The rain outside roared louder than before, hammering against the warehouse's rusted walls.
Riku stood close to Hikari, still catching his breath, but her gaze was fixed on the darkness beyond the doorway.
Her whisper barely reached him.
"It means this isn't just about me anymore… it's about you too."
Riku frowned. "Me? I didn't even know you existed three days ago."
"That's what you think," she said, finally turning to face him.
There was something unreadable in her eyes.
"You've been on their watch list for months. They just never made a move until I found you."
The words hit harder than the masked man's kick.
"Why? What the hell do they want from me?"
She didn't answer immediately. Instead, she pulled a folded, water-stained photograph from her pocket and handed it to him.
Riku's breath caught.
It was him.
Standing next to a man in royal armor he had never seen before.
The background was a grand hallmarble floors, golden banners.
"This… isn't possible," he said, his voice shaking. "I've never,
"You have," she interrupted. "That's you. Years ago. Before your memory was erased."
Riku stepped back as if the photograph burned his fingers.
"My memory erased? Are you insane?"
Hikari's voice was steady, but her eyes softened.
"You're not just some guy from the docks, Riku. You're tied to the Imperial line. Which means the Black Lotus doesn't just want me they want you."
A crack of thunder shook the building.
Then footsteps. Fast. Closing in.
Hikari's hand went to her dagger.
"We're not alone."
Before Riku could react, the door burst open.
The masked man was back this time, with two more figures in black. Their movements were precise, coordinated, military.
"Run?" Riku suggested.
"Run," Hikari agreed.
They sprinted through the back of the warehouse, leaping over fallen crates, weaving through shadows.
The attackers followed like hunting dogs, their boots pounding in perfect rhythm.
Riku's mind spun with questions too many but his body was running on survival.
They crashed through a side exit into the rain-soaked alley, but the masked man's voice carried after them.
"You can run, Riku," he called, almost amused. "But you can't outrun who you are