The room felt quieter than usual.
Kael stepped inside, tossing his sweat-damp hoodie onto the back of the chair. His knuckles were bruised, and one sleeve was torn. Nothing new. The city had teeth — and so did he.
Levi was already there, sitting on the bed with his bag half-zipped, eyes low.
Kael noticed the folded uniform. The clean sneakers. The hesitation.
"Something wrong?" he asked.
Levi didn't look up right away.
"My uncle called," he said finally. "He wants me in Laguna. Said I can finish school there. He got me in."
Kael was still. No surprise on his face. Just silence.
"It's a better place. No gang tags on the walls. Real classrooms. I leave in two days."
Kael sat on the edge of the bed, unwrapping the tape from his wrist, slowly.
"This the last one, then?" he asked.
Levi nodded.
"One more patrol," he said. "Our last mission. As partners."
Kael said nothing.
He just reached for the white mask.
that night…
They moved like they always did — Kael through the shadows, Levi from above.
No big crew this time. Just four teens trying to shake down a sari-sari store, waving bats and laughing too loud.
They didn't laugh long.
Kael dropped the first with a knuckle to the temple.
Whipped the second off balance with the metal-coiled tip.
The third tried to run — Kael swept his legs and slammed him into the wall.
The fourth fought longer. Too long.
Kael ended it with arnis strikes to the arm, ribs, and knee — brutal, efficient.
Levi watched from the rooftop, crouched low, silent.
When it was done, Kael looked up once — found his partner's eyes across the street.
No words passed between them.
But something settled there.
two days later….
The sun hadn't fully risen when Levi zipped his bag the rest of the way.
Kael leaned against the wall, arms folded, the mask sitting on the desk between them.
"You ever gonna stop?" Levi asked.
Kael didn't look up.
"No."
"Didn't think so."
He picked up his bag, slung it over his shoulder.
"You know this doesn't end, right? You'll keep going. With or without me."
Kael met his gaze.
"Someone has to."
Levi stepped toward the door, then paused.
"Wrap your wrists before you break something."
"Don't forget to text when you get there."
A small nod.
The door clicked shut behind him.
later that night….
Kael sat alone.
The mask stared back at him from the desk.
The arnis rested beside it. The whip coiled neatly. The brass knuckle glinted in the moonlight.
He didn't speak.
Didn't move.
Not until the screams started again.
A block away. Another night. Another name on the street who thought fear meant power.
Kael stood.
Picked up the mask.
Strapped it on.
And disappeared into the dark.
He never stopped.
Not after that night.
Not after Levi.
Not after the name spread through alley whispers and vendor prayers.
He wasn't a hero.
He was something else.
The Tondo's Shadow.
That was then.
Present....
The rooftop wasn't exactly allowed after curfew — which, of course, made it the perfect spot.
Levi sat on the ledge, legs dangling just over the edge, water bottle sweating beside him. The night was quiet, broken only by the faint hum of floodlights and the buzz of cicadas outside the dome.
Kael stood nearby, arms crossed, gaze fixed on the horizon.
"That was the good old days, huh?" Levi said, smiling without looking at him. "Back when it was just us, a homemade whip, and enough attitude to take on Manila."
Kael smirked faintly.
"You mean back when you stood two blocks away and said, 'I got your back'?"
"Hey, lookout duty is a noble job," Levi replied. "Besides, who was feeding you all the info? You think gangsters post their schedules online?"
Kael chuckled under his breath.
"Still remember you panicking when that one guy pulled out a crowbar."
"Because it was a crowbar, Kael. Not exactly dodge-friendly."
"You were behind a wall."
"Details."
They both laughed a little. The air between them was lighter now the kind that only comes when you've seen each other at your worst and still stuck around.
"Crazy how fast everything changed," Levi said after a moment. "One minute we're chasing thugs in Tondo, next thing I know we're wearing WAA Academy IDs and listening to lectures about Rift ethics."
Kael leaned back on the railing, eyes scanning the horizon.
"Yeah… wild."
Levi nudged him with his elbow.
"Still though... admit it. You miss the mask."
Kael looked at him sideways.
"I miss the silence."
Levi grinned. "Liar. You miss being dramatic in alleys."
Kael gave a quiet shrug.
"Maybe."
They stood in the stillness a moment longer two kids from a rough place, now standing on top of a world that still hadn't figured them out.
"We were legends, Kael."
"In the streets"
"Legends," Levi repeated, pointing at him. "Don't downplay the Tondo era."
Kael just smirked again, but didn't disagree