The sun had long since slipped beneath the horizon when Jack finally reached his destination. The rain had left a glossy sheen on the streets, and the neon veins of the city pulsed faintly across the wet pavement glowing advertisements bleeding into one another in a kaleidoscope of shifting colors. His boots splashed through shallow puddles as he trudged along a quiet stretch of road that was noticeably calmer than the riotous downtown he'd left behind.
Before him stood Ridge Point Flats, a mid-tier residential complex tucked between a laundry depot and an automated café that buzzed softly with low music. The sign over the entrance flickered lazily . RIDGE POINT FLATS: COMFORT LIVING FOR THE EVERYDAY SOUL.
Jack paused at the gate, taking in the building's clean, modest architecture. Three stories tall, built from pale gray composite stone, with glass balconies glinting under the streetlights. It was a sharp contrast to the grime-slicked motels he'd grown used to. The air here felt… still. Calm. For the first time in a long while, there was no siren wailing through the night, no bickering drunks, no distant thunder of engines. Just the hum of soft city silence.
"Not bad," he muttered under his breath, pulling his jacket tighter.
As he approached the glass doors, a short, middle-aged woman in a floral dress appeared from behind the front desk. Her hair was silvering, tied in a bun, and her expression was a careful mixture of curiosity and suspicion. She looked Jack up and down ,the dark jacket, the calm but tired eyes, the empty hands carrying no boxes, no luggage.
"You must be Mr. West," she said, her tone brisk but not unkind. "You're the one who made the reservation for one of our apartment's this morning this morning?"
Jack nodded. "That's me."
Her eyes flicked toward the hallway behind him, as if expecting movers to follow. When none appeared, her brow furrowed slightly. "You… don't have any belongings?"
Jack chuckled lightly. "Not really. Had to move in a hurry."
The woman folded her arms, still studying him. "In a hurry?"
He sighed and leaned slightly on the counter. "Parents. They've been giving me too much trouble lately. I figured it was better to get some space."
Her expression softened instantly, suspicion melting into something gentler. "Ah. Parents." She nodded knowingly, voice dropping to a softer pitch. "I see. That explains a lot."
Jack managed a polite half-smile. "Yeah. You could say that."
She gestured toward the corridor behind her. "Well, you're in Unit 3B, third floor, end of the left hallway. It's one of our quieter spots. I'll just need to confirm your payment and we'll have you all set up."
Jack raised his left wrist. "Already transferred it."
The woman glanced down as his Aegis Chrono X watch pulsed softly with a digital glow. A holographic transaction window materialized between them .12,000 credits transferred to Ridge Point Holdings.
Her eyes widened. "You… paid for the full year?"
"Yeah," Jack said simply.
She shook her head, astonished. "A place like this should cost about 75,000 credits monthly, if you ask me. But my husband before he passed , wanted it to stay affordable. He said he didn't want people to suffer like him when looking for a place to live."
Jack paused, sensing the weight in her tone. "He sounds like a good man."
She smiled wistfully, eyes glazing slightly as if looking through time. "He was. A kind man who believed people deserved a home, not just a roof. That's why we keep the prices so low . 12,000 a year, no more, no less. You're lucky, Mr. West. Ridge Point isn't just a place to stay. It's a place to breathe."
He gave her a small nod of respect. "Thank you, ma'am."
"Please," she said with a faint grin. "Call me Mrs. Halden. And if you need anything .Repairs, water pressure issues, ghosts , you know where to find me."
Jack chuckled, a sound that carried a rare warmth. "I'll keep that in mind."
She handed him a slim electronic key card. "Here. Welcome home."
As Jack made his way through the hallways, he took in the buildings quiet charm. The walls were freshly painted in neutral cream, with a faint scent of lavender oil drifting through the vents. The floors gleamed with recent polish, and soft, golden light bulbs lined the ceiling like tiny suns. Every few doors, a nameplate gleamed beside digital locks, and muffled chatter or television noise leaked out from behind closed doors.
