268 THE DEATH NOTE AND THE MIRROR
"What did you do this time?" Damen asked Liorea.
Liorea fidgeted with her fingers, eyes darting away before she spoke. "I… restarted the Order of the Cockerel in Silver City."
"You restarted an assassin guild?" Damen snapped. "For what—are we short on cash?"
"It's to support our work," she said quickly. "The aliens are coming. Relief operations need structure and manpower. What better way to organize people than another message board?"
Damen exhaled slowly. "Alright, you have a point. But then what's the issue with the Syndic of Fracture?"
Liorea hesitated.
"Well… my message board reached some of their members," she admitted. "A lot of them want to work for us now."
A hologram flickered to life. Kail appeared, his arms crossed.
"Sis, are you poaching from the Syndic of Fracture?"
"Once Syndic members realize we offer a better deal," Liorea said defensively, "switching sides becomes… natural."
"Then tell them to leave," Damen said. "What's the problem?"
"The problem is…" Liorea swallowed. "The Syndic of Fracture has a loyalty leash."
Kail's brow furrowed. "What kind of leash?"
"They implant something in their members…. Most probably a device of some kind. If someone betrays the Syndic, they can trigger it remotely." She looked down. "The device explodes."
Silence followed.
"That's why they're afraid to leave," Liorea finished.
Damen tilted his head. "So, what do you want me to do?"
"We strike the core of the Syndic of Fracture," she said, forcing herself to meet his eyes. "We take the artifact that controlslife and death of its members. It's the artifact they use to execute traitors…they call it the Death Note."
Kail stared at Damen. "Big Brother… are you seriously planning to fight the Syndic of Fracture?"
Damen nodded calmly.
"Well," he said, "it's just killing a few bad guys. What could possibly go wrong?"
-----
[In an abandoned Church somewhere]
"Where exactly are they taking us?" Damen asked as they stepped into the ruins of an abandoned church.
"The Temple of Fracture," Liorea replied. "It's the headquarters of the Syndic of Fracture. The entrance changes every time."
The recruit who had recently joined Liorea's network stopped near the back of the church. Behind a towering statue of an angel with broken wings, he pointed to the shadows.
"This is the current entrance."
Liorea frowned. "I don't see anything."
"You can't," the recruit said calmly. "Not until you have a contract."
Damen's eyes narrowed. "What contract?"
"You must be bound to the Syndic of Fracture before you can enter the Temple," the recruit explained. "That's how it's designed. Non-contractors can never cross the threshold."
"Are you serious?" Liorea snapped. "You asked us to help you break free from their contract, and now you want us to bind ourselves to them first? Will they put a kill device on us?"
"It's the only way in," the recruit said. "But don't worry. You only need to sign."
"I'm not letting them put a bomb in me," Damen said flatly.
"Me neither," Liorea agreed.
The recruit shook his head. "There would be no device. Just a contract."
Liorea crossed her arms. "Am I recruiting you, or are you recruiting me?"
"If you help us resolve our contracts with the Syndic," the recruit said carefully, "we'll all follow you afterward."
They argued in hushed voices for a while.
Finally, Liorea exhaled.
"What the hell. It's just a stupid contract. I'll sign."
The recruit pressed a hidden switch behind the statue. A thin panel slid open, revealing a glowing monitor. Lines of text flooded the screen—the contract of the Syndic of Fracture.
Liorea didn't bother reading.
She scrolled straight to the bottom and pressed her thumb against the pad.
"Signed. Now what?"
The recruit glanced at Damen. "What about your friend?"
Damen hesitated only a moment before placing his thumb beside hers.
The instant he did, a chill ran through him.
He was wearing a mask. There was no way the Syndic knew who he was.
"Wait," Damen said slowly. "They don't even know my name. How can there be a contract between us?"
The recruit smiled faintly. "Names are unreliable. They can be forged. Identities can be altered."
He tapped the screen.
"As long as they have your imprint, that's all the Syndic needs."
Reality shuddered.
A dark portal unfolded in the air before them, edges splitting and rejoining like fractured glass.
"This is the entrance," the recruit said. "The Temple of Fracture."
Damen stared at it. "Now what?"
"Now we go inside."
Liorea eyed the portal uneasily. "Why do I suddenly feel like we've been scammed?"
No one answered.
They stepped forward anyway—into the Temple of Fracture.
------
[The Temple of Fracture]
The Temple of Fracture was not a building.
It was an enormous garden suspended within a sealed space, detached from the world. Endless beds of crimson roses bloomed under a sky that did not exist, their petals unnaturally perfect, their fragrance heavy and suffocating.
People filled the garden.
Assassins—hundreds of them—were standing among the flowers as if they belonged there. They were members of the Syndic of Fracture, silent, watchful, and bound…. Each of them is waiting for their next assignment.
At the very center of the garden stood an altar of black stone.
Upon it rested two objects.
A book and a mirror.
"Is that the Death Note?" Damen asked quietly about the book while ignoring the mirror.
Liorea nodded. "It can only be."
Damen studied the distance between them and the altar.
"This is too open and too exposed."
"So," he said, "is our mission really that simple? Grab the book and run?"
Liorea let out a dry laugh. "If it were that simple, no one would still be trapped in this stupid assassin guild."
The roses swayed.
The crowd parted, forming a clear path through the sea of crimson roses.
"Welcome to the Syndic of Fracture."
A man stepped forward from beside the altar. He wore tall white ceremonial headgear and flowing robes trimmed with fracture sigils—he was the Priest of the Temple.
Liorea and Damen advanced slowly.
As they walked, Syndic members tossed red roses into the air, petals raining down like blessings. Their voices rose in a strange, rhythmic chant—half hymn, half execution rite.
"This is getting stupid," Damen muttered as petals stuck to his coat. "And annoying."
"Just play along," Liorea whispered. "Once we're close enough, we grab the book and leave."
They reached the altar.
The priest stepped closer.
Up close, he looked… underwhelming with freckled skin, oversized braces glinting under the garden's artificial light and his smile too eager to please.
"Damn it," Liorea muttered. "They made a geek the priest."
Damen snorted. "Why are assassin guild operators always so freakish?"
Liorea shot him a sharp look."I am an assassin guild operator too."
Before the priest could continue the ritual, Damen lost interest.
"So, this is the end of it," he said casually—and leapt… Straight for the book.
"Traitor!" the priest screeched. "How dare you—"
"Like we bloody care," Damen replied beneath his mask.
The instant his fingers neared the book, an invisible force slammed into him.He was hurled backward, skidding across the rose-strewn ground.
"What the hell?" Damen growled.
The priest raised his arms, his eyes shining. "You are already dead. You have awakened the Mirror of Fracture."
Damen pushed himself up. "Yeah? Not before you."
All around them, the garden shifted.
Syndic members drew weapons, their meta energy flaring to life. These weren't amateurs—the weakest among them were Rank BBB. Many though, radiated Rank A pressure.
This was an army of the strongest assassins in the city.
"It looks like we'll have to fight them," Liorea said calmly. "All of them."
Damen glanced at her. "You shouldn't have come. This fight doesn't belong to you."
Liorea smiled, energy crackling around her fingers.
"On the contrary, boss. I came exactly for the fight."
She met his gaze. "Don't underestimate me."
Side by side, they turned to face the Syndic of Fracture—an army of assassins standing beneath blooming red roses, ready to spill blood.