Chapter 10 – The Silent Oath
The waves struck the harbor walls like muffled thunder, each crash echoing across the empty docks. Andrew stood alone under the flickering light of a rusted streetlamp, its weak glow barely touching the edges of his coat. His breath came out in short, white bursts—the city air carried a chill, the kind that crept beneath the skin and stayed there.
He held the ledger tight in his hand. The pages inside had changed again—lines of black ink moving, reshaping themselves as if the paper itself were alive. Each symbol pulsed faintly, like a heartbeat. Andrew knew what it meant: another name had been added. Another life was about to end.
Behind him, footsteps approached. Not hurried, not hesitant—measured. Confident.
"Still reading the dead man's diary?" The voice was familiar. Cold. It was Agent Rivera, the government's lead investigator on Project Noctis. Her coat flapped slightly in the wind as she stopped beside him, eyes fixed on the water.
"You shouldn't be here," Andrew said, without looking up.
"Neither should you." She turned her gaze toward him. "You think you're cleansing the world, but all you're doing is feeding something that shouldn't exist."
Andrew finally met her eyes. "You've seen what they do, Rivera. You've seen what happens when people cross the line."
"I've also seen what happens when someone believes they can decide who deserves punishment."
For a moment, silence stretched between them. Only the waves spoke.
Then a faint vibration rippled through the dock beneath their feet. The sea shimmered—darkness moving beneath the surface. Rivera stepped back instinctively.
Andrew didn't. He knew the feeling too well.
From the black water rose a faint, mist-like form—a humanoid shadow, eyes glowing faint blue beneath the waves. The shape shifted and flickered, almost like smoke. Justicar.
Rivera drew her weapon, but Andrew raised a hand. "Don't. It doesn't respond to bullets."
The air turned colder. The creature's voice didn't come from its mouth but from everywhere—the air, the water, their own minds.
"The ledger calls for balance."
Andrew clenched his fists. "Whose name this time?"
"A man of law who sold justice for gold. The system must be purified."
Rivera's expression tightened. "You're talking about the Minister of Defense."
Andrew's eyes darkened. "So it's true."
She lowered her gun. "You can't let it happen, Andrew. If that thing kills him, the whole country will fall into chaos."
He looked back at Justicar. "There's another way, isn't there? You can take his form, guide him, make him change—like before."
The creature's glow dimmed. "He crossed beyond redemption. His soul belongs to the depths."
Andrew's voice broke slightly. "And if I stop you?"
"Then your name replaces his."
The sea rippled again. For the first time, Andrew saw his own reflection merge with the creature's. Their outlines overlapped—one man, one shadow.
Rivera took a step closer. "Don't do it, Andrew."
He looked at her, eyes filled with something between guilt and defiance. "If balance demands a sacrifice… then maybe it's time I pay."
The water surged upward, swallowing the light around them. Rivera shouted his name, but her voice drowned beneath the roar of the waves.
When the sea calmed, only the ledger remained on the dock—its pages now sealed, the ink finally still.
And in the distance, deep beneath the dark surface, two shapes drifted side by side—one fading, one awakening.