⚫ Chapter 9: The Ghosts We Bleed For

Verdale City – Rooftops, 2:11 AM

The storm had no mercy. Rain crashed down like bullets. Thunder cracked the sky open, and lightning painted the city in white flashes of chaos.

Liana ran. Boots pounding against wet concrete. Her lungs burned. Her heart? It felt like it would explode. But behind her… death followed.

A whisper in her earpiece:

— "Left! Go left, Liana! He's flanking you!" Daniel's voice was frantic.

She dove, rolling behind a steel vent. Seconds later — CRACK! A sniper round shattered the air where her head had been.

Breath shaking, she whispered:

— "He's good... Too good."

Daniel's voice trembled.

— "Yeah… because you trained together."

Her fist clenched. Memories stabbed her. Two kids in the backyard. Wooden swords. Laughing. Fighting. A brother and a sister who once believed the world was simple.

Now… he was the executioner sent to end her.

---

💀 The Predator in the Storm

Across the rooftop, hidden behind shadows, Specter knelt. His skull mask gleamed under the lightning. His breathing? Mechanical. Precise. Inhuman.

— "Target in sight," he murmured to himself, adjusting the thermal scope.

His finger hovered over the trigger. Not yet. She was cornered. Nowhere left to run. He liked it that way.

But something… something felt wrong. His hands trembled — barely noticeable, but real. For the first time in years… he hesitated.

Why?

Why couldn't he pull the trigger?

A flicker.

A memory.

A little girl with scraped knees, laughing, shouting:

— "Come on, Elias! Bet you can't catch me!"

His grip tightened. His head shook. No. No. She's the enemy now.

---

⚡ Contact

Liana's voice cut through the storm.

— "I know you're there... Elias."

Silence. The name hit like a hammer.

She stood, exposed, hands slightly raised.

— "You don't have to do this. You're not their weapon."

A voice, cold, distorted through the mask:

— "I stopped being your brother the day you died."

Pain sliced through her chest sharper than any bullet.

— "I never died. You just stopped looking for me."

Silence stretched.

Then—

BANG!

She ducked — barely. The round grazed her shoulder, tearing flesh. Blood bloomed instantly. But she didn't fall.

— "If you wanted me dead, you wouldn't have missed." Her voice was steel now. "Fight it, Elias. You're not theirs. You never were."

---

🔥 Chaos Unleashed

Suddenly—an explosion rocked the rooftop. A flashbang.

Daniel's voice in her ear:

— "Got your back!"

He appeared from the fire escape, guns blazing. Bullets sprayed toward Specter, forcing him to retreat behind a water tank.

Liana dove beside Daniel.

— "Took you long enough."

— "What? You think I'd miss the family reunion?"

Specter threw a smoke grenade — FWSSHH. Vision gone. Shapes. Shadows. Then — CRASH. A figure lunged from the mist.

Elias. Specter. Her brother. His combat knife aimed straight for her throat.

She blocked — metal scraping against her blade. Sparks flew. His strength was monstrous. Mechanical enhancements. Years of brutal conditioning.

Daniel tried to interfere — THUD! Specter kicked him clear across the rooftop. Bones cracked.

Now it was just them.

Sister vs. Brother. Blood vs. Blood.

Every strike was a memory.

Every block, a scar.

Every breath, a war between love and death.

— "You were supposed to stay dead," he snarled.

— "You were supposed to stay human," she fired back.

A brutal elbow. A knee to the ribs. Her blade kissed his mask, leaving a scar on the skull paint. His knife sliced her side. Blood soaked her shirt.

Both panting. Both shaking. Neither willing to fall.

---

💣 The Twist

Then — a new sound. A voice crackling through a hidden radio in Specter's belt:

— "Specter, stand down. New orders. Do not engage Morgan. Extraction inbound."

Both froze.

Liana's eyes narrowed.

— "What the hell...?"

Specter stepped back, lowering his knife slightly.

— "This... isn't over."

A black drone descended from the clouds, cables dropping. Specter grabbed one, locking himself in. For a brief moment — his eyes met hers through the cracked visor.

Was it regret? Or warning?

The drone lifted, carrying him into the storm.

Liana collapsed to her knees. Bloodied. Broken. But alive.

Daniel limped over, clutching his ribs.

— "You okay...?"

She shook her head, staring at the sky.

— "No. And neither is the world."

Her voice dropped to a whisper.

— "They pulled him back… because something bigger is coming."

---

🚨 Final Scene – Zero Syndicate HQ

A massive underground facility. Monitors. Holograms. Tactical maps of the globe.

A shadowed figure stood before a digital display of Liana's face. Beside it — Daniel's. And now… Specter's marked as "UNSTABLE."

A deep voice echoed:

— "Initiate Phase Three."

An assistant trembled.

— "Are... are you sure, sir? Phase Three means—"

The voice cut him off.

— "I know what it means. Burn the world if you have to. Morgan dies. The brother dies. Anyone who stands in our way... dies."

The camera zoomed in on a red file:

"PROJECT NEMESIS – Status: ACTIVE"

---

✔️ End of Chapter 9

🩸 Next Chapter Preview:

As the world burns around them, Liana and Daniel must uncover what Project Nemesis really is. But with Specter torn between duty and blood, and an assassin known only as "The Widow" now on their trail... the game of survival turns into a war for the soul of the world.