"Damn it," he muttered, wiping his face with trembling fingers. "I hope the leader got the Red Box… or we're all dead."
His thoughts scrambled as he remembered what he'd heard—the whispered rumors from higher up. About the thing tied to the Box. About what happens if it falls into the wrong hands… or the wrong shadow.
"Please let it be where he said it was… please."
He pushed himself up, legs weak beneath him, eyes scanning the crimson-smeared floor.
"I should clean this," he mumbled, though he knew it was pointless. There weren't enough rags in the world to erase what just happened.
And deep down, he knew something else.
There was nowhere to run.
Even if he escaped this den, even if he vanished into the slums of the city or the underbelly of Hell's Kitchen—it would find him. That shadow creature. That walking executioner.
Alex wasn't the kind of hunter you could hide from.
"I should've taken the damn transfer to Macau," he muttered bitterly, dragging one of the fallen bodies aside.
Because now… the storm had already begun.
And the Black Lotus was right in its path.
***
"What are you doing here?" Colleen asked, startled, finding Alex casually waiting at her door.
Alex looked up, unfazed. "You forgot. You said you're free after ten." His tone was calm, matter-of-fact.
She opened her mouth to respond, but nothing came out. He stepped past her without waiting for permission and dropped down onto the small couch like he owned the place.
"Go finish getting ready," he said, stretching out and crossing one leg over the other. "I'll be waiting."
Colleen stared at him, conflicted, unsure whether to scold him or laugh. But something in his eyes—quiet, tired, sincere—kept her still.
She hesitated for a moment before sighing and stepping inside. Her hand brushed against the hilt of her sheathed katana resting on the nearby stand.
"If that shadow creature of yours can deafeat me one more time…" she said slowly, eyes fixed on the blade, "…I'll go on as many dates with you as you want."
Alex cracked an eye open, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
"Deal."
As if summoned, Cypher stirred faintly from the darkness pooling beneath the coffee table—emerging like a loyal beast sensing tension in the air.
It rose behind him, silent and looming.
"Don't harm her," Alex said softly without turning his head.
Colleen's eyes narrowed, her grip tightening around the hilt of her katana. The blade began to glow—pulsing with the raw energy of her chi, a blazing blue light that danced like lightning along its edge.
With a fierce battle cry, she surged forward.
Her movements were a blur—a whirlwind of precision and power. Each strike she unleashed hummed with charged energy, cutting through the air like thunder.
Her katana sliced toward Cypher's shadowy form, trailing arcs of glowing light as she danced around the room with lethal grace.
But Cypher was no ordinary foe.
Its form rippled like liquid smoke, shifting and flowing as if the shadows themselves obeyed its will. Every time Colleen's glowing blade came close, Cypher's limbs twisted and curved with impossible speed—curved blades like claws flicking out to parry, block, or simply brush the strikes away.
She swung again and again, power radiating from her like a storm unleashed.
A powerful slash aimed for Cypher's core—only for it to dissolve and re-form elsewhere, the strike passing through nothing but empty darkness.
Colleen's breath hitched but she pushed on, each move a deadly dance of skill and raw power.
Cypher's claws lashed out—not to kill, but to control—each strike flicking just inches from her skin, teasing, slashing like razor-sharp whispers.
When one claw snapped forward toward her neck, Colleen spun backward, barely dodging the razor-sharp edge.
She launched a spinning slash, the glow of her chi sword cutting through the dim room, but Cypher's body shifted fluidly—its curved blades intercepting her katana with a ringing clash that echoed like thunder in the silence.
She pressed harder, slashing in a furious barrage, her entire being focused on breaking through the shadow's defense.
But Cypher was relentless.
It flowed like water, twisting around her strikes, moving with a grace and speed that seemed impossible.
Then, with a sudden sweep, Cypher's claw curled around Colleen's wrist, stopping her blade inches from its target.
The shadow's curved blade pressed lightly against her skin—not breaking but chilling, a cold promise of power far beyond her own.
Colleen's breath hitched, her heart pounding, but she refused to yield.
She summoned a surge of chi, the katana flaring brighter than ever, humming with raw energy.
With a fierce roar, she pulled free, stepping back with a sharp breath—but even then, the shadow loomed closer, its claws like living darkness, ready to strike again.
Alex watched silently, his eyes calm but alert.
Cypher's shadow whispered in the air, as if daring her to try again.
Colleen lowered her blade slightly, chest heaving.
She was powerful—one of the best warriors alive—but in front of Cypher's otherworldly shadow, she was still just human.
And Cypher? Cypher was something else entirely.
"You lost there… many times, by the way," Alex said from the side as Colleen paused.
"Fine, I lost," she admitted, sheathing her katana as she looked at him.
"Then go on and get ready for the date tonight, beautiful," he said, a teasing smile playing on his lips.
She rolled her eyes. "Don't you want to save that girl named Sue?" she asked.
Alex shrugged. "I'll save her… for now. You're the one on my mind."
"What's your deal with her?" Colleen pressed, curiosity flickering in her eyes.
Alex tilted his head, a small smile tugging at his mouth. "Don't worry, I'm not cheating on anyone."
"We just know each other. I found her… pitiful. So I'm helping her."
He sighed quietly, thinking back. Or maybe… he was after the blood crystal.
He recalled how each Ninja Cypher killed had given him one blood crystal. That crystal had accelerated his evolution by one percent each time. Now, after absorbing the crystals from other ninjas Cypher had killed, his evolution had reached 64%.
*******
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