The warehouse stood silent.
Broken metal hung from the ceiling.
Rain tapped softly against shattered windows.
And in the center of the ruined floor—
Arjun stood alone among the dead.
The silver-masked hunters had already begun dissolving into black smoke, their bodies fading into the darkness like they had never existed.
Only Rohan remained.
Unconscious.
Breathing.
Alive.
Arjun stared down at him.
For several long seconds, he said nothing.
The old Arjun would have demanded answers.
Would have wanted revenge.
Would have wanted to hear regret.
But standing there now—
covered in blood, shadow energy still moving beneath his skin—
Arjun felt strangely empty.
Not calm.
Not angry.
Something worse.
Detached.
The system screen still hovered in front of him.
DING
[Hidden Reputation Increased]
Current Status:
Unknown Vessel → Noticed
Arjun frowned.
"Noticed?"
Before he could ask another question, the system changed.
[Warning]
Attention from higher entities has increased.
His eyes narrowed.
"…Higher entities?"
The screen vanished.
And the temperature inside the warehouse dropped.
Arjun slowly turned.
Someone else was there.
Standing near the broken entrance.
Watching him.
Kael.
Hands in his coat pockets.
Expression unreadable.
Arjun exhaled.
"You really need to stop appearing after every fight."
Kael glanced around the warehouse.
Then at the bodies dissolving around him.
"You killed all four."
Arjun shrugged.
"They started it."
Kael almost smiled.
Then his eyes moved to Rohan.
"And saved him."
That made Arjun's expression harden.
"He was useful."
Kael raised an eyebrow.
"Was he?"
Arjun didn't answer.
Because both of them knew the truth.
Kael stepped closer.
"You're changing faster than I expected."
Arjun's jaw tightened.
"That sounds familiar."
Kael stopped a few feet away.
"The problem is…"
He looked directly into Arjun's eyes.
"…fast changes usually come with consequences."
Arjun glanced at his hand.
The black mark pulsed beneath his skin.
"What kind of consequences?"
Kael was silent for a moment.
Then answered.
"Voices."
Arjun froze.
Kael noticed instantly.
"…You've already started hearing them."
Arjun looked away.
That silence was answer enough.
Because ever since the battle ended—
he had been hearing it.
Soft.
Faint.
Almost impossible to notice.
A whisper in the back of his mind.
Like someone standing just behind him.
Breathing.
Waiting.
Kael's voice lowered.
"You need to be careful now."
Arjun laughed quietly.
"I think that warning came too late."
Kael didn't disagree.
The Whisper Returns
Rohan groaned.
Both men looked down.
Slowly, Rohan opened his eyes.
For a moment, confusion filled his face.
Then he saw Arjun.
Then the blood.
Then the dead hunters.
And his expression turned to fear.
Real fear.
"Arjun…"
His voice shook.
"What… what happened?"
Arjun stared at him.
And for the first time—
Rohan looked at him like a stranger.
Not because of the blood.
Not because of the bodies.
Because of his eyes.
Rohan slowly tried to sit up.
"You… you were dead."
Arjun tilted his head slightly.
"Was I?"
Rohan's breathing became uneven.
"I saw you."
"You stopped moving."
"There was blood everywhere."
His voice cracked.
"You should be dead."
Arjun stepped closer.
Rohan flinched.
That reaction made something dark inside Arjun smile.
"You sound disappointed."
"No!"
Rohan's answer came too fast.
Too desperate.
Too guilty.
Kael silently watched.
Rohan looked around the warehouse again.
Then back at Arjun.
"Who were those people?"
Arjun answered calmly.
"They were looking for me."
Rohan swallowed hard.
"Why?"
Arjun's expression became cold.
"I was about to ask you something similar."
Rohan froze.
Arjun crouched in front of him.
Close enough to see panic in his eyes.
"Why were you here?"
Rohan opened his mouth.
Closed it.
Then looked away.
That was all Arjun needed.
Because fear could lie.
But hesitation rarely did.
