A new kind of fear enveloped the city. Sirens screamed through narrow streets, a chorus of panic and adrenaline. From the towers above, smoke rose in plumes that turned morning light into a sickly gold. For anyone else, it was just another dawn in a city that thrived on corruption. But Ethan Cross knew better.He sat in the backroom of a shuttered warehouse, the kind of place the city forgot existed. Ava had insisted on following him again, though her hands shook as she checked the pistols lined neatly on the table. She didn’t speak; she didn’t need to.Ethan’s eyes were closed, fingers pressed to his temples. The hum that had begun at the docks of nightfall returned, faint at first, then rising like the tide.“I feel it,” Ava said, voice low. “Inside you. And in the city. It’s… everywhere.”Ethan opened his eyes. They glowed faintly gold, the first flicker of something impossible. “It’s waking,” he said. His voice was low, almost a growl. “I can feel it crawling beneath the skin. Th

The city never slept, but tonight it screamed.From the rooftops, Ethan could see fires consuming entire blocks, flames licking the edges of warehouses and factories. Smoke spiraled skyward, twisting through the fog like serpents. Sirens wailed in the distance, a chaotic symphony that no one could control.Ethan stood on the edge of a burned-out rooftop, the hum inside him thrumming louder than ever. He had not asked for this. He had not wanted to be the center of chaos, but the city had chosen him. It had always chosen him, long before he understood why.Ava came up beside him, her coat flapping in the wind. Her eyes were wide, reflecting the fires below. “Ethan… it’s worse than before. The syndicates… they’re all moving now. Crow isn’t the only one.”“I know,” Ethan said, voice low, almost a growl. “And they’re all coming for the same prize: the crownless city.”She frowned. “The… crownless city?”He didn’t answer immediately. He wasn’t thinking in words anymore. His mind worked dif

The city had changed overnight. Not because of fire, not because of death, but because it had recognized its new master. Word traveled faster than bullets, carried in whispers through alleyways, whispered in boardrooms, and transmitted across encrypted networks. The son-in-law everyone had mocked was no longer merely human. He was a force — a god cloaked in flesh, and the underworld felt it down to its marrow.Ethan Cross stood atop the remnants of the Valente skyscraper, the golden light of dawn breaking across shattered glass. From this vantage, he could see the sprawling chaos of the city — cars abandoned in the streets, sirens fading into silence, and the few remaining syndicate leaders scrambling to consolidate power. Each movement, each choice, was visible to him, unfolding like a chessboard under his gaze.Ava approached silently, as she had all night. Her hand rested briefly on his shoulder. “Ethan… it’s not just the mafia anymore. Even the Bureau—they’re mobilizing. They’ve r

The city had become a living battlefield, its streets humming with tension and unseen energy. Ethan Cross stood atop the skeletal remains of the old Valente tower, golden light flickering in his eyes, watching the distant grid of lights where multiple syndicate forces had begun converging. The war was no longer isolated — it had become a siege, an orchestrated dance of predators attempting to take down the man who had become something more than human.Ava joined him silently, the wind tugging at her coat as she surveyed the city beneath. “Ethan… it’s all of them now. Every major family… every surviving faction. They’re converging simultaneously. If this goes wrong…”He did not finish the thought. Words were insufficient. He could feel the pulse of the city beneath his boots, a living heartbeat of concrete and steel that resonated with his own. Every tremor, every shadow, every flicker of light was a signal he read instinctively.“They cannot overwhelm what the city itself shields,” he

The city never slept, but tonight, it shivered. Sirens had long since ceased, and the few who dared move through the streets carried a sense of dread so palpable it seemed to cling to their skin. Ethan Cross stood on the edge of the central plaza, golden eyes scanning the horizon. What had begun as a war for control of the city’s syndicates had now escalated into something far more dangerous — a siege from every angle, from both mortal and mythic forces.Ava stepped beside him, her hand gripping a weapon far heavier than any civilian might carry, though unnecessary against mortals she no longer feared. “Ethan… it’s all of them now. Every syndicate. And the shadows… they’re moving. Something… something unnatural.”Ethan’s gaze narrowed. “I can feel it. The Titans were only the first wave. Now, others — older, subtler, and infinitely more cunning — are drawn. They hide in the cracks of the city, in the alleys, in the whispers of men’s hearts. Shadows do not merely cloak them; they are t