— Shadow Revealed —
With a surge of resolve, Lyra jerked the steering wheel at a turn, forcing the black sedan tailing her to screech to a halt.
She rolled down her window, her voice cold as frost. "Hey! Why are you following me?"
Her hand stayed poised over the window controls, her foot hovering near the accelerator—ready to flee at the slightest sign of threat.
The door of the black sedan slowly opened.
From the passenger seat emerged a tall, burly man wearing sunglasses, a half-smoked cigar dangling from his lips. An aura of undeniable authority radiated from him.
Had Lyra known this man was Darius Crowne, unofficial underworld king of the Novalis Sector, her jaw would have hit the floor.
—Though, for now, he was merely playing the part of a 'bodyguard'.
He had originally intended only to protect Lyra in secret, but he hadn't anticipated her sharp perception. Forced into the open, he chose to reveal himself calmly.
"Miss Lyra, there's no need for alarm,"
Darius said, his tone steady as he gave a slight bow. "I am here under my overlord's orders to ensure your safety."
"My safety?" Lyra's brow furrowed, suspicion dripping from her words. "And who is this 'overlord' of yours?"
"My overlord—" Darius replied with clear reverence, "is the Power Ranger."
The moment those words left his mouth, Lyra felt a jolt run through her.
Her heart hammered in her chest—the mysterious, masked man who had fallen from the sky to save her… was he the 'overlord' this man served?
"Where is he? Take me to him, now!" Her voice carried urgency—and a flicker of excitement. Who was he? Why did he save her? And why send a protector now?
A wry smile touched Darius's lips.
"I'm afraid that's impossible, Miss Lyra."
"Why? Please, just take me to him!"
"My overlord is… elusive. His movements are unpredictable. If he wishes to see you, he will appear."
"I see…" Lyra hesitated, biting her lip before asking another question. "Then at least tell me his name."
Darius sighed, a hint of embarrassment crossing his features.
"To be honest, today was the first time I ever laid eyes on him… I don't even know his name."
As the words escaped him, he himself was taken aback.
—To pledge allegiance so willingly, without even knowing his name?
A profound sense of awe bloomed deep within him.
Lyra's frown deepened, the mystery coiling tighter in her mind.
But she wasn't one to dwell in uncertainty for long.
"Fine," she said abruptly. "You can stay. Be my driver and my bodyguard. Don't worry, I'll make it worth your while."
This wasn't born of trust, but cold logic.
Caught in a dangerous game, having a capable ally close by meant an extra layer of security.
Besides, if this Power Ranger truly meant her harm, he wouldn't have saved her in the first place—with power like that, such subterfuge was pointless.
Lyra's intuition screamed one thing—that man was not her enemy.
Darius's mouth twitched.
Him, the king of Novalis's underworld, reduced to being a woman's chauffeur and bodyguard?
—Do I look like I should be grateful for this 'magnanimous' offer?
He silently grumbled internally, but his face remained a mask of solemn duty as he nodded.
"As you wish, Miss Lyra."
---
— Deal on the Dark Web —
The car got back on the road, with Darius now behind the wheel.
Lyra sat in the back seat, her fingers trembled slightly over the phone—not from hesitation, but from long-suppressed anger.
Then, she dialed the number she'd found on the dark web.
"You guaranteed Eren wouldn't live to see today, didn't you? So why is he still alive and kicking?" Lyra's tone was accusatory, demanding an explanation.
There was a brief silence on the other end before a hoarse voice replied, "Circumstances changed. We lost an elite assassin—why didn't you warn us the target was highly skilled?"
Lyra felt a mix of anger and disbelief. Eren was just a college dropout. Since when was he 'highly skilled'?
"Don't give me excuses," she sneered. "I'm giving you one more chance—get rid of Eren."
The person on the phone hemmed and hawed before finally saying, "I'm afraid—"
"Afraid of what?" Lyra cut him off coldly. "Are you telling me a professional organization like yours can't handle one college student?"
Her sharp retort seemed to strike a nerve. The voice on the line hardened. "Will you let me finish? I was going to say, the target is indeed highly skilled. This will cost extra."
