Jani's mother's corpse was lying in front of him.
Then, just an instant later, it ceased existing. Light hit his eyes, jolting him into consciousness.
Waking up and opening his eyes, a thought shot into Jani's mind.
'This isn't my ceiling. What even happened? I heard Hunt's announcement, and then I...'
A dull pain echoed through him, his world spinning. He was lying in a pool of cold, dried blood.
'Right, I drank.'
The blood clung to his clothes, flaking off them with every movement.
'Ugh...where am I? How much did I drink last night?'
The man pulled himself up, analyzing the modern apartment.
Suddenly, he felt a small, dainty hand on his shoulder.
As an avatar of the very concept of hunting, only a select few things were capable of bringing him harm.
However, the mere presence of the person behind him sent every instinct he possessed into overdrive.
Whipping around, a cleaver appeared within his hands. The black overcoat he was wearing turned into a veil of shadows, ready to protect its master.
Surprising Jani, instead of a trained assassin on the other end stood a shocked, petite woman.
"What are you doing, Jani?"
With a relieved sigh, the man dissipated the items he had received as rewards for hunting.
"Sorry, Liz, but you have one hell of a presence for someone who isn't an avatar. My heart jumped out of my chest, in all honesty."
Elizabeth rolled her eyes at the comment.
"Not everyone is personally chosen by literal personifications of universal concepts. Sure would help me fight Megtex if I had some of that power..."
Knowing this was a silent call to action, Jani shot her down.
"Not interested, Liz. What Megtex does isn't my problem, I truly could not care less about your little rebellion."
The girl scoffed, replying with a passive:
"Until they come for you."
Jani glared, then stretched his aching body.
Looking around the apartment while soothing his headache, he couldn't help but ask:
"Why am I here anyway?"
Elizabeth tossed Jani some hoodies and sweatpants he had left with her, then replied, her voice annoyed.
"You banged on my door while bleeding and dead drunk, rambled about how you love me and how I'm your best friend ever, then tripped and fell asleep on the floor. Oh, and you mentioned that you needed a favor."
He smiled as he took the clothing.
"Sorry, bad night yesterday. Got the tiniest bit drunk."
"How unlike you."
Elizabeth said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. She pointed to his ruined clothes.
"And why are you bloody?"
Jani smiled sheepishly, as if afraid of the reprimand he was about to receive.
"An avatar's powers come from their blood, and I can't really get drunk. So, to weaken my liver, I bloodlet."
Elizabeth's eyes and mouth opened in shock, but before she could answer, he continued, now in a much more hurried tone:
"But it isn't dangerous, I swear! The wounds heal really fast. Only small scars remain, see?"
The man proceeded to show shiny skin covering his forearms. It glistened in the light.
Elizabeth stayed silent, then let out a pitiful sigh.
"You're a lunatic, you know that?"
She took a moment to compose herself, then gave him a look full of sadness.
"Don't do that to yourself. Please."
"Yeah, sure Liz."
He meant it, at least in the moment he said it. He always did.
Jani dressed in the old clothing he had left at her place in case of stakeouts, then went to get ready for the day. The cheap polyester clung to his skin.
Not that Jani could afford natural materials; no one could, without spending all their credits and selling everything they owned.
Which wasn't much, since almost everything was subscription-based, the rights held by Megtex.
"You still have access to the Megtex databases, Liz?"
Her voice still seemed full of worry, but she straightened it out while speaking:
"Obviously. Do you think my group is planning on taking the bastards down without insiders? Who do you take me for, Jaxon?"
Jani raised an eyebrow.
"Jaxon's leading a rebellion, too? Why are all my friends revolutionaries?"
Elizabeth physically winced as he called her just a friend.
"He's not, I'm just saying he's dumb as bricks."
Jani snorted in surprise.
"Some friends you two are. Maybe I should inform him of your words."
Elizabeth shrugged as she spoke.
"Is it an insult if it's true? Plus, he can't touch me. He owes me credits."
"Fair enough. Hey, about the database, I could really use two tiny favors."
Liz glared.
"You already owe me for the last favor. Distracting security while you kidnapped Kirom wasn't easy, y'know."
Jani came closer to Liz, placing his hands on her shoulders. His heart hurt.
'Think of everyone you killed, Jani. This is for them. If you have to play her a little, so be it.'
Her shoulders were warm under his palms. For a moment, he almost meant it.
He didn't let himself finish that thought.
"Please, Liz? I'll do anything you ask after."
The lady's rationality melted underneath his touch.
"You promise, Jani?"
He solemnly nodded.
"Of course!"
She fought back briefly but reluctantly gave in.
"Fine, what do you need?"
Jani smiled and stopped giving the woman false love.
"I need you to get me any information you can on Reginald Spectre, and I need you to make a forgery of a document signed by my father. Make it say that when I turn nineteen, I am to work with Reggie. I'll just tell them I found it a bit late."
Liz raised an eyebrow.
"Why do you need info on Spectre?"
Her mind worked, processing the dangerous, not to mention strange, request.
Then, it clicked.
"Wait, don't tell me he's your next prey! Do you not understand just how strong he is? You'll die!"
Jani just smiled, fixing his coat over the hoodie. The combination seemed ridiculous, but he didn't wish to unsummon the magical artifact, in case of emergency.
"Don't worry too much! Just do as I asked, okay?"
Swallowing her anxiety, she asked:
"Want to stay for breakfast? We haven't done anything together the last few months..."
Jani paused, then said while leaving:
"Sorry, I'm too busy."
The apartment door closed with a dull thud.
Jani almost felt the three months ticking down.
***
Three days later, he was admiring the metallic buildings from a magnet train. He'd usually ride his magnetic motorcycle, but the special operations division of Megtex was a longer commute.
The metallic train whizzed along the small bridge, surrounded by sleek, silver skyscrapers all around it.
The green barrier separating the city-nation from the outside world bathed the horizon in a radiant glow.
Loud advertisements played all around him, but he gave them no mind, choosing to focus his thoughts on plans to work his way into Reginald's inner circle.
Having arrived at the offices, he walked in. A small lady stood at the front desk, clearly forced to smile as part of company policy.
"Hello, uh, who are you? This area is strictly—"
He placed the forged documents along with his identification onto the counter.
"I am the son of Constantin Duralan, one of three heroes of the corporate war. He instructed me to work with Reginald."
The poor desk worker was clearly out of her depth, nervously contacting every higher-up she could to check the validity of the documents.
He was questioned by at least half a dozen people.
Many more checks later, he was let into the special operations general's office.
On the door, engraved in gold, stood 'Reginald Spectre.'
Composing himself, Jani entered, finally face to face with his next prey.
However, gazing into the general's eyes, all he could imagine was the cold barrel of a hunter's rifle pointed at him.