They started walking out of the alley. Rain began to fall, soft at first, then steadier. Nima pulled her hood up while Kael flipped his collar.
"Any leads?" he asked.
"Nothing concrete. We've traced a few electric surges around each scene, but they vanish after a few blocks. Like he controls the current itself. Maybe even travels through it."
Kael frowned. "That's more advanced than any electrokinesis I've seen."
"Me too," she agreed. Kael's eyes narrowed as he thought aloud,"Still, I get this feeling that there's more to it then just simple electrokinesis…I don't know." Nima's expressions turned practical,"Let's just focus on what's in front of us. Overthinking and doubts won't help us catch Wraith." Kael nodded pushing aside his concerns. "You're right. We need to prioritise the evidence and leads we have."
Nima's advice had helped Kael refocus, but the nagging sense of uncertainty lingered in the back of his mind.
They reached her hovercar, and Nima pulled out her datapad again. "I'll send you everything I've got. But keep this quiet. The Trust Network's on edge, and if they sense we're chasing shadows, they'll spin it for ratings."
Kael scoffed. "I'm starting to think the Trust Network is part of the problem."
Nima looked at him, a flicker of something in her eyes. Agreement, maybe.
"You're not wrong," she said quietly. "I'll take you to the records room first okay?"
"Sure" Kael nodded in agreement.
As Kael turned to leave, the rain picked up, washing over the city like a slow, sad song. Screens flickered overhead, flashing hero rankings and sponsor ads.
His name glowed near the top.
But none of it felt real.
Somewhere in the dark, Wraith was watching. Waiting. Planning his next move.
And Kael was done waiting.
—————
The records room of Skyline Central wasn't much to look at—rows of cold, humming servers behind reinforced glass, and a single screen terminal bolted to a metal desk. But in a city that ran on belief, this room held something far rarer than trust: raw, unfiltered truth.
Kael leaned against the wall as Nima tapped commands into the terminal. The screen filled with reports, each tagged with blinking alerts: MISSING. UNSOLVED. CLOSED DUE TO LACK OF EVIDENCE.
Three names lit up the screen in sharp white letters: Noah Tanaka, Isaac Varrin, Ruby Delgado.
"All confirmed heroes," Nima said. "Noah—aerokinesis, Isaac—cryokinesis, Ruby—pyrokinesis. All of them vanished within the past two months."
Kael folded his arms. "And now Walter Smith- hydrokinesis. That makes four."
"Four elemental-based heroes," Nima added. "Each with a different specialty."
He frowned. "Why target them specifically?"
"That's what we're going to figure out." She swiped to open Noah's file.
The image showed a young man mid-flight, eyes alight with excitement, his scarf whipping in the wind. Faith Rating: Silver. Last seen patrolling Sector 5—an industrial district with low public engagement.
Kael read the report. "Disappeared while responding to a building collapse. Witnesses reported heavy wind turbulence right before he vanished."
"Could've been struggling with his own power," Nima noted. "Or maybe someone else used the wind against him."
"Someone with control over electricity could disrupt air currents since it controls the ions present in the air," Kael murmured.
Nima nodded grimly and moved on to Isaac's case.
He was older, serious-looking, long white hair in a ponytail,, with frost clinging to his shoulders in his profile photo. Faith Rating: Gold. Last seen leaving a training facility in Sector 3—an education hub.
"The surveillance footage cuts out a minute before he disappears," Nima said. "Same story. No witnesses. Just gone."
Kael's eyes narrowed. "That's the same pattern. Wraith strikes just outside sensor range. Just before cameras die. Always precise."
Nima opened Ruby's file last. A vivid red streak was caught in her hair as she blasted flame from her palms in the photo. Faith Rating: Platinum. She had been a rising star—until she stepped into a low-Belief residential zone to settle a gang dispute and never came back.
Kael stared at the photo, unsettled. "She was the strongest of the three."
"And she vanished without a trace," Nima said. "Which means power level doesn't matter to him."
Kael paced. "It's not random. He's not just picking names off a board. He's choosing targets deliberately—elementals, each with strong reputations, but all operating in zones where people are starting to lose faith in heroes."
"And once he kills them," Nima added, "he makes sure it's seen—at least indirectly.
"Because the message matters more than the act."
They looked at each other, the pieces clicking into place. Wraith wasn't just removing heroes—he was dismantling something bigger. The faith in heroes. The system.
Kael's voice dropped. "He's trying to prove that we're not invincible. That Belief doesn't protect us."
Nima leaned back in her chair, exhaling slowly. "And the more people believe that… the more the system breaks."
Kael nodded. "Wraith is attacking the belief itself. And he's doing it by taking down heroes people still admire. Not the ones who've already lost the public."
She turned to him. "What about you?"
Kael blinked. "What?"
"Your Faith score's rising. You've been all over the news after saving that kid and Walter's case."
He shifted uneasily. "I didn't do it for that."
"I know. But that just makes you more dangerous—to him."
Kael's jaw tightened. "Then let him come. I won't go down easy."
"We're not going to let you go down at all," Nima said. "Not if we can find him first."
She tapped on the screen again, pulling up a map. Four red markers blinked: the known
locations tied to each victim. When overlaid, a square formed—with Skyline Central at the center.
"This was the outlier," she said, pointing to Ruby's marker. "She vanished farther south. But Isaac and Noah vanished near the east and west industrial areas, and Walter's body was found in the alley of the northern maintenance district."
Kael's eyes scanned the map. "There's a power grid running underneath all four."
Nima looked at him. "You think he's traveling through the grid?"
"It's possible. If they're manipulating electricity, they could be using the grid to move around undetected since the power grid transmits and distributes electricity from power plants to all over Skyline city."
She nodded slowly. "Then that gives us a path."
Kael stepped closer, pointing at a junction in the map. "Here. This substation, is a key part of the power grid, which transforms voltage levels so the electricity can be transmitted efficiently, connecting all three areas, and there's minimal security. If he's using it as a hub, maybe we can catch him."
"I'll set up surveillance drones immediately," Nima said, already sending encrypted messages.
Kael watched her work, the tension in his chest tightening. The more they uncovered, the more real Wraith became. Not a myth. Not a rogue incident. But a strategist, moving pieces on a board they barely understood.
As they left the records room and stepped back into the city night, Kael looked up at the towering skyline—the glowing banners, the flickering Faith meters, the endless belief powering every light.
It felt fragile now.
Nima walked beside him in silence for a moment before asking, "What if we're too late?"
Kael didn't look away from the sky.
"Then we fight in the dark."