The boy's footsteps faded into the night, swallowed by the sounds of the city. Hikaru watched him disappear down the street, his fingers tightening around the note. The ink was still damp in some places, smudged as if written in a hurry. The edges were creased, like it had been passed through many hands before reaching his.
Budi leaned against the wooden wall of the inn, arms crossed, his gaze flicking between Hikaru and the dark hallway where the kid had vanished. "Let me guess. We're going."
Hikaru flicked the note open again, scanning the words a second time. The message was simple. Direct. No signature, no unnecessary details. Just an order. Meet me at the old bell tower. Midnight. No tricks. He smirked. "Of course we are."
Selene sat stiffly on the edge of the bed, adjusting the bandages on her wrist, her silver eyes shadowed beneath the dim lantern light. "You understand this is a trap."
Budi exhaled through his nose, rubbing his temple. "Yeah, but what else is new?"
Hikaru let the note slip between his fingers like a playing card. "Every trap is just a puzzle waiting to be solved."
Selene shook her head. "This isn't a game."
Hikaru smiled. "Everything's a game if you play it right."
The old bell tower stood at the edge of the noble district, a crumbling structure long abandoned, its rusted bells silent for decades. The stone was weathered, cracks running along its base like veins. At night, it loomed over the city, forgotten by all except the birds that nested in its rafters.
Hikaru and Budi approached from the back alleys, their footsteps muffled against the damp cobblestone. The streets were quiet, but not empty. Too many shadows moved at the edge of his vision. He could feel the weight of unseen eyes, the silence stretching a little too long.
Budi adjusted his stance, his mask reflecting the moonlight. "They're watching."
Hikaru flicked a card into his palm. "Good."
The tower's entrance was open, not forced, not broken—just waiting. Hikaru stepped through first, his senses stretched thin, the wooden stairs groaning beneath his weight. The scent of rain-soaked stone and dust filled the air. He counted the steps as he ascended. There was no sound except for their own breathing.
Halfway up, a footstep echoed beside them. Not above. Not behind. Right next to them.
Budi's body tensed, his breath slow and measured. "That wasn't us."
Hikaru's fingers tightened on his deck, his mind racing through probabilities. "No. It wasn't."
A voice spoke. Calm. Too calm. "You are late."
Hikaru exhaled through his nose, tilting his head slightly. "Time is relative."
The air thickened.
A figure emerged from the dim light at the top of the stairs. He hadn't been there a second ago. Dressed in dark robes, his hood obscuring most of his face, the man's presence was wrong. His feet touched the ground, but his movements made no sound. His cloak didn't shift with the wind, as if the space around him didn't obey normal rules.
Budi moved slightly, his muscles coiling. "That's not normal."
Hikaru smirked. "I love how you say that like it's new."
The man didn't react. His voice was steady. "You stole something that was not yours."
Hikaru feigned surprise, spreading his hands. "You'll have to be more specific."
The shadow beneath the man twitched. It moved independently, stretching toward them like ink bleeding through fabric.
Budi's posture shifted subtly, his weight lowering, his fingers flexing. "Hikaru."
Hikaru flicked a card between his fingers. "I see it."
The man remained still, but his shadow didn't. It curled forward, reaching across the floor, moving against the grain of reality itself.
Budi reacted first, shifting into a lower stance, prepared to move. The shadow lunged.
Hikaru activated his card. The space flickered, distorting for a fraction of a second. A perfect illusion, a misdirection. The shadow twisted toward the false image of Hikaru instead.
It didn't hesitate. It ignored the trick entirely.
It went for Budi.
Hikaru's heart kicked up a beat too late. He didn't have time to warn him. The shadow curled around Budi's wrist.
For an instant, everything froze.
Not physically.
The air around Budi changed. His mask flickered—no, not flickered. Shifted. Not the mask he wore. The one beneath it.
For the briefest moment, Hikaru saw something he wasn't meant to.
A second face.
A second presence.
Shroud, if that was even his real name, stepped back. His shadow recoiled.
He hadn't expected that.
Budi staggered slightly, exhaling sharply. His breathing was controlled, but Hikaru saw the tension in his shoulders.
Hikaru smiled. "Oh. You weren't expecting him, were you?"
The hooded figure stood motionless for a long moment.
Then, finally, he spoke.
"Interesting."
And just like that—he vanished.
Not in a blink. Not like teleportation.
Like he had never been there to begin with.
The air snapped back to normal. The weight that had pressed against their lungs disappeared. The night was just the night again.
Hikaru flipped a card in his fingers. "Well." He caught it. "That was weird."
Budi punched him in the arm. "You think?!"
Selene stepped through the doorway, her silver eyes sharp, unblinking. "That wasn't just a messenger."
Hikaru studied her expression. "Go on."
Selene exhaled, shaking her head. "That was a warning."
Hikaru's grin widened, slow and deliberate. He adjusted his glasses, feeling the weight of the stolen book still tucked into his coat.
"Well, then."
He let the card slip between his fingers like falling leaves.
"I guess we're finally making the right people nervous."