2025-11-15 21:31:53The motorcycle tore through the sleeping city like a streak of black lightning.
Wind whipped against Kain’s face, stinging his eyes and stealing the breath from his lungs. He clung tightly to the rider, muscles trembling, his mind still trying to understand what he’d just seen what had chased him.
Behind them, the street was a blur of shadows and neon reflections, but the bike moved too fast for Kain to look back. He didn’t want to. He didn’t want to see those things gaining on them.
The rider said nothing.
Her grip was steady, confident, every movement precise. She rode like she knew the city’s backstreets better than she knew her own heartbeat.
They cut through an alley, splashed through a shallow puddle, and emerged into a wider road. The engine roared louder as she pushed the bike even harder.
Kain shouted over the wind, “Who ARE you?!”
The rider didn’t turn her head.
“Hold on!”
“That’s not an answer!”
Suddenly she leaned the bike into a sharp left turn. Kain’s stomach dropped as his knee nearly scraped the asphalt. They shot into another alleyway, then another, twisting through a maze of narrow, dark paths.
Kain risked a glance over his shoulder.
He wished he hadn’t.
The faceless woman was on the rooftops, sprinting across them like gravity didn’t apply. Her limbs bent at impossible angles as she leaped from building to building.
And the three dark figures they ran along the walls.
Sideways.
Like insects.
Their shadows trailed behind them like living things.
Kain’s breath hitched.
“Oh, come on how are they still”
“They’re not human,” the rider said, her voice muffled by the helmet.
“Stop expecting them to follow human rules!”
Kain swallowed hard.
“Then what are they?!”
“You don’t want to know yet.”
“Yes,” he snapped back, “I think I do!”
The rider said nothing.
But the silence was louder than the engine.
They burst out onto an abandoned highway. The road stretched like a dark river under the moonlight. Empty. Silent.
Too silent.
Kain’s grip tightened. “Why here?”
“So they can’t cut us off.”
The rider accelerated hard.
Kain clenched his teeth as the bike surged forward. “You’re driving like someone who’s done this before.”
She made a low sound something between a laugh and a scoff.
“I’ve done it more times than you’ve been alive.”
Kain blinked.
“What does that even mean?”
But before she could answer, the air behind them shifted.
A sound echoed.
Not quite a scream.
Not quite a howl.
Something in between.
It rippled through the air like a blade.
Kain felt it slice through his spine.
He spun around and his blood froze.
The faceless woman had dropped onto the highway, landing on all fours. Her body jerked as if electricity passed through her. Then her head snapped upward.
Her blank face tilted toward them.
And she sprinted.
Her limbs blurred.
Her shadow stretched across the asphalt like a smearing stain.
“Faster!” Kain yelled.
“I’m already at max speed!” the rider snapped.
The creature gained.
Closer.
Closer
“Kain!”
The rider leaned forward and yelled:
“Reach into your pocket! The card!”
Kain’s heart pounded. “Why?!”
“Just do it!”
He fumbled with shaking fingers and pulled out the metal card. The symbol engraved on it the circle split by three diagonal lines gleamed in the wind.
“It’s glowing!” he shouted.
“Good! Hold it up!”
Kain hesitated.
“What is it going to do?!”
“Save your life,” she replied simply.
The creature was nearly upon them.
Kain felt its cold breath on the back of his neck.
He raised the card.
It pulsed
And the world exploded.
A blast of white light erupted from the symbol, spreading like a shockwave. It hit the creature mid-sprint, launching it backward with bone-shattering force.
It slammed into the highway and skidded across the asphalt, limbs flailing wildly.
The three dark figures following behind were thrown off their feet, crashing into a barrier.
The light faded as quickly as it came.
The bike sped on.
Kain stared at the card, chest heaving.
“What… what was that?!”
The rider slowed slightly only slightly.
“That was the sigil activating.”
“Sigil?”
“It reacts to danger. To them. To Echo-born creatures.”
Kain swallowed hard. “So those thing's”
“They were tracking you by your awakening energy.”
“My… what?”
She sighed sharply.
“You’re Echo-marked, Kain. That makes you valuable. And dangerous.”
Kain’s pulse pounded in his ears.
He felt like he was drowning in a world he didn’t ask for.
