The clock's gentle ticking was the only thing that felt calm, steady—everything my mind wasn't. It was still dark, that eerie hour right before sunrise, when all the shadows seem to press closer.
A chilly breeze slipped through the cracked window, brushing against my skin as I leaned there, watching the city lights flicker in the distance. It looked almost peaceful from here. Too peaceful, given everything that was happening.
Behind me on the old couch, Meera had curled up, half her hand poking from beneath the blanket. Alia slept beside her, arms wrapped tightly around her. They both looked so small and untouched by the nightmare raging outside—and that's the only way I ever wanted it to be.
Then my phone buzzed, jerking me from my thoughts.
One new message.
From: Guild Master
Encrypted Line — URGENT.
"Dungeon breakout. North Sector. We need him. Now."
They never say my name—not in messages, not face to face. "He" isn't real, not officially. Not to them. But when they need the impossible, they remember.
No time to think. There never is, with them. I slid across the room, lifted the loose floorboard, and pulled out my gear—the stuff that turned me into someone else.
Black coat, those gloves with the steel threads, boots made for running through hell, and finally... the mask.
That mask. Black, cold, with no features. Put it on, and all anybody sees is their worst nightmare.
And just like that, Kael vanished.
The North Sector was chaos when I got there.
Cracks ripped through the pavement. An enormous rift shimmered, oozing raw mana and belching out twisted monsters.
Screaming civilians, bleeding awakeners—most too weak to stop what was coming, and they knew it.
I walked out into the middle of it all.
Suddenly, the humans went quiet—not the monsters, the people. Whispers rolled through them.
"Is that—?"
"It's the Reaper."
"No way—he's just a story."
"He's real? We're dead."
"Why is he here? Is he going to save us—or finish us?"
I didn't answer. You don't answer to rumors.
Twin swords slid free. Mana snapped in the air, heavy as a thunderstorm.
Then I moved—fast. An iron-scaled cat lunged; I shredded it before it landed.
Another beast tried from behind, but my blade finished it just as quick. Two down; twenty more to go. Fine by me.
I wasn't fighting anymore—I was surviving. Shadows, blades, blood. None of them touched me.
Bodies hit the ground. My blades glowed with cold moonlight, glittering with every perfect swing.
Roars, screams, the crunch of metal against bone. I was the storm that monsters never see coming.
But even storms hit something bigger.
A monstrous roar shook the field. The dungeon boss emerged—A-rank wolf, twisted and huge, eyes burning red, veins black with corruption. It smashed a building flat with one swipe.
Everyone froze, watching the end roll toward them.
Not me.
I jumped, tapping the seal burned into my palm—firing the last of my mana through my veins for one killing blow. It hurt like hell, but I had no choice.
"Now," I whispered behind the mask.
I spun, knives diving straight into that monster's skull, dropping all my weight and every last ounce of power into the attack.
The beast screeched, then thudded dead to the ground, silent at last.
When it was over, smoke drifted through the air, blood pooling everywhere. I stood there, unmoving, breathing hard behind that blank mask.
Then behind me, a little boy whispered, barely audible.
"Mom... he saved us…"
Another voice, shaky, older:
"I thought he was the Grim Reaper."
"He is. But today… he saved us all."
I didn't stay for applause, not that I wanted any. Let them wonder. The less they knew, the safer they'd all be.
By the time I returned home, the sun was just rising.
I slipped inside quietly. Meera was still asleep on the couch, thumb in her mouth.
Alia stirred, half-awake and squinting.
"Kael?" she mumbled.
"Just went for a walk," I said, gentle.
She nodded and drifted off again.
I lingered at the window, watching light inch across bruised city streets. My wounds ached, and I didn't heal like I used to.
Carefully, I put the mask away, back in its secret place.
Kael, again—not a monster. But even as quiet settled in, I couldn't forget the promise I'd made behind that mask:
"I'll keep the monsters away… even if I have to become one."
To be continued.....