The torches flickered. Not from wind, nor from movement, but from something far more unnatural.

  One by one, the flames dimmed, their light being sucked away, not extinguished, but devoured. The fire still burned, but the illumination it provided was siphoned down the corridor, like it was being pulled toward some central point. The hallway that was once bathed in an eerie orange glow became suffocated in a perfect blackness, a darkness that seemed to breathe.

  Kaiser exhaled slowly, his grip tightening around his sword as he watched the unnatural darkness spread. The flames from the torches were still there, but their light had been stolen, drained toward a single, expanding point of pure abyss at the end of the hallway. It was almost beautiful, in a way.

  "Well, that’s new." From the corner of his eye, he saw Maestro rise from the rubble, dusting off his coat with methodical, practiced grace. The golden violin and bow in his hands still glowed faintly, their light refusing to be swallowed by the abyss.

  "Oh dear," Maestro murmured, tilting his head as he observed the approaching darkness. "I was rather hoping to finish our waltz before this."

  Kaiser didn’t take his eyes off the void. "You recognize ‘this’?"

  Maestro chuckled softly, tucking his violin under his chin. "Of course. There are only two people in this world that can steal light itself." He let the silence stretch for a moment, savoring the tension, before finally speaking the name with a smile. "And this one is called Maw."

  Kaiser raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like someone important."

  "Oh, he is," Maestro assured him. "He's the king’s shadow. The perfect assassin. The man who turns legends into silence." He adjusted the cuffs of his sleeve. "And if you and I have any interest in seeing the sunrise, our duel must unfortunately be postponed."

  Kaiser snorted. "You say that like I’d let some lurking bastard end the fun early."

  Maestro’s bow ran a slow, thoughtful stroke over the strings. "You will always be an arrogant flame. Exactly as the father predicted."

  That made Kaiser’s smile falter. His gaze snapped to Maestro, something sharp and burning in his crimson eyes. "The father?"

  Then, in the space of a heartbeat, Kaiser’s throat was cut. He staggered back, a crimson line blooming across his skin, hot blood spilling down his collar. He barely registered the pain, his instincts screamed before his brain caught up. His free hand shot up to his neck, the wound already sealing itself shut, burning as his body repaired the damage almost as fast as it was inflicted.

  And yet, he hadn’t seen it, he hadn’t heard it. There had been no movement. No breath. No sound. Just an absence of flesh on his throat. His fingers clenched into a fist. "Oh. That’s good."

  "Yes," Maestro murmured, his voice calm. "That’s a rather big problem."

  The darkness shifted again, as something moved within it. Not footsteps. Not rustling fabric. Just… movement.

  Kaiser’s grin returned, wide and wicked. "Finally, another name to remember."

  Maestro sighed. "I must admit, your enthusiasm is admirable, if not wildly misplaced."

  "Misplaced?" Kaiser flexed his fingers around the hilt of his sword. "I disagree. This is exactly where it should be."

  Maestro lifted his bow again, his expression unreadable. "Then allow me to play a melody for the battle to come."

  Kaiser lunged. His sword roared to life, flames bursting outward, cutting through the darkness like a beacon. But the void, the void didn’t burn. His blade passed through nothing. Just empty air. No resistance. No target.

  And suddenly, Kaiser was on the defensive. His body reacted before his mind, twisting and dodging, but it was far too late. A line of pain carved across his ribs as dozens of clean cuts covered his body. Another flicker, and blood sprayed from his shoulder. His arm twitched, but he gritted his teeth, ignoring the sting as the wounds sealed just as quickly as they appeared.

  Kaiser exhaled, licking the blood from his lips. "Alright. That’s annoying."

  "Indeed." Maestro tilted his head. "And he hasn’t even started."

  As if in response, the void moved again. This time it was a shift in the air. A pressure against his skin, like the very space around him was folding inward. His instincts screamed, and this time, he fully listened. His sword was already moving before his brain caught up, and a blazing arc of flame slashed through the darkness, aimed directly at where his whole body predicted a strike should be coming from, and for a split second, he saw him.

  Maw.

