Chapter 31 – The First Kill

  The Breach

  The night had passed in silence.

  Grim lay low behind jagged rocks, the rough surface digging into his skin, but his mind was somewhere else. Somewhere darker.

  The bloodstain back at the camp still burned in his memory, a stain not just on the ground—but on the world itself.

  Now, there was no room for hesitation.

  A dim, pale light stretched over the horizon as dawn crept in.

  The wind was still. The air thick. The weight of waiting had turned into something suffocating, something unbearable.

  At the mouth of the tunnel—explosives. Just enough to collapse the entrance. Just enough to make sure no one ran once they started.

  A soldier emerged from the tunnel. Just one. Probably just on patrol, scanning the area, stretching his limbs, checking for nothing in particular.

  The insider moved before anyone else.

  A shadow in the half-light. A swift movement. A knife across the throat. The soldier didn’t even make a sound as he collapsed, blood pooling at his feet.

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  And then—

  Ash moved first.

  She was a blur, slipping inside like a phantom, battle outfit dark against the dull tunnel walls. The rest of the soldiers followed, rushing in with precision, weapons raised.

  The ground trembled.

  The explosion at the entrance roared through the valley, sending a plume of dust and shattered rock into the air.

  The mission had begun.

  But as the soldiers rushed forward, slipping into the darkened corridors of the city’s underground, another opening loomed ahead—smaller, hidden within the rock face.

  Just a narrow gap, barely enough for one person at a time.

  A secret way inside.

  The group slipped through, leaving behind the chaos at the tunnel.

  And for a moment—just a single moment—it was quiet.

  Then—

  A figure stood in their path.

  A soldier.

  A boy.

  No older than sixteen, maybe younger. His uniform hung loose on his frame, his rifle slung over his shoulder, untouched, unused. His hands shook. His eyes—wide, terrified—locked onto Grim.

  A second passed.

  Then another.

  His mouth parted. He was going to scream.

  And then—

  The voice.

  Kill him.

  Not a command. Not a suggestion. A certainty.

  The boy hadn't even taken a breath to call for help—

  Before Grim pulled the trigger.

  A gunshot cracked through the silence.

  The young soldier’s body jerked, red blooming across his chest. His eyes widened—not in pain, not in anger, but in sheer, uncomprehending shock—

  And then he fell.

  A dull thud against the ground.

  The group moved.

  Not a word was spoken.

  They slipped through the alleyway, disappearing into the depths of the city, swallowed by shadows.

  But the silence didn’t last.

  Because a second later—

  A scream.

  Someone had found the body.

  And just like that, the city woke up.

  Alarms rang.

  Chaos began.

  And inside Grim’s mind—

  Something cracked.

  End of Chapter.