Chapter 48: Turn Of Events
Ace gritted his teeth, trying to move, but the shadows binding him only tightened, constricting around his limbs like living chains. He wasn’t in the same void Necro had fallen into, this place felt different. The air was cold, damp, and the walls around him, barely visible in the dim light, looked like rough stone.
"Where am I?" He mumbled.
The figure before him took a slow step forward, their boots clicking against the floor.
"Relax, kid," they said casually. "Struggling won’t help."
Ace’s sharp red eyes locked onto them, his mind racing. The person was tall, draped in a dark coat with a hood that concealed most of their face, but he could see strands of dark green hair slipping out. Their voice was smooth, almost bored.
"Who the hell are you?" Ace demanded.
The figure crouched in front of him, tilting their head as if studying him. "You can call me Rift."
Ace’s heart pounded. That name—he had heard it before. A criminal, but not just any criminal.
"Rift."
A rogue villain. Not affiliated with any major organization, not under the Hero Organization’s jurisdiction either. Just a name that popped up in whispers and classified reports. A mercenary with no clear allegiance, except to whoever paid the most.
And Right now, that meant Rift was working with Shadow.
Ace’s stomach twisted at the thought of it.
The villain sighed and leaned back on their heels. "I was actually hoping you’d stay unconscious a little longer. Gotta say, you heroes really ruin the fun by waking up early."
Ace forced a smirk. "Sorry to disappoint."
Rift chuckled. "Oh, don’t worry. You’ll make up for it soon enough."
Before Ace could ask what they meant, Rift lifted a hand and the shadows around him moved.
A sharp, burning pain shot through Ace’s chest. He gasped, his body convulsing as the darkness slithered deeper into his skin, like it was crawling inside him.
His breath hitched. It felt like ice spreading through his veins, digging into his very core.
"Wh—What are you?" Ace grunted.
Rift’s smile widened, but their eyes were unreadable. "Shadow does the whole ’terror in the dark’ thing. But me? I like to be more direct."
The shadows tightened, and Ace barely bit back a scream as his vision blurred, his energy was being drained.
"You’re a hero," Rift mused. "Heroes are always so strong. So unbreakable." Their voice dropped lower. "Let’s see how long you last."
The pain flared again and Ace’s heartbeat slowed.
Somewhere in the distance, he thought he heard Zia’s voice calling his name.
Then before he knew what was happening, everything faded to black.
-----
Ace’s world blurred as the cold tendrils of darkness slithered deeper into his body. It wasn’t just pain, it was draining. Every muscle in his body felt heavier, his breath came in ragged gasps, and his vision pulsed between clarity and haze.
He gritted his teeth, forcing his mind to stay awake. He had been in tight spots before, missions where the odds were stacked against him, battles where he had been outmatched... But this? It was different.
This wasn’t just an attack, it was something else.
Something inside him was being pulled, siphoned away, and he felt it—the slow, creeping loss of strength, the numbing sensation crawling under his skin, eating away at the very thing that made him move.
Rift was watching him with an unsettling level of patience.
Their green hair barely moved as they remained crouched in front of him, arms resting lazily on their knees. There was no urgency in their expression, no rage, no thrill, just an expectant curiosity, like they were waiting to see how much he could take before he broke.
Ace let out a shaky breath, blinking hard to keep the darkness from swallowing him completely.
"You know," Rift said after a moment, tilting their head, "most people would be screaming by now."
Ace clenched his jaw. His body was screaming, his muscles burned, his nerves felt like they were twisting in on themselves but he refused to give Rift the satisfaction.
"I’ve... had worse," he muttered, forcing himself to smirk, though it felt weaker than he wanted. "You’ll have to try harder if you wanna scare me."
Rift’s lips curled slightly, not in amusement, but in something more calculating. "Tough guy, huh? That’s fine. Breaking you is just part of the job."
Without warning, they lifted their hand, and the shadows tightened once more, causing Ace to choke.
The darkness wrapped around his chest like an iron vise, pressing against his ribs, his lungs. His entire body felt like it was shrinking in on itself.
This time, a strangled groan slipped from his lips before he could stop it.
Rift’s eyes gleamed. "There it is," they murmured. "That’s what I was waiting for."
Ace’s fingers twitched, his body screaming for oxygen, for freedom... For anything at all. His instincts roared at him to fight, to move, to do something but the moment he tried, the darkness drained him even faster.
Every second that passed stole more of his strength.
His head lolled slightly, his vision dimming, and Rift let out a small sigh.
"You’re fading fast," they mused, standing up fully. "A little disappointing, but I guess not everyone can endure."
Ace barely had the strength to glare at them, but he did. "You... talk too much," he rasped.
Rift raised a brow, but before they could respond, a loud crack rang through the air.
Ace barely registered what happened before the shadows around him shattered.
Air rushed back into his lungs, his body slumping forward as his knees hit the cold floor. His limbs still felt weak, but the crushing weight of the darkness was gone.
