The stairwell swallowed Alpha Phantom whole.
The panel sealed above him with a dull click, cutting off sound and light. Darkness pressed in, thick and alive.
[Shadow Sense: Enhanced — Environmental Resonance Detected.]
Alpha moved anyway.
One step at a time. Controlled breathing. The stairs spiraled downward, carved directly into old concrete. This place wasn't abandoned—it was buried.
Above him, voices rose.
"Search the back."
"Check the vents."
Boots scraped. Metal clanged.
Nyx was buying him time.
Alpha's jaw tightened.
[New Directive Available.]
[Technique Unlock Condition Met.]
His vision flickered.
[Phantom Technique: Shadow Descent]
[Status: Unstable — Learn or Fail.]
Alpha stopped walking.
The pressure in the stairwell increased, like the shadows were leaning in, waiting.
A line of text burned into his vision:
[To descend, you must become unseen.]
Alpha closed his eyes.
For the first time since the system activated, he didn't think about survival.
He thought about control.
His heartbeat slowed. His breathing softened. He let the darkness touch him—wrap around his outline, blur his presence.
The shadows responded.
[Synchronization: 12%… 31%… 57%]
A sound echoed from above.
The panel cracked open.
Light spilled down the stairwell.
"There!" someone shouted.
Alpha moved.
Not away.
Into the shadows.
The world bent.
The darkness folded around him like a cloak, swallowing his shape, muting his presence.
[Shadow Descent — Initiated.]
A boot hit the stair.
Passed through where Alpha should have been.
Missed.
Alpha was already below.
The shadows carried him downward, step after silent step. His body felt lighter, faster, like gravity itself had loosened its grip.
[Technique Proficiency: 18%]
The stairwell ended in a tunnel—wide, reinforced, old infrastructure from a time the city pretended didn't exist.
Alpha emerged from the shadows and exhaled.
The technique collapsed instantly.
[Warning: Energy Depletion.]
He leaned against the wall, breathing hard.
Worth it.
Sirens wailed faintly above.
Too late.
Alpha moved through the tunnel, guided by Shadow Sense. Pipes overhead. Old markings on the walls—symbols etched by cultivators long gone.
This city had layers.
And he'd just slipped beneath one.
[City Awareness Increased.]
[Attention: Minor Organizations Notified.]
Alpha smirked. "Good."
He emerged from a maintenance hatch blocks away, blending into the night. No blood. No panic. Just another shadow walking the streets.
His phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
A single message:
You survived.
Then another:
Don't disappoint me.
Alpha stared at the screen.
"Too late," he muttered.
[New Objective Assigned.]
[Build Power Base: 0% Complete.]
The city loomed around him—bright lights, dark intentions.
Alpha Phantom slipped into the crowd.
Above ground, the hunt had begun.
Below ground, something else stirred.