As I was enjoying my time with the Lovers, we exchanged a few more quiet words between slow sips of wine.
Calla nudged Elias playfully. "Remember the waterfall in Eris Valley? You slipped on a mossy rock and fell flat on your back trying to look graceful."
Elias chuckled, eyes crinkling at the memory. "And you laughed so hard you almost drowned."
They both laughed together, and for a moment, even I felt the warmth of their past wrapping around me like a forgotten blanket.
I smiled faintly, my thoughts just beginning to drift—
when my phone buzzed.
I instinctively pulled it from my pocket, the screen lighting up in the dim bar glow.
UNKNOWN NUMBER
1 New Message:
Stop Pretending.
The warmth vanished from my spine like a snap of frost.
I stared.
The number—it was the same one as before. The one that messaged me during the second night.
Back then, I had brushed it off as paranoia. A mistake.
But this?
I swallowed. My fingers typed without thinking.
"Who are you and what do you mean stop pretending?"
I watched the screen. Nothing.
A heartbeat.
Two.
Then—
You're doing a good job wearing a mask. But masks rot. Eventually.
You'll crack. You already are.
And when you do… they'll see you. The real you.
My grip tightened.
The room felt colder. The sounds around me—the gentle laughter, the clinking glasses—blurred into the background.
"What do you want from me?" I typed.
Seconds passed.
Want?
That's the wrong question.
The real question is
How long do you think you can keep lying to yourself?
I stared at the words.
Lying?
Lying about what?
I wasn't lying.
I wasn't pretending.
I was just trying to survive.
I quickly typed again.
"Who are you?"
This time, the reply took longer. So long I thought they were gone.
Then—
You keep asking the wrong question Caius… But I'll tell you.
I'm the same as you.
A shadow playing human.
But we both know monsters aren't meant to play.
The message ended there.
No name.
No clue.
Just a gnawing emptiness in my chest that hadn't been there before.
I lowered the phone. Calla and Elias were still talking, unaware.
And me?
I sat in silence, phone in hand, heart loud in my ears.
"Stop pretending."
What the hell did they mean?
And worse…
Why did a part of me feel like they were right?
Night cycle came.
POV Shift: The Mafia
The shadows were generous tonight, cloaking the figures that moved like ghosts between hallways and locked doors.
"We don't usually go out this early," the girl muttered, her voice clipped and impatient. She couldn't have sounded older than fifteen. "Ugh. Why do we need to be here again?"
"Don't worry," the man—smooth, elegant in tone—gently placed a gloved hand on her shoulder. "This will be quick. We just need your help to kill tonight. You want excitement, don't you?"
She pouted. "Fine, fine. No more boring day, I guess."
The man turned, dark eyes settling on another figure—their third. Quiet, composed. The kind that didn't need words to speak his intent.
"Go to the far room," the mafia ordered the man, voice low. "There's someone we need to keep an eye on. You'll know him when you see him."
The man nodded once and vanished into the corridor like a shadow given legs.
The mafia smiled, sharp and knowing, then turned to the girl again.
"As for you, my princess," he whispered like a lullaby, "you'll help me kill these three tonight."
Her grin stretched unnaturally wide. "Yeah. Hey, no more boring day."
And like death given names, they split—each moving to their designated places.
Target One and Two:
It was quiet in the lounge.
Calla and Elias sat on one of the velvet sofas, soft music playing in the background—an old record spinning something bittersweet. She leaned her head on his shoulder, their fingers intertwined, legs curled beneath them.
"I wish this could last," she murmured. "Just one more sunrise with you."
"We'll get it," Elias whispered back. "We always survive. You and me."
But tonight… the world decided otherwise.
There was no warning.
The glass behind them shattered as a hand pulled the curtains apart and the mafia girl climbed in with a flicker of glee in her eye.
"Hey, lovebirds," she said, tilting her head. "Hope you weren't planning your wedding."
Elias stood immediately, shielding Calla. "You don't have to do this."
"Yeah, I know" the girl giggled. "But it's fun."
She lunged forward with something glinting in her hand. Elias tackled her, but she was quick—faster than she looked—and within seconds he staggered, red blooming across his shirt. Calla tried to scream but I hold her mouth in silence.
Elias turned to her, choking slightly. "Run—"
Another flash of metal. Another gasp. I quickly finished off the other lover a quick stab on the throat.
Then silence.
Both of them collapsed, tangled together. Blood pooling between them.
And their hands… still holding on.
The girl look. "Aww look at them so sweet, like I want to eat them." While humming happily
"Good girl." Patting the girl in the process.
POV: The Man
He moved like smoke.
The hallway gave way to a small study. Dim light. A chair. A figure—alone. Focused.
The man stepped in.
No sound. No greeting.
Just a hand. A knife.
One swift motion.
The figure didn't even turn fully before the blade slipped beneath the neck, straight and efficient. A hiss of breath escaped—but no scream.
Eyes widened.
Then the man pushed the body forward—face-down onto the desk.
Mission complete.
The man wiped the blade on the edge of his coat, then exited without a sound, melting into the corridor once again.