That evening, Kael obtained a desperate leave pass. He had to see Sophie; he had to confirm to himself that she hadn't vanished like Marcus. But when he reached the corner where "Blue Memory" stood, he stopped, paralyzed. The bar was gone. In its place stood an old, dilapidated warehouse, covered in dust and cobwebs, as if it had been abandoned for decades. Reality was changing with terrifying speed.
As he stared into the void, he heard the sound of heavy footsteps. Three men stepped out of the shadows of a side alley. They wore black coats and tactical masks that covered their faces. They weren't soldiers, but their movements were unnaturally fluid and coordinated.
"Kael," one of them said. The voice was a metallic distortion that seemed to scratch the air. "You are looking for something the Commander has already decided to erase. You shouldn't be here."
"Who is your Commander?" Kael growled, his hand moving to his concealed gun.
"He who devours what you call life. We are the Hitman Organization, the guardians of the new order of oblivion."
Without warning, the three lunged forward. Kael dodged a knife slash by a hair and responded with a powerful kick to the first attacker's chest. He felt the man's body was hard and cold, almost inhuman. He drew his pistol and fired twice. The bullets hit the hitmen's chests, but there was no blood. From the holes, a thick black mist emerged and dissipated in the rain.
Kael realized conventional weapons had little effect on these beings. He threw a tactical smoke grenade to create confusion and launched himself into a desperate flight through the alleys. He felt their footsteps behind him, constant and relentless. He managed to lose them only after crossing an abandoned construction site, but the realization was now clear: he was no longer just a soldier against an invisible enemy; he was a marked prey. The Hitman Organization had begun the hunt, and Kael was the only obstacle between them and the total erasure of the city's memory.