex shouted.Knives clashed—metal screaming against metal.
"How is she this strong?"
"I won't keep up at this rate—" Think. Think. THINK.
"Right!"
Alex lunged sideways, boots skidding.
"You can't run from me, Alex," Lily said, distant—emotionless.
"Funny. I don't remember telling you my name!"
Sweat beaded down his face, yet he grinned.
"NOW!"Alex ducked—just as John burst through the right door.
Lily's eyes widened. The revolver's barrel stared straight at her.
BANG!
"You… goddamn it… you killed her." Alex crawled away from the lifeless body.
"I... I should have done something else…" John said quietly.
Alex gulped, heart hammering. Her eyes barely hung in their sockets, brain matter streaking the wall.
It was a painting he couldn't unsee, burned into his memory.
A sharp pain stabbed through his chest. If he hadn't ducked, that would have been him—
or maybe it was just guilt gnawing through.
"…Okay, okay… we're fine… what now?"
Alex breathed. Changing the topic.
"First... let's bury her somewhere…" John sighed.
--
"She was his sister…"
"Only he made the call," John replied, voice steady but hollow.
"What—no… no, that's not him…" Alex muttered, shaken.
"Damn it."
Alex forced himself to his feet.
As John bent to lift her, blood trickled from her wounded eye like a thin river, creeping along the carpet fibers.
Alex couldn't look away from the corpse.It reminded him of someone he'd already lost.
"She and mother had the same hair." Alex thought.
His eyes immediately drifted to the floor.
"What....what the hell is wrong with me."