The air felt wrong.
Ryu stood on the rooftop across from Hana's apartment, eyes scanning the city below. Even from here, he could feel it—threads of death being pulled, twisted unnaturally.
Morrigan's warning echoed in his mind.
They are watching now.
Behind him, Hana hugged her knees, wrapped in a borrowed black cloak Morrigan had left behind. The city lights reflected in her eyes, but fear burned brighter.
"Ryu…" she whispered. "Those things you fought… are there more?"
He didn't lie.
"Yes."
She swallowed. "And people like me?"
"Yes."
Silence stretched between them.
Hana clenched her fists. "Then they won't stop, will they?"
"No," Ryu said quietly.
A slow, sad smile touched her lips. "I figured."
Before Ryu could respond—
BOOM.
A shockwave rippled through the city. Far away, a building erupted in black flames that burned without smoke.
Ryu turned sharply.
"That's not natural."
Morrigan appeared beside them, her presence chilling the air.
"The Soul Syndicate has made its move," she said.
Hana frowned. "Soul… Syndicate?"
Morrigan nodded. "Humans who discovered fragments of Reaper power and chose to exploit it. They bind souls, weaponize death, and sell immortality to the highest bidder."
Ryu's jaw tightened.
"Collectors," he muttered.
Morrigan's eyes narrowed. "Their creations."
Another explosion thundered—closer this time.
From the burning building rose something massive—a humanoid figure stitched together from screaming spirits, glowing sigils carved into its flesh.
A Soul Engine.
Hana gasped. "I can hear them… they're in pain."
Ryu's scythe ignited.
"I'm ending this."
Morrigan stopped him with a raised hand.
"Not alone."
The shadows behind her shifted.
Two figures stepped forward.
One was a tall man with silver hair and a cracked skull mask hanging at his side. His scythe rested casually on his shoulder.
The other was a girl with short black hair, red markings crawling across her arms, eyes glowing faintly crimson.
"Meet your peers," Morrigan said. "Reapers in training… like you."
The man smirked. "Name's Kael. Try not to die."
The girl crossed her arms. "Mira. I don't like humans."
Hana flinched.
Ryu stepped slightly in front of her.
"She's under my protection."
Mira scoffed. "That'll get you killed."
Kael laughed. "I like him already."
Morrigan's gaze hardened.
"This mission is simple," she said. "Destroy the Soul Engine. Do not let the Syndicate retrieve Hana."
Hana stiffened. "Retrieve me?"
Morrigan looked at her.
"You are no longer invisible," she said. "Every Listener becomes a target."
The Soul Engine roared, its many mouths screaming in agony as it began lumbering toward the city center.
Ryu tightened his grip.
"Then I'll stand in front of it."
Morrigan nodded once.
"Go."
The Reapers leapt from the rooftop, shadows exploding beneath their feet as they descended toward the burning streets.
Hana watched them go, heart pounding.
For the first time in her life—
Death wasn't whispering.
It was marching.
And she was at its center.
---