A Familiar GhostThe fractured district was a graveyard of forgotten streets, bathed in the eerie glow of flickering neon signs. Buildings stood half-consumed by the distortions in reality, their structures bending at impossible angles. Cracks shimmered in the air like fractured glass, warping the space around them. It was the kind of place no sane person wandered into—not unless they were looking for something. Or someone.I was looking for Zero.My boots crunched against loose gravel as I moved, every muscle coiled with tension. The last time we fought, he nearly killed me. I’d studied his movements, memorized the patterns, trained for this rematch. But something in my gut told me this fight would be different.A shadow peeled away from the ruins ahead, moving with an eerie precision.Zero.He emerged from the darkness in his signature black attire, his face concealed behind that smooth, expressionless mask. His posture was relaxed, almost casual, but I wasn’t fooled. He was calcula

Breaking the AssassinThe trap was set.I stood in the dimly lit storage room of an abandoned complex, my pulse a steady thrum in my ears. The walls were lined with rusted pipes and flickering bulbs, the air thick with dust and the metallic bite of something old and forgotten. It wasn’t much, but it was perfect.Zero would come. He always did.Kane watched from the upper level, crouched behind a railing with her rifle slung over her shoulder. She wasn’t here to kill him—just to make sure I didn’t get myself killed."You sure about this?" Her voice crackled through the comm in my ear.I flexed my fingers, shaking out the tension. "Not even a little."Her sigh was sharp. "That's what worries me."Footsteps.A slow, measured cadence. Not rushed, not hesitant. Purposeful.Zero.I stepped away from the center of the room, just enough to let the shadows swallow part of me. The single overhead light buzzed, its dim glow casting long, jagged shadows.Then he emerged.Zero moved like a phantom

The Rescue MissionThe rain hammered against the rooftop, soaking through my jacket, but I barely felt it. My focus was locked on the street below, where neon lights flickered against wet pavement, their reflections distorted in puddles that had collected in the cracks of the broken city. The smell of ozone and damp asphalt clung to the air.Beside me, Kane adjusted her earpiece, eyes narrowed. “He’ll come through here,” she whispered. “You ready for this?”I exhaled, steadying my pulse. “I have to be.”We had been tracking Zero for weeks, watching his movements, analyzing his patterns. He was a ghost, slipping through the cracks of the city like he belonged to the shadows. But tonight, we had him cornered. He just didn’t know it yet.Kane’s voice was low but firm. “We only get one shot. If he gets away, we might never find him again.”I nodded, but the weight of what we were about to do pressed against my ribs. I had fought Zero before, but this wasn’t just another battle. This wasn’

The Man Beneath the MaskElias was in there. I had seen it—the flicker of recognition, the way his voice cracked when he said my name. But now he was silent, his body limp in the restraints, his breath shallow.The moment felt fragile, like if I moved too fast, the illusion of hope would shatter.Kane stood behind me, arms crossed, jaw tight. “He’s not stable.”“I know,” I muttered.She hesitated before adding, “Tony… if this doesn’t work, he could end up a hollow shell.”I turned to her, my hands clenching. “And if we do nothing? He stays their puppet forever?”Kane exhaled sharply, shaking her head. “I’m saying we might have already lost him.”I looked back at Elias—no, at Zero. His face was still slack, expression unreadable. But I knew better. The storm was inside. I just had to reach him before he drowned in it.I pulled up a chair and sat, leaning forward so we were eye level. “Elias,” I said, my voice low, steady. “You know me. You know who you are.”For a moment, nothing.Then

Elias RebornElias stirred before his eyes even opened, his body shifting restlessly, muscles twitching like a man waking from a nightmare he couldn’t shake. I sat beside him, watching, waiting. His breath came slow and unsteady, uneven—like he was struggling to pull himself back from somewhere deep, somewhere dark.When his eyelids finally fluttered open, I saw nothing but confusion.His gaze darted around the dimly lit hideout, his chest rising and falling with quick, shallow breaths. For a moment, he just stared, as if his brain couldn’t process where he was. His fingers clenched into the thin blanket covering him, his grip white-knuckled.Then his eyes landed on me.And something inside him broke.Elias sucked in a sharp breath, his entire body going rigid. His lips parted, but no words came out, just a sound—low, hoarse, like a man drowning in memories.I leaned forward. “Elias?”He flinched.I watched his throat bob as he swallowed hard, his body language shifting—tension coilin