Rain poured across the city, washing neon lights into streaks on wet pavement. In the shadows beneath a crumbling bridge, Rael stood alone—his real body, not a clone.
He held no blade. Wore no armor.
And yet the air around him pulsed with silent power.
This place, once a neutral zone for rogue hunters, was now a killing ground. And tonight, he would stain it with the blood of the first betrayer.
Eron Talic.
The Silent Fang.
Once his loyal shadow on the 60th floor of the Tower—until the moment he rammed a dagger into Rael's spine.
Rael's eyes flicked toward the approaching footsteps.
A group of five hunters approached, E-rank on paper, but Rael could sense the flow of mana in them. Enhanced mercs. Assassins in disguise. Eron was cautious. But not cautious enough.
The last one to arrive stepped out from the shadows, cloak dripping with rain. His face was half-hidden behind a black mask, but Rael knew that mana signature like an old scar.
"Still fond of dark entrances, Eron?" Rael said coldly.
The man froze. "…You."
Rael stepped forward, his presence suffocating the air like a dying storm. "Did you think I wouldn't come back? That betraying me would have no price?"
Eron growled, trying to keep control. "That man—Rael—died in the Tower."
"No." Rael's voice turned hollow. "He was reborn from it."
Lightning cracked the sky—and in that instant, Rael moved.
His body flickered like a phantom, dodging blades, breaking necks, shattering bones. Each assassin dropped without a sound. No hesitation. No mercy.
Only Eron remained.
Blood ran down his arm as he backed away. "You… You're not human anymore."
Rael summoned his soul flame—black and violet—an ancient mana that didn't exist in this world. His hand glowed as he reached forward.
"You were the first to stab me. Now you'll be the first I erase."
Eron tried to run.
He didn't take three steps before his body seized—his own shadow crawling up his skin, binding him.
Rael whispered the name of his forbidden skill.
"Shadow Brand: Soul Burn."
The man screamed—not from pain, but from the sound of his soul being torn apart. His life, his mana, his very existence began to burn away.
Then silence.
Only ash remained, and a single flicker of cursed flame that danced in Rael's palm. A piece of the betrayer's soul. A key to unlocking more hidden truths from the past.
He looked up into the storm.
"One down. Six more to go."
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