Arjun stood slowly.
"You knew."
Rohan shook his head violently.
"No, I swear—"
"Don't."
Arjun's voice cut through him like a blade.
The warehouse fell silent again.
Rohan's face turned pale.
Kael's expression darkened slightly.
Because even he could feel it.
The pressure in the room had changed.
Arjun wasn't angry anymore.
And somehow—
that was worse.
He was becoming cold.
The Truth
Rohan's hands trembled.
"I didn't know who they were."
Arjun said nothing.
Rohan continued quickly.
"A man contacted me yesterday."
"He said he knew about you."
Kael's attention sharpened.
Arjun's eyes narrowed.
"What man?"
Rohan shook his head.
"I never saw his face."
"He knew everything."
"About your accident."
"About the money."
"About Nisha."
Arjun's expression did not change.
But inside—
something went still.
Rohan's voice dropped.
"He said if I told him where you were…"
He looked down.
"…he would make everything disappear."
Kael cursed softly under his breath.
Arjun asked one quiet question.
"You sold me twice?"
Rohan looked sick.
"It wasn't like that—"
Arjun laughed.
A cold, hollow sound.
"It was exactly like that."
The whisper in his head grew louder.
Kill him.
Arjun's hand twitched.
Rohan saw it.
And panic exploded across his face.
"Arjun, listen—"
Kill him.
The voice was clearer now.
Not a whisper.
A command.
Soft.
Ancient.
Hungry.
Arjun closed his eyes.
For a moment—
he wanted to.
Not because of revenge.
Because it would be easy.
Too easy.
Kael stepped forward.
"Arjun."
His voice was sharp.
Grounding.
Arjun opened his eyes again.
The darkness around his feet slowly calmed.
Rohan stared in horror.
He had felt it too.
Whatever had just almost happened—
it had not been human.
Arjun turned away.
"Get out."
Rohan blinked.
"What?"
Arjun's voice became ice.
"Before I change my mind."
Rohan didn't argue.
He stumbled to his feet and ran.
Without looking back.
The warehouse became silent once more.
Kael looked at Arjun.
"You heard it clearly this time."
Arjun stared at the broken window.
Rain falling outside.
"…Yeah."
Kael's voice was grim.
"That's bad."
Arjun gave a dry laugh.
"Still your favorite line."
Kael didn't smile.
"Because if the voice is already speaking…"
He hesitated.
"…then the Hollow King is waking up."
The First Name
Arjun turned sharply.
"You still haven't told me what that thing wants."
Kael answered quietly.
"It wants back what it lost."
Arjun looked at his hand.
"The mark."
Kael nodded.
"And you."
Silence.
Then Arjun asked the question that mattered.
"What happens if I lose control?"
Kael held his gaze.
"The same thing that happened last time."
"And what was that?"
Kael's voice lowered.
"Cities disappeared."
The words landed like stone.
Arjun stared at him.
Kael continued.
"Entire bloodlines were erased."
"Gate worlds collapsed."
"And the man carrying that mark…"
He looked at Arjun's hand.
"…stopped being human long before he died."
For the first time that night—
Arjun felt something close to fear.
Not fear of dying.
Fear of becoming something worse.
Kael saw it.
And for once—
his voice softened.
"That fear might be the only thing keeping you alive."
Before Arjun could answer—
the system suddenly appeared.
DING
[New Title Unlocked]
The One Who Returned
Effects:
Hidden world recognition increased
Shadow affinity increased
Danger increased
Arjun stared at the screen.
Then laughed once.
"No reward without a curse."
Kael looked at the title.
And his expression changed.
Because he knew what it meant.
Arjun noticed immediately.
"What?"
Kael looked toward the darkness outside the warehouse.
Then said quietly—
"You don't have a hidden reputation anymore."
Arjun frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Kael met his eyes.
"It means they finally know your name."
And somewhere deep beneath the sleeping city—
something ancient opened its eyes.
🔥 [End of Chapter 15]