'That Shaw guy was coated with the same smell. From head to toe, it's stronger than the one those two had.'There was no need to ask who those two were—he already knew. Jake and Ash. Well, now there was only one of them… and then it hit him. Jake—the one he left alive. He thought he had killed everyone related to the Gothams during his heist on the tower.But then Shaw Gotham appeared on screen like thunder cracking through the sky. For a second there, Elfric thought everything he'd been working for was in vain. It wasn't that Jake had slipped his mind, but he thought he was finished as well. Yet now that Shaw Gotham had surfaced, he needed to rethink his statement about the death of all Gothams.'You're thinking what I'm thinking too, right?' Orathan said after observing how Elfric suddenly fell silent.Elfric simply nodded.The calamity of the possibility was killing him slowly inside. He had no memory of

"Poor human…" the elf mumbled under his breath with genuine pity.He could relate to what this human was going through—the pain inflicted on him as they forced the cells in his body to change into something else. He was only a test subject; they wanted his cells as they were. But that boy… he couldn't imagine the pain.The dark chuckle that escaped Shaw's lips broke the elf's sulking. The look of pity and hurt on his face instantly changed to hate and rage."You are still as pathetic as you were decades ago," Shaw mocked, the corner of his mouth turning up into a cruel smile. "That's why you never survived, don't you know?"Shaw took hold of the elf's jaw firmly in his palm, forcing him to look at him despite the chains on his neck pulling him back down. "Still so pathetic," he repeated.The elf hissed through gritted teeth, his arms fighting against the chains, making them rattle harshly. He was only this weak because he was in

"Scarlet," he called over his shoulder. "We are going to do the job."Scarlet stared at West's broad shoulder. Even though she couldn't see his face, she knew he wasn't as happy about this as she was. There must be a reason, she thought. West doesn't risk his men's lives—the men he sees as his family. He wouldn't push them into the ditch of hell if he didn't have a plan.Julian looked back and forth between the two. He could sense the silent conversation they were having, even though West was giving her his back."You're sure this is for the best?" she thought carefully, trying to make peace with the truth. "This is for the best, right?!"Her voice was almost desperate—a plea to help her convince herself that this was for the best, that this suicide mission would bring her closer to the truth. She was lost in her own dwelling before she was startled by West turning to look at her over his shoulder. His crystal-gray eyes gazed at her so intently that, for a moment, she felt a blush surf

Joanna wasn’t the only one who had no idea where her brother was going on Sunday. Orathan, who was an entity intertwined with Elfric, was also left in the dark.He surprised himself with all the plotting that Elfric got to make.‘Where are you going?’ Orathan asked, and he had a brief thought. ‘You aren’t actually going there right now, are you?’ He shook his head slightly.“We can’t intervene unless they tell us, or at least hint at it,” Elfric stated, scanning the crowded street. Sunday afternoons are always this crowded.Commoners go out in an attempt to enjoy what little freedom and entertainment they are offered. The smiles on the children's faces as their tiny hands clasped their parents' hands walking through the streets.Most of the displaying windows were crowded with mundanes watching the latest happenings in Lauxdale. Some were excited, applaudin