  He was a child, one that couldn’t have been older than eighteen. Puffy black hair, soft features that could almost be called delicate, dressed in robes that swallowed the light, making him look like a living shadow. He wielded two daggers, each held with a casual ease that sent a different kind of warning through Kaiser’s body.

  Then, Kaiser’s full-powered swing connected, but it didn’t do a damn thing.

  The impact felt like hitting solid, immovable wall. No, it was worse. The moment his sword clashed with Maw’s dagger, all force was negated. Not redirected, not absorbed, but simply erased. Kaiser’s arms rattled from the backlash as his blade bounced away, flames sputtering for a brief instant before reigniting in full force. Kaiser landed a few steps back, eyes widening slightly, lips curling into a sharp grin. "Oh? That was unexpected."

  Maw, still hovering in the darkness, tilted his head slightly, his expression unreadable. Then, in a voice completely devoid of emotion, he muttered, "The target is stronger than predicted. Regenerative capabilities confirmed. Adjusting approach."

  A flick of his wrist, and his daggers instantly ignited into black flames. An abyssal hunger that devoured light itself, reducing everything it touched into nothingness. The torches in the room flickered violently, as if afraid for their existence.

  "Oh." Maestro’s voice cut through the silence, calm and composed, but with an unmistakable hint of tension. "That is unfortunate."

  Kaiser didn’t take his eyes off Maw, but his grin widened. "Unfortunate in what way?"

  Maestro let out a quiet, measured breath. "Those flames burn the soul. I would strongly advise against being touched by them."

  Kaiser’s laughter was immediate. Full-bodied, reckless, delighted. "Burns the soul, huh? Now that’s something new." He cracked his neck, shoulders rolling as he settled into his stance once more. "Never had my soul hurt before. Should be a fun experience."

  Maestro sighed, fingers adjusting on his violin bow. "You truly are as insane as the stories describe you."

  "And yet you're standing next to me, facing the same enemy."

  "I do not regret a single choice that brought me to this moment," he replied, his voice steady and resolute. "For every step, every action has led me to fight alongside The Eternal Flame. That is a cause I stand proud of."

  Maw didn't wait for the conversation to continue, instead he moved, and the darkness followed.

  Kaiser twisted his body, barely avoiding the incoming dagger aimed at his throat. The blade sliced through the air, close enough that he felt the whisper of its movement against his skin. He didn’t hesitate, his sword swung in retaliation, a blazing arc of fire meant to cleave Maw in two.

  But the assassin was like smoke. With a flicker of movement, Maw twisted his daggers and redirected the strike, making Kaiser’s sword bounce off as if he had struck an immovable force. The impact sent a jolt through Kaiser’s arms, and before he could even process what had happened, another dagger came for his ribs.

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  ‘Too fast.’

  Kaiser barely managed to pivot away, his sword moving purely on instinct. Steel clashed against steel, embers flying in the suffocating darkness. His movements were sharp, precise, his battle instinct the only thing keeping him alive as he deflected each strike with razor-thin precision.

  And yet, even at his best, it wasn’t enough. Maw’s attacks were just fast, and they were surgical. The assassin didn’t waste a single movement. Every feint, every flick of his wrist, every shift in his stance was calculated. His strikes weren’t meant to overwhelm, they were meant to kill.

  A grin stretched across Kaiser’s face as he narrowly ducked a sweeping slash, only to parry a follow-up strike with a flaming spin of his sword. ‘This guy’s good…No, this guy’s almost perfect!’

  But Kaiser wasn’t the only one Maw was fighting. As Maw leaped back, adjusting for another attack, a violin sang, and in that same instant, a streak of golden light tore through the air as an arrow of pure energy streaking toward his heart.

  The assassin’s head snapped toward the incoming strike, his body twisting instinctively, narrowly evading the golden arrow. But in that instant, his balance shifted—the perfect, untouchable rhythm of his movements disrupted, thrown off just enough for both Kaiser and Maestro to see.

  "Tch." The musician frowned, his bow gliding across the strings as another arrow of light shot forward. But this time, it was dimmer.

  Kaiser noticed immediately. The energy still crackled through the air, still felt like a deadly force, but something was missing. Something that he was going to take advantage of in their battle.

  There was no audience.

