CITY WITHOUT ENEMIES, SHADOWS WITHOUT PURPOSE
It had been three months since the bloodshed atop the Transparency Tower.
Three months since the corrupt head of the system was severed from its body.
Three months since systematic evil ended... or at least... went dormant.
✦ ✧ ✦ ✧
Ascadra now felt like a strange dream.
Clean streets.
Stable markets.
Social drones greeting citizens with politeness.
No gunshots, no forced disappearances, no extortion disguised as regulation.
People began to smile again. Children dared to play outside after dark.
And all of it was thanks to someone absent from the revolution's list:
Vladimir Lenan
The new president of Ascadra wasn't a heroic figure. Just an honest man unafraid to live truthfully.
And that was enough to change the world.
✦ ✧ ✦ ✧
Adilof Broxtler stared at the city from the base window.
His combat armor hung on the wall, untouched.
His metal mask gathered dust.
The surveillance terminal no longer streamed critical data.
All CCTV feeds were now public—because the system no longer belonged to secrets.
And not a single red alert had appeared in the past two weeks.
In Adilof's hand, a paintbrush hung. But it never touched the canvas.
"Am I... done?" he muttered softly.
✦ ✧ ✦ ✧
Elsewhere in the base, Shyblance was cooking. Again.
For the past two weeks, she had tested 21 different recipes.
Not out of passion for cooking.
But because there were no more doors to break down,
no more crime networks to burn,
no more hostages, chases, or mini-grenades.
Just soup.
And bread.
"If I'd known peace felt like early retirement," she said,
"I would've opened a food stall."
She stared at her spilled pepper.
Then slammed the spoon onto the table.
"Damn it. This isn't life. This is decor."
✦ ✧ ✦ ✧
A SPEECH
At night, the base was silent.
The large screen lit up automatically, capturing a live broadcast from City Hall.
President Vladimir Lenan stood alone at a glass podium.
His look was simple: grey blazer, loose tie.
His face unfiltered.
"Three months ago, this city bled. But not by the hands of the people.
It bled from those who believed for too long that law could be bought."
"Today, I don't stand here to claim victory. Because victory isn't mine.
I stand here to say thank you... to you.
Whoever you are, who chose to fight without names, applause, or medals.
If you're hearing this... know that we haven't forgotten.
Even if you choose to remain unseen."
Adilof watched from his old chair.
Shyblance stood in the corner, hugging a mug of cold coffee.
No words were exchanged.
But in the silence, they both knew… Lenan didn't know who they were.
But Lenan knew someone had protected the city from the shadows.
✦ ✧ ✦ ✧
DAYS AFTER
Adilof began cleaning the painting room.
He tried to create one piece: a cityscape from above, at night.
But his brush trembled.
"This city's too bright now."
He set the brush down.
And left the room.
Shyblance started a small hydroponic garden on the rooftop.
Not out of love for plants.
But because her body couldn't sit still too long without something blowing up.
"If the world stays like this… we'll go extinct not from war, but from boredom."
✦ ✧ ✦ ✧
AN UNSEEKED SIGNAL
In the base's back monitor room—a terminal long untouched—
a small red light blinked.
No sound.
No public alert.
Just a single-line notification in the screen's corner:
> UNREGISTERED SIGNAL DETECTED
> LOCATION: NORTHERN SEA – OUTSIDE ASCADRA'S JURISDICTION
> CONTACT: UNKNOWN
Adilof approached and stared at the screen.
He didn't smile.
But in his eyes, something lit up again.
Shyblance followed, standing behind him.
"That's not our problem, right?"
Adilof replied softly:
"None of it was our problem... until it became our reason to live."
Shyblance stared at the screen. For a long time.
Then said:
"Damn it... I haven't even made martabak yet."
Without warning, Josepo set down his book and said casually,
"You two should go on a date."
Crack.
Adilof dropped the screwdriver from his hand.
His face froze like a CPU hit with surprise ransomware.
"W-what?"
Shyblance just raised an eyebrow.
"You mean... an actual date?"
Josepo sipped his tea.
"You think your muscles stay flexible with just soup and training?
You've burned the city, killed criminals, toppled a system.
Now\... try learning how to live."
Adilof stammered.
"There's a foreign signal outside the city. You want me dating while systems might be compromised?"
Josepo looked at him calmly.
"Yes. Because if you wait until the world's perfect,
you'll die before you ever get to smile."
Shyblance looked at Broxtler with a hint of a smirk.
"Come on. Just once. Call it... a social mission."
Adilof looked at her.
"I... don't have a protocol for this."
✦ ✧ ✦ ✧
THAT NIGHT – ASCADRA CITY STREETS
They went out.
No armor. No gadgets.
Adilof wore a plain black hoodie and old sneakers he never used.
Shyblance wore a long gray coat and a thin scarf.
They walked the main street sidewalk.
On the right, a small café with hanging lights.
On the left, a street violinist played softly.
Shyblance seemed to enjoy the atmosphere.
"First time I've seen this city alive... without sirens."
Adilof looked uneasy.
His eyes scanned every door, every corner, like he was still tracking enemies.
"No snipers on rooftops," Shyblance teased.
"Doesn't mean they can't show up."
Shyblance chuckled.
✦ ✧ ✦ ✧
SITTING AT A STREET CAFE
They sat in the corner, at a small candle-lit table.
Adilof stared at the menu like it was a nuclear bomb manual.
Shyblance casually ordered two warm drinks and a dessert.
"Relax, Broxtler. This isn't an interrogation."
"I'm more prepared for three electric guards than... this tiny fork."
Shyblance smiled, sipping her drink.
"Sometimes, you're like a robot trying to be human. But ironically, that's what makes you more human than most."
Adilof looked at her.
Didn't reply.
But his gaze softened.
✦ ✧ ✦ ✧
That night they simply talked.
About food. About the smell of rain on soil.
About books never finished.
About city skies that no longer needed a shield.
And at one point, Adilof said quietly:
"So... this is what peace feels like."
Shyblance nodded.
"Yeah. Bland, calm... and a bit confusing.
But... not bad when shared."
✦ ✧ ✦ ✧
*GOING HOME
They didn't say much on the way back.
No handholding.
No cliche hugs.
But when they reached the base door, Shyblance turned and said:
"Second date... can be more absurd."
Adilof replied while pressing the door button:
"I'll need time to... calculate absurdity."
✦ ✧ ✦ ✧
And that night, for the first time since building the city surveillance system,
Adilof Broxtler slept without thinking of tactics, weapons, or maps.
He only thought of one thing:
"Maybe... I'm not completely broken."