In a dimly lit alley, He stood behind his old mentor. His gun was pressed firmly against the back of the old head. The silence was suffocating, the air thick with tension.
The old man remained still, his broad frame unshaken, as if he had already accepted his fate.
Hes eyes were cold, devoid of emotion. He stared at the man who had raised him, the one who had given him purpose.
A heartbeat passed. Then another.
Without hesitation—BANG!—Achylys jolted awake, chest trembling.
....
His body was drenched in sweat. He sat there for a second, listening—to silence. A repeated nightmare still clung to him like smoke.
He got up and stumbled to the bathroom.
Achylys leaned over the sink, splashing cold water on his face. Droplets trickled down his pale skin as he stayed hunched over, jaw clenched, trying to calm his breathing.
Slowly, he looked up.
His reflection stared back from the fogged mirror. His sharp features were dulled by fatigue. But below his right eye, a small, dark cross stood out clearly.
He raised a hand and gently touched the tattoo with his fingers. His face was expressionless, but his eyes lingered….
[Bzzzzzzzz]
"Ouch! That hurts!" exclaimed five-year-old Achylys.
"It's almost done; don't be such a baby," Roger replied.
"There you go, all finished."
"Wow! The scar on my face is gone!" Achylys marveled.
"Now that pain has a purpose," Roger said, tapping Achylys on the head and looking into his eyes.
…
At the age of five, Achylys became an orphan. His parents perished, leaving him in the care of his mother's brother, Roger Pegan.
Roger didn't just raise him; he molded him, shaping him into something more than a mere child. From an early age, Achylys learned to live in the shadows.
His uncle was no ordinary guardian-he was the leader of the notorious mafia syndicate known as the "Pegans," a group feared for its political assassinations, Cyber crimes, and large-scale extortion of corporations.
Within the Pegans, Achylys found more than just survival; he found family-brothers-in-arms, comrades, a place where he belonged. Under Roger's tutelage, he honed his skills, mastering the intricate and brutal realities of their world.
For years, everything seemed to be falling into place. Until the winds of fate shifted.
Then, he lost everything.
A single decision changed the course of his life forever. One choice between life and death, and the nightmares of that night continued to haunt him, replaying in his mind like a cruel, endless loop.
After serving a two-year sentence, Achylys walked out to freedom—but his life was no longer the same. He had lost his sense of purpose. He moved like a shell of the person he once was—no fear, no pain, no joy. All that remained was a haunting memory that he refused to let go.
[FangYin Electronic Shop — Late Afternoon]
Click. Click. Click.
The sound of mechanical keyboards filled the air like music for the wicked.
"Hahaha! I finally cornered you this time!" shouted a student, sweat on his brow, confidence in his voice.
"Not a chance," came the calm reply from Achylys, without even looking up.
Ding!
[SYSTEM BREACHED]
"No way—again?!"
The crowd behind them groaned and burst into laughter. "You lost again, man! When are you gonna learn? You can't beat the guy!"
Arvin, the one who dared to challenge him, stared in disbelief. "How did you even?!"
Achylys finally glanced over.
"Your defense looked decent, On the surface. But you patched your system like most people do mechanically. No context, no cleanup."
Arvin blinked. "What?"
Achylys leaned back.
"You updated the firewall but didn't recompile the custom scripts tied to your authentication layer. That created silent mismatches, blind spots. I didn't break your system, I walked through a door you didn't know you left open."
The crowd murmured. Arvin's eyes widened.
"That's not even in the logs—"
"Of course it isn't," Achylys cut in.
Arvin, having just lost yet another duel to Achylys, made a desperate dash for the exit, thinking he could slip away unnoticed. However, he was caught off guard when he found Sisi standing in his path, a sly grin plastered across her face.
"I knew you'd try to make a run for it," she said, extending her hand expectantly. "You lost the bet, so cough up the cash—or I swear I'll smash this keyboard over your head."
With a heavy sigh and no other options, Arvin reluctantly handed over all his money.
"Fine, take it," he muttered, frustration evident in his voice as he turned to leave.
"here, take the prize." Sisi said, throwing over the money. Achylys quickly grabbed it.
"A hacker who had never been bested". Sisi playfully teased.
"You're such a monster when it comes to hacking. How did you become so great? You never even share your secrets with me. What a bad of a friend you are!"
Achylys chuckled, dismissing the comment. "enough nonsense. I need some fresh air."
Outside, Achylys stood still beneath the fading sky, hands in his pockets.
A soft breeze passed over him, quiet and cool—like the world, just for a moment, was letting him breathe.