  Maestro’s power wasn’t his alone. It thrived on eyes watching, on hearts captivated. Right now, the only ones present were Kaiser and Maw, one too focused on fighting, the other too indifferent to care.

  Maestro let out a quiet sigh. "Unacceptable." Without another word, he reached into his sleeve and pulled out a small brass button. "I didn’t think I would have to do this," he muttered to himself, before pressing the button between his fingers.

  The effect was immediate as in less than a second, a swirling void burst into existence, distorting reality like ink in water. The portal swirled violently, chaotic and untamed, until suddenly, it settled. And what lay beyond was…

  Rows upon rows of silent figures that sat in eerie stillness, their faces hidden behind identical bone-white masks. Hundreds of them. The portal had torn open onto a grand stage, making their battle a feel like a performance.

  Maw’s body tensed. For the first time since the battle began, something flickered in his expression. Then, he heard the violin sang, and this time, the whole building shook.

  Golden light erupted from Maestro’s bow, radiant and overwhelming. The very fabric of reality trembled as energy surged around him, coiling like a divine storm. The masked audience watched in silence, but their presence alone amplified his power tenfold.

  The hall now was by all means a battlefield, but to Maestro, it was nothing less than a grand stage, and tonight, the performance was to be a duet of death. The sound of his violin resonated through the chamber, the bow gliding across the strings with an elegance that was almost mocking given the brutality of the scene before him. Each note hummed with ethereal power, the melody weaving itself into reality as golden arrows of light shot forth with every stroke, their radiant trails illuminating the suffocating darkness that had swallowed the hall.

  Yet, for all their brilliance, the arrows barely fazed the one they sought to strike.

  Maw moved through the barrage like a shadow given life, his body contorting in ways that defied human limitations. His form would flicker, twist, and distort just as the attacks reached him, his feet barely making a sound against the cold stone floor. His movements were eerily fluid, not hurried nor desperate, but practiced and calculated, as if he had seen every attack before it had even been conjured.

  Kaiser, however, was not one to sit idly by while another performed.

  The moment he thought he spotted an opening he, lunged forward with terrifying speed, his flaming sword carving an arc through the darkness. The attack was aimed with lethal precision, a direct strike toward Maw’s exposed ribs, but just as the blade was about to meet its mark, the assassin’s daggers flicked outward.

  A resounding clang echoed through the chamber as steel met steel, the sheer force of Kaiser’s swing causing sparks to burst into the air like dying embers. Maw did not stagger, nor did he recoil. Instead, with a flick of his wrist, he redirected the attack, causing Kaiser’s blade to skid off course just enough for him to slide past, his dark robes barely fluttering.

  "Persistent, aren’t you?" Maestro’s voice cut through the chaos, still laced with that ever-present theatrical amusement, though there was a hint of strain now. His violin’s melody had grown sharper, faster, and with it, more weapons began to form around him. Ethereal swords, spears, and lances flickered into existence, suspended in the air like a divine arsenal waiting for his command. "But he is slippery, no? Almost like he knows every note before I even play it."

  Kaiser’s lips curled into a grin. "That just makes it more fun." Without hesitation, he charged again, his blade blazing with intensity, a blur of fire and steel. This time, his attacks came in rapid succession of slashes, thrusts and feints, each one designed to force Maw into a position where Maestro’s incoming storm of golden blades could strike true.

  For the first time, Maw was forced to truly move. He ducked, twisted, and spun, his daggers parrying Kaiser’s relentless onslaught while simultaneously avoiding the ethereal weapons closing in from all sides. Yet, no matter how fast he was, the pressure was mounting. He was evading, but he was no longer in complete control.

  "Hmm…" Maestro’s eyes gleamed as he played. "Interesting, interesting… perhaps you can bleed." With a final, powerful crescendo, the floating weapons surged forward all at once, converging on Maw from every possible angle. There was no gap, no space left unaccounted for. Kaiser took one last vicious swing, forcing the assassin to dodge straight into the trap.

  The moment he moved, the weapons of light shimmered, shifting like liquid fire. Blades elongated into chains, spears unraveled into glowing tendrils that lashed out and coiled around his limbs. The golden bindings snapped tight, locking him in place as radiant light pulsed through their lengths. The last remnants of the floating arsenal reformed, hovering inches from his skin, ready to impale him at the slightest movement.

