Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Burn the Name, Raise the Mask

The blackened streets of Sector 8 were a dead zone.

Surrounding the rift remnants, the air stank of oil and decay, coated in a layer of soot from the last week's flame-breach. Buildings lay half-collapsed, their skeletal remains a stark contrast to the thriving neon cities above. The underworld beneath Tokyo had its own law—its own gravity—and Kairo had learned quickly that it didn't care who you were. The strong survived. The weak disappeared.

Now, on the heels of his dangerous encounter with the Rift's heart, he had to live with a weight heavier than the cracked concrete beneath his feet.

He was no longer just a hunter. He was a Specter.

And that came with a cost.

[Accessing Guild Database: Specter Initiate – Protocol][Current Assignment: Shadow Protocol – Target: Hanzo Ryuu, Rogue Hunter][Special Instruction: Exterminate or Recruit]

Kairo's fingers brushed the cold, curved edge of the mask he wore—a symbol of his new identity. Specter. It was an order of no-name ghosts that worked in the dark, both feared and unseen. His mask wasn't just a physical shield—it was a metaphor.

A symbol of his dissolution.

No past. No ties. No life.

Just mission.

The target was clear: Hanzo Ryuu, an infamous rogue hunter who had betrayed his guild and was rumored to be trading forbidden Echo tech on the black market. His location was known to the Eclipse Guild, and Kairo was the one tasked with dealing with him. The mission was simple—bring him back dead or alive, but Kairo could already feel the weight of the decision pressing on him.

There was a time when he might have hesitated. But that time was gone.

Now, he had become what they needed him to be.

The abandoned warehouse where Ryuu was hiding had the typical feel of a back-alley deal. Rusted chains hung like twisted limbs from the ceiling, shadows stretched unnaturally, and the air smelled faintly of ozone.

Kairo didn't need a light source. His Foresight Glimpse kicked in, and his surroundings lit up in sharp, staccato flashes, as if each second was frozen in time.

Then, through the fog of memory and blurred vision, he saw him.

Hanzo Ryuu.

A tall figure. A man with no eyes, just smooth black sockets. He was sitting on a throne made of shattered metal, his face obscured by a tattered hood, but his presence was unmistakable.

"I was wondering when you'd show up," Hanzo's voice rasped, the words slipping through the dark like a serpent's hiss. His hands—covered in intricate tattoos—rested idly on his knees.

"You're out of your depth, Specter," Ryuu continued, his smile audible in the low, metallic tone. "You've joined something you don't understand."

Kairo didn't answer. His claws extended, shimmering with void energy. "You're a liability."

Ryuu chuckled, raising a hand. His fingers twitched, and the air around them thickened. Something in Kairo's chest screamed.

A trap.

Kairo dove left, just as the ground beneath him split open, revealing dark, shifting shadows. Creatures, hunched and covered in spikes, crawled out, their eyes glowing red like the embers of a dying flame. They were born of forbidden Echo tech—an abomination of the old world.

"Welcome to my playground," Hanzo said, standing up, revealing a body full of cracks, like something held together with forgotten pieces of mana.

[Warning: Combat Protocol – Target is Class S-Rogue, Signature Detected: Echo Corruption][Secondary Objective: Eliminate Echo Constructs]

Kairo reacted instantly. His claws extended, slashing through the nearest Echo-creature, sending fragments of glass-like skin scattering. The others charged, but Kairo was faster.

He tapped into Memory Surge, replaying the last few seconds in his mind and altering the trajectory of his strike. His claws struck with the force of a compressed storm, tearing through the abominations in seconds. He was a flurry of motion, faster than even his own senses could keep up with.

But Hanzo wasn't a fool. He didn't hide.

He moved.

With a roar, he summoned a storm of dark, twisting mana, shaping it into a jagged spear. He hurled it at Kairo with terrifying speed.

Kairo blinked, the moment stretching out, and just as it seemed the spear would pierce his chest, he activated Void Claws—twisting the spear's path in midair, turning the momentum against Hanzo.

It struck true.

Ryuu staggered back, his breath coming in ragged gasps. "I see... you are worthy."

But the moment was fleeting.

The ground beneath them began to tremble.

The Echo Constructs were reforming.

Kairo's mind clicked into high gear. He wasn't here for a long battle. He was here to end it.

With his remaining energy, he created a burst of void energy, pulling it together into a massive pulse of distortion that shattered the surroundings. The rift-sealed room collapsed as Ryuu and his constructs vanished in a blur of corrupted mana.

Kairo stood alone in the silence of the ruined warehouse, panting. His hands were still shaking.

He had completed the mission.

[Mission Complete][Guild Rewards: 10,000 Guild Credits][New Rank: Specter 2nd Class][Title Unlocked: Mask of the Fallen]

The mission wasn't over, though. No matter what rank Kairo climbed to, there was always another target. Another contract. The mask would always remain.

And in that mask... was a person who had to disappear, piece by piece.