Breath of the Idle King

Chapter 4: Irae, Debt of the Dead

The doorknob creaked, the sound of metal on metal ringing like a death knell in Garou’s ears. He didn't wait With muscles tensing like heated steel, Garou triggered the metal disc in his hand.

Click.

The disc didn't explode. Instead, it spewed a high frequency distortion wave that made the air around the room vibrate violently. Garou felt his ears ring, a nauseating sensation crawling up from his stomach. Before his eyes, the system flashed a quick warning.

[SHOCK FREQUENCY UTILIZATION: 35% ENERGY].

The door swung open. Two men, fully geared for combat black Kevlar vests, ballistic helmets, and assault rifles fitted with suppressors burst inside. However, they weren't prepared for the shockwave Garou had triggered. Their movements, which should have been precise, instantly slowed, hampered by the neural disorientation caused by the disc.

Garou lunged. He didn't know any martial arts he only knew what it felt like to want to stay alive. With one powerful thrust of his legs, he kicked off the cracked floor, hurtling toward the first man. His shoulder slammed into the agent's chest with the force of a small truck. The sound of snapping ribs was crisp, followed by a muffled scream as the man was hurled back against the wall, cracking the concrete.

"Damn, my strength is insane," Garou thought to himself. He had no time to be shocked.

The second man, though still staggering, raised his weapon. Garou didn't think. He let his breath lead the way. Every short, rhythmic inhale he took caused the muscles in his arms to swell strangely. He gripped the barrel of the man's rifle, squeezing until the metal buckled inward, then drove his knee straight into his opponent's stomach.

Garou didn't stop to see if they were dead. He ran out of the office, racing down the dimly lit corridor of the apartment building. The sound of sirens began to echo in the distance either the authorities or perhaps more of the hunters’ comrades. He had to get out.

He took the emergency stairs two at a time. He was panting, not from exhaustion, but because of the system's rhythm pumping excessive oxygen into his cells. Every time he inhaled, his heart hammered, fueling an adrenaline surge that sharpened his vision allowing him to see every crack in the wall, every speck of dust in the air.

However, as he burst through the exit into the narrow alleyway behind the building, he found no freedom.

Two other figures were already waiting there. They weren't in uniform, but the aura they radiated was far more dangerous than the previous agents. They were calm, precise, and clearly waiting for their prey.

"Target isolated," one of them murmured. His voice was flat, devoid of emotion. "Finish him. Leave no trace."

Garou came to a sudden halt. His legs felt heavy. Energy 20%. He was too exhausted, and the previous fight had drained his reserves faster than he’d anticipated. He tried to take another breath, but the system sent a painful red notification instead.

[WARNING: CELLULAR FATIGUE. OXYGEN NO LONGER SUFFICIENT TO SUPPORT PHYSICAL OUTPUT.]

The world around Garou began to fade. His knees trembled. One of the hunters stepped forward, drawing a faintly glowing, blue-edged dagger.

Just as the man was about to swing the blade toward Garou’s throat, a shadow not an ordinary shadow, but a mass of pitch black that seemed to breathe emerged from behind a metal dumpster in the corner of the alley. The shadow spread rapidly like spilled ink, crawling up the hunter's legs and pinning him to the ground as if he were nailed down.

"Quite a hassle," a woman's voice rang out coldly from the darkness.

Garou turned his head. From behind a stack of cardboard boxes, a woman stepped out. She wore a long, tattered leather jacket, and her eyes... her eyes looked like obsidian that reflected no light. Irae.

"Who are you?" Garou hissed, struggling to stay upright even as his vision began to blur.

"Someone who needs you to stay alive," Irae replied casually. She flicked her fingers. The shadows holding the hunters suddenly tightened, coiling around their necks until the sound of snapping bones echoed. The hunters didn't die, but they were completely paralyzed, ensnared in a dark embrace they couldn't escape.

Irae walked toward Garou, stopping right in front of his face. Garou could smell a faint scent of wet earth and metal coming from her. "You were reckless. Using a shock frequency to get out of that office? That’s like lighting a flare in the middle of a pitch-black night. Everyone in this city now knows exactly where your breath is located."

Garou stumbled, his shoulder hitting the cold brick wall. "I... I didn't have a choice."

"There is always a choice if you have a brain," Irae said, grabbing Garou’s collar and forcing the young man to look her in the eye. "Listen, kid. You have something inside your lungs that a lot of people are looking for. They won't stop until they've dissected you to take it. If you want to live until tomorrow morning, you need protection. And protection in this world isn't free."

"What do you want?" Garou's voice was hoarse; his energy was down to 12%.

Irae smiled, but the smile didn't reach her dark eyes. She reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a small, purplish crystal plate. She pressed the plate against Garou’s wrist. Garou’s skin felt like it was burning as the crystal fused with his pores.

[PACTA NECROMANTIA ACCEPTED. STATUS: BOUND.]

"From now on, your breath is mine to hide," Irae whispered. "I’m getting you out of here, but remember one thing  every breath you take now is bound to me. If you try to run, I’ll stop that rhythm forever."

Garou felt a tugging in his chest. It wasn't pain, but rather an invisible bond that choked his breath. He had just escaped the hunters, only to fall into the clutches of someone who seemed far more dangerous.

"Why are you helping me?" Garou asked, though he already knew the answer.

Irae glanced toward the end of the alley, where the sound of boots from another hunting squad was drawing closer. She pulled Garou into a shadow stretching along the wall a dimensional rift invisible to ordinary human eyes.

Before they vanished completely into the darkness, Irae whispered into Garou’s ear, her voice as cold as cracking ice.

"You think you're human, Garou? You're wrong. Every time you breathe, you're drawing death from another world into your lungs. You're not just a fugitive. You're a beacon for entities that should have died thousands of years ago. And believe me... they've already begun to catch the scent of your breath from afar."

With a sudden jolt, the world around them warped, sucking Garou into a strange, pitch black void, leaving the alley empty, silent, and smelling of the remnants of death.