075 THE NIGHTMARE AND THE OFFER
Dan didn't hesitate.
His elbow snapped forward, crushing Yvette's throat in one clean strike. The others lunged. He spun, breaking both their necks with two sharp cracks.
There was silence for a mont. All the three Red Hanky were killed.
Zairgid stood frozen, horror etched across his face. He had never seen real killing this close. "Did you kill them? Did you really kill…. Will you get into trouble for it?"
Dan laughed and flashed his SIA badge, "I have a License to kill, buddy."
They shared a short mont of cody. Then Zairgid beca serious.
"Did he say Aukuoma when you asked him who was after us?" he whispered. "My family… would they really send killers after ?"
"I was expecting the Veyrans or the Zetheris family, but I would never have guessed it… we were wrong from the start… these assassins didn't co for . They ca from your own family…. Soone in your family wants you dead", Dan said before he wiped his hands.
"Unbelievable…," Zairgid muttered.
"I'll call it in to SIA. Leave the rcs alive—they'll give you more answers," he added.
"Alright."
Dan turned to Zairgid again, his voice cold and certain. "Things aren't peaceful in your house. Be careful. From now on."
-----
Dan stood in a cavern of darkness. The air was thick, wet, humming with sothing alive.
Before him hung three familiar faces — Yvette and the Red Hanky. Their bodies were bound to the stalactites, skulls pierced and tethered by red, luminescent vines. They scread, twisted, but death refused to claim them. They were alive… in a way.
The vines pulsed like veins, feeding on their agony.
Dan took a step back.
All around, the sa glowing tendrils crawled across the rock — and from them hung creatures, malford hound-like husks. Their bodies writhed and jerked, their jaws locked in eternal howls.
They were Shadow Hounds of Annubis.
"Where the hell… is this?" he whispered. "Is this bloody Hell?"
Then he saw it.
A bloated man, half-buried in the wall, shrieking in tornt. His face was unmistakable. He was Big Boss, the gangster Dan had killed. And next to him, were his goons.
And farther still was Mad Cat, Dan's first kill.
The vines had them all.
Their bodies were puppets of light and blood, wriggling endlessly as if every sin Dan committed still breathed through them.
"No… no, this isn't real. Didn't you all die?"
He reached for his chest… and woke up.
Dan gasped, drenched in sweat. His room was quiet, too quiet. The dream still clung to him, the echoes of screams fading only slowly.
"What the hell was that?" he muttered, rubbing his face. "A nightmare... or another warning?"
His phone buzzed. There was a new ssage.
"Hi nephew, wanna join for a coffee?"
Dan nearly dropped it.
It was Sienna. His psychic…or psychotic aunt.
"Why does she always show up after the creepy stuff?" he muttered, his heart still racing.
He glanced at his mining app out of habit. Then he froze.
Blood: 21 ( 3) Armor: 70 ( 3)
His breath caught. "The Red Hanky…"
The realization sank in like ice. He gained Blood points after killing the three assassins.
"Damnit," he whispered. "I'm still not cleansed from the bloody blue curse yet."
Dan was still gaining Blood after killing but this ti, he lost the ability to relinquish the Blood with his app. He must be extrely careful with his kill lust.
------
Dan sat at his favorite café across from Heroes' Gym, still wondering why Sienna had chosen this place of all places to et. The sunlight stread through the glass, catching the steam of his coffee.
Then the bell above the door chid.
A woman entered, graceful, confident, followed by a boy in a hoodie. The waiter gave her a nod of recognition and imdiately started preparing a drink.
Sienna sat down opposite him as if they t every day. The boy stayed standing, silent. Dan caught a glimpse under the hood — he had sharp eyes, and pale.. hair.
"Kurt… no… Ivory," Dan muttered. "Of course."
When Kurt lost his mind from his Blue Blood lust.. Sienna stopped him at the last minute. Kurt's bloodlust was stopped but he didn't regain his mind.
He beca Sienna's puppet.
Ivory did not speak. It wasn't his place to speak in front of his mistress.
"You're really bold," Dan said to Sienna, his voice low. "You and this fugitive monster… the SIA command post is right next door. Your faces are plastered everywhere."
Sienna smirked, "Ah, the gym. I haven't gone there in a few days. Maybe I'll try it after this."
Dan nearly choked. "You've been inside the gym? You're a wanted fugitive!"
"Well," she said, setting her cup down gently, "I admit I'm wanted. But a fugitive? No. You see, nephew—" her tone turned playful, almost mocking "—I can go anywhere I want. And nobody can do a thing about it."
He didn't doubt it. Sienna's psychic powers were deep and unfathomable, bending minds like pages in a book.
"Why did you call out here?" Dan asked, more cautious now.
"I'd like you to join us," she said simply. "The Alliance of Psyche."
Dan could see Kurt's face pale with horror. There would be no place for him if Dan joined the alliance.
Although he was turned into a puppet… his mind still retained remnant consciousness from his old host. He was happy with his position as Sienna's sidekick and would hate to lose the job.
To Kurt's joy, Dan rely blinked at Sienna's suggestion, "You think I'd join your evil cult? Never."
Her lips curled into a slow, knowing smile. "Cult? Oh, no. We're an alliance — fighting for justice, equality, freedom from the plutocrats who think they own this world."
Dan hesitated.
She wasn't wrong.
The governnt was a machine run by rich families who were corrupt and exploitative. There was truth in her words.
But truth wasn't the sa as righteousness.
He leaned forward. "Then tell —what about the people you killed? Were they all deserving of death?"
Sienna laughed softly, her eyes gleaming. "Oh, my dear nephew… were they? So, yes. So, perhaps not." She paused, her gaze sharpening.
"I can see them, you know — the darkness above your head. Dead souls, clinging to you. They won't let go," she added.
Dan froze. He rembered his nightmare — the dark cave, the glowing vines, the screaming faces — it all ca flooding back.
"Is it true…?" he thought. "Are the souls of everyone I've killed still with ?"
He looked away. "They wanted dead. They deserved it."
Sienna smiled faintly. "Those I've killed wanted dead too."
He sank back into his seat, words were lost.
For a long mont, neither spoke. The café around them was bright and ordinary — people chatting, spoons clinking — yet the air between them felt heavy.
Good and evil. Justice and vengeance.
He realized, with a strange chill, that he couldn't tell the difference anymore.
Sienna was the first to break the silence.
"You can think about it," she said softly, almost kindly. "It's still early. Your powers are only beginning to awaken. Grow stronger first… then we'll talk again."
Dan didn't answer. He just stared into his cup, watching the reflection of his face ripple on the coffee's surface.
Suddenly, Sienna stood, her movent graceful as ever. Ivory followed her quietly toward the door, turning towards Dan as he passed with an unfriendly look.
"This is not over between us", Ivory would have said to Dan if not for Sienna's presence.
But before stepping out, Sienna turned her head slightly, her voice threading through the air like a whisper that reached only him.
"Rember, nephew—only I can help you… only I would be bothered to help," Her eyes glimred with knowing. "Tell … do you want your blood curse removed?"
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