Chapter 48: Shadows Bite Back
The world burned with headlines.
"Kael Strikes Ark Citadel: Commander Vaughn Assassinated!""Shadow Protocol Anomaly Declares War on Protocol Council""Terrorist or Savior? The Rise of the Shadow Sovereign"
It was chaos. Controlled, beautiful chaos.
But Ryo didn't smile.
He sat alone in a forgotten metro tunnel beneath the ruins of Old Sector 5, the glow of holo-screens bathing his face in pale blue light. Rina's voice echoed in his ear from the secure line.
"They're calling you a demon, Ryo…"
He responded without emotion. "Then they've finally started paying attention."
Her silence was heavy. She was worried—not for his safety, but for his soul.
Ever since Vaughn's death, the Shadow Protocol's whispers had grown louder, deeper. It no longer offered guidance. It made demands. It pushed him toward bloodshed, toward judgment. Every move he made became sharper, more deliberate… less human.
But what the world didn't know—what even Rina couldn't see—was that Kael was only just getting started.
Ark Citadel — Protocol War Room
"Mobilize the Wraith Unit. Now."
The order came from Supreme Director Velmira Ardent, a woman carved from ice and steel. Her eyes scanned the footage of Vaughn's assassination on loop.
"He left us a message," muttered General Hart. "This isn't about just power anymore. He's making a statement."
Velmira's lips curled in a rare expression—one of loathing.
"No. He's making a mistake."
From the shadows of the room, a new figure emerged. Clad in obsidian armor laced with red veins of energy, the man bowed slightly.
"Permission to hunt him, Director?"
Velmira narrowed her eyes. "Granted, Lucien."
Lucien was no ordinary hunter.
He was the Protocol Enforcer—an elite assassin bred from the raw code of corrupted dungeons. A man forged in suffering, designed to kill anomalies like Kael.
And he was the one who had nearly killed Ryo three years ago.
Old Sector 5 – The Awakening
Ryo stood at the heart of the tunnel, his senses screaming.
Something was wrong.
The shadows around him trembled—not in obedience, but in fear. For the first time since he bonded with the Shadow Protocol, they recoiled.
Something was coming.
He spun, hand raised, a blade forming from his palm—just in time to catch a glowing spear with his bare hand.
The force slammed him into the wall, cracking ancient stone.
Lucien stepped into the dim light, his crimson armor humming like a living thing. His eyes gleamed with a cold, calculated rage.
"Kael."
Ryo hissed in pain as he rose, shaking the dust off.
"You."
Lucien cracked his neck. "You should've died in Eden."
Ryo gritted his teeth. "Funny. I was just about to say the same to you."
Without another word, the two collided.
The Clash: Kael vs. Lucien
Their battle was not one of skill—it was of ideologies. Lucien fought with blinding precision, his movements mathematical, pre-programmed like a machine. Ryo, however, was chaos made flesh, his shadows shifting unpredictably, striking from angles even he hadn't fully mastered.
But for every blow Ryo landed, Lucien struck harder.
Ryo gasped as the edge of Lucien's spear grazed his ribs, white-hot energy tearing through his skin. He retaliated with a shadow spike that missed by inches.
Lucien laughed—a cruel, hollow sound.
"You think power makes you a god? You're just another broken child pretending to wear a crown."
Ryo's vision blurred. The Protocol surged inside him, hungry, begging to be unleashed.
"Say the word, Kael…""Let us erase him…""Let us consume."
But Ryo hesitated.
He knew the cost of giving in.
He'd become something worse than Lucien.
No. He wasn't ready.
Not yet.
Retreat into the Abyss
With a final burst of shadow energy, Ryo threw up a veil of darkness and disappeared. Lucien lunged, piercing the illusion with his spear—but found nothing.
Just smoke and a whisper:
"Next time, I won't run."
Lucien straightened, his smirk vanishing.
"That's what I'm counting on."
Meanwhile — Rina's Awakening
Back in the underground hideout, Rina clutched her head, trembling.
The pendant Ryo had given her pulsed erratically. The Shadow Protocol was reacting to her presence—no, not reacting—awakening.
A voice, ancient and cold, echoed in her thoughts.
"You are more than his sister.""You are the key."
Her eyes snapped open, and for a brief second, they weren't her own.
They were black as void.
End of Chapter 48