The echo of his own footsteps resonated in the vast underground cavern. Kai Solis kept his breathing controlled, his senses sharper than ever as he made his way through the dark tunnels. There was no turning back. After the encounter with the mercenaries in the alley, he had followed the trail of an Imperial informant, and his instinct told him that what he would find here would set the course for his revenge.

  The Total Flow Consciousness pulsed within him, activating little by little. Although still unstable, it gave him enough of an advantage to anticipate the movements of his enemies. His mission was clear: infiltrate the hidden base of the Imperial guards and obtain information on the supply routes of the corrupt nobility.

  In the distance, the murmur of voices could be heard. Kai slipped into the shadows like another shadow, hiding behind a stone column. Three soldiers were talking next to a metal door. They were part of the Empire's elite, assassins without honor, feared even by the soldiers themselves.

  With a sigh, Kai gripped his dagger. He knew what he had to do. The energy of Full Flow Consciousness coursed through his body, allowing him to move with a precision that even his enemies couldn’t imagine.

  “Did you hear that?” one of the soldiers asked, turning his head toward the darkness.

  Before he could process it, Kai was upon him. A deadly flick of the wrist. The dagger ripped through the soldier’s throat with unearthly cleanliness, as if the steel was an extension of his own will. Giving the others no time to react, he moved like a spectre, gliding to the next target. One fluid movement and the soldier fell, the blade of the dagger piercing his heart.

  The third guard reacted, drawing his sword swiftly. Kai didn’t stop, and the sound of steel slicing through the air was just a prelude to the storm he would unleash. The first slash grazed his face, but Kai was already a step ahead. He launched himself to the ground in one agile movement, dodging the soldier's sword and accurately cutting through the Achilles tendon. The soldier fell to the ground, a cry of pain escaping his lips, but before he could make any more noise, Kai's dagger stabbed into his throat, silencing his last breath.

  The silence returned like an unbearable weight. Kai took a deep breath, his breathing calm, almost as if he had done nothing. Wiping his dagger on the tunic of one of the fallen, he muttered to himself in a low, yet venomous voice:

  —The hunt has begun.

  He calmly approached the metal door, opening it with minimal effort. Inside, the room was lit by torches, and a wooden table was filled with documents. Kai quickly scanned them: transportation routes, names of nobles, places where weapons were stored. He smiled. This could be the beginning of the end of the Empire.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  Suddenly, an icy current ran down his spine. In the blink of an eye, his eyes narrowed, and his dagger shot out to the corner of the room. There, in the shadows, a man watched him. His presence was palpable, like a storm before the rain. The stranger’s silver hair gleamed in the torchlight, and his black armor betrayed his rank. He was no ordinary soldier.

  “So you’re the one ruining the Empire’s plans,” the man said in a soft, almost amused voice as he slowly stood up.

  Kai didn’t move. He knew this confrontation would be different. Rael. That name burned into his mind like a warning.

  “And who are you?” Kai replied, his eyes burning with fury, but still calculating. He wasn’t going to underestimate him.

  Rael smiled, and in the blink of an eye, he disappeared from Kai’s sight. At that instant, the air became thick, and Kai felt the movement as if time had dilated. The moment Rael appeared beside him, his dagger was already in the air, cutting through the wind.

  Rael dodged the blow with impossible grace, but Kai did not retreat. On the contrary, his body reacted instantly, attacking from another angle. Rael deflected the next blow with an agile movement, but Kai was unstoppable. His mind, fueled by the All-Flow Consciousness, was already predicting the next moves. The fight was not just a physical confrontation. It was a dance, a battle of will and strategy.

  “Is that all you can do?” Rael sneered, his eyes flashing with dangerous emotion.

  Kai did not respond. Every blow from Rael was deflected with precision, every movement from Kai was ahead of his own. Rael finally opened his eyes in surprise, and Kai seized the opportunity. He spun like a predator, his dagger finding its mark in Rael’s side. Blood stained the blade.

  Rael grunted in pain, but his smile didn’t fade. There was more than defiance in his gaze: fascination.

  “Interesting… very interesting,” he murmured.

  Kai didn’t stop. He couldn’t. Rael was dangerous, but now he felt something inside himself that drove him on. Something more than vengeance. Something that pushed him forward.

  Rael, touching his wound, stepped back. Without another word, he threw a sphere of smoke to the ground. Kai tried to reach for him, but when the smoke cleared, Rael had already disappeared, leaving only the echo of his laughter.

  Kai gritted his teeth. He didn’t like leaving enemies alive. But he knew the time to confront Rael would come. For now, his goal was another.

  With the documents secured, Kai left the room and walked toward the cavern’s exit. Revenge was on the way, but it wouldn’t be enough. The Empire would fall, and he would be the one to destroy it.

  Behind him, in the darkness, a group of soldiers waited. They weren’t just anyone. They were the men he himself had trained, his personal army. They were the ones who, like him, felt the weight of the Empire’s oppression. They were ready to follow him on his crusade.

  Kai watched them for a moment. His eyes burned with unwavering determination.

  “Let’s go,” he said, his deep voice echoing off the cavern walls. “Today our war begins. And no one, not the Empire or its shadows, will be able to stop us.”