Chapter 1: The Red Petal Contract
The night air on Lagos Island felt heavy with humidity, pressing against the penthouse's glass like a living entity. Kaelen stood beside the floor-to-ceiling window, his reflection appearing ghostly and hollow. Behind him lay a stunning display of cold, opulent luxury, yet his gaze remained fixed on the Third Mainland Bridge, where car lights resembled a slow-moving river of fire.
In his gloved hand, he held a single red rose. It was strikingly beautiful, but its petals were saturated with a thick, dark liquid that wasn't water. It was a signal—a "Cleaner's" calling card. A flicker of blue light danced in his eyes; it wasn't a reflection of the city but something stirring within his mind.
"SHADOW BLADE SYSTEM INITIALIZING... USER STATUS: ACTIVE HEART RATE: 55 BPM (STABLE)
"Kaelen closed his eyes for a moment, recalling the day three years earlier when he had died in a dusty alley in Obalende. He could still feel the chill of the pavement and hear the sound of his heart ceasing, followed by the blue screen that had presented him with a second chance at the price of his soul. Since that moment, he hadn't lived as a man; he had become a weapon for the Syndicate. A new notification echoed in his mind, more intense than the others.
"[NEW MISSION: THE RED PETAL PROTECTOR]
[TARGET: ELENA VANCE]
[OBJECTIVE: AVOID THE ASSASSINATION OF THE TARGET]
[REWARD: +500 EXPERIENCE POINTS, UNLOCK 'PHANTOM DASH' SKILL]
[PENALTY FOR FAILURE: PERMANENT SYSTEM SHUTDOWN (DEATH)]"
Kaelen's jaw tightened. This was a clear violation of his orders. The Syndicate had sent him to ensure that Elena Vance—the daughter of their most formidable rival—did not live to see the sunrise. They wanted a war, and her death was meant to ignite it. But the System had different intentions.
The door behind him creaked open. It was a subtle sound, one that an ordinary person would have overlooked amid the hum of the air conditioning. But Kaelen was anything but ordinary. The System's "Danger Sense" was already humming at the base of his skull.
He remained still, waiting until he felt the cold, sharp touch of steel against the skin of his neck.
"You're late, Kaelen," a woman's voice whispered, a blend of velvet and shattered glass.
Elena Vance stood behind him, clad in a crimson silk gown that echoed the rose in his hand. Yet her eyes were not those of a victim; they were dark, intelligent, and exuded a lethal calm. She held a curved dagger to his throat, its blade etched with ancient runes that seemed to pulse in the dim light.
"I wasn't late," Kaelen said, his voice a low, gravelly rumble. "I was just deciding whether to let you kill me or not."
"And what did you choose?" she asked, pressing the knife firmly enough to draw a thin, stinging line of red on his neck.
"The System made that choice for me," Kaelen muttered.
"The what?"
"Forget it." Kaelen moved. It wasn't a human motion; it was a blur of shadows. In less than a second, he had pivoted, catching her wrist and twisting it just enough to force her to drop the dagger. Before it could hit the ground, he seized it by the hilt and pressed it back against her own throat.
They remained there for a heartbeat, locked in a deadly standoff. The scent of her perfume jamine and gunpowder filled his lungs. For a brief moment, the "Dark Romance" tropes his sister used to read about flashed through his mind, but the blue screen interrupted that thought.
"[WARNING: HOSTILE UNITS DETECTED. APPROXIMATE TIME UNTIL BREACH: 15 SECONDS]"
"Listen to me, Elena," Kaelen said, his eyes shimmering with a faint, predatory purple glow. "The people who sent me are already inside the building. They're not here to negotiate. They're here to eliminate you and everyone else in this room."
Elena's eyes widened, but she remained silent. "My father's guards..."
"Are already dead," Kaelen cut in. "The Silence Between Knives has begun. If you want to survive, you need to do exactly what I say."
CRASH.
The enormous glass window shattered inward. Four figures clad in tactical black gear swung in on ropes, their faces obscured by plain red masks. They weren't armed with guns; instead, they wielded short, serrated swords made for swift and silent kills.
Kaelen pushed Elena behind him. "Stay low."
"[COMBAT MODE ENGAGED] [STAMINA: 100/100][MANA: 50/50]"
The first assassin lunged, his blade targeting Kaelen's heart. Instead of parrying, Kaelen vanished. Utilizing a simple Shadow Step, he reappeared behind the attacker. In one swift and brutal motion, he plunged Elena's dagger into the vulnerable spot in the assassin's armor at the base of his neck.
"KILL CONFIRMED. +50 EXP
Without hesitation, the other three assassins launched their attack in perfect synchronization, a flurry of steel. Kaelen felt adrenaline surge through him as his System-enhanced reflexes slowed time, allowing him to see the vibration of their blades slicing through the air. He ducked under a horizontal slash, feeling the heat of the blade skim over his head, and countered with a sweeping kick that shattered the second assassin's knee. As he fell, Kaelen snatched another blade from the air—a 'Shadow Knife' materializing in his left hand from pure mana.
Now, he was a whirlwind. He weaved between the remaining attackers like a ghost within a machine. Each strike was precise; every movement showcased his lethal expertise. Within ten seconds, the penthouse floor was strewn with bodies and shattered glass.
Kaelen stood amidst the chaos, his chest rising and falling steadily. He turned back to Elena, who looked at him with a mix of fear and fascination.
"Who are you?" she whispered.
Kaelen wiped blood from his cheek and observed as the blue screen flickered one last time."
"[MISSION UPDATE: EVACUATE THE BUILDING]
[NEW OBJECTIVE IDENTIFIED: THE SYNDICATE HEADQUARTERS]"
"I'm the one who's going to keep you alive," Kaelen said, extending his hand. "But first, we need to escape Lagos."
Outside, the sirens started to wail, but the quiet between the chaos had only just begun.