Lyra let out a grim laugh. "Hah, if it's just about money, name your price. Take out Eren, and I'll add another ten million on top—"
Her tone left no doubt about her financial firepower.
"Deal," the voice finally agreed. "Wait for my update." The line went dead.
A brief silence returned to the car. Outside, the dying sun wove a bloody tapestry across the sky, and the wheels seemed to roll steadily through a crimson-hued web of shadows.
---
— Threads of Truth —
The prison — luxury single cell.
A sparse room housing only Eren, arranged by Warden Kane to at least include a light, a desk, and ventilation.
Eren sat at the desk, meticulously reviewing the case files for the Veyne massacre.
The stack of photos, videos, and reports was like sharp blades, forcing his brow into a deeper and deeper furrow.
—Because even he, after examining the evidence, almost had to believe it: the killer truly seemed to be him.
The footage showed him, drunk, being led into a guest room at the Veyne mansion that evening.
It was the only room in the entire estate without a surveillance camera.
No one knew what happened next.
Until late at night—
The guest room door opened, and Eren walked out.
A faint, peculiar fragrance permeated the entire manor.
It was lingering, subtle, yet inducing a mental haze.
On camera, servants, guards, and guests alike collapsed one by one, like puppets whose strings had been cut, their eyes vacant.
Some fell in corridors, others slumped over dining tables, a few by the windowsills.
Then—
Eren, in the video, walked coldly through every room, a dagger in his hand.
Over thirty lives were extinguished in the footage.
He finally appeared outside Lyra's door and pushed it open.
After that, the surveillance feed cut out.
He didn't reappear until the police stormed in and took him away.
Eren closed the file, his expression grim.
He had never felt such a distinct, disorienting fear.
—That wasn't him.
—That absolutely was not him.
"Damien Vale…" Eren murmured the name, a cold light in his eyes. "You truly have capable people around you. This frame-up is almost perfect. The me from before would have likely been doomed by this scheme."
He reopened the file, carefully comparing each photo again.
Suddenly, his finger stopped on one particular image.
It was a corpse.
Lucien Veyne—Lyra's father, the head of the Veyne family.
In the photo, Lucien's face was a bloody, mangled mess, barely recognizable as human.
And this was the one anomaly in the entire case.
Why, among over thirty bodies, was his face the only one destroyed?
The official police explanation: the killer was psychologically disturbed.
But Eren wasn't buying it.
"Disfigurement… to hide his identity… or was it a body double?"
A spark of connection flashed in his mind, threads of reasoning rapidly linking together.
A moment later, he picked up the phone and dialed a familiar number.
"Director Arden," Eren said gravely. "I suspect there's an issue with Lucien Veyne's corpse. Please arrange for another DNA test. Check if that body—is really him."
Hanging up, he leaned back in his chair, rubbing his temples.
A wave of exhaustion and a stifling sense of powerlessness washed over him.
—Damien Vale's schemes ran too deep.
This wasn't a simple conspiracy, but an elaborate tapestry woven from illusion and lies.
The night deepened, the cell's single bulb casting a pale yellow glow.
He closed his eyes, waiting in the silence.
He didn't know how much time had passed when the phone rang abruptly.
He snatched it up immediately.
"Mr. Eren," Arden's voice carried a trace of excitement. "Your suspicion was correct! The disfigured corpse doesn't belong to Lucien Veyne! The DNA shows no relation to Lyra or any other Veyne family member. Lucien… might still be alive!"
Eren's eyes snapped open.
For the first time in what felt like ages, a light ignited in their depths.
"Just as I thought…" he whispered, a slow smile spreading across his lips. "Lucien Veyne—so you're the key to this whole charade."
He immediately called Darius, his voice firm and low.
"Tomorrow, find a way to get me one of Lyra's hairs. I need to perform a bloodline tracking spell to locate Lucien Veyne."
Ending the call, Eren closed his eyes again, taking a deep breath to steady the turmoil within.
—Perhaps tomorrow, he could clear his name.
—Perhaps tomorrow, the truth would be unveiled.
A night breeze slipped through the gaps in the iron window, carrying a faint, metallic clink.
Eren's eyes flew open—he couldn't shake the feeling that something was watching him from the shadows.