In the dead of night, the tall and lean figure of a premature teen hurried around the room doing this and that.
Checking if the door is locked.
Grabbing a backpack filled with the necessary things.
Grabbing and putting on black-colored hoodie and jeans.
Then taking away his phone, he climbed onto the window sill of his large bedroom window that could easily allow a grown adult—let alone a teenager—to go through. With a light flip, he turned his body which had been facing the outside scenery to facing the interior of the room.
A familiar luxury-filled room arranged to guarantee the highest level of comfort and fulfillment came into view. His brother had called the best interior designer and decorator back in the day to create this beautiful room for him full of everything he could possibly want once he grew out of the age of sleeping together in the same room as his brother. Before the age of 6, Ian had always slept in the same room as his brother, especially after the unfortunate death of his parents, making him afraid to sleep alone haunted by nightmares.
Even after he moved out of his brother's room, he had had occasional nightmares of the accident that took his parents' life. But eventually, under the meticulous care of his brother and the weekly consultations with a psychologist, Ian got out of the shadows of his parents' death in his last life. However, tragedy soon struck him again. And this time, he lost everything. Everything!
Ian clenched his teeth in sheer hatred as images of his last life surfaced in his eyes.
Despite that he got revenge on the ones who did it, bringing onto them a hundred times of what he suffered, nothing could make his brother and the loyal brothers of the gang return. To say nothing of the fact that he was not able to get his hands on the actual person behind the scenes who ordered for the extermination of the gang.
But now, to his amazement, he has somehow returned in time, back to before everything unfolded.
Looking around the huge room and thinking of how overly well and considerately his brother considered everything for him with not a sigh of impatience or annoyance, Ian felt warmth surrounding his icy heart. This made him even more determined to not let the tragedy of the past happen again.
Ian spared one last look at his lightless room from the outside ledge of the open window. He let go.
Falling. He fell from a bedroom window three stories high.
Thud!
Skillfully, he landed lightly on his feet.
Then with a whoosh, Ian disappeared into the dark of the night and out of the mansion where he had been protected all his life.
As Ian rushed through the night, he recalled the events of his past life.
In his past life, Ian had been a sheltered child. His brother had protected him from the wind and rain of the world like a fierce tiger protecting its only cub. It was one of the reasons why Ian was so ignorant and foolish in his last life. He believed in people he shouldn't have believed in and it ruined not just his but his brother's life as well, not to mention the lives of the many brothers-in-arms from his brother's gang who dedicatedly followed his brother.
Every time Ian thinks back to his stupid self in the last life, an intense self-hatred and blame drowns him into a deep ocean of remorse.
That's why in this new life that he was given, he is determined to support his brother and his gang. Raise his own power and not allow them a single, minuscule chance of hurting him and his loved ones!
Determination and will shone brightly like stars in Ian's eyes, juxtaposing against the dark background of the night sky.
Deftly Ian traveled.
For the past 7 years, Ian wasn't just waiting around for the past events to come find him. In order to ensure that the tragedies never happen again this time round, Ian has been strengthening every area he could about himself, while also subtly influencing his brother and his subordinates.
After all, he had no way to prevent every single tragedy by his lonesome self—he understands that. If he were to rely only on himself, a lot of the things that must be changed will be hard to change, not to mention that he can't be by their side every second of every day even if he wants to.
However, that doesn't mean he's going to leave his brother and his gang to their own devices. He will always be monitoring them and protecting them in the shadows. However, doing that by himself, again, is going to be difficult. He needs more loyal and capable subordinates only faithful to him.
Right now, he was going to obtain one.
As far as he could remember, one of the most infamous people of the underworld he heard of in his past life was Shadow Fang.
Real name unknown, eventually everyone part of the dark society came to call him "Shadow Fang".
The monster that hides in the darkest of corners, listening into all of your secrets, and suddenly pounces out to tear you apart with his sharp, life-threatening fangs.
Ian was going to meet this Shadow Fang tonight.
In his last life, Shadow Fang was a notorious assassin known for his craft. No one knows where he comes from or where he's going. They only know that once Shadow Fang has an eye on a target, that target is dead meat. If he was hired to kill you, he would never allow you to live past the next day. Guaranteed 99% mission success. One of the most powerful and valued individuals in the eyes of the underworld organizations, he served as the living example of what a good assassin was. Everyone trembled at the mention of his name.
He, unfortunately, ultimately met his demise in the hands of his very organization. The one that groomed and nurtured him into who he was to the world.
In this life, Ian planned on saving him and getting his gratitude and, ultimately, his loyalty.
A conspicuous curve slowly arched itself over the young teen's face. A vicious and gloomy aura unbefitting of his age and appearance shrouded the child in tangible darkness.
Yet just as fast and unpredictably it appeared, it was swiftly washed away in the tide of the deep and dark night.
It was going to be a long night.
***
Inside a motel room.
Click.
The muffled sound of the safe switch flicking off faintly resounded in the dark.
As swift as a shadow in the dark night, the figure slipped from where he stood to brace his back against the wall next to the open window. Despite the absence of any other presence, the figure remained as silent as within a silent movie.
With smooth as flowing water motions, the figure flipped to face the window, in a split second took aim, and fired. His shadow disappeared instantly after from the window.
Click. The trigger was pulled.
