The silence in Viktor's mansion was deathly. Moretti and the other Mafia leaders stared at the body on the table with a mixture of horror and suppressed fury. The new enemy had not only killed Viktor, but had made his death a spectacle. A message to everyone: no one is safe.
"If anyone thinks I'm going to let them hunt us down one by one, they're mistaken," Moretti said, his voice grave. "We need answers. And we'll need them fast."
In a corner of the room, a man calmly lit a cigar. Dmitry Azarov, leader of the Russian mafia, blew out a puff of smoke before speaking. "Don't act like this is just a turf war. Viktor wasn't easy to kill. Whoever did it, they not only have power, they have information."
A third man, Koji Takasugi of the Japanese Syndicate, bowed his head grimly. "It's not just information. This killer is leaving his mark like a declaration of war. He's moving the pieces on the board before we can react."
Moretti slammed his fist on the table. "Then let's find the bastard before he kills us all."
The Shadows of Neo-Prague
Meanwhile, on the streets of Neo-Prague, Akihiko and his team were gathered in an old warehouse used as a clandestine meeting point. The footage of Viktor's murder was still flickering on Kael's screen, the killer's face hidden in shadows.
"It doesn't make sense," Kael muttered. "No known power should be able to erase its own presence on a recording. This isn't just speed or stealth... it's something more."
Isabella crossed her arms. "And if we can't track him, it means we're going to have to do it the old-fashioned way."
Akihiko nodded. "If we want answers, we need to find someone who survived an encounter with this killer."
Kael sighed. "If there is such a person."
The Last Witness
Through a series of underworld contacts, Akihiko and his team tracked down a man who claimed to have seen Viktor's killer in action. Sebastian Varga, an informant operating in the darkest circles of crime.
They found him in a secret bar, his hands shaking and his face pale. He looked like he'd been drinking for days.
"I... saw it," he murmured, his voice barely a whisper. "It was as if the shadow itself took shape. It didn't move... it disappeared and reappeared in different places. And its eyes... they weren't human."
Akihiko looked at him coldly. "You said his eyes weren't human?"
Varga swallowed and nodded. "They were completely black... as if they had no soul. But the worst... the worst was the cold."
Kael frowned. "Cold?"
Varga hugged himself, as if reliving the moment. "When he appeared, the air changed. Not like an icy wind... but as if reality itself froze. It was absolute silence. No noise. No echoes. Nothing. As if for an instant the world had ceased to exist."
Akihiko felt a chill run down his spine. This wasn't just a new killer. It was something more.
Isabella narrowed her eyes. "If this guy has that level of control over his presence... what chance do we have of finding him before he finds us?"
Kael sighed and turned off his device's screen. "It seems we're not the hunters in this story. We're the hunted."
A heavy silence fell over the group.
Akihiko closed his eyes and clenched his fists. No. We wouldn't be the prey. Not this time.
The hunt was just beginning.