Burden of Power

Liam was walking around the grey city sometime later, aching from his encounter with Oris. With every step came a dull throb in his ribs, but he paid it no mind. Pain was temporary. What mattered was what he had learned.

He was getting stronger.

Smoke hung in the air, accompanied by the distant sound of traffic in the next street and a lingering smell of rain. Neon "off" flickered in alleyways and long shadows lurked across cracked pavement.

Liam had never seen the shadows before—not like this. But now they were alive, moving with an otherworldly frisson. Some welcomed him. Some… watched him.

"You are changing," Noctis thought. "Your body, your senses, they are no longer human."

Liam clenched his fists. He'd experienced it in the battle against Oris — his reflexes quicker, his movements swifter. But there was something else. A hunger. The harder he fought, the more power he exerted, the more power he craved.

And that terrified him.

"You cannot fear power," Noctis said. "Only fear the weakness that prevents your use of it."

Liam took a long breath, stuffing his hands into his pockets. (He didn't know whether Noctis was actually trying to reassure him or trying to warn him.)

As Liam turned a corner, he saw a familiar figure propped up against a lamppost with arms crossed.

Celeste.

She was tall, wearing a black leather jacket and with silver hair that glinted in the streetlights' dim glow. Liam felt her sharp blue eye bore into him, an expression half curiosity and half dislike.

"You look like hell," she said.

Liam scoffed. "Feel like it too."

Celeste leaned away from the lamppost and clambered closer. "You had a run-in with Oris, right?"

Liam's shoulders tensed. "How do you know about him?"

She sighed, shaking her head. "Because you're not the first idiot he's tested."

Liam frowned. "Tested?"

Celeste nodded. "Oris doesn't kill unless he needs to. He's a scout for the Hunters. They're watching you now."

Liam's stomach twisted. He had suspected as much, but hearing it helped seal it as real.

"Why are you explaining this to me?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.

Celeste hesitated. "Because I don't want another one of us erased before they even know what's going on."

Liam studied her. He didn't trust her — not yet — but she knew things. And at this moment, information was worth more than pride.

"What do they want?" he asked.

Celeste sighed. "Control. Order. Shadows like yours? They don't belong in their world."

A cold weight settled in Liam's chest. He had only just discovered his power, and already people wanted him dead.

"They're afraid of you," Noctis said softly. "They will not cease hunting you.

Liam looked at Celeste. "So what now?"

She crossed her arms. "Now? You either grow stronger … " Her eyes deepened in color. "Or you die."

Liam didn't sleep that night.

He was sitting on the roof of an old apartment complex overlooking the city. The streets below throbbed with life — cars zipping, people drifting between clubs and bars, oblivious to the war being fought in the shadows.

He thought about Celeste's warning. About the Hunters.

And about Oris's last words.

"Let's see if you stick around long enough to be a real menace."

Liam clenched his fists.

He needed something beyond brute strength. He needed control.

"Then let's get started," Noctis said.

Liam let out a breath and shut his eyes. He delved into himself — into the abyss that had taken up residence. He could sense it, another kind of darkness, dark that extended far farther than his mind.

He let go.

The shadows by him reacted instantly, coiling like living tendrils. He didn't just move them instinctively, but intentionally. One wrapped around his arm, one coiling at his feet, solidifying beneath him.

He felt them. Not as something alien, but rather as an extension of himself.

"Good," Noctis murmured. "Now… hunt."

Liam's eyes snapped open.

He sensed it before he saw it — a presence in the dark. Watching. Waiting.

He whipped around, and there, seated on the next rooftop over, was a figure in black armor. Their face was masked, but their posture was predatory.

Liam's pulse quickened.

"Hunter," Noctis confirmed. "They have come for you."

The figure moved.

A flash of steel. And a knife slicing through the air.

Liam ducked—just—his cheek grazed by the knife as it whooshed past. He rolled and landed in a crouch. Fast. Too fast.

The Hunter didn't hesitate. They ran, shadows flying behind them like black flame.

Liam met them head-on.

The rooftop burst into action.

Liam struck back with his shadows—punching, blocking—but the Hunter was stronger. Every move was deliberate, every strike intended to kill.

Liam ducked beneath the kick and lashed out with a tendril of darkness. It struck the Hunter in the chest and they were pushed backward.

But they recovered instantly.

The Hunter disappeared on Liam and reemerged mere feet behind him.

An explosion of pain erupted from his side as the blade buried itself in his ribs.

Liam struggled to breathe, reeling toward the front. Cold. Sharp. Deep.

The Hunter twisted the blade.

Liam screamed.

"Do not fall." Noctis's voice sliced through the pain. "USE ME."

Liam's vision blurred. A darkness edged at the shadows of his mind.

He let it in.

The shadows surrounding him detonated outwards, ripping into the Hunter with bone-crushing impact.

The assassin flew backward, smashing into the far wall with a sickening crack.

Liam fell to one knee, blood streaming down his hoodie. He stuttered, his hands shaking.

The Hunter didn't move.

Dead?

No.

Liam could always sense them still.

He forced himself to stand. His ribs burned, but the pain was dissipating.

Noctis was healing him.

The Hunter groaned, getting up to their feet slowly. Their mask was split, exposing a seam of pale skin beneath.

Liam clenched his fists. He wasn't going to run.

If they wanted a fight…

He'd give them one.