The Final Breath

CHAPTER 5 — THE MAN IN THE DARK

The room smelled of ozone and rust.

Master Gwen sat in the half-light, bandaged arms crossed, eyes fixed on a wall of old monitors flickering with grainy feeds of the city.

Billy’s face appeared on one of them, walking with Nina through the rain. Gwen exhaled slowly. “You found her. Faster than I expected.”

From the shadows behind him, a voice replied, low and metallic. “You should have told him the truth.”

“I told him what he needed to hear.”

“And now he hunts you.”

“That’s the plan.”

Gwen turned, and the man in the shadows stepped forward, face hidden under a hood stitched with the same sigil that had burned the assassin’s chest.

“Master,” the figure said, bowing his head slightly. “The Consortium has put a price on your student. They call him the Element Thief.”

Gwen gave a faint, humorless smile. “They’re not wrong. He stole everything I taught him.”

The hooded man hesitated. “You still care for him.”

“Care?” Gwen’s eyes narrowed. “He’s the only one who might survive what’s coming.”

He stood, wincing as his ribs protested. His reflection caught in a cracked mirror, pale, older than Billy ever saw him, and far more dangerous.

“Status of Project Paradox?”

“Unstable,” the man answered. “Too much power concentrated in one node. The elements reject containment.”

“Good. Let it.”

He pressed a hand to the wall, whispering an incantation. The air shimmered; symbols pulsed briefly in blue light before fading again. “She’s with him now,” the hooded man said. “The girl.”

“Nina.” Gwen’s tone softened, just slightly. “She’s reckless. But necessary.”

“She’s a liar.”

“So am I.”

Silence settled. The hum of machines filled the room. “Do you ever regret it?” the man asked quietly.

“Regret what?”

“Creating him. Training him to hate the same people who once called you brother.”

Gwen stared at the monitors again, at the boy walking through the storm with purpose written across his face.

“He’s more than hate,” Gwen said finally. “He’s balance. The one thing this city’s forgotten.”

The man hesitated. “And if he finds you first?”

Gwen’s mouth curved. “Then maybe he’s ready.”

Hours later, across town, Gwen stood at the edge of a rooftop overlooking the skyline. The storm had broken open above him.

Lightning split the air, not natural. He could feel it, the resonance of Billy’s power flaring somewhere below. “Too soon,” Gwen muttered.

A voice spoke from behind. “You shouldn’t be up here, old man.”

Gwen turned slightly. A woman in a white coat stepped out of the stairwell, her hair slick with rain. Her eyes glowed faintly gold. “Doctor Hale,” Gwen said. “Still cleaning up their chaos?”

“You left me with enough of it.” She glanced at his bandages. “He did that?”

“No. The Consortium’s dogs.”

“And the boy?”

“Alive.”

She studied him, expression unreadable. “You’re pushing him toward them.”

“Toward himself.”

“Same thing.”

He chuckled, a dry sound swallowed by thunder. “You always hated my methods.”

“Because they cost lives.”

“Lives are currency. Meaning is the debt.”

She sighed. “He’ll never forgive you.”

“Then I’ve done my job.”

He turned away, gaze lost in the city lights. “When he learns the final element, he’ll come here.”

“And if he kills you?”

“Then the world will have balance again.”

Hale hesitated, then stepped closer. “You could still tell him the truth, Gwen. About the night of the fire.”

For a moment, his face cracked, grief leaking through like light through fractured glass. “No,” he said softly. “Some truths burn hotter than the elements.”

Back at the monitors, the hooded man watched Gwen disappear into the storm. His communicator buzzed. “Status?” a cold voice asked.

“He’s moving toward Sector 9. The boy’s trail is live.”

“Good. Maintain distance. When they meet, extract the core.”

“And the girl?”

“Dispose of her.”

The man hesitated. “Master Gwen won’t allow”

The line cut out with static. He lowered the comm and muttered, “Then may the elements forgive us all.”

Thunder rolled over the city like a warning. And far below, Billy stopped walking, his head lifting, eyes narrowing as if he could feel Gwen’s pulse through the storm. “Something’s changed,” Nina said.

Billy’s voice dropped to a whisper. “He’s alive.”