The city isn't quiet anymore.
It hums.Like it's waking up.
The buildings twitch in the corner of his eyes. Lights blink like eyes. Sirens cry like wounded animals.
He walks.
Barefoot. Blood drying on his skin.
And the people?
They don't see him.
They pass through him like smoke… whispers stitched into their mouths.
"No face… no soul… no scream…"
Ghosts.
Or maybe… memories.
He doesn't belong here.
But neither do they.
[Trait Activated: Voice of the Void][Detection Radius Expanded – Hidden Entities Revealed]
And then he sees them.
Crawling along the glass windows. Hanging upside-down from traffic lights. Sitting in reflections.
Shadow-things. Not his.
Long arms. Hollow heads.Staring.
Watching.
Waiting.
They know what he is now.
The boy who didn't take the mask.
The one who said no.
And they hate him for it.
He walks faster.
The city responds.
Streets bend. Alleys stretch. Buildings whisper.
He turns a corner—
And there she is again.
The girl.
White dress. No shoes. No sound.
Standing in front of a wall covered in broken screens.
Each one plays a different version of him—
Dying. Screaming. Laughing.Killing.
She doesn't look at him.
Just says—
"They're watching you."
He nods.
"I know."
"You made the wrong choice," she says.
"Then why do you keep showing up?"
That smile.
That damn smile.
"Because you're still interesting."
Then she points.
The screens all glitch.
Flash red.
And a new face appears.
Hooded. Burned. Mechanical wires twisted through skin.
The man from the throne?
No.
Worse.
Older.
The true enemy.
[New Target Identified: ████████ – Origin Unknown][Classification: Apex Architect][Objective: Eliminate the Witness Before Integration Completes]
He stares at the face.
His body burns.
Not with fear.
With purpose.
The girl steps closer. Whispers.
"They call him the Architect. He made the mask. Built the system. Created the loop."
He clenches his fists.
"And now?"
She shrugs.
"He's watching you."
She tilts her head.
"Do you want to know how to kill a god?"
He nods.
And she holds up her hand—
Revealing a key. Made of bone. Dripping ink.
"You have to break his heart."
The sky cracks open.
A single line of light cuts across the red moon.
A siren blares from the east.
She drops the key.
He catches it.
[Item Acquired: Forgotten Key – Opens One Door That Should Not Exist]
She begins to fade.
"Go east. To the tower. Before he locks it again."
"Why help me?"
That smile.
"I want to see how you die."
Gone.
He doesn't wait.
The city shifts beneath his feet.
Streets moving.
Walls parting.
The Tower rises in the distance. Black. Endless. Wrapped in lightning.
And behind him…
The shadows scream.
Not at him.
For him.
They want him to reach the top.
They want him to tear the Architect down.
He runs.
Faster than ever.
As the blood moon weeps over the city…
And the hunt truly begins.
To be continued…