Chapter 56: Dancing with Shadows

Chapter 56: Chapter 56: Dancing with Shadows The abandoned warehouse district in Riga, Latvia, stretched out under a grey afternoon sky. Most of the buildings had been empty for years, their windows broken and walls covered in graffiti. It was the kind of place where someone could hide if they didn’t want to be found. Evon walked slowly down the main street, his breath visible in the cold air. His phone had been buzzing with reports all morning—sightings of Elena Volkov across three different Baltic cities, each one contradicting the last. "She’s good at covering her tracks," he said into his comm unit. Commander Jaun’s voice crackled back. "Elena Volkov was one of our best stealth specialists before she turned. Shadow-step magic, dual-blade combat, psychological warfare. She’s not going to make this easy for you." "What do we know about her background?" "Former Russian special forces before awakening. Joined the Hunter Association in 2891. Quiet type, kept to herself. No close friends or family on record. When she disappeared two years ago, most people just assumed she’d burned out and retired." Evon stopped walking, his Eyes of Fate picking up a faint disturbance in the area ahead. "Well, she didn’t retire." "Be careful, Evon. This one’s different from the others. Zhao was direct, Maria was emotional, Kenji was defensive. Elena... she’s a killer. Pure and simple." "I understand." Evon ended the call and continued forward. The warehouse at the end of the street had all its windows intact, which made it stand out from the others. As Evon approached, he noticed the glass was too clean, too perfect. An illusion. He drew the Blade of Fate and stepped through the fake door. The interior of the warehouse was a maze of mirrors and shadows. Evon found himself standing in what looked like an infinite corridor of reflections. Every surface showed his image repeated endlessly, each one slightly different. "Clever," he said aloud, knowing she could hear him. "But I’ve seen this trick before." A voice echoed from everywhere at once—calm, professional, with a slight Russian accent. "Have you? I don’t think we’ve met before, Mr. Wang." "No, we haven’t. But I know what you are." "And what’s that?" Evon began walking forward, ignoring the reflections. "A Black Force leader. One of five who corrupted themselves and chose to serve something that wants to destroy this world." Laughter echoed through the mirrors. "How dramatic. You make it sound like we had a choice." "Everyone has a choice." "Do they? Tell me, Mr. Wang, when you gained your power, did you choose to bond with five goddesses from another realm? Or did fate choose for you?" Evon paused. "That’s different." "Is it? We were approached by entities that offered us power in exchange for service. You were approached by entities that offered you power in exchange for... what? Love?" One of the mirrors rippled, and Elena stepped through it. She was tall and lean, dressed in dark tactical gear with twin curved blades at her sides. Her hair was black with streaks of silver, and her eyes were an unsettling pale blue. "I’m not here to debate philosophy," Evon said. "No? Pity. I was hoping to understand what makes you different from us." She drew her blades in one smooth motion. "Ah well. Business first, I suppose." Elena moved like liquid shadow, her form blurring as she attacked. Her blades came from impossible angles, striking from directions that shouldn’t have existed. Evon’s Eyes of Fate activated automatically, showing him the true path of each strike. He parried the first, sidestepped the second, and countered with a swift thrust that should have taken her in the shoulder. His blade passed through empty air. "Impressive reflexes," Elena said from behind him. "But you’re fighting the shadows, not the woman." She struck again, and this time Evon felt the blade nick his arm. Real blood, real pain. "Shadow-step isn’t teleportation," Elena continued conversationally as she pressed her attack. "It’s manipulation of perception and space. I’m not moving faster than you can see—I’m making you see things that aren’t there." Evon spun, bringing the Blade of Fate around in a wide arc enhanced with Lyria’s flame. The fire revealed Elena’s true position for a split second—directly to his left, not where his eyes had been tracking her. He adjusted his strike, but she was already gone. "Better," she said. "You’re adapting. That’s rare." Evon stopped trying to track her visually and instead relied on his other senses. Through his connection to the four sealed goddesses, he could feel the disturbances in the air, the slight shifts in temperature, the whisper of displaced atmosphere. Naia’s voice echoed in his mind. "She’s not just using shadows—she’s bending light itself." "Like a mirage," Veyra added. "The signature is similar to advanced holographic projection." "Can you counter it?" Evon asked silently. "We can try," Sythara rumbled. "But you’ll need to trust us completely." Evon nodded and closed his eyes. Elena struck again, confident that a blind opponent would be easy prey. But as her blade descended, Evon moved with perfect precision, guided entirely by the combined senses of his Fated. He caught her wrist, spun her around, and pressed the Blade of Fate to her throat. "Impressive," Elena said, not struggling. "But not good enough." The Elena he was holding dissolved into shadows, and the real one materialized behind him, both blades aimed at his spine. But Evon was ready. He activated Destiny Prison, creating a field of slowed time around both of them. Elena’s strike crept forward at a fraction of normal speed, giving him plenty of time to turn and counter. His blade met her throat just as the time field collapsed. "Now that," Elena said, looking down at the sword at her neck, "was good enough." Evon studied her face. Unlike the others, Elena showed no signs of corruption—no twisted features, no unnatural energy. She looked almost... normal. "You’re not like the others," he said. "No? How so?" "Zhao was consumed by his corruption. Maria was broken by it. Kenji became one with it. But you..." He paused. "You’re just empty." Elena smiled sadly. "Very good. You understand." "What happened to you?" "I died," she said simply. "Two years ago, on a mission that went wrong. The thing wearing my face now is just muscle memory and borrowed power. There’s nothing left to save." Evon’s grip on the blade tightened. "Then why fight?" "Because that’s what I was built to do. Fight until the end, no matter what." She looked directly into his eyes. "Will you make it quick?" He thought for a moment. "Yes." "Thank you." Evon activated full Destiny Resonance, channeling all four of his sealed Fated through the Blade of Fate. The sword blazed with combined power—water, fire, technology, and draconic might flowing together in perfect harmony. Elena closed her eyes. One clean strike. No hesitation, no mercy, no pain. Her body crumpled to the ground, and for a moment, Evon thought he saw something like relief cross her features before the light faded from her eyes. The mirror maze around them shattered, revealing the ordinary interior of the abandoned warehouse. Elena’s body began to dissolve into black mist, leaving behind only her twin blades, which cracked and crumbled to dust moments later. Evon stood alone in the silence, breathing heavily. His comm unit buzzed. "Evon, status report." "Target four eliminated," he said quietly. "Any casualties?" "Just one." Evon looked down at where Elena had fallen. "She was already dead, Commander. I just made it official." "Understood. That leaves only Ahmed Hassan. Any idea where he might be?" Evon closed his eyes and reached out through his connection to the Fated. Far away, he could sense a familiar darkness—deeper and more corrupt than anything they’d faced so far. "He’s not hiding," Evon said. "He’s waiting." "Where?" Evon opened his eyes and stared out the broken warehouse window toward the south. "The Amazon. Where this all started." One more to go. _______________