The place felt lived-in, real but not rundown.
He found the stairwell and climbed up slowly, each step echoing faintly in the silence. Halfway up the second floor, a door opened above him, and out stepped a girl in casual athletic shorts and a cropped hoodie, holding a basket of laundry. She looked around his age maybe a little younger and the moment she saw him, her brows raised slightly.
"Oh, new tenant?" she asked, tilting her head with a curious grin.
Jack blinked. For a moment, his brain froze not because she was talking to him, but because she was stunning. Deep brown skin, light hazel eyes, hair in a messy bun that somehow made her look effortlessly confident.
"Yeah," he managed. "Just moved in."
"Welcome to the building," she said, flashing him a smile that could have lit up a darker hallway. "I'm Tess, by the way. I live in 4B right above you."
Jack nodded, a faint smirk tugging at his lips. "Good to know. Guess I'll try to keep the noise down."
"Please do," she teased, giving him a playful glance as she started up the stairs. "I've had enough of the couple in 2A and their nightly drama."
He laughed quietly as she disappeared around the corner. "Now things are just getting more interesting," he muttered under his breath.
When Jack finally reached his apartment,going down instead of up,he paused at the door. The hall was silent again, save for the distant hum of a vent and the faint creak of pipes behind the walls. He slid the card into the reader , a soft click, a gentle hiss and the door opened.
The air inside smelled clean, sterile, almost untouched.
The living room was small but neat: smooth gray walls, a single wide window with electronic blinds, polished tile flooring that reflected faint light from the ceiling. There were no cracks, no stains nothing broken, nothing cheap. Just empty space waiting to be filled.
Jack stepped in slowly, running his fingers along the wall as if to confirm it was real. He could almost hear his own heartbeat in the silence.
"No creaks. No leaks. No rats." He exhaled deeply. "Yeah… this'll do."
Dropping his jacket on the floor. Jack let out a slow, relieved breath. For the first time since he'd left the Azure Dreams Motel, he didn't feel like a fugitive or a shadow slipping between alleys. Here, he could just be a person not the Void Walker, not a hunter, not a survivor. Just… Jack.
His watch pulsed faintly, and the system interface flickered before his eyes.
[Current Credits: 29,600]
Jack smirked. "Still better than broke."
He wandered toward the small bedroom minimalist but tidy, painted red;his favourite colour and a wall mirror beside the window. The bathroom glimmered faintly behind a sliding door spotless, modern, with hot water already active. Whoever prepped the place had done it well.
He lay on the floor, stretching his arms behind his head, staring at the ceiling. The silence was heavy, but not uncomfortable.
Then his Aegis Chrono X pinged softly , a soft blue light illuminating the room.
You have 219 missed calls and 478 messages from Elena Curtis.
"Jesus Christ,Wow.I wonder if I should have left like that."But remembering Lila.
"Nope,I totally made the right decision".
Jack froze, watching the number blink at him. For a few seconds, he just stared. Then, expression flattening, he swiped the notification away.
"Block number," he said quietly.
The command processed instantly . Contact blocked.
He exhaled through his nose, eyes drifting to the ceiling. "No feelings. No attachments," he muttered. "Not in this job."
He could still remember her laugh, the smell of her perfume, the way she'd looked at him. But those were distractions ,chains disguised as comfort. He'd learned what happened when you let people close.
For a long moment, the only sound was the faint hum of the air unit.
Then, softly, he laughed .Tired, quiet, but genuine. "Still," he murmured to himself, "this is the nicest damn empty room I've ever seen."
Outside, Neon City pulsed faintly under the pale night, its lights flickering across the window glass. Somewhere above him, Tess's muffled footsteps moved lightly across her floorboards. And somewhere deep in the back of Jack's mind, he could almost hear the whisper of the System waiting… ready to drop another quest when the time came.
But not tonight.
Tonight, the Void Walker rested.
And for the first time in days on the cold,bare,comforting floor,he slept soundly without fear, without noise, without running.