A cold wind howled over the empty square. A hissing sound, sharp as the grinding of teeth, came from under the elegant podium. The voice was not human-like. Nor would a human likely talk to himself in such a manner.
"I will continue my attempts, and you will not interfere," said the creature hiding under the podium. "This is my task."
And it fell silent. After a few seconds, a figure in black leather crawled out from under the podium – Shadow.
It was impossible to determine from its build whether it was a man or a woman. Its movements betrayed an unnatural, mechanical stiffness.
Shadow bent down and pulled a huge, coal-black, and formidable weapon from under the podium. It resembled neither the cheap trinkets of gangs nor expensive assault rifles – its very appearance screamed lethality.
As did its owner.
Shadow slung the weapon over its back. A quiet click was heard, and it secured itself to the perfectly smooth surface. It looked eerie and natural at the same time, as if Shadow had done this thousands of times.
And then it ran. Incredibly fast. Cutting through the air, in the next moment it was on the opposite side of the square.
Its figure did not seem athletic; the tight-fitting leather revealed all the curves of its body. From a biological standpoint, such a physique could not provide such speed.
But this was Nostramo.
"Looks like augmentics," a voice came from one of the spires surrounding the square. Kariel, who had returned at some unknown time, shook his head with a smile, watching the scene. "Still the same old tricks. So many years have passed, and they're still in fashion?"
"Kariel, he seems to be moving towards us," the Ghost said quietly.
"I know."
"I can kill him."
"Yes, you can."
"Let me?" There was a clear plea in the Ghost's voice for Kariel.
"No, Ghost. This is my job. Division of labor is the best approach, isn't it? You'd better deal with the sentries in the houses. It seems they've decided to lie low and wait for us to show ourselves again."
Kariel turned and winked at the Ghost with a smile.
"Shall we surprise them?"
"But you..."
"I'll be fine," Kariel squinted. "Go."
The Ghost was silent for a few seconds and finally left. He was only eighteen months old, but he already vaguely understood what today's ambush meant.
Therefore, he would not refuse the cleanup.
And Kariel knew this perfectly well.
"The time has come, the time has come..."
He exhaled quietly.
"I wanted to burn this world to ashes when the day came, Ghost. But your appearance opened another hope for me. A way to incinerate the darkness without burning the whole world. And I will light this precious flame with my own hands."
Kariel's eyes flashed with blue fire. For the first time, he fully accepted this power. It flowed through his veins, and from beyond the Veil, the same voice sounded again – fatherly soft, as always. Kariel paid no attention to it.
He merely smirked coldly, allowing Him to knock on the doors of his mind, allowing Him to whisper in his ear.
Nothing could affect him anymore.
Kariel spread his arms and stepped down.
The oncoming wind beat against his face, the free fall threatened to tear his body apart, but with unprecedented determination, he cast aside all the rules he had once set for himself and broke all the chains of caution.
The time had come.
He no longer needed to endure pain.
…
Shadow silently climbed the wall of the building.
Its hands moved with unwavering confidence, its fingers piercing the cracks between the stones with terrifying precision, excluding any chance of error in its ascent.
Soon it reached the place where the stone gargoyle had been, now shattered. Shadow froze, examining the debris. Its face was completely hidden by black skin, with no eye slits, but it was definitely observing.
And this was, without a doubt, strange.
However, this was Nostramo. Anything could happen here, and nothing seemed strange.
Including a spirit falling from the sky.
"Crash!"
A crushing impact, a spray of stone fragments. Shadow was forcefully embedded inside the building. The pre-emptied corridor was empty, making the sound of the impact against the wall echo particularly loudly.
"What's happening?"
The sudden attack caught Shadow by surprise. It could never have imagined that someone could attack from such a height and with such speed. The blow was terrible – it was thrown back on the first lunge.
And the attacker was already here.
He clearly had no intention of giving it a chance to resist. As soon as it got back on its feet, another attack followed.
Two blue dots flashed and extinguished in the darkness, and behind them – a furious gleam of silver. The blades pierced the skin and scraped against the flesh, making a sound like metal grinding against metal.
Shadow grunted dully. Gears whirred inside its arms. It thrust its arms forward sharply and managed to stop both blades.
"Ha," the attacker chuckled from the darkness. "Whoever remade you clearly didn't skimp. Replacing skin with adamantium... But doesn't it hurt? Your body is trying to heal, isn't it? Metal embedded in flesh must cause pain with every movement, right?"
"You know a lot," Shadow replied impassively. "But it's useless. You have disgraced the House of Scryvok. I will take you, and you will appear before Justice."
