The silence hung heavy in the alley.
Two pairs of eyes locked onto each other.
The thick stench of smog clung to the air.
"Soooo…"
Torin slowly lifted his head, eyes wide, practically sparkling with anticipation.
Lucian stared back at him, unimpressed.
"…Are you mad?" he said flatly. "Of course not."
"What? No—you have to—"
"I don't have to do anything."
"Ah—! You're right, I'm so sorry!"
Torin slammed his head back onto the dirty ground.
Hard.
Lucian blinked.
What is wrong with this kid…?
"Do you even realise what you're asking?" Lucian said. "You want to work with a dreamer. Just knowing me could get you—"
He dragged a finger across his throat.
Torin didn't flinch.
"I know that! But you were amazing—you were like a hero! And besides, I—"
"Look who it is."
A voice cut through the alley.
"The shit pig himself."
Lucian's gaze shifted.
Trouble.
Two men stood at the entrance.
"Hah—looks like he's found another master."
One of them stepped forward.
Then—
THUD.
His foot slammed into Torin's stomach, sending him skidding across the ground.
"I don't know who the hell you think you are," the man sneered, "but this is my city."
He cracked his neck.
"And that's my little bitch."
His gaze snapped to Lucian.
"So who the fuck are you?"
Lucian didn't react.
Didn't move.
Didn't blink.
Loud.
Pathetic.
Annoying.
"…Name's Derin," the man said with a grin. "And this is my city."
"I don't see your name anywhere," Lucian replied.
A pause.
Derin's smile twitched.
"…Tiff. Deal with him."
The second man stepped forward instantly, throwing a punch aimed straight at Lucian's head.
Fast.
Close.
Unavoidable.
—or so it should have been.
The punch never landed.
Instead—
It stopped.
Frozen.
Swallowed whole by something black.
"…What the fuck?!"
Tiff stared in horror as darkness wrapped around his arm.
It pulsed.
Moved.
It was alive.
Too slow.
"Fuck- he's- he's a—"
"A dreamer."
Lucian's voice was calm.
Too calm.
A single movement—
A flash of steel—
And Tiff's arm hit the ground.
Silence.
Then screaming.
Weak.
Before it could even echo
Click.
Lucian vanished