Morning had barely shaken the mist from the city’s spine, the sky still draped in a veil of pale gray. The sun hovered low, its light soft and uncertain, filtering through the windows in fractured pieces. They met outside. The stillness jarring against the tension that hung in the air like humidity before a storm.
Lili wore her usual calm. But as soon as her eyes landed on Goran, her pace slowed.
He was already there, waiting. Or rather—pretending to wait.
He stood too still, as if forcing his body to obey. His shoulders were stiff beneath the fall of his coat, and his hands—normally relaxed and confident—were clenched into fists at his sides. His gaze, which usually met hers with polished ease, flicked toward her, then away again.
Lili tilted her head slightly, studying him in silence. Something was off.
“Didn’t sleep?” she asked, her tone light, casual.
He forced a smile. Too quick. Too brittle. “Just a long night.”
Her eyes narrowed faintly, though she said nothing. She noticed the way his jaw worked—tight, grinding as if to hold back words he couldn’t afford to say. Sweat dotted his temple despite the cool air, and the way he kept shifting his weight was subtle but telling.
He was afraid.
Not of her. Not exactly. But something had taken root in him—doubt, guilt, or the cold edge of being caught—and it was blooming fast beneath his skin.
She crossed her arms, letting the silence stretch, watching him squirm under it.
“I thought everything was fine,” she said at last, her voice low, velvet, with a thread of threat wrapped in the same breath.
Goran swallowed. “It is.”
But Lili had spent years studying people who lied for a living. And Goran? He was unraveling.
Lili slid smoothly into the driver’s seat and started the car, the engine purring to life, and pulled out onto the road. The tires whispered against the asphalt. The low hum of the engine filled the space between them, the tension braided between the sound of the engine and the wind, like an unspoken thread binding them together.
Goran sat too rigid beside her. His hands hovered at first before settling on his lap. His eyes were locked straight ahead, blinking at nothing in particular.
“We’re on guarding duty today,” Lili said simply, her voice clear but neutral. She didn’t look at him. She didn’t need to. She was already watching everything else—the way he exhaled too slowly through his nose, the twitch in his fingers, the way he nodded once like he was trying to remember how to agree with something.
“Great,” he replied. “Easy day.”
The car rolled forward in the quiet, the hum of the engine echoing through the air. For several minutes, they drove in silence. Neither spoke. Neither dared to acknowledge the growing pressure in the space between them. Lili let it stretch just long enough to settle false comfort over his nerves.
Her eyes flicked to him occasionally, brief and casual, but her mind was tracking every twitch, every shift in posture.
Then, softly, like it was nothing at all, she said, “You know… I thought about switching partners this week.”
She didn’t smile, not really, but her tone danced around the edge of a grin, teasing and light.
Goran turned his head slightly, surprised. “Yeah?”
Lili shrugged, her fingers light on the wheel. “Mmhm. I figured maybe you were getting bored. You’ve been… quiet.”
He gave a short laugh, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Didn’t think I needed to talk your ear off to prove I’m reliable.”
Lili finally smiled now—genuine, but thin. “No, but you usually have at least one conspiracy theory to offer by now.”
He chuckled again, but it was too loud, too forced. “Guess I’m out of material.”
“Shame,” she said, her eyes still on the road.
She let the silence fall again, but this time, she watched the way he shifted in his seat, suddenly more aware of the space between them. He glanced toward her, then quickly away again. His fingers tapped once against his thigh before going still.
Something was wrong. Not on the surface—but deep beneath it.
Lili could feel the weight of it, thick and almost palpable, as if Goran were trying too hard to blend in, to be nothing more than an ordinary man sitting beside her.
Her fingers drummed lightly on the steering wheel, her gaze briefly flicking to him from the corner of her eye. The road ahead stretched wide and empty, an illusion of openness, but it was the kind of space that swallowed thoughts whole. Lili could almost taste the tension in the air, sharp and metallic, like the calm before a storm.
“You know,” she began, her voice casual, almost absent, “I was thinking earlier. Did you ever wonder what your life would’ve looked like if you had any powers?”
She didn’t look at him as she said it. Didn’t need to. The words hung in the air—soft, but loaded, a simple question with an undercurrent of something much heavier.
Goran froze for just a fraction of a second too long. His eyes flicked toward her, then back to the road, and the muscles in his jaw tightened imperceptibly.
“What do you mean?” he asked, his voice steady, but there was something there. Beneath the calm, an edge—unease that wasn’t obvious, but definitely not well hidden either.
Lili leaned back slightly, her posture relaxed, almost amused by his reaction. She glanced at him, letting the silence stretch just long enough to make him uncomfortable. Then, she continued, as if it were nothing more than an idle musing.
“Just—imagine. What if you had, I don’t know… some kind of power? Something that made life easier, or harder.” She let the words linger, testing his reaction. “Would you still be the same person? Or would you be someone completely different?”
Goran didn’t respond right away. Lili could feel his mind racing, his eyes flicking to the side, avoiding hers like a man trying to hide a secret in plain sight. His hands clenched and unclenched at his sides—barely noticeable, but there.
“I think I’d probably just get by like anyone else,” he muttered finally, his words clipped, too guarded to sound casual.
Lili smiled faintly, the corners of her lips turning up just a fraction. She could see the way his breath hitched, the way he shifted in his seat, trying to find comfort in a situation that didn’t allow for any.
“You think so?” she asked, her voice soft, almost playful. “No fantasies of control, of being more than just… this?” She gestured vaguely to the world outside the car, to the roads, the mundane task of their day-to-day life.
For a long moment, Goran didn’t answer. His eyes were fixed ahead, distant, unfocused, and Lili let the silence stretch just enough to feel the weight of his discomfort.