“My father was one of you,” he whispered. “The man earlier said that.”
The rider stiffened.
For the first time, she seemed genuinely surprised.
“You met someone already?”
Kain nodded. “Tall guy. Black coat. Opened my door without touching it.”
The rider cursed under her breath.
“Kaius got to you first.”
“Kaius,” Kain repeated. “So you know him?”
“Unfortunately.”
“What is he to you?”
The rider hesitated.
Her voice softened.
“He was your father’s partner.”
Kain’s breath caught.
“My father’s… partner? That mean's”
“It means your father wasn’t an ordinary man, Kain.”
She turned sharply, eyes on the road ahead.
“And whatever you think happened to him it’s not the truth.”
Kain felt a sharp ache in his chest.
“He died,” he whispered. “I saw the casket. I was eight.”
“You saw what they wanted you to see,” the rider said quietly.
“He disappeared during a mission twenty years ago. His death was faked to protect you.”
Kain felt the air leave his lungs.
“My mother never told me.”
“She couldn’t. Knowing the truth would’ve put you in danger long before now.”
Kain looked down at the card, heart pounding with a mix of anger, fear, and grief.
“So my entire life was a lie.”
“Not a lie,” the rider said softly.
“A shield.”
“Why are you helping me?” he asked suddenly.
“What are you to me?”
There was a long pause.
Finally, she slowed the bike and turned into an underground parking garage. Her voice dropped into something gentler something almost painful.
“I owe your father a debt,” she said.
“And protecting you is the only way I can repay it.”
The bike rolled to a stop.
Silence settled between them.
Kain’s throat tightened. “So… he was important?”
The rider removed her helmet.
Her hair spilled out dark and long.
Her face came into view.
Sharp.
Beautiful.
Deadly.
“Yes,” she said quietly.
“Your father was important to all of us.”
Kain stared at her, heart racing for reasons he didn’t understand.
She met his eyes.
“My name is Aria Vale.”
Kain whispered it back to himself. “Aria…”
Aria stepped off the bike, walked to him, and placed a firm hand on his shoulder.
“Kain Obasi,” she said, “your life is about to change. And you need to be ready.”
“Ready for what?” he asked.
Aria’s expression darkened.
“For the truth.”
But before she could say more
A loud, echoing bang shook the underground garage.
Aria jerked her head toward the entrance.
“They found us.”
Kain’s heart dropped.
Already?
Aria grabbed his wrist.
“Kain,” she said, voice steady and urgent.
“When I tell you to run… you run. Do you understand?”
He swallowed.
“Run where?”
Aria looked him straight in the eyes.
“Anywhere that keeps you alive.”
The footsteps outside grew louder.
Closer.
The hunters were back.
And this time, they weren’t alone.
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
Chapter 24 : Another Hunter Appears
The night settled over the abandoned district like a held breath. The safehouse windows were blacked out, the hallways lit only by a single lantern Mara kept low to conserve power. Kain was in the training room, his palms flat on the table, breathing through the aftershocks of the Trap Vision. His heartbeat still thudded like a warning drum.Mara paced behind him, frustrated but trying not to show it.“You shouldn’t have pushed that deep,” she muttered. “Echoes don’t lie, but traps distort reality. They use your fear against you.”Kain swallowed. “I know. But I had to see. I couldn’t just ignore it.”“You could.” She stopped pacing. “That vision was designed for you, Kain. Dominion-level psy-tech. Someone knew exactly how you think.”The last words hung in the air like smoke.Someone knew.Someone was watching.Before Kain could respond, the lantern flickered.Then died.The whole safehouse plunged into a suffocating darkness.Mara froze. Not a sound came from her, but Kain felt her t
Chapter 23 : Trap Vision
The world still felt unsteady.Even after leaving the training room, even after Elara forced him to drink water and sit down, even after Jaryn triple-checked his pulse with trembling hands Kain felt like the floor was tilting beneath him, as though he was half inside the Echo and half outside it.He could still smell smoke.Still feel heat on his skin.Still hear the burning man’s voice echoing in his head:“You are the spark.”“You must choose who you save.”“I am what you refuse to become.”He pressed his palms to his eyes, trying to quiet the memory.It didn’t fade.Elara paced in front of him, boots hitting the concrete floor in nervous rhythm. She had pulled her hair back into a tight knot, but a few strands had escaped and fell across her face. Her jaw was clenched, her eyes sharp.Jaryn, meanwhile, sat on an overturned crate, elbows on his knees, staring at Kain like he was looking at a puzzle that didn’t make sense.“Kain,” Elara finally said, stopping in front of him. “Tell m
