The call came in fast.
Arin's voice buzzed through the crystal communicator, sharp and panicked.
"Tara—it's Arin. I was attacked. Black Snake—two of them."
Tara's eyes narrowed. "Where?"
"8th Ward. Nolan Alley. They cornered me. I—someone appeared."
Tara was already moving, cloak sliding over her shoulder as she headed toward operations.
"Someone?"
"I—I don't know who he was," Arin said, voice trembling. "He didn't say anything. Just… he killed them."
Tara stopped.
"How?"
"…Crushed their skulls. With his hands."
Tara's voice dropped.
"What?"
"No aura. No energy. Nothing. And the pressure—Tara, it didn't feel human. I couldn't breathe near him. I don't know what he was."
Silence for a second.
Tara's expression changed.
"Hold position," she said. "The White Tiger Suppression Squad is en route. And Arin—"
"Yeah?"
"Don't say another word until I get there."
The Guild Master's office was high above the city. Cold stone, reinforced windows, heavy with silence.
Jinhwan Ra stood with one hand behind his back, staring out over the skyline. His coat hung neatly beside him. Sword leaned against the wall. Calm, unreadable.
Tara entered without knocking.
"The vice guild leader's inside the Tower Raid," she said without preamble.
"I know."
"We've got a problem."
He didn't turn.
"Black Snake?"
"Two of their hunters are dead. They assaulted one of ours — Arin."
"And?"
"She didn't kill them."
Now he turned.
Tara didn't flinch.
"She says someone showed up. No registration, no aura, no name. Crushed both men with his bare hands. Didn't speak. Left without a trace."
Jinhwan's eyes narrowed.
"She said he didn't feel human."
A beat.
That word hung in the room like weight.
"…Inhuman," he repeated.
Tara nodded once.
He didn't ask more. He just reached for his coat.
"Prep the squad. I want the site locked down."
"You think it's them?" she asked quietly.
Jinhwan didn't answer.
But his silence was enough.
8th Ward — Nolan Alley
Rain fell light and steady. The alley was narrow, lit only by flickering neon from a noodle shop across the street.
The two bodies hadn't been touched. One lay face-down, the other slumped against the wall — heads misshapen, blood soaking through the trash and gravel.
Jinhwan knelt beside them, fingers sweeping across the ground.
No aura. No energy trails. No footprints. Not even a scent.
Nothing.
He stood.
Tara approached. "Clean, right?"
"Too clean," he muttered.
He turned to the squad. "Bring in a Necro-Mage. I want the last few minutes pulled directly from the bodies."
One of the A-Rank hunters stepped away and made the call.
Fifteen minutes later, a tall woman in layered robes arrived, carrying a staff made of polished blackwood and bones. Silver tattoos lined her neck and hands — glowing faintly under the rain.
S-Rank. Necromantic class. Scarred. Unblinking.
Without a word, she knelt beside the corpses, placing her hands on both heads. Whispered incantations flowed under her breath.
"Temporal Soul Anchor," she said. "Should give us about ten seconds of visual from the death memory."
Tara and Jinhwan stood behind her, watching.
The spell activated.
A ghostly projection began to flicker above the corpses — translucent silhouettes, memory fragments stitched together.
They saw Arin. Cornered. Frightened.
Then — him.
No sound. No aura.
Just a shape emerging through the fog. Pale eyes glowing. Pressure distorting the air.
The Necro-Mage blinked once—
—and suddenly choked.
Her mouth opened, and she gasped, violently lurching backward. Blood sprayed from her nose and lips. Her staff clattered to the ground.
The spell collapsed.
She screamed — one hand clawing at her chest, the other scrambling backward.
Jinhwan caught her before she fell fully.
"What did you see?" he asked coldly.
She stared at him with wide, shaking eyes.
"That wasn't a man," she whispered. "That wasn't… anything. That thing — it looked at me. Through me. Like it knew I was watching."
Blood still dripped from her chin.
"It wasn't a memory. It was aware."
Tara looked down at the corpses.
"Can you finish the spell?"
The mage wiped her mouth.
"No," she croaked. "No one should."
Jinhwan didn't speak for a long moment.
Then: "Get her out of here. Lock this alley down tighter than a raid site. I don't want word of this leaking to any other guilds — especially Black Snake."
Tara nodded. "And the attacker?"
He looked toward the rooftops. Toward the rain.
"We'll find him."
6 months later…