He cleared his throat. “What’s the point of having power if you don’t use it, right?”
Lili’s smile softened, but there was a glint in her eyes—a sharp, knowing challenge in the quiet of her gaze.
“True enough,” she said, easing off the pressure. “Guess we’ll see how things play out, huh?”
She returned her focus to the road, but she could feel his tension, his uncertainty, swirling in the small space between them. Lili knew she had planted a seed—one that might not grow immediately, but it would fester in his mind, gnawing at the edges of his control. And that was the point…
***
Notori hovered in the air, his eyes narrowing as he checked the message from Goran. The address was all he needed. His lips curled into a smile as he locked the location in his mind. He had been waiting for this moment he could finally deal with the Princess of Death. The moment he could finish what had been started and avenge Joyce, the friend he had lost, the one who had been taken by those who thought they could use people like him for their own ends.
But before he could act, his phone rang. One ring. Two rings. Three. He swiped to reject it each time, his eyes never leaving the horizon. The call didn’t return, but the message came through. “Boss wants to know how the mission is going.”
His expression twisted, fury blazing in his chest. The fire that swirled around his hand intensified, responding to his anger, crackling in the air like an electric storm. His grip tightened on the phone until it cracked in his hand, the display shattered.
No one would tell him how to do his job. No one would get in his way now.
The time for following orders was over. He had been patient, too patient, for too long. His hatred for the Princess of Death burned hotter than the flames in his hands. She was the one who had destroyed lives, who had taken everything from people, and now she was going to pay. He could see her in his mind, her face filled with arrogance, her powers, the way she toyed with everyone like they were nothing. She was dangerous. She needed to be stopped. And he was going to be the one to do it.
The thought of killing her filled him with a twisted sense of satisfaction. His hands crackled with fire, the flames dancing in his palms as he thought about the fight, about how he would end her. The thrill of the challenge, the rush of it all—he would enjoy every moment of it. This was personal now, and Goran had given him the opportunity he’d been waiting for far too long.
Without another thought, he took off toward the address Goran had given him. The wind whipped around him as he soared through the sky, his mind focused entirely on the upcoming battle. He would show everyone who doubted him that people like him could do whatever was necessary, but not what was told.
A sudden shadow flickered in the corner of his vision. Before he could react, a dark orb slammed into his side, sending him spiraling out of control. He gritted his teeth as he fought to regain his balance. Pain exploded through his ribs, but it wasn’t enough to stop him. With a snarl, he pushed himself back to his feet, flames licking at his hands as he scanned his surroundings.
Three black-clad figures emerged from the shadows, surrounding him. The leader, a man whose presence alone seemed to weigh down the air, let out a low, mocking laugh.
“Just the person we needed,” the man sneered, his dark attire shifting and writhing like something alive. “It’s time to end this, Notori.”
The words sliced through the air, a challenge—not just to his strength, but to everything he stood for in that moment. A fireball erupted from his hand, speeding toward the man. But the figure sidestepped effortlessly, the flames barely grazing the air where he had been. Notori’s gaze flickered, uncertainty clouding his fiery eyes.
“We won’t let you do what you’re planning to do,” the man continued, his voice a venomous hiss, each word dripping with menace. “And you won’t leave this place alive.”
Notori’s fists tightened until his knuckles cracked, the heat in his hands intensifying. The flames that had been flickering in his palms roared to life, swirling like a storm ready to unleash chaos. His entire body pulsed with power, a pressure building in his chest that threatened to boil over. He knew who these men were. He recognized the shift in the air—dark figures, powerful enemies with skills that could rival his own. They were dangerous, more dangerous than anything he had ever faced before. But they didn’t scare him.
Notori’s lips curled into a smile that was anything but reassuring. The blood in his veins hummed with a dangerous, feverish energy, the promise of a real fight thrilling him. He had been waiting for this moment. He had wanted this. For too long, he had followed orders, bent to the will of others, but not today.
“Well, I’ve got some bad news for you guys,” Notori’s voice was low, almost playful, but the threat behind it was undeniable. “I’ve fought you before.” His smile deepened, a dark gleam in his eyes, as though he were savoring the irony of the moment. “And let me tell you, you’re as breakable as anyone else.”
A chuckle escaped his lips as he lifted his hands, flames erupting from his fingertips, swirling into a roaring blaze. The fire consumed the air around him, as though it were alive, wild, and untamed.
The heat radiated off him, causing the air to shimmer, as the fire crackled and danced. “Let me show you just how much,” he hissed.
In an instant, Notori closed the distance between himself and the figures. His hands thrust forward, sending a blinding torrent of flames toward the enemies. The fire shot out in a violent arc, scorching everything in its path, turning the air itself into a furnace.
But as his fire roared toward them, a dark shadow, almost imperceptible in the air, moved just at the edge of his flames. In the split second of realization, it collided with the fire, and the world seemed to shudder.
An explosion tore through the space, a deafening blast that sent Notori flying backward. His body slammed to the ground, and for a moment, everything was a blur of heat and smoke.
“Shit…” he muttered, blinking through the haze. A thin line of blood traced down his forehead from the impact, a reminder of just how close the blast had been. His heart pounded in his chest, adrenaline surging. He pushed himself up, his body aching from the force of the explosion, but he didn’t hesitate. He scrambled to his feet, scanning the wreckage of the battle. The air was thick with smoke, and the smell of burned earth hung in the air. But the figures—those dark shadows—were already gone.
“Was it a diversion?” Notori thought, narrowing his eyes. His mind raced. Are they going after Princess of Death also? His gut twisted with unease. If they do, what do they want from her? And how the hell did they know where I was and what I was going to do?
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