My pulse hammers in my ears.

  I stare at my wristband—flashing red, the energy spike pulsing like a siren.

  The warning confirms it.

  The waiting is over.

  I scramble for my shoes, yanking them on as Dr. Lynn’s voice crackles through my phone.

  “Yuri, listen to me—stay put. I’m on my way.”

  “No time,” I mutter, shoving open my apartment door.

  I need to see it for myself.

  For a city that never sleeps, New Tokyo feels… too quiet.

  The usual neon glow paints the wet pavement in electric colors, but the streets are deserted.

  Like something pushed the world away.

  Like something is warping reality itself.

  I step into the middle of the road.

  I don’t know what I’m expecting—but I feel it before I see it.

  A deep, unnatural humming in the air.

  Like the sound between radio stations—a frequency that shouldn’t exist.

  Then—

  The shadows ripple.

  A figure steps forward.

  Tall. Too tall. Wrapped in liquid black armor that shifts with every movement.

  Its face is smooth, featureless, except for two bright violet slits where eyes should be.

  A low vibration rattles through my skull.

  “Yuri Takahashi.”

  The voice scrapes against my thoughts like broken glass.

  I clench my fists.

  Noctis spoke to me like this.

  I already know what this thing is.

  Another Harbinger.

  The next test.

  I force myself to stand tall. “What’s your name?”

  The figure tilts its head.

  Then, without speaking, I feel it.

  A word carves itself into my mind.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  Vairus. The Hollow Blade.

  I exhale sharply.

  Of course I know it. Of course I do.

  Like Noctis, this name isn’t new to me. It was buried inside me, waiting to be uncovered.

  But why?

  I don’t get time to think.

  Because Vairus moves.

  One second, Vairus is standing still.

  The next—

  It’s in front of me.

  I barely have time to react before something slashes through the air.

  I jump back, but not fast enough.

  The blade cuts through my hoodie—not a physical weapon, but a rip in reality itself.

  A gash opens in the space where I stood.

  I suck in a breath.

  This thing doesn’t swing a sword.

  It creates the concept of a sword mid-swing.

  I don’t want to find out what happens if it lands a clean hit.

  Vairus tilts its head again.

  “You hesitate.”

  I grit my teeth.

  “I don’t have my powers yet.”

  Vairus doesn’t care.

  It lunges again.

  I dodge. Barely.

  The street behind me warps, the air twisting from another invisible cut.

  I’m too slow.

  No matter how much training I’ve done, I’m still too human.

  I pivot, try to counter with a punch—

  But Vairus is already gone.

  A flicker of movement. A blur of darkness—

  And suddenly—

  A blade is at my throat.

  I freeze.

  Vairus leans in.

  “Disappointing.”

  It raises the blade—ready to end me.

  I suck in a breath.

  Not like this. Not like this.

  Then—

  A gunshot.

  The bullet rips through the air, forcing Vairus back.

  It dodges, but it’s enough.

  Enough for me to scramble away.

  I turn—

  And see Dr. Lynn.

  She’s standing at the edge of the street, her pistol raised, eyes cold.

  “You’re early,” I cough.

  She doesn’t blink. “You’re reckless.”

  Then she grabs my wrist.

  “We’re leaving. Now.”

  Dr. Lynn pulls me into a side alley, moving fast.

  “Where the hell did you get a gun?” I pant.

  “Government issue.”

  I blink. “Wait—what?”

  “Focus, Yuri.” She drags me toward a back exit of a shuttered subway station. “We need to get underground.”

  I glance over my shoulder.

  Vairus doesn’t follow.

  It just stands at the end of the street, watching.

  The violet glow in its eyes flickers.

  Like it’s calculating something.

  Then—

  It vanishes.

  Gone.

  I swallow hard.

  “Why didn’t it chase us?”

  Dr. Lynn doesn’t answer right away.

  When she does, her voice is tight.

  “Because it learned what it needed to know.”

  I don’t like the way she says that.

  Not at all.

  We reach a safehouse deep under the city.

  Dr. Bao is already there, waiting.

  He looks exhausted.

  “We saw the energy spike,” he says. “What happened?”

  I exhale. “Second Harbinger. Calls itself Vairus.”

  Bao doesn’t look surprised.

  Dr. Lynn crosses her arms. “It fought Yuri, but didn’t finish him.”

  Bao frowns. “Did it seem… different from Noctis?”

  I hesitate.

  Then I realize—it was.

  Noctis felt like a test.

  A first encounter, a measuring tool.

  But Vairus?

  Vairus felt like an executioner.

  Like it was sent to see how easy I was to kill.

  I glance at my wristband.

  The red warning light has faded.

  Back to green.

  But I know this isn’t over.

  Vairus is still out there.

  Watching.

  Waiting.

  And worst of all?

  It might not come alone next time.

  Dr. Bao pulls up a holographic projection.

  It’s footage from the security drones that recorded the fight.

  I watch myself barely keeping up.

  Then I watch Vairus disappear.

  Bao slows the video. Enhances the last frame.

  And my stomach drops.

  Because right before Vairus vanished—

  For a split second—

  There was a second figure standing beside it.

  Not in full form. Just a flicker in the static.

  But it was there.

  I feel my throat go dry.

  Noctis was the first.

  Vairus was the second.

  And now…

  The third is coming.

  TO BE CONTINUED…