The scream of collapsing steel still echoed in Adrian’s ears as the world turned upside down. The rooftop dissolved into smoke and fire above him, fragments of glass and concrete tumbling alongside his body as he plummeted.The inferno rising from the floors below clawed at his skin, the heat a living beast trying to drag him under. For a breathless moment, he saw nothing but fire and shadows. Then his hand caught on something.A cable, swinging loose from the toppled crane, slapped into his palm. Pain ripped through his shoulder as his body jerked violently, but it stopped his descent. The cable creaked, unraveling fibers snapping one by one as he dangled above the raging blaze.“Adrian!” Emily’s voice tore down from above, shrill with terror. He glanced up to see her crouched on the crumbling ledge, hand stretched out into the smoke, eyes wild with fear.Grayson held her back with one arm, the other gripping a steel bar jammed into the rooftop for balance. But the rooftop was failin

The world blurred into red and orange. Heat seared Adrian’s lungs as he plummeted into the inferno below. Flames clawed at his skin, smoke stung his eyes, and chunks of burning debris tumbled past him like deadly missiles.For a heartbeat, the fire seemed endless, a living beast determined to devour him whole. Then instinct kicked in.Adrian twisted mid fall, angling toward a partially collapsed balcony jutting out from the building next to the burning wreckage.He crashed into it with a bone shattering impact, ribs screaming, shoulder nearly dislocated. The metal groaned beneath his weight, threatening to snap and send him plunging again.Emily’s voice rang through the chaos, muffled by smoke but urgent: “Adrian! Can you hear me?!”He coughed violently, blood and soot filling his mouth, but forced a nod. Survival demanded he focus, ignore the pain, and move.The firestorm below was chaotic. Steel twisted like molten taffy. Windows exploded as the heat made them shatter, sending shard

Adrian’s chest heaved, each breath a serrated cut through his ribs. The firestorm below roared, a living ocean of flames licking at the fractured steel beneath him. Every beam threatened to give way, every spark a potential death sentence.Above him, Mara’s device pulsed a sinister red, humming with energy that seemed to warp the air itself. Its glow reflected in her cold, calculating eyes.“You’ve survived the flames,” she said softly, “but survival alone won’t save you.”Adrian’s hands clenched the jagged iron bar, knuckles raw. His mind raced, calculating distances, angles, and every possible outcome. The two assassins were still on the rooftop, equally battered but ready, their blades glinting as if drawn by the fire itself.A high pitched whine erupted from Mara’s device. Sparks arced from its core, falling toward the rooftop like jagged lightning.The taller assassin glared at Adrian. “Move, or be crushed!” he barked.Adrian pivoted, slamming his bar into the steel beneath him,

Adrian plummeted into the inferno, the world around him reduced to fire, smoke, and twisted steel. Every muscle screamed in agony, every breath scorched his lungs. The city itself seemed to writhe beneath him, responding to Mara’s device with violent, unpredictable energy.Flames licked at his skin, sparks tore across his vision, and chunks of debris tumbled past him, some missing him by mere inches. Panic threatened to take hold but he forced it down. Survival demanded focus, not fear.His fingers caught a jagged piece of metal jutting from the side of a burning wall. Pain exploded through his shoulder and ribs as he yanked himself into a precarious crouch.Blood ran freely down his arms, face, and chest, but he was alive. Above, Mara’s voice echoed, calm, almost serene amidst the chaos.“You can’t escape this, Adrian. The city itself obeys me.” Adrian spat blood and grit. “Then I’ll burn it down before I fall.”The firestorm beneath him was a living maze. Twisted girders, shards of

Adrian plunged through the swirling chaos, flames roaring around him, debris smashing past like jagged missiles. The heat was unbearable, each breath a dagger through his lungs.His body ached from the previous battles, every muscle screaming, ribs threatening to collapse entirely. But he refused to surrender refused to let Mara’s inferno consume him.Below, molten metal poured like rivers of fire, jagged beams collapsed into the flames, and sparks rained endlessly. Mara’s pulse device glowed like the eye of a malevolent god, sending waves of energy that twisted the city, bending steel, fire, and debris to her will.Adrian’s mind raced. Survival required more than instinct, it demanded cunning. Every movement, every swing, every grip had to be calculated with precision.His hands scraped along a scorched metal girder, gripping it desperately. Pain shot through his arms and shoulders, but he forced himself upward. The air was thick with smoke, searing his throat and eyes, but there was