Chapter 2 – Blood on the Streets
The night was colder than usual. The lamps of the Black Market cast crooked shadows across the alleys as Ashura carried the package under his arm. His mentor's warning echoed in his head, but the weight of potential gold kept him moving.
Ashura (thinking): Money talks. Fear doesn't.
He was halfway through the narrow backstreets when he noticed it — footsteps. Too many. Too close.
A voice slithered from the darkness.
Stranger: "Hand it over, kid."
Figures stepped out, faces hidden behind masks. Their movements weren't sloppy — these weren't petty thieves. They were waiting for him.
Ashura clenched his jaw, scanning exits. Only two ways out. Neither safe.
Ashura: "You got the wrong delivery boy."
One of the masked men lunged, a blade flashing in the dark. Ashura sidestepped — faster than he expected himself to be — and smashed his elbow into the man's ribs. The thug crumpled, but another replaced him instantly.
Blows traded. The package nearly slipped from Ashura's grasp more than once. His body screamed with fatigue, but his instincts sharpened with every strike. Somewhere deep in his left arm, a strange pulse burned beneath his skin — like fire trying to crawl out.
For a brief moment, his vision blurred. His left eye flickered white. The masked men froze, startled. Ashura didn't understand it, but he didn't waste the opening. He fought with desperation, every punch heavier than it should've been.
When it was over, the alley was littered with groaning bodies. Blood dripped from Ashura's knuckles. His chest heaved.
And then he heard it. Slow clapping.
From the shadows, another figure appeared. Different from the others — calm, clean, with a predator's smile. His suit was immaculate, his white hair catching the dim light.
Danzi: "Not bad… for a delivery boy."
Ashura froze, gripping the package tighter. Something in that man's presence made the air feel colder, heavier.
Ashura: "Who the hell are you?"
Danzi: [smirks] "Someone very interested… in what you're carrying."
The tension snapped like a blade against stone. Ashura knew then — whatever he was caught in, it was far bigger than gold.