The storm hit at midnight.
Thunder cracked over the outer district of Varnis City as Aeris moved through the alleys, her cloak soaked and her silver daggers humming with static. Her instincts screamed something unnatural was happening.
A soul fragment had disappeared two nights ago. A black-market information broker was found burned from the inside out. And now, mana signatures were being scrambled across the tower sectors.
Her stormblood pulsed in warning.
She followed the trail to an abandoned guild outpost—cameras fried, guards unconscious, no signs of entry. But in the corner of the surveillance room, someone had left a mark.
Not a name.
Just a sigil. A half-burned flame entwined with a shadow fang.
Her eyes widened.
"…Phantom."
She hadn't heard that name since the Tower's betrayal. Since the day the man who once saved her from death vanished into dust.
Aeris clenched her fist, static rising in her veins. "No way. He's dead."
Still, her gut told her otherwise.
She activated her scanner, locking onto the only remaining mana echo—and blinked.
The trace was moving.
Fast.
She launched from the window, leaping rooftop to rooftop until she spotted him. Hooded. Calm. Walking like he didn't have a care in the world.
Rael's clone—Cain—paused at a street corner, aware of her presence before she landed.
"Took you long enough," he said without turning.
Her eyes narrowed. "You knew I was coming?"
"I wanted you to."
The air cracked between them as her dagger flew forward—aimed at his throat.
He caught it without even looking.
That hand. That reflex.
Her breath caught. "…Rael?"
His smile was faint. "You remember."
She stepped back, confused. Angry. "You're supposed to be dead."
"I was," he said. "But death didn't take."
Aeris looked at him, trembling between rage and disbelief. "Why now? Why hide? Why come back like this—leaving traces, shadows, like some ghost?"
He stepped closer, his voice low.
"Because I want them to know I'm back. I want her to know. And I want you to decide—are you with me, or will you try to stop me?"
The storm between them grew louder.
But she didn't strike again.
Instead, she said, "You owe me answers. Start with this—are you still the same man… or something worse?"
Rael's eyes flickered violet.
"Both."
---