The atmosphere remains dark and heavy.

  Silence lingers over the Holy Land.

  The pink-haired Elite stands motionless, legs trembling. She walks toward the fallen male Elite and rests her palm gently on his shoulder.

  “Farewell, buddy,” she says softly.

  ---

  The remaining Firecracker chases Nathan through the streets. His boots hammer the pavement, stride long and aggressive. He’s faster. Slowly closing the gap.

  Nathan glances back.

  The Firecracker’s palm nearly catches his sleeve.

  Nathan’s frame warps sideways, fracturing into a narrow alley. The Firecracker follows without hesitation.

  They burst into a crowded market square.

  People scatter.

  Nathan’s outline flares repeatedly, slipping into the moving crowd. The Firecracker’s shadow shears open as well, cutting through bodies and stalls, still in pursuit.

  Nathan ignites into a slim corner road.

  The Firecracker enters seconds later.

  Stops.

  Looks around.

  Empty.

  Nathan is gone.

  He rushes out, emerging into another neighborhood riddled with side paths and hidden turns. He slows this time. Watches. Calculates.

  His gaze catches a black trench coat in a narrow lane.

  He closes in.

  Grabs the coat.

  Drags the wearer out.

  A muscular stranger stumbles forward.

  Not Nathan.

  The Firecracker frowns. “Where could he have gone?”

  His eyes scan upward.

  An exposed window in a residence ahead.

  A trench coat draped near it. Swaying slightly.

  The Firecracker ignites inside.

  His eyes flicker—

  Then widen.

  A woman stands there in only bra and underwear.

  She screams.

  He fractures away instantly, veering through another alley and into a fresh neighborhood.

  Men and women stare at him suspiciously.

  He grabs a man by the collar. “Seen a guy with a trench coat?”

  The man struggles. “No—”

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  The Firecracker’s grip tightens. “You’re lying.”

  Several men draw swords, hammers, bats.

  Two step forward.

  The Firecracker’s outline flares behind them—

  Gunshots crack.

  Both drop.

  More rush in.

  A hammer swings.

  He weaves.

  His leg slams into the attacker’s chest.

  The man crashes back.

  A sword whistles past his ear.

  The Firecracker twists, leaps, fires mid-air.

  Bullets punch into temple, chest, stomach.

  Bodies fall.

  He warps behind three more.

  Gun raised.

  Shots echo.

  They collapse.

  His eyes blaze.

  “Got no time for this.”

  He ignites away.

  ---

  Nathan bursts into a mall, breathing hard.

  The shop owner looks up. “Nathan, what’s wrong? Kill someone?”

  Nathan walks straight toward him, desperation shaking in his eyes. “Pious. Let me hide. I need to survive.”

  The door slams open.

  Nathan dives into a stall.

  Pious glances down.

  Nathan presses a finger to his lips.

  The Firecracker’s presence flares inside.

  “See a dude with a trench coat?”

  “Not at all,” Pious replies calmly.

  The Firecracker presses his gun to Pious’s temple.

  “You’re hiding something.”

  Pious’s eyes darken. “You’re about to piss me off. Leave. Or die.”

  The Firecracker pulls the trigger.

  Baa.

  Pious barely tilts his head.

  The bullet slams into the wall.

  The Firecracker’s eyes widen.

  “Huh?!”

  A woman strides out from a back room, face twisted in irritation.

  “Who the hell is firing guns in my building?”

  Pious glances at her urgently. “Mami Shallow, please go back. He’s just a kid.”

  The Firecracker shifts his aim toward her.

  Pious’s voice hardens. “Dude… don’t.”

  The trigger clicks.

  She vanishes.

  Reappears behind him.

  The Firecracker’s eyes snap wide.

  “What—”

  Her palm slams into his neck.

  He drops.

  Not unconscious.

  Just paralyzed.

  Her voice low and unimpressed.

  “Kids these days.”

  She digs into his pocket.

  Pulls out a small bag of cash.

  Eyes gleam.

  “Yeah… that's my reward.”

  She walks away casually, tossing the cash upward and catching it with a grin.

  The Firecracker struggles upright.

  His hand flies to his side.

  His gun is gone.

  She’s holding it.

  Smiling.

  He steps toward her, fist clenched.

  “Dude’s looking for a death sentence,” Pious mutters, rubbing his forehead.

  Her hand snaps out.

  Grabs the Firecracker by the neck.

  Lifts him effortlessly off the ground.

  Her face darkens.

  Void-like.

  “You don’t know the difference when you see one, do you?”

  She chuckles softly.

  “Your shadow movement is impressive… but you lack the core perception of reality swapping.”

  Her grip tightens.

  Air cuts off.

  “You’re in Centre City, kid. Predators live here. Outsiders aren’t welcome.”

  She releases him.

  He crashes to his knees, coughing violently.

  “Leave,” she says flatly. “Before I finish you with a single kick.”

  The Firecracker warps away.

  She turns and walks off.

  Pious glares. “Give me the cash. It’s for the broken door.”

  “Fix it with your own business money,” she replies without looking back. “This is mine.”

  Nathan emerges from behind the stall, grinning.

  “Thanks, Pious… thanks, Mami…”

  She stops mid-step.

  Expression hardens.

  “Nathan. What did you bring to my door?”

  She ignites forward.

  Hand clamps around his neck.

  Lifts him.

  “I didn’t raise a student to drag trouble into my house.”

  Nathan struggles, trying to breathe.

  “Jager… Jager…”

  Mami’s fingers loosen.

  He drops to the ground.

  “Jager?” she repeats, her voice no longer sharp — just still. “Why are you mentioning your boss’s name?”

  “He’s dead,” Nathan gasps. “We got into a fight with Silas’s men. It was enormous. I escaped. He told me to give his One-biskae to his daughter Daisy… his dying wish.”

  Silence settles over the shop.

  Pious’s gaze falters. “What? Is that even possible?”

  Mami doesn’t answer.

  Her eyes remain on Nathan — searching, measuring, refusing.

  “Where’s his body?” she asks at last. “I don’t believe you.”

  “The battle kept going,” Nathan says. “Jager grabbed two enemies, pulled them close… and released a grenade. All three were torn apart.”

  The words hang.

  Mami’s jaw tightens.

  For a brief second, her fingers tremble against the counter — then curl into a fist.

  “Jager…” she exhales, almost under her breath.

  Pious closes his eyes. “Mami… you just lost a partner.”

  “Jager was my senior back in Owens Town,” she says quietly. “I grew up chasing his shadow. He was always ahead.”

  Her fist slams down on the counter.

  The shop rattles.

  “That idiot,” she snaps, anger bleeding through the crack. “Why would he walk into a battlefield without his One-biskae?”

  Her eyes blaze now — not wild, but burning.

  “So those were Silas’s men?”

  Nathan nods.

  Mami’s gaze drifts for half a second — not lost, just distant — then sharpens again.

  “I’ve only heard of that man,” she says. “And now he thinks he can take one of ours.”

  She looks at Nathan.

  “Daisy. Find her. Bring her to me.”

  Her voice steadies.

  “If Jager’s gone… then his blood doesn’t fall with him.”

  She folds her arms.

  “And Silas?” Her eyes harden completely. “If he took Jager… then he made himself my enemy.”

  Nathan ignites, then stops at the door.

  He turns.

  "I appreciate it. I’ll bring Daisy here. She’ll be safer with you.”

  The door closes.