The hum of the city bled into his dreams.
Kai didn't remember falling asleep. One moment he was staring at the cracked ceiling, the next he was standing in a corridor that stretched forever — walls made of shifting shadows, the floor slick like oil. He tried to move, but every step felt heavier, as if the air itself wanted to drag him down. A whisper followed him, soft, familiar.
You are mine now.
He turned, but there was nothing behind him. Only the endless dark.
The whisper came again, closer this time, slipping into his mind like smoke through cracks.
You survived the Pit because I allowed it. Now we hunt.
Kai's breath caught. "Who are you?"
The voice didn't answer. Instead, a thousand shapes began to form from the walls — silhouettes crawling, twisting, reaching for him. Their faces were blurred, their eyes hollow. He saw Jex. Lia. The scavengers. The people he'd failed. All swallowed by the dark.
He tried to shout, to move, to fight back, but the shadows clung to his arms and legs, pulling him down. The mark on his arm flared with a lightless glow, burning cold instead of hot.
Then the voice whispered one last word — a command that wasn't spoken but carved into his bones.
Feed.
Kai jolted awake.
The room was still dark. His skin was drenched in sweat, breath shallow. The mark on his arm pulsed faintly, dimming after a few seconds. Lia was still asleep beside the wall, her face peaceful under the dull light from a flickering bulb.
He sat up, pressing a hand to his chest. His heartbeat wasn't steady. It echoed in his head like a drum.
He'd seen nightmares before. This wasn't one of them.
A low hum came from Jex's desk across the room — the scanners activating. Kai stood slowly, crossing to where Jex sat slouched in a chair, half-asleep, one hand on a mug that had gone cold hours ago.
The screen glowed with static for a moment before stabilizing. The feed showed movement in the alley outside. Three figures, armed, moving in formation. Enforcer pattern.
Kai's jaw tightened. "Jex," he whispered.
The older man blinked awake instantly, years of street instinct kicking in. "What—"
"Outside."
Jex turned to the screen, swore under his breath, and grabbed his weapon from the table. "How the hell did they find this place?"
"Doesn't matter," Kai said. "We move now."
Lia stirred awake at the sound of their voices. "What's going on?"
"Enforcers," Kai said quickly, throwing her coat toward her. "Move."
Jex ran to the far corner and started pulling open a metal hatch in the floor. "Back route," he said. "Old tunnel. Leads to the drainage lines."
Kai helped Lia down first, then dropped after her. Jex followed, sealing the hatch behind them just as a heavy knock rattled the door above.
"Open up! Sector Security Sweep!"
The tunnel was narrow, smelling of rust and damp air. Their footsteps echoed as they ran, splashing through shallow water. The only light came from the lamp on Kai's wrist, flickering like a dying star.
After a few turns, they reached a junction where the tunnels split three ways.
"Which way?" Lia asked, her voice trembling.
Jex pointed to the left. "Leads to the old transit shaft. We can get topside from there."
Kai nodded. "Go."
As they moved, the sound of boots and metal echoed behind them — Enforcers dropping into the tunnel. Their helmets glowed faintly with red visors.
"Keep moving," Kai hissed. "Don't look back."
Jex grunted. "You always did pick the best hiding spots."
They ran faster. The tunnels widened, the air colder now. Steam hissed from broken vents. When they reached the shaft, Jex started climbing the rusted ladder, motioning for Lia to follow.
Kai stayed back, watching the tunnel behind them. The red lights were getting closer.
He drew his knife, but the shadow mark on his arm burned again — this time, brighter.
Feed.
The voice was there again, clear, powerful. He gritted his teeth, trying to shut it out, but the darkness inside him stirred like a beast uncaged.
One of the Enforcers rounded the corner. Their eyes met.
For a heartbeat, time froze.
Then Kai moved.
He didn't remember lunging. He didn't remember crossing the distance between them. One moment the Enforcer was standing, the next he was on the ground, throat cut, visor shattered, blood soaking into the water below.
Kai stared down at his own hands — slick with shadow instead of blood. The edges of his vision rippled. The world around him felt thinner, like glass about to shatter.
"...Kai!"
Lia's voice snapped him out of it. He looked up. She was at the top of the ladder, staring at him with fear and worry mixed together.
He forced himself to breathe, then started climbing. Jex was already prying open the hatch above. They emerged into the remains of an old subway platform — abandoned, lit by broken neon lights that buzzed weakly.
Jex collapsed against the wall, panting. "They're not supposed to sweep this deep."
Kai wiped his hands on his coat. The shadows faded, leaving only blood behind.
"They weren't sweeping," he said quietly. "They were hunting."
Lia looked at him. "For you?"
He didn't answer.
The mark under his sleeve still pulsed faintly. He knew the answer already.