Chapter 22 : The Vision of The Burning Man
The world snapped apart like torn paper.Kain fell through the Echo, not drifting the way he usually did but plunging, dragged downward by a gravitational pull he couldn’t fight. The sound around him warped into a deep mechanical groan, like the turning of ancient gears. His breath vanished. His body felt weightless and heavy at the same time.ThenEverything stilled.Heat hit him first.A suffocating wave of scorching air slammed into his chest, forcing a gasp from his lungs. When he opened his eyes, he saw fire. Fire everywhere. Flames spiderwebbing up walls of cracked concrete. Smoke coiling into a sky the color of bruised steel.He stood in what looked like the ruins of a warehouse blackened beams, melting metal, sparks raining from a collapsing overhead walkway.And in the center of the inferno…A man.Burning.Not screaming.Not fighting.Just standing engulfed in roaring flames that clung to his body like living vines.Kain staggered backward. His throat tightened. Even thoug
Chapter 21: First Controlled Echo
The room felt too small for what Kain was about to attempt.It was an old storage hall in the Safehouse, converted into a training chamber. Concrete walls. Steel rafters overhead. A single industrial bulb hummed above, flickering faintly like it sensed the tension in the air.Elara stood across from him, arms folded, her expression a war between confidence and fear.“Remember,” she said softly, “Echoes aren’t meant to be forced. You’re not manipulating the future… you’re listening to it. You’re letting it speak.”Kain nodded. His chest rose and fell too fast.He’d seen dozens of Echoes over the past few days flashes of danger, fragments of conversations that hadn’t happened yet, emotional shadows of moments seconds ahead. But they always came to him. Never once had he called one forward.And now he was supposed to summon one.“Okay.” He exhaled. “Tell me again. The steps.”Elara walked closer, stopping right where the light cut between them.“One: quiet your mind. Strip away everythi
Chapter 20 : Kain’s Training Begins
The next morning arrived gray and cold.Wind pushed through the cracks of the old safehouse, rattling loose boards and carrying dust across the worn floor. The place smelled of old wood, damp stone, and a hint of smoke from the lantern Eli lit hours ago.Kain stood in the center of the main room feet apart, shoulders tense, fists curled at his sides.His breath fogged slightly in the air.Aria circled him slowly, hands behind her back, eyes sharp and calculating.“So,” she said, “you want to learn how to control your Echoes?”Kain swallowed.“Not just control. I want to understand them. Use them. Before they drop on me and leave me gasping like an idiot.”Aria arched a brow. “You’re not an idiot.”“Did you see how I nearly tripped over a broken pipe yesterday?”Aria smirked. “Fine. A talented idiot.”Kain groaned softly, but a faint smile pulled at the corner of his mouth. Somehow, Aria’s teasing always made the fear settle.Eli sat on the floor nearby, leaning against a stack of crat
Chapter 19 : Orin’s Directive
The Dominion headquarters never slept.Not really.Even at midnight, the air inside the towering obsidian structure pulsed with quiet, controlled violence an orchestra of humming servers, surveillance drones gliding overhead, and soldiers moving in perfect formation through silver-lit halls.In the center of it all stood Commander Orin Voss, rigid and silent before a massive holographic screen.His eyes cold, calculating, unblinking were fixed on the feed glowing before him.Kain Hale.Alive.Growing stronger.And no longer hiding.The boy had awakened the Echo-Prime signature.Just like his father.Orin’s jaw clenched.“Commander.”A Dominion lieutenant approached with crisp steps and saluted sharply.“Sir, the Council has issued an update to Protocol 7.”Orin didn’t turn.“Proceed.”The lieutenant swallowed.“Effective immediately… the Hale target is classified Kill-On-Sight if capture is not guaranteed.”The room fell into a tense, metallic silence.Orin finally turned his head slo
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