The sky was dark.
Rain was pouring down as heavily as it should.
The street was empty and quiet, except the sound of rain hitting zincs. Houses were locked, windows jammed.
Yet.
Under the heavy downpour, at he center of the road, a lone figure was walking. His steps were slow, unhurried, as though he was not in a hurry for anything.
On his right hand, he held a long blade. It was long and tiny, barely invisible if not for the reflection of lightning that occasionally shone on it.
He was putting on a long black coat, a black hat, and black boots. This made him one with the darkness.
While he was walking slowly, another figure was running, trying to get away from him as fast as possible.
Unfortunately, the figure was soon cornered with no place to run to. High walls stood tall before him.
"Damn it!" He grunted as he dropped to the floor. He watched the lone figure approach him with easy and unhurried steps. He glanced around, frantically — trying to find a weapon but nothing was in the line of his sight. He knew he was gone. "What do you want, I can give you everything but do not kill me, please!"
The lone figure finally got there. He stood before the kneeling man, tall and imposing.
"You killed my daughter, but I can forgive you and let it become a past to me as long as you let me leave," the kneeling man muttered.
The lone figure finally moved for the first time since he got there.
He scoffed. "You want me to let you leave? Isn't it me asking for the tiger's skin?"
"No, no! I swear I won't do anyth—"
"—shut up!" The lone figure grunted. "You have committed so many crimes, I am here to give you your punishment."
"Tch."
The kneeling man scoffed.
"What right do you have to talk about justice?," he asked. He shook his head and continued. "... Someone like you deserves to be killed a thousand times. Well.. your death is just round the corner. Even if you kill me, sooner or later, you'll be accompanying me to greet the Lord of hades."
The lone figure raised his blade. "I see that you are doomed to die in your sins," he said. "For the sake of all those you have killed, I shall kill you."
Lightning tore across the sky and the blade fell.
It was swift, silent, and merciless. The kneeling man's eyes widened, his mouth still half-open from words that would never finish. Steel met flesh with a wet, sickening sound drowned beneath the roar of rain. For a brief second, time seemed to hesitate. Then the body slumped sideways, lifeless, collapsing into a growing pool of diluted crimson that the downpour eagerly devoured.
The lone figure stood there, unmoving, his arm still extended, the long blade trembling only slightly before he lowered it. No satisfaction crossed his face, no anger. Only a hollow stillness, as if another name had merely been crossed out from an endless list. Rain slid down the brim of his hat, tracing the sharp lines of his jaw before dripping from his chin. Without another glance at the corpse, he turned and began walking away, his boots splashing softly against the soaked road.
Thunder growled above.
His steps remained slow, unhurried, carrying him deeper into the empty street where darkness swallowed outlines and the storm erased evidence. The black coat clung heavily to his frame, soaked through, yet he did not seem to notice. The blade rested loosely at his side now, its surface reflecting fractured flashes of lightning. Around him, houses remained sealed in fearful silence, windows shut tight against both weather and the unseen terror that walked among them. The world felt distant, muffled, as though he no longer belonged to it. Perhaps he never had.
"Father!"
The voice cut through the rain, the lone figure halted.
For the first time that night, something shifted within him. Slowly, he turned. Through the curtain of falling water, a small silhouette stood trembling beneath the storm. A young boy, barely more than a child. His thin clothes were drenched, plastered against his frail body, hair hanging over wide, searching eyes.
For a heartbeat, the assassin did not move, disbelief flickering across his features. Then urgency broke through his composure. The blade slipped from his fingers, clattering against the wet ground as he rushed forward.
"What are you doing out here?" he demanded, dropping to his knees before the boy. His hands gripped the child's shoulders, frantic, scanning for injuries, for harm, for any sign of danger. Rain streamed down both their faces, mingling indistinguishably. "Why are you outside in this rain?"
"Because I missed you, father," he said, his lips trembling.
The words were soft, fragile, yet they struck harder than any weapon. The lone figure froze, his grip loosening as emotion cracked through the armor of his voice. His expression softened, the cold sharpness melting into something painfully human. He pulled the boy into his arms without hesitation, holding him tightly against his chest as though afraid he might vanish.
"You shouldn't have come out," he murmured, his tone heavy, conflicted. "It's not safe."
But the boy only clung tighter.
While they remained locked in that desperate embrace, the man's breath hitched. He had meant to say more, to scold gently, to promise something he was no longer certain he could give. Yet the words died in his throat. A strange sensation bloomed in his abdomen. It was warm, spreading fast.
He slowly pulled back, his gaze drifted downward. There, protruding from his belly, was the hilt of a dagger.
For a moment, his mind refused to understand what his eyes were showing him. Rain slid along the polished handle. Blood seeped through the fabric of his coat, dark and thick, instantly washed thin by the storm. Shock shattered across his face as his eyes lifted back to the boy.
The child's hands were still extended. They were small, shaking, stained in blood.
The lone figure staggered backward, breath ragged, his gloved hand instinctively reaching for the wound. Pain erupted fully now, sharp and blinding, forcing a strangled grunt from his lips.
"W-Why…" His voice cracked, disbelief choking every syllable. "Why would you do this…?"
The boy's expression twisted with agony.
"You've killed too many people," the child whispered, tears mixing with rain. "Mother died because of you. Because of the life you chose. And... And I couldn't forgive you."
The words pierced deeper than the dagger.
The man tried to respond, to deny, to explain, but his body betrayed him. A violent cough tore from his chest, spraying a mouthful of blood onto the flooded street. His vision blurred, knees buckling as weakness spread rapidly through his limbs.
The boy's resolve crumbled.
Suddenly, he fell to his knees.
"Father…!" His voice broke completely now, desperation replacing accusation. "Forgive me… please forgive me… If there is another life… I would still choose you to be my father…"
Before the assassin could react, before his failing body could even command movement, the boy drew another knife. The blade glinted briefly beneath a flash of lightning.
Then plunged. The boy gasped, the knife fell from his hand.
The child's body collapsed forward, lifeless, the storm immediately claiming him just as it had claimed countless others.
"No…!"
The lone figure lurched forward with what little strength remained, his hand stretching desperately toward the fallen boy. His fingers scraped uselessly against wet stone as his body gave way, collapsing heavily onto the rain-soaked ground. Blood poured freely now, warmth escaping into the cold night.
He could feel death approaching — it was inevitable.
Hundreds of faces flickered through his fading consciousness. Names, victims. Contracts fulfilled without hesitation. Yet none of them lingered.
Only one did — his son
A bitter chuckle escaped his lips, weak and trembling.
"Hundreds have died in my hands," he whispered, his voice barely audible beneath the rain. "But only one could kill me… My son…"
Another cough shook his frame, blood staining his teeth as his vision dimmed further. The storm above raged on, indifferent to tragedy, to guilt, to love twisted into something unbearable.
"To think…" he murmured, eyes slowly closing. "I'd die a quiet death like this… After everything…"
Soon, it became still, followed by a complete silence.