  For the first time since the battle began, Maw was still.

  Kaiser exhaled, stepping forward, his sword lowering slightly. "Looks like the perfect assassin isn’t so perfect after all."

  "You should leave," Maestro interjected, though there was no triumph in his voice, only an almost regretful certainty. "Now."

  Kaiser frowned. "What?"

  Maestro didn’t stop playing, but his free hand adjusted the cuff of his sleeve. "This hold will last no more than a minute. Then he will break free. And then he will kill us both."

  Kaiser’s grip on his sword tightened. "Then we kill him first."

  With that, he raised his blade high, flames roaring to life along the edge, and in one decisive motion, he swung downward, aiming directly for Maw’s throat.

  The steel met flesh… And bounced off.

  Kaiser barely had time to process what had just happened. His sword, the very same blade that had cut through metal as if it was paper, had simply rebounded from the assassin’s skin as though striking solid steel. A sharp vibration ran up his arms from the impact, forcing him to take a half-step back. His gaze flickered down.

  There, just beneath Maw’s jawline was a single, thin scratch. A mere sliver of red, no more than a paper cut.

  Kaiser’s heart pounded. "What the hell…"

  Maestro let out a quiet chuckle, though there was no mirth behind it. "You understand now, don’t you?" He flicked his bow across the strings, sending one final golden chain to tighten around Maw’s already-bound frame. "He is on a level beyond us, and that means…"

  Kaiser’s jaw clenched.

  "We can’t kill him," Maestro finished simply. "Not yet."

  For the first time, Kaiser truly stopped to feel it, the suffocating presence radiating from the seemingly fragile young man bound before him. It wasn’t just raw power; it was something else entirely. Something unnatural.

  Maestro sighed, stepping backward toward the still-open portal behind him. "A shame, really. This was quite the enjoyable duet, Eternal Flame." His masked audience remained motionless, watching in silence as he made his exit. "I truly cannot wait for your future accomplishments."

  And with that, he was gone, disappearing into the swirling void of the portal.

  "Forty seconds remain," Maw murmured, his voice low and steady. The golden chains binding his wrists and ankles trembled, fractures slithering across their radiant surface like veins of impending doom. The glow flickered, dimming as the cracks spread wider, splintering with a sound like shattering glass. Kaiser took a step back, then another, then another, until after the third one, he turned and ran.

  Kaiser’s boots pounded against the stone floor as he sprinted through the pitch-black hallway, the oppressive darkness swallowing everything around him. He could barely see his own hands, let alone the walls, and more than once, his shoulder slammed against them. His balance wavered, but he pushed forward, gritting his teeth.

  Behind him, he could still feel Maw’s presence, appearing like a whisper at the edge of his senses. Even though he was trapped for the moment, the weight of being hunted still clung to Kaiser’s skin. It was the kind of feeling that made a man want to look over his shoulder, but Kaiser knew better than to waste even a second doing that.

  Then, finally, he saw it. A faint, flickering glow bled from the edge of a doorway at the corridor’s end. The same room Milo had wrecked earlier, and there was no hesitation in his mind anymore. He bolted with all his speed towards it.

  Kaiser threw himself around the corner, barreling into the ruined bathroom. The place was even worse than he remembered, filled with cracked tiles, shattered walls and the lingering stench of death and sewage. He leapt over the splintered remains of the stalls, his foot landing heavily on the corpse of the unfortunate guard Milo had put down at the beginning of the raid. The body gave slightly under his weight, but he didn’t stop to think about it. His eyes were already on the gaping hole behind the toilets.

  He rushed forward, stepping through the jagged opening and into the damp underground tunnel. The air was thick, humid, clinging to his skin like a layer of filth. But what caught his attention wasn’t the smell or the darkness, it was the silence.

  No Milo.

  No Ivan.

  No slaves.

  They were all gone.

  Kaiser exhaled sharply, scanning the area, but there was nothing to see. His eyes flicked toward the two tunnels at the other side of the sewers, and without a second thought, he dashed toward the leftmost hole, his mind already locked onto the entrance to the Drillex. His ride out of this mess.

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