The forest was quiet again.
Too quiet.
The body of the Black Crane lay motionless at the base of a great oak, his mask cracked in two. The once-terrifying assassin, whispered about in taverns and courts alike, was now only another corpse feeding the soil.
Adrian staggered back, his sword slipping from his blood-stained fingers and embedding itself in the dirt. His chest heaved, each breath scraping like fire through his lungs. His arms trembled violently, not from fear—but from exhaustion.
"Adrian!" Selena's voice broke the stillness. She rushed forward, catching his arm before he collapsed. Her hands were warm, yet unsteady. "You're hurt… you're bleeding everywhere."
Adrian forced a faint smirk, though his face was pale. "If I can still talk, I'm not dead yet."
Selena's brows knitted tightly. "Don't joke. You nearly—" Her voice cracked, but she bit it back.
He lifted a hand, brushing her words aside. "I've had worse." He said it, but deep down, he knew the fight had pushed him to his very limits. Without the guidance of the scroll, he wouldn't be standing here at all.
His gaze drifted to the assassin's mask lying in the moonlight. Even broken, it radiated menace. Adrian bent, picked it up, and studied the crimson stains smeared across its beak. "So this is the price of walking my path," he muttered, more to himself than to Selena.
Selena shivered. "If the Black Crane was sent, others will follow. My family…" She hugged her arms to her chest, her eyes distant. "The Rael clan's shadow doesn't end with one man. They'll send more. Stronger."
Adrian looked at her, seeing the guilt in her expression. "This isn't just your burden anymore. You crossed my path, Selena, and now our fates are tied." His hand went to the scroll strapped at his waist, the ancient parchment pulsing faintly with light. It almost felt alive, as though whispering secrets he had yet to unlock.
Selena's breath caught. She stared at the scroll with both fear and longing. "That thing… it's dangerous. If the Rael family learns you hold it, they'll stop at nothing. You don't understand—"
Adrian's eyes hardened, cutting her off. "Then let them come."
He straightened, ignoring the pain clawing at his body, and retrieved his blade from the dirt. The steel gleamed cold under the moonlight, streaked with blood and moonfire. "For every scar this night has left on me, I'll carve a hundred on those who think they can control my fate."
The words rang with iron resolve, but as the night wind rustled through the leaves, even Adrian couldn't silence the truth pressing against his heart—power alone wasn't enough. Every battle left scars deeper than flesh, and these scars would shape the man he was becoming.
Selena looked at him silently, her eyes soft with something she couldn't name—fear, admiration, or perhaps both.
The two of them stood in the clearing, surrounded by shadows and blood.
And though the Black Crane was dead, Adrian could feel it in his bones: this was only the beginning of a far greater hunt.