A lightning fast bullet ran its predetermined course towards its victim.
It precisely entered the tiny hole in the wall, passed the side of a glass of water, and successfully reached its target.
Pierce—
"Argh!—"
Thump!
Dead without knowing how.
At the same time when the bullet was racing onwards on its predetermined course, the figure immediately hid back silently next to the window.
All was quiet and peaceful as before, except for the ever increasing pool of blood pooling around the head of the fresh corpse.
Inside the motel room, not a trace of a single person existed.
On the other side, once the shadow disappeared, a few people walked into the room where the target was assassinated and, chancing upon the dying man, screamed.
"AHHH!!"
"The president was shot!!"
"Someone! Call an ambulance!"
***
Ian stood still in the dark watching everything play out as it did in his previous life.
Clouds moved and covered the brilliant full moon tonight. As if covering its eyes from the dirt of the world.
Watching a dark figure leaping with small movements out of the motel window and disappearing into the shadows, Ian placed the palm of his hand on the brick wall. Retreating slowly and steadily as his palm slowly and lightly slid backwards along the wall, he disappeared.
Clouds sluggishly moved, seeming yawning in boredom as their puffy gray bodies slicked across the dark purple sky. The moon slyly peeked out, unable to control the urge to peep on the lowly and tainted humans.
Upon returning back to his secret organization, Shadow Fang went up to the familiar mission issuer person he has always dealt with.
"Mission completed," Shadow Fang said in a calm and even voice, not betraying the annoyance he felt. For an inexplicable reason today he has been feeling restless and anxious as if something was going to happen. This made him irritated, though no one could detect it anyways. But he was being more curt than usual.
And the mission issuer noticed this. As someone who had many dealings and interactions with the infamous Shadow Fang who no one can usually see the hide and hair of, the mission issuer noticed something off about Shadow Fang.
"Did the mission this time not go smoothly?" The mission issuer inquired as he went through the usual routine of stamping the mission as complete in the system and going through the mission rewards procedure.
It took a few minutes for everything to go through and the rewards to go to Shadow Fang.
Shadow Fang felt his irritation grow. He doesn't understand what was wrong with himself today. He usually isn't this irritable and short-tempered.
"No." Shadow Fang spat out a word, not willing to spare even a word more for the person opposite. Unable to continue the conversation, the mission issuer smiled politely and stopped the small talk.
After waiting for some time, the mission was marked as completed in the system and the mission issuer gave Shadow Fang the rewards.
Without saying a word, Shadow Fang hurried away as though chased by something leaving the mission issuer dumbfounded.
In the end, Shadow Fang was still stopped on his way out of the organization.
"Shadow Fang," someone suddenly came up to him and called out. "The boss wants to have a word with you."
Shadow Fang paused in his step.
Knowing that this invitation could not be refused, Shadow Fang nodded and headed to the boss's office. The person walked away after completing their task.
As he drew closer and closer to the office of his organization's boss who he had met only a few times in person, Shadow Fang grew increasingly uneasy.
A feeling of unease that he just couldn't shake off no matter how he tried to calm himself. Even his fingers shook.
He had a bad feeling about this meeting.
Shadow Fang raised his guard up.
Knocking on the office door and announcing that it was him coming to meet the boss, a voice told him to come in.
He walked in.
"Shadow Fang," a man dressed in all black from head to toe and wearing a strange and creepy mask said cheerily like he was happy to see him.
Shadow Fang had previously met the boss three times before. Once when he was first recruited into the organization. The second, when he achieved great results in his missions. And third, the first time he had failed a mission. This would be the fourth.
Everytime, Shadow Fang would feel a creepy and weird feeling from his boss, it would make him shudder and twitch for some time after each meeting at any mask he saw.
This time, however, there was something else. Something even more terrible than before. But Shadow Fang could not tell what it was specifically.
All he knew at this moment was his instinct telling him to act calm and walk away quickly from this situation.
However, it was impossible to directly walk away right now.
"Boss," Shadow Fang called and greeted with a slight bow. No matter how high he ranked in the organization, no one was above or even equal to the boss.
His authority was absolute.
The man nodded to show he acknowledged Shadow Fang's greeting and respect.
He smiled. "You must be curious why you've been summoned to see me."
Shadow Fang nodded.
The man walked out from behind the desk.
"I'm sure you realize as well as I do—as well as anyone in the Underworld does—that you are a precious asset to my organization, an unrivaled figure in the assassin world. A killing god." He started and said as he slowly made his way towards Shadow Fang. Each step like stalking a prey. Unsettling Shadow Fang.
Shadow Fang placed his hands behind his back calmly and unnoticeably.
His boss continued with a smile, "But sometimes, when an asset becomes too valuable, not to mention it has its own will and consciousness, it gets a little troublesome. Tell me, who would want a puppet with thoughts of its own? Especially when it no longer does what you want it to. Causing it to lose any value it had.
"And what happens when an asset loses its value?"
The boss looked Shadow Fang in the eye. All smiles gone. Only a creepy and disturbing look in his eyes.
"It gets disposed of." Shadow Fang finished for the man.
Silence.
The man suddenly smiled, then started laughing, holding his mask with his fingers to prevent it from falling off from the trembles of his body.
The laughter echoed off the walls of the office. Gradually receding, the man in the mask said,
"So die."
Shadow Fang tensed.