Breaking news exploded before the smoke even cleared from the building.
"Breaking: The Governor of San Boreal has been assassinated."
"Confirmed: Kael Grayson is responsible."
"Reports say the attack was direct and personal."
The screens filled with chaotic images.
Drones circling the skies.
Sirens wailing.
Civilians running in panic.
Police blocking intersections.
A bloodied figure descending the steps of the Central Building.
And the nation… froze.
One man, standing against an entire system.
A strange silence fell across the country.
Not out of respect.
Out of fear.
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Kael pushed the door open.
Sunlight hit his face, blinding him for a moment.
And then… the world came back into focus.
The main street was sealed.
Hundreds of soldiers. Armored vehicles. Drones hovering mid-air. Snipers on the rooftops.
All aiming at him.
But Kael didn't flinch.
He stepped down one stair. Then another.
His boots were soaked in dried blood.
The wind carried his name across the city.
"KAEL GRAYSON!" a voice thundered through loudspeakers.
"DROP YOUR WEAPON! ON YOUR KNEES! THERE IS NO ESCAPE!"
Kael didn't even look up.
He simply lowered his head.
And murmured—barely audible:
"Why am I still walking...?"
A voice more human. More broken.
"I don't even know if I want to keep going... but I don't know how to stop."
"FINAL WARNING!"
His steps halted.
Not out of fear.
Not part of any plan.
He just… had no reason left to move forward.
He caught his reflection in the glass windows.
And thought:
Is that me now?
Is this all that's left?
And then, the inevitable.
"OPEN FIRE!"
The world lit up.
Gunfire cracked like thunder.
Hundreds of bullets.
Two small explosions.
A stun grenade.
Kael didn't shield himself.
Didn't even try to dodge.
He felt the rounds tear through his chest, his ribs, his leg.
Felt his body collapse.
He hit the asphalt face-first.
Noise. Pain. Chaos.
But his mind...
His mind was somewhere else.
"How many more do I have to kill...?" he whispered.
"How many graves do I have to dig before they leave me alone?"
The gunfire continued.
But something inside him… reawakened.
That light.
That strange, unnatural energy that refused to let him die.
His wounds began to seal.
Skin reknit.
Blood pulled back into his veins.
Kael rose.
Slowly.
Like a man returning from the grave.
The soldiers froze.
No one spoke.
No one fired again.
They just stared.
As if witnessing something they couldn't explain.
Kael lifted his gaze.
Not with rage.
Not with defiance.
Just exhaustion.
"You're not going to let me live, are you?"
No one answered.
"Then... I'm leaving."
A gust of wind swept around him.
And he vanished.
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Hours later, the city of San Boreal buzzed with rumors.
"He escaped through the sewers."
"No—through the old metro tunnels."
"I saw him… bleeding… but walking like nothing happened."
"Did you see him heal? It's on video!"
The government imposed a media blackout.
Cut the internet.
Deployed armed patrols in the streets.
But it was too late.
Everyone knew.
Kael was still alive.
And he was among them.
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Kael dragged himself through shattered alleyways, wrapped in an old jacket he'd stolen from a dumpster.
He moved in shadows, muscles tight, steps heavy.
He found shelter in an abandoned warehouse.
Rusty.
Dusty.
Crawling with rats.
Perfect.
He collapsed onto a pile of torn sacks.
The sword rested beside him.
His breathing shook.
His thoughts, even more.
And he spoke.
Not because someone was listening.
But because the silence was starting to hurt.
"I don't know if I won... or if I'm just still here out of momentum."
He stared at his hands.
Stained. Scarred. Healed a thousand times.
But never clean.
"I killed the governor.
Killed soldiers.
Men who were just following orders..."
He covered his eyes with one hand.
"And the worst part is... I don't even feel relieved."
A long silence.
"What's supposed to come next?"
He laughed.
But it was a sad sound.
"Hide for the rest of my life?
Wait for them to find me?
Fight again?"
He coughed.
Spat dry blood.
"I'm tired..."
His eyes blurred.
"So damn tired."
He leaned back against the wall.
"What if I just... stop fighting?"
"But if I stop...
Then everyone who died because of me… will have died for nothing."
He clenched his jaw.
"No.
I can't stop.
Even if I want to.
Even if I'm broken."
He punched the ground.
"They didn't let me quit.
So now… I won't let myself quit either."
He went quiet.
And for the first time in hours...
He closed his eyes.
Not to sleep.
Just to rest.
Just for a while.
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Somewhere in the city, his face still lit up every screen.
"Kael Grayson. Wanted dead or alive.
Level 1 bounty.
Extreme threat.
Suspected in the assassination of the Governor."