Ethan Cole stood at the penthouse window, watching Reiun City dissolve beneath sheets of rain and neon haze, long black hair hung over his shoulders like a warrior's cloak, a silent testament to his defiance. Ice-blue eyes shimmered with secrets withheld, a small ledger of routes and names lived on his office desk.
The door slammed open, "Sector 4-Delta just went dark." Marlo didn't knock, he never did when things got urgent. His voice disrupting the silence the room had. Ethan turned slowly from the rain streaked window, the city's glow still etched across his face. His ice-blue eyes narrowing as he gripped the copper-black ring pulsing faintly against his skin. "Define 'dark'", he said with a low voice. "No comms, no scans, and the manifest shows three containers which are high-priority cargo. If it's a breach, it needs surgical attention". Ethan took the slate, scanning the data with mechanical precision, his jaw tightened as the ring pulsed again. "Send a drone, be on the monitoring end." He didn't need another scandal, not tonight.
Behind a glass container sat a ledger, its columns inked with names and tires, each line a quiet echo of past transactions. He opened the book on a slow hour and read a line, a photo slid free from between pages, the image showed a child with ash on a small face, eyes fixed without blink, the gaze matching his. Memories arrived in brief flashes, heat and chain and voices reciting syllables in exact rhythm, the images hit like a metronome which had him clenching his fist. e drew deep breaths in measured counts trying to calm the sudden rage rising from within. He tightened his jaw and kept hands steady, trying hard not to let the past reorder his present moves. Placing the photo back and closing the ledger, he washed his hands and let water run over knuckles scarred by old rites, the motions fixed his attention and reduced surprise.
"Did you see the latest bulletin?" Marlo asked, walking in. "Treaty notices and a breach in lower Veyrun, three patrol interruptions this week." "Temporary measures, I suppose", Ethan replied, eyes on the report. "Private wards are already raising charges on certain routes."
A message arrived on a private channel while he was on his phone. "Alert," his device buzzed, Ethan glanced at the screen, "Private meeting at Glimmer Tower, midnight", he read aloud. "The signature's familiar, but I'd rather not deal with it". He set the device down and began preparing for the meeting. He dressed in black suit, ran wards along doors and set counters, habit shaped his preparation. He moved through rooms in practiced patterns, as the alarms were tested in the lab.
You would note the way he timed exits, measuring pauses and using small rules to reduce variables and not going off-script when stakes tightened. At the tower base, security scans moved fingers across badges and a guard nodded with trained neutrality. "ID, please," the guard said, scanning Ethan's badge. "Envelope for you, Mr. Cole," he added, handing over a thin package. Ethan took it, recognizing the signature inside, "thanks," he slid the envelope into his pocket without shifting his face.
He hadn't stood here since childhood. As his eyes scanned the room's setting, he recalled running around the whole place; his father scolded him, saying he had a lot of responsibilities to shoulder.
On entering the meeting space, he's greeted by his board members. The meeting had a surface topic discussion about the Hollowshade funding and prototype launch. "Mr. Cole", one of the members nodded, "We're reviewing Hollowshade's proposal, infrastructure expansions and profits". One of the members continued, "now as we all know, Hollowshade needs…", she was speaking, as voices around Ethan began to grow muffled, his mind drifting, as the boardroom split up into fragments of yesterday, fading into the background as memories of his past experiences surfaced images of childhood streets, whispers of forgotten promises, the sharp scent of rain on stone. A flashback to a rite gone wrong.
He's looking at the table, fists clenched on his lap below the table and feeling the scar on his knuckles, he tries showing self control but to no avail.
"Ethan…" "Ethan!", one of the members called out, the voice piercing the haze, disrupting the sequence of memories playing in his head. "Yeah... yeah," he murmured, blinking slowly as the boardroom sharpened into focus. "Alright here's the proposal", the man sitting opposite Ethan said as the rest of the board leaned forward. "We've identified an opportunity in Hollowshade, the underbelly of Reiun City where shadows swallow deals whole", "investing in infrastructure there aligns with expansion goals, and promises bigger profits", another member said, "But Hollowshade breeds darkness, Ethan", another added, "Illicit networks succeed; the people there are desperate. Profiting from that ecosystem... it's a maths we can't just ignore, especially now that stocks and sales are on a nosedive". A fourth member countered coolly, "Growth demands tough choices, this isn't charity, Ethan it's business. The question is do we seize strategic advantage, or let opportunity rot?" Ethan's gaze narrowed as the weight settled unevenly on him, he gave them a look of disdain before replying "But at what cost, the people's?" "Building that big of a framework would bring up a cause for mass demolition of residential properties, costing a lot of people their businesses and source of money for getting by daily". Another person replied, "and what harm does that bring to us". The phrase hitting him hard, as this was a test of morality, he could feel the potential destruction his decision could cause.
He slammed the table with his hand forming a fist, before looking up at them. He showed self control as he took a deep breath, trying to calm the internal conflict he was having at the moment. "That doesn't mean we should overlook the obvious outcome", he said as his face wore a slight annoyance in expression. "This isn't just strategy, it's displacement, demolition, and lives are at stake here." His words landed like stones, some flinched, others leaned back, calculating. "Enough thought gentlemen, shall we meet again at a more suitable timing", he said as he suspended the meeting. No one argued, they knew better than that.
The rain fell harder as Ethan stepped back into the penthouse, delivery drones slicing through the skyline on rigid arcs. One dipped too low and shattered against a rooftop, its pieces scattering like insects in retreat. At the window, he watched the city dissolve into a lattice of low lights-tower beacons blinking in slow, deliberate sequences, a zeppelin carving a pale arc through the mist. Then the ring pulsed once and a warmth spread across his finger, followed by a vibration that climbed his arm like a whisper with teeth, the signal was unmistakable. He went rigid, as if the air had turned to ice around him, time stalled as he stood locked in place, breath caught mid-motion. He took a glance down at the device, it said Private channel, no ID, just a single word: "Answer."
He tapped the screen and answered, "You felt it, didn't you?" The voice had a familiar and unwelcome tone. "Kael", Ethan's tone was flat, but the name tasted like rust. "Still dramatic, as ever I see…" Kael's voice carried that same edge—half smirk, half warning. "It's starting again you know that right 'cause the ring wouldn't have pulsed unless it was close", "You need to choose, Ethan, before it chooses for you". "You always speak in riddles", Ethan's eyes stayed on the skyline, "if you know something, say it, otherwise, stay out of it". "You think I'm the problem?" Kael chuckled, but there was no warmth in it, "'m just the echo, the storm's coming from somewhere else, you gotta be prepared", the line went dead.
Ethan stared at the horizon, blue eyes reflecting the grid's glow, the signal was unmistakable—an old pattern, buried deep in memory, one that hadn't stirred in years. He snapped back to reality, the weight of the coming choice pressing against his chest. Still doubtful, he let out a calming sigh, tapping his cheek with a gesture of habit. Tomorrow would come, and with it, everything.