Jex cursed under his breath. "We need to get you out of Sector 9. If they've tagged you as Pit-born, you won't make it another night."
"Where would we even go?" Lia asked. "Every gate's locked down. The scanners—"
"There's one route," Jex interrupted. "But it's suicide."
Kai turned to him. "Tell me."
Jex hesitated, then said, "The Hollow Rail. It runs beneath the old central sector. Automated freight line. If you can ride it to the end, it'll dump you past the perimeter walls."
Lia blinked. "Past the walls? There's nothing out there."
"That's what they tell you," Jex said. "But people disappear through those tunnels all the time. Smugglers, rebels… things that don't want to be found."
Kai met his gaze. "Then that's where we'll go."
Jex frowned. "You don't even know what's waiting out there."
"Doesn't matter," Kai said. "It's better than waiting to die here."
Lia nodded reluctantly, though fear lingered in her eyes.
Jex sighed, pushing himself up. "Then you'll need supplies. And a keycard. The old station's still got automated locks."
He started digging through a pile of scrap, tossing aside rusted metal and cracked screens until he pulled out a small black chip. "This'll spoof a Level 3 clearance for about ten minutes. That's all you'll get."
Kai took it. "More than enough."
Before they left, Jex grabbed his shoulder. "Whatever that thing is inside you, control it. The moment you lose that grip, you're gone. The Pit doesn't give gifts, Kai. It makes debtors."
Kai nodded once, silent.
They slipped out of the platform and into the maintenance tunnels beyond. The deeper they went, the less the city felt real. Pipes gave way to stone. Metal walls turned to concrete stained with symbols — circles, runes, markings that pulsed faintly when the light hit them.
Lia kept glancing around. "What is this place?"
"Older than the city," Kai murmured. "Before the towers. Before the Enforcers."
The air grew heavier. The tunnels sloped downward. Water dripped in slow rhythm, like the beating of a heart.
And beneath it all, a hum — the same one from his dream.
When they reached the end of the tunnel, they found the Hollow Rail.
It was massive — a single rail suspended over a chasm that disappeared into black mist. The faint outline of a train car glowed far ahead, unmoving.
Jex let out a low whistle. "Still running."
Lia clutched her satchel tighter. "That's supposed to take us out?"
Kai nodded. "Yeah."
As they approached, the mark on his arm burned again, more violently this time. He staggered, gripping the wall.
Lia reached for him. "Kai—"
"I'm fine," he said through gritted teeth. But his reflection in the metal rail flickered — his eyes black for an instant.
Feed.
The whisper came again, louder. It wasn't a voice anymore. It was hunger. It was command. He felt it crawling under his skin, urging him to move, to kill, to consume.
He fought it, jaw clenched. The world spun. He saw flashes — the Pit, the shadows, a figure standing in the dark. Chains around its arms. A black sun behind its head.
It smiled at him. You are my echo.
"Kai!" Lia's shout pulled him back. He realized he'd dropped to one knee. She was holding him, terrified. Jex was aiming his weapon down the tunnel behind them.
"Movement," Jex said. "They're coming again."
Kai forced himself up. The hunger receded slightly, retreating like a tide. He looked at Lia, saw the fear in her eyes, and nodded once.
"We're getting out."
They ran toward the train. Jex threw the chip at the console. Sparks flew, and the door slid open with a hiss. They piled inside. Kai slammed the control lever forward.
The rail roared to life.
The train lurched, lights flaring as it sped into the dark. Behind them, Enforcers appeared at the tunnel entrance, gunfire echoing off the walls.
Bullets sparked against the metal hull. Lia ducked. Jex shouted something, but the roar drowned it out.
Kai didn't look back.
The train gained speed, faster and faster, until the world outside became a blur of shadow and light. Then, just as the tunnel began to widen into the open expanse, the mark on his arm blazed with unbearable heat.
He cried out, clutching it, and for a moment, everything went silent.
The walls dissolved. The train vanished. He stood once more in the corridor of shadows.
Only this time, something stood before him.
A figure made entirely of black flame, eyes glowing like dying stars. Its voice was every whisper he'd ever heard, layered into one.
The city sleeps. The Pit wakes. And you, Shadow Hunter, are the blade between.
It raised a hand. Chains unfurled behind it like wings.
Feed. Or be fed upon.
The ground split open beneath him, and the darkness swallowed everything.
When Kai's eyes opened again, the train had stopped.
Smoke filled the air. Lia was coughing beside him, Jex sprawled unconscious near the controls. Through the broken window, Kai saw daylight — real daylight — bleeding through cracks in the rock.
They'd made it past the walls.
But as he looked down at his arm, he realized the mark had changed.
The black sun wasn't a circle anymore.
It was an eye. And it was open.