He gasped sharply, blinking rapidly as he forced his body to adjust.
And then, he began to hear footsteps.
A familiar voice, sharp and unwavering, cut through the silence.
"I was wondering where you wandered off to."
Ace’s head snapped up immediately.
There, standing in the dim light, adjusting her glasses with an irritated expression, was Zia.
And in her right hand, glowing faintly with crackling energy, was a compact, high-powered stun baton.
Rift, now a few feet away, stared at her with mild intrigue.
"Well, well," Rift mused. "Look who finally showed up."
Zia didn’t look amused. "I told you before, Ace," she said, narrowing her eyes. "If you keep slacking, I’ll always be the one saving you."
Ace let out a weak laugh, his voice rough but defiant. "Yeah, yeah."
Zia stepped forward, baton still humming with energy.
"Now," she said, adjusting her grip, "get away from my friend."
Rift exhaled slowly, their previous boredom flickering into something sharper.
"...I was really hoping this wouldn’t turn into an inconvenience," they muttered.
Then, in one swift motion, Rift raised their hand and the shadows surged toward Zia. But Zia was already moving.
The fight had begun.
Her grip tightened around her baton as the shadows lunged toward her, twisting like living serpents.
Her eyes flickered behind her glasses, analyzing their movement. They were fast, but predictable. She sidestepped the first tendril, then spun, ducking beneath another as it whipped past her face.
’ He fights very well.’ she noted, her eyes narrowing.
Rift tilted his head slightly, watching her movements with something close to amusement. "You’re quick."
Zia didn’t respond. Talking was a waste of energy. Instead, she adjusted her stance and charged.
The baton in her hand crackled with electric energy, and as the shadows coiled toward her again, she struck—her weapon slicing through them like a blade, dispersing the darkness in bursts of static.
Ace, still on his knees, watched with hazy eyes. His body was sluggish, but he forced himself to focus. Zia was handling herself well—her precise strikes kept Rift’s shadows from overwhelming her but Rift wasn’t in a hurry. He was testing her.
Rift raised a hand, and a wave of darkness expanded outward, swallowing the dim light of the room. Zia barely had time to react before the entire space became a void of shifting shadows.
Her breath stayed steady. ’Tch. He’s trying to blind me.’
"Not bad," Rift’s voice echoed, now coming from multiple directions. "But let’s see how well you fight when you can’t see."
Zia’s response was immediate, she pressed a small button on the side of her glasses.
A soft click.
In an instant, the lenses adjusted—switching to an infrared overlay. The shadows around her were thick, almost impenetrable, but Rift’s heat signature stood out in the darkness.
Zia smirked. "Nice trick," she muttered, dashing forward.
Rift barely had time to react before she was on him.
The baton struck his shoulder, sending a pulse of electricity coursing through his body. He staggered back, hissing through clenched teeth.
"Annoying," he gritted out, shadows flaring around him like an angry storm.
Zia didn’t let up. She pressed forward, twisting her weapon in her grip before swinging at his ribs. Rift barely managed to dodge, but she was already predicting his movements. Her foot shot out, slamming into his shin, throwing him off balance.
But he wasn’t done yet.
He let himself fall on purpose, using the momentum to slide back, distancing himself before the shadows surged.
Zia’s eyes widened.
The darkness swarmed toward her faster than before, thicker, more relentless. It wasn’t just a blind attack—it was calculated.
She pivoted, trying to maneuver around them, but the shadows adapted.
’He’s learning my patterns, great!’
In the blink of an eye, the darkness twisted, catching her ankle.
Her body jerked mid-motion. "Tch—!"
Before she could react, the shadows yanked her down.
Rift stood up, rolling his shoulder with a smirk. "You’re sharp," he admitted. "But you rely too much on tech."
Zia’s teeth clenched as the shadows coiled around her arms and legs, pinning her against the cold floor.
Ace’s fingers twitched.
He could still barely move, but seeing Zia restrained, seeing how Rift was standing over her, preparing to finish her off, something inside him snapped.
’Move!’
His muscles screamed. His lungs felt like lead.
’Move, damn it!’
A deep, fiery heat surged through his body.
The lingering shadows within him—Rift’s darkness that had drained him moments ago began to crackle, distort.
Rift frowned, sensing the shift.
"...Huh?"
Ace’s fingers curled into fists. His body trembled.
Then, with a sharp inhale, the shadows that had been eating away at him exploded outward.
The entire room shuddered as dark energy pulsed around him, wild and untamed.
Zia’s eyes widened. "Ace—?!"
Rift’s smirk vanished instantly.
Ace lifted his head, eyes glowing with an eerie red light. His breath was heavy, his hands shaking but the exhaustion was gone.
And when he spoke, his voice was steady.
"You wanna drain me?" he muttered, rolling his neck. "Let’s see how much you can take before I drain you."
Rift’s shadows curled defensively around him. He exhaled slowly.
"Well," he murmured, cracking his knuckles.
"This just got interesting."