"Justice..." the attacker sighed.
"Justice," he laughed, and his laughter, growing louder, echoed down the corridor. "The House of Scryvok wants to judge me?"
Shadow took a sharp step forward. The grinding of gears from the rapid movement became even louder. It swung for a blow, intending to push the opponent into close combat.
And then...
"Bam!"
A powerful kick – and Shadow flew back again. Breaking through three walls, it froze in amazement, unable to understand what had happened.
It didn't need to understand.
The attacker slowly approached. Its steps echoed dully in the silence and darkness, accompanied by a mocking question:
"Don't you find it simply ridiculous?"
Shadow got up again. It pulled the hood off its face, revealing a metal mask. The rough outlines of facial features contrasted with the elegant engraving along the edges of the metal, creating an absurd contrast. At the center of its forehead, the coat of arms of the House of Scryvok dimly gleamed.
Where eyes should have been, two black holes gaped, within which fury now swirled.
"Pathetic mortal," it said coldly. "No matter who is behind you, you are dead, and your house is doomed. The House of Scryvok has completely subjugated Quintus, and from here we will rule all of Nostramo!"
"Interesting," the attacker nodded thoughtfully. "For an aristocrat's assassin, you seem to know too much."
"I am the Shadow of the House of Scryvok, you ignorant bastard!"
With a furious roar, it lunged at him. The roar and grinding of gears in its body were so loud that they drowned out even the sound of its steps.
"Kneel! That way you'll avoid unnecessary pain! I know your body is modified, but flesh won't withstand steel!"
"Kneel before a puppet? No, I think I'll refrain."
The attacker smirked and suddenly disappeared. It moved so fast that Shadow couldn't even catch a trace of its movement.
It warily raised its weapon.
Her hand was ready for the blade attack that could come at any second. Give her a chance, and this bastard would regret going against House Scryvok!
How dare some augment dare to even try to damage the skin that swore to protect House Scryvok?
How dare the attacker, who didn't even know the name of the Shadow of House Scryvok, be so arrogant? Didn't his family understand what it meant to be enemies with the Scryvoks at this moment?!
But…
Nothing.
No attack, no blades slicing through the air, no crushing blows.
The Shadow moved forward slowly, unwilling to wait for the weather. She would find him herself.
The weapon on her back swayed with her steps, the gears in her body grinding deafeningly. She focused all her attention, searching, waiting, craving… and overlooked one thing.
Something she should have noticed long ago, but which was now drowned out by the roar of gears, fueled by her rage.
The temperature.
It was getting colder. The humid air began to crystallize, turning into frost. The floor became covered with an icy crust. The Shadow walked on it, hearing a quiet crunch, but she noticed nothing.
And then, a voice echoed in the room:
"There are no distinct seasons on Nostramo, but I'm used to dividing the year into four. It's winter now, Shadow of House Scryvok. And winter… is very cold, Shadow."
"Where is he?!"
The Shadow paid no attention to the words, her gaze darting around the dark corners, trying to find the enemy in the empty building.
The temperature continued to drop. Finally, reaching a critical point, the Shadow froze abruptly.
The clatter of gears subsided for a moment, and a strange clicking sound echoed in her body. At that very moment, the attacker emerged from the darkness. His eyes burned with a fierce blue flame, radiating an icy cold.
"You!" the Shadow spat with hatred, her right hand twitching in an attempt to grab him.
"Yes, it's me," Kariel looked at her calmly. "Save your strength. It will be better for both of us."
"Don't count on it! Even if I can't bring you to justice, I'll kill you in the name of the House!"
"Calm down, okay? I'll visit your family myself," Kariel said softly. "Tonight. So you'd better shut up. Metal at low temperatures reacts curiously with your ravaged flesh, Shadow. In other words, even if I do nothing, you'll die soon."
"I'll kill you!"
"Uh-huh," Kariel shook his head with a smile. He walked up to the Shadow and placed his hand on her forehead.
The next second, a strange sound was heard. The Shadow's body jerked violently, and she screamed.
Ten seconds later, the scream stopped. With a dull thud, the metal-covered body collapsed to the floor and went still.
Kariel stood motionless, swallowing. A moment later, he exhaled slowly.
"So this is how you can be used too," he muttered to himself. "Extracting memories… how grim."
"And how disgusting."
"What have I done?"
The avenging spirit lowered his head, closed his eyes, and plunged into the Shadow's memories.
As he told her – the night was still long, and he intended to pay a visit to House Scryvok.
***
Read the story months before public release — early chapters are on my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Granulan