Viktor's Wrath

And then Viktor saw it.

Far to the east, where Branwyke's slums slouched against the old walls, a region of ripples moved sluggishly, like oil across clean water.

The energy there was darker. Heavier.

While normal citizens glowed faint blue or green, there …amid the decay … something thrummed an off-colour hue, a bruised, reddish-black pulse, subtle yet wrong.

Kaavi narrowed his eyes.

"There," he whispered aloud, voice barely a breath.

He closed the link, pulling Viktor back into the real world.

The boy blinked rapidly, gasping. Sweat beaded on his forehead.

"Was that… real?" he asked hoarsely.

Kaavi nodded, pride glinting in his eyes.

"You saw your first disturbance. Remember the feeling. Learn to recognize it.

One day, you will no longer need me to show you."

Viktor wiped his face with his sleeve, nodding fiercely.

Kaavi rose smoothly, scanning the streets below.

Now the hunt began...

 Somewhere in the alleys of Branwyke

Down below, in the tangled streets, six shadows waited…

the Hallow Swords and Gavril, scattered in hidden alleys, cloaked by night.

Kaavi reached out with his mind, threading silent thoughts like a spider weaving silk.

Joren. Tannic. Veyl. Corren. Liran. Gavril.

"Can you hear me?"

The first to respond was Joren, First Blade, calm as ever.

"I hear you."

Then Tannic's voice, rougher but steady.

"Aye, loud and clear."

Veyl's mental presence flickered like a cold breeze.

"Confirmed."

Corren's mind chimed in, lighter, amused.

"You're in my head, old man? Strange times."

Finally, Liran… youngest of them all… chimed in, voice tinged with awe.

"This… is incredible."

Gavril, however, yelped audibly somewhere in the dark.

"WHAT THE BLOODY...?! God, warn someone before speaking into their damn brain!"

A ripple of dry amusement passed through the mental link. Kaavi allowed himself a ghost of a smile.

"This method is faster and safer than shouting. You'll get used to it."

The Hollow Swords refocused instantly, training kicking in.

Kaavi's tone sharpened, cool and commanding.

"Listen carefully. We have five or more potential targets scattered near the eastern slums. You will strike as one... no alarms, no survivors. We do this swiftly, or we risk alerting others."

He paused, letting the gravity settle.

"Teams are the same as we discussed. Liren with Veyl. Tannic with Corren. Joran with Gavril. I will guide you to each location. Follow my orders without hesitation."

"Understood." they all answered.

Kaavi exhaled slowly.

"Move."

 The Hunt

Below, like phantoms loosed upon the earth, the Hollow Swords dispersed, their movements like an eerie symphony played in whispers. The team members radiated silent precision as they melted into the alleys, the urban labyrinth concealing their presence. The night itself seemed to hold its breath, as though the city could sense the bloodshed about to occur.

Kaavi closed his eyes halfway, tuning into the ripple-lake…a shimmering mental construct where disturbances flared like bruised swirls in otherwise placid waters. He was the keystone to their hunt, the bridge between the fractured reality and this psychic world where hunters tracked prey in perfect unity. His hand raised slightly, a subtle indication, guiding Viktor toward the first disturbance, a flicker of corrupted energy coiled near a crumbling warehouse in the east wing.

"Liren. Veyl," Kaavi murmured through the brain-link, his voice calm but charged with urgency. "First target confirmed. You two move towards the grain warehouses. Proceed with caution."

The assassins responded without a sound, slipping into motion with fluid grace. Through Kaavi's perception, Viktor observed their movements, gaining insight into their tactics. Even from this distance, he could see how seamlessly they moved.

Liren and Veyl navigated the debris-strewn terrain like shadows, their forms nearly indistinguishable from the darkness. Veyl barely disturbed the gravel beneath his feet; even the city's vermin failed to notice.

Liren, the taller of the two, moved first, hand always brushing the hilt of his sword, while Veyl covered the flanks, his movements crisp, economical.

They didn't need to talk. Each knew his role.

As they neared the warehouses, Kaavi's focus sharpened.

"There... movement. Someone lurking near the northern. Corner him."

The Hollow Swords obeyed without hesitation.

Within seconds, they had isolated the man against the brick wall, no escape.

Liren, poised like a coiled viper, moved first. His blade, honed to spectral sharpness, glinted briefly before it whispered across the man's throat. Blood pooled.

Veyl checking corners, spotting a second figure hidden behind barrels. He sent a black-hafted knife spinning through the dark… a wet thump as it buried into an unseen neck.

Two kills. Silent. Clean.

Kaavi marked it.

First sector clear. Move to next.

"Tannic. Corren. You're up. Move to the old chapel."

Two dark shapes separated from the clustered rooftops… Corren and Tannic, ghosting along the edges of shadows.

They arrived at the chapel, where a figure stood near a statue, head bowed in prayer. But the colours around him shifted constantly… blue, then red, then green. Unnatural.

Tannic stepped forward.

"You are not praying," he said.

The man looked up.

And struck.

Knives flew.

Tannic deflected with his blade, stepping in close. Corren moved around, cutting off escape.

The man was fast, but sloppy.

Tannic's blade carved across his forearm. Corren slammed his knee into the man's spine, sending him to the floor.

"Who do you work for?" Kaavi asked.

The man spat blood. "You will never know." and laughed.

Tannic drove his blade into the throat.

Inside the chapel's rooms, two more were waiting… faces hidden, weapons drawn.

Kaavi sensed it before they did… the gathering of violent intent.

"Ambush ahead. More of them are hiding inside, stay alert and watch out for traps." Kaavi whispered across the bond.

Tannic moved first, dark-eyed and quiet. Corren followed, his usual easy grin gone, replaced by a predator's focus.

Without a word, Tannic and Corren separated.

Viktor watched in awe the way Tannic became a wraith, slipping behind a rotted column, the way Corren baited the enemy with a flash of movement, drawing them out.

The fight was fast & brutal.

Corren parried a strike aimed for his ribs, twisting the wrist to disarm his opponent in a single fluid move. He spun low, sweeping the man's legs and driving his dagger up under the ribs.

Tannic danced around the second, ducking a wild knife swipe, then pinned him against a wall, driving his dagger upward into the ribs with a brutal grunt.

"Sleep tight, sweetheart," whispered to the dying man, wiping his blade.

Kaavi's voice returned,

"Sector two clear. Good work."

Kaavi leaned forward his vision got blurry,

he exhaled, slowly.

Focusing again.

Slowly the vision got sharper again. He spotted the last anomaly near the southern quarter an old tannery, abandoned.

"Joren. Gavril. Your turn"