The smoke of battle clung to the air, dense and metallic.
Evan stood amid the wreckage, the hum of his telekinesis still alive beneath his skin — cold, precise, and utterly controlled.
Behind him, Aidan stared at the bodies of the fallen hunters. His fists were clenched. His breath came shallow.
Death wasn't new to Aidan.
But the way Evan delivered it — efficient, merciless — shook something in him.
---
The Enforcers.
The Academy.
The Hunters.
They had come for Evan... but none had been ready for what he truly was.
And now, the world would feel the cost.
---
Evan turned without hesitation.
> "We keep moving," he said.
Aidan hesitated, his gaze lingering on the corpses.
> "You didn't even hesitate," he said quietly. "You just... killed them."
Evan's expression didn't change.
> "Survival isn't about hesitation," he said coldly. "It's about being the last one standing."
The wind howled through the broken ruins.
And in the distance — the sound of new forces arriving.
---
> "They're coming again, aren't they?" Aidan said.
> "Yes," Evan murmured, his mouth twisting into a mirthless smile. "But they're not after us this time."
Aidan's brow furrowed.
Before he could ask more, a figure emerged from the smoke.
Tall. Silent.
Dressed in black tactical gear, moving like a shadow.
---
Evan's muscles tensed.
He knew that silhouette.
He'd memorized it long ago.
> "Talon," he said under his breath.
The man stopped a few paces away, surveying the carnage with cold, dispassionate eyes.
> "You've made quite the mess," Talon said. "And it's just the beginning."
---
Talon had once been a hero.
Now?
A mercenary.
One of the most dangerous trackers alive — able to follow prey no matter where they ran.
And now... he was here.
---
> "What do you want?" Evan asked, voice sharp.
Talon studied him for a long moment before answering.
> "There's a price on your head, Reaper," Talon said flatly. "And I'm here to collect."
Evan smirked.
> "You're welcome to try."
Talon didn't react.
He tilted his head slightly, almost amused.
> "I'm not here for the bounty, Evan. Not exactly."
---
Aidan shifted behind Evan, sensing the change in the air.
Talon's gaze flicked to him — curious, assessing.
Then back to Evan.
---
> "I want to know what you are now," Talon said. "The Academy called you the Psychic Reaper. But what I see now… it's something worse."
> "You don't know anything," Evan said darkly.
> "I know enough," Talon said. "I know Gravemind stirred because of you. I know you're not just telekinetic anymore. And I know the world won't survive you if you stop pretending you can control it."
---
For a moment, silence reigned between them.
Predator meeting predator.
Both knowing this was just the first move in a longer, bloodier game.
---
Finally, Talon broke the stare.
> "We'll meet again, Reaper," he said. "And next time, you won't be so lucky."
He turned and vanished into the fog, leaving only his words behind.
Words that felt like the tolling of a funeral bell.
---
Aidan exhaled slowly.
> "What did he mean, Evan? About Gravemind? About... you?"
Evan didn't answer right away.
He looked out across the ruined city — his kingdom of ash.
His prison.
His legacy.
---
> "It means I'm not just a villain anymore," Evan said softly. "I'm the beginning of something worse."
His powers flared briefly, crackling like unseen thunder.
And in the deepest corner of his heart, something old — something monstrous — stirred.
Gravemind's reach wasn't over.
It was just getting started.
---
End of Chapter 20