The city was trembling.
Rain pounded the streets in relentless sheets. Lightning split the sky like jagged knives, illuminating abandoned roads, flickering neon, and shadows that moved faster than eyes could follow. Aarav Kane stood at the edge of the rooftop of the tallest building in Mumbai's financial district. Below, chaos reigned—Cipher Dawn's remnants scrambling, Bureau agents exposed, civilians caught in the crossfire.
Phase Five.
The final reckoning.
Nisha clutched his arm. "Are you sure we can handle this?"
Aarav's eyes scanned the skyline. Every signal, every drone feed, every shadow. "We don't just handle it. We finish it."
Soren, now fully exposed as a compromised agent but still invaluable for knowledge, nodded. "Malhotra's been waiting for this moment. He's in the tower across. Alone."
"Alone?" Aarav raised an eyebrow. "Then it's a duel, not a battle."
A flash of lightning revealed Malhotra's silhouette atop the neighboring tower, rain drenching his silver hair. Calm. Composed. Deadly.
"You've grown bold, Kane," Malhotra's voice echoed through the comm. "But courage is no match for planning."
Aarav's lips curved into a faint smile. "Planning doesn't save people from consequences."
He leapt. Gravity and precision working as one, landing atop the neighboring tower in a silent roll. The wind howled around him, carrying the stench of wet concrete and gunpowder.
Malhotra was waiting. No guards. No distractions. Just two men, the storm, and the city.
"You think you've won," Malhotra said. "Phase Four destabilized my plans. Phase Five will test your limits."
Aarav didn't answer. He charged. Steel clashed against steel as blade met blade. Sparks flew, rain sizzled against metal.
Malhotra was fast, precise, relentless. Every strike Aarav blocked, parried, or countered revealed years of experience, training, and cold calculation.
"You could have joined me," Malhotra said calmly between strikes. "We could have controlled the city, eliminated chaos. Instead, you chose… defiance."
"I chose justice," Aarav spat, forcing Malhotra back.
The fight shifted. Rooftop edges became deadly hazards. Each missed strike could mean death. Both men moved with uncanny agility, senses honed to the extreme.
Then Malhotra feinted. Aarav overcommitted. A blade cut across Aarav's side, leaving a long, burning wound. Pain flared, but he didn't falter.
"You're slower than I expected," Malhotra noted, pressing the attack.
Aarav gritted his teeth. "Pain doesn't slow me. It reminds me."
He twisted, using Malhotra's momentum to throw him against the railing. Malhotra rolled, rising instantly, eyes narrowing.
"You fight well," he said. "But you cannot see the full board."
Aarav's comm vibrated violently—Nisha screaming.
He froze.
Down below, Cipher Dawn operatives ambushed civilians trapped near the Bureau perimeter. Soren and Nisha were pinned, defending with whatever they could improvise.
Aarav's heart clenched. "Nisha!"
Malhotra smiled faintly. "Choices, Kane. You want me… or them?"
Time slowed. Aarav could feel every heartbeat, every raindrop, every decision splitting into a thousand possibilities.
He made his choice.
Aarav spun, charging toward the edge of the rooftop. A gunshot rang—sharp, precise.
Soren fell.
"No!" Aarav roared, diving toward the edge just in time to catch Nisha as Malhotra's sniper operator fired again.
Soren was gone.
Blood soaked the rain. Aarav's hands shook—not from fear, but from rage, grief, and the crushing weight of Phase Five.
Malhotra's voice came over the comm again, calm and icy. "You see, Kane? Every victory costs. Every choice has a price. Are you willing to pay it?"
Aarav gritted his teeth. "Yes. And I will make sure you pay more."
He turned, eyes blazing, gripping Nisha's hand. The city, the storm, and Malhotra's shadowed figure before him—everything narrowed into one singular focus.
Phase Five had begun.
And this time, Aarav Kane wasn't just fighting to survive.
He was fighting to finish the war.