The night stretched on, heavy with silence.
Ethan sat near the window, staring at the ruined city beyond. The moonlight barely reached the streets, casting jagged shadows across the rubble.
His body ached. His mind screamed for rest. But he couldn't shake the feeling—
Something was still out there.
Blaze let out a low growl, ears twitching. Shadow, the stray cat, had vanished into the darkness again, as if sensing something unseen.
Ethan's fingers tightened around his knife.
And then—he heard it.
A whisper.
Faint. Unnatural. Coming from nowhere and everywhere at once.
"Ethan…"
His blood ran cold.
Echoes of the Fallen
Olivia stirred. "Did you hear that?"
Ethan's eyes remained locked on the darkness outside. "Yeah."
Noah straightened, gripping his rifle. "Tell me that was just the wind."
Ethan didn't answer.
Because deep in his gut, he already knew the truth.
It wasn't the wind.
It was him.
The Shadow Lingers
The whisper came again, barely audible.
"You think it's over?"
Ethan's jaw clenched. Adrian.
It didn't make sense. He was gone. Dragged into the abyss. Defeated.
So why did it feel like he was still here?
The shadows in the alley twisted, shifting unnaturally. Blaze stood, teeth bared. The air grew heavy.
Something unseen was watching.
Olivia exhaled sharply. "We should move."
Noah shook his head. "Move where? We barely survived the last fight."
"Staying here isn't an option." Valerie spoke up, her voice tight. "If Adrian's still out there—somehow—we need to figure out what the hell happened to him."
Ethan took a slow breath, forcing himself to think.
Adrian wasn't just powerful. He had been changed—his abilities beyond anything human.
And now… he was something else.
But was he still their enemy?
Or was he something worse?
A Message from the Dark
Ethan turned back toward the window. "We find answers. We move at first light."
"Where?" Noah asked.
"The university," Ethan said. "Before all this, it had one of the biggest research labs in the city. If there's any record of what Adrian became—or what those shadow creatures were—it's there."
Olivia nodded. "Then we better get some rest."
Ethan tried.
But as he lay back against the cold floor, the whisper came again—closer this time.
"I'm not done with you, Ethan."
And in the reflection of the broken window—
Golden eyes stared back at him.