The sun hung low, casting long shadows through the ruined market. Survivors sifted through the wreckage, binding wounds and dragging bodies to the curb. Blood stained the cracked pavement. The air was thick with exhaustion and something like dread.

  Kai leaned against a broken pillar, catching his breath. Zach was pacing—restless, bruised, a feral energy still crackling off him. The blue flicker in his eyes hadn’t faded; if anything, it seemed brighter in the harsh daylight.

  “You see their faces?” Zach spat, voice rough. “They were scared. Of us. That’s how it should be.”

  Kai shook his head, looking away. “They’re terrified, Zach. There’s a difference. Fear only works until someone gets desperate enough to stop being afraid.”

  A younger gang member—Lina, still limping from the fight—approached, her voice trembling. “We lost six. Maybe more. Some… they just vanished when those things came. What do we do now?”

  Zach turned on her, eyes wild. “We get stronger,” he barked. “No one messes with us again.”

  Kai stepped between them. “We take care of our own. Bury the dead. Check the tunnels—make sure those things don’t crawl out again.”

  Lina nodded, relief flickering across her face before she limped away.

  Zach scoffed. “You going soft on them, too?”

  Kai glared at him. “You want to rule a graveyard? You want to end up the monster everyone rises up to kill?”

  For a second, Zach held his gaze, blue eyes burning. Then he looked away, jaw tight. “Doesn’t matter. As long as they listen.”

  Kai pressed on, quieter now. “You keep pushing, they’ll turn on us. Or that power in you burns you out first.”

  Zach’s hands flexed. “You think you could stop me if it did?”

  Kai looked up at the rooftop, searching for the rat. “I don’t know. Maybe I wouldn’t have to.” He met Zach’s eyes again, steady. “I’d rather fight beside you than against you. But I will if I have to.”

  A tense silence stretched between them. The market was eerily quiet; the survivors watched from the shadows, waiting.

  A shout broke the tension—a scout running in, breathless. “Boss! There’s movement at the edge of the South District. A crowd—armed. Not ours.”

  Zach’s lips curled in a grin. “Finally. Someone with a death wish.”

  Kai straightened. “Let’s see what they want. And keep your head, Zach. We don’t need another massacre.”

  Zach rolled his eyes but stalked off, swinging his club idly.

  As they walked, Kai caught sight of the blue rat perched on a lamppost, tail swaying. Its gaze was fixed on them—unblinking, expectant. A cold certainty settled in Kai’s gut: they were still being judged.

  At the edge of the Iron Market, a ragged mob was gathering. Some carried pipes, others battered guns. At their front stood a woman with a jagged scar across her cheek.

  She raised her chin, voice carrying. “We’re not here to fight. We want answers. You said you’d protect this place—where were you when those things crawled out of the dark?”

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  Murmurs rose from the crowd. Kai stepped forward, hands open, sword sheathed.

  “We fought. We lost people too. But we drove them back. We’re still here.”

  A man in the crowd shouted, “And if they come again? You got magic, or just muscles?”

  Zach’s eyes sparked. “You want to find out?”

  The woman glared at him, then looked back to Kai. “We don’t trust you. Not yet. But the city’s changing. If you want to rule, prove you can do more than break bones.”

  Kai nodded. “We will. But we need your help. Watch the tunnels. Report anything strange. Work with us, not against us.”

  There was an uneasy silence, then a few nods. The woman stepped back, but her eyes never left Kai’s.

  As the crowd dispersed, Zach muttered, “You really think words will keep them in line?”

  Kai watched the blue rat vanish into the shadows. “No. But it’s a start.”

  Zach grinned, but there was uncertainty behind it. “You’re the brain, I’m the brawn. Guess we’ll see if that’s enough.”

  Kai let out a slow breath. “Yeah. We’ll see.”

  Above them, the city seemed to hold its breath, the blue rat’s judgment hanging like a warning in the air.

  There would be more challenges. More monsters, human or not. But for now, Zach and Kai stood together—rulers, rivals, brothers-in-arms—under the watchful eye of something that still hadn’t decided if they deserved to win.

  Night fell hard over Smoville, swallowing the city’s scars in darkness. Spot fires flickered at the border of the Iron Market, where Kai’s gang and the remnants of the Smoville mob stood guard together. The uneasy alliance was written on every tense shoulder and sideways glance.

  Kai paced the southern barricade, checking in with his people. Lina was there, bandaged but alert, sharing a cigarette with one of the mob’s older lookouts. They nodded at Kai but didn’t lower their weapons. Past grudges, it seemed, didn’t vanish with a handshake.

  Zach stalked the perimeter, restless. He hated waiting, hated the way the mobsters eyed him with a mix of awe and fear. The blue flicker in his eyes was brighter than ever, reflecting the flames.

  A distant howl cut through the silence. One of the mob jumped. “You hear that? Tell me you heard that.”

  Kai nodded grimly. “Stay sharp. Nothing gets past this line.”

  Hours dragged by. Whispers passed between guards—rumors of more monsters, shadows moving at the edge of vision. The city felt alive, and not in any comforting way.

  At midnight, Kai found Zach standing alone in an alley, knuckles white on his club. The blue rat perched atop a pile of crates, tail flicking, its gaze fixed on Zach.

  Zach sneered. “You again. Think you’re better than us? Watching, judging…”

  The rat’s eyes glinted, unafraid.

  Zach’s voice rose, wild and raw. “What are you? Curse? Ghost? You think you can break me?”

  He lunged. The rat bolted, but Zach was faster, swinging the club with brutal force. The crates shattered. The rat let out a high, almost human squeal as Zach drove it to the ground. There was a spatter of blue-tinged blood—and then, nothing. The rat was limp beneath his boot.

  Zach stood over it, chest heaving. “Not so smug now, huh?”

  A scraping sound echoed from the rooftops. Kai, drawn by the noise, arrived just as Zach looked up.

  Something fluttered above them—a crow, black as midnight, but with a single, impossible blue eye gleaming in its head. The crow landed on a broken signpost and let out a harsh, mocking caw that sounded almost like a laugh.

  Zach froze, sweat beading on his brow. “That’s not… that can’t be…”

  The crow cocked its head, blue eye fixed on Zach. It cawed again, louder this time, and the sound seemed to ripple through the night, raising goosebumps on every neck.

  Behind them, the city’s shadows seemed to deepen. The wind shifted, carrying a chill that somehow felt personal.

  Kai stepped forward, voice tight. “Zach, step away.”

  Zach didn’t move. “I killed it, Kai. I killed that thing.”

  The crow flapped its wings, feathers shimmering with that same electric blue light. It took off, circling above the alley, and all around them, other crows began to gather—dozens, maybe more, settling on wires and rooftops, each with a single blue eye.

  Lina appeared at the alley’s mouth, gun raised. “What the hell is going on?”

  Kai shook his head, voice low. “I don’t know. But I don’t think we’re finished here.”

  One by one, the crows began to caw in unison—a sound that didn’t just echo, but vibrated in Kai’s bones. The mobsters and gang members outside the alley looked up, faces pale in the firelight.

  The blue rat’s body was gone. Only a faint smear of blue remained, already fading into the dirt.

  Zach looked shaken for the first time, his bravado slipping. “You saw it, Kai. I killed it.”

  Kai kept his eyes on the sky. “Maybe you did. Or maybe you just gave it something new to wear.” He nodded at the crows. “Night’s not over yet.”

  Above Smoville, the blue-eyed crows watched and waited, their laughter echoing through the broken city—judging, testing, promising that the true reckoning was still to come.