Night had fallen over New Jersey.
And I was in a bad mood.
—Where the hell are they?
I sighed as I watched an empty street from the roof of an abandoned building. The city lights shimmered in the distance, completely indifferent.
Justin and Jack.
The twin brothers.
I had spent most of the day looking for them.
After watching Vivian and Brittany.
After giving them that little scare.
After training.
And still... nothing.
That was strange.
Very strange.
I crossed my arms and thought.
—I figured they were just a couple of guys obsessed with chasing girls.
But something didn't add up.
Maybe I wasn't a legendary detective, but after everything I had been through—hunting monsters, organizations, and supernatural entities—I could confidently say that my tracking skills were pretty good.
And my instincts were screaming that something was wrong.
Very wrong.
I stayed silent for a few seconds, reconstructing everything from the beginning.
The twins appeared out of nowhere.
They caught the attention of half the school.
They approached Chloe and Madison.
Then Vivian and Brittany.
And afterward... they vanished.
As if they had never existed.
My eyes narrowed.
—Now that I think about it...
The two dead girls from the vision.
I still haven't found them.
—Tch.
I rubbed my face.
—Damn it.
I had let too many things pile up at the same time.
The entity.
The mark.
The subordinates.
The twins.
The girls.
Nexum.
Too many fronts.
That was never a good thing.
I sighed.
—The twins first.
My body vanished.
The city distorted around me as I teleported from one place to another.
Schools.
Parks.
Shopping centers.
Streets.
Cafés.
Movie theaters.
Nothing.
Not a clue.
Not a trace.
Not even rumors.
I searched for hours.
Eventually, I landed on the roof of a supermarket, frustrated.
—Damn it.
I looked down at the parking lot lights.
—It's obvious.
My eyes glowed faintly.
—Those two are hiding something.
The conclusion was unavoidable.
It wasn't normal to disappear so completely.
Especially not for two guys who seemed to enjoy being the center of attention.
That meant there were only two possibilities.
Either they were far smarter than they appeared...
Or someone was helping them.
I didn't like either option.
I looked out over the illuminated city and smiled.
—Fine.
—Let's search a little longer.
I kept looking.
One hour.
Two hours.
Three hours.
Nothing.
In the end, I let out a dry laugh.
—Hahaha...
—Perfect.
—Then I'll change targets.
If the twins were hiding...
I could deal with other problems in the meantime.
My body vanished once again.
And the hunt began.
---
Before dawn...
Three more subordinates had died.
The first tried to run.
He sprinted through alleys, jumped fences, and tried to hide.
It didn't help.
I found him in less than ten minutes.
The second tried to negotiate.
Promises. Information. Lies.
He thought he could buy time.
He was wrong.
The third didn't even give me the chance to interrogate him.
The moment he realized he wasn't escaping...
He took his own life using his magic.
That was the most interesting part of the entire night.
Because it meant something very clear.
Fear.
They weren't afraid of me.
They were afraid of the entity.
Even in death, they were still terrified of it.
When the sun began to rise, I appeared in my room and collapsed onto my bed.
—Damn it...
I covered my eyes with one arm.
—This is irritating.
The purple mark pulsed once, as if responding.
I ignored it.
For now.
Eventually, I made a decision.
—Fine.
—This is how it'll be.
A smile slowly appeared on my face.
—Change of plans.
I wasn't going to chase every clue desperately.
I wasn't going to run after every shadow.
And I wasn't going to act like an impatient idiot.
I was going to wait.
Because sooner or later...
The enemy would make a mistake.
They always did.
And when that happened...
I'd be ready.
---
The days began to pass.
Ryan returned to a more stable routine.
Physical training during the day.
Magical training during the night.
The mark remained.
Silent.
Dormant.
But it never disappeared.
Sometimes it burned.
Sometimes it felt as though it moved beneath the skin.
And on certain nights, I could feel a strange pressure around it.
As if something very far away was watching me.
Waiting.
Meanwhile, Nexum continued to grow.
Slowly.
But steadily.
More users.
More activity.
More traffic.
Nothing explosive.
But solid.
And that was exactly what I wanted.
A strong foundation.
Sitting in front of my computer, I stared at the statistics for several minutes.
My fingers tapped slowly against the desk.
Thinking.
Planning.
Building.
Because while everyone else saw a simple website...
I saw something much bigger.
An empire.
And to build an empire...
Every danger had to disappear.
Supernatural.
Human.
It didn't matter.
If it represented a threat...
Sooner or later, it would have to be eliminated.
My eyes settled on the screen.
And then I smiled.
—I know what Nexum's next update will be.
My smile widened slowly.
—And I think they're going to love it.
---
Far away from there...
Somewhere hidden beneath the darkness...
A black ocean slowly stirred.
Purple eyes floated across its surface.
Hundreds.
Thousands.
Watching.
Waiting.
And then...
Two of them opened completely.
An impossible smile appeared within the darkness.
Ancient.
Hungry.
Patient.
Like the smile of something that knew time was on its side.
And deep within that place...
Something began to awaken.