Chapter 60: Secrets Unveiling
That night, Alex did not sleep well.
After smoking about five sticks of cigarettes, he returned to his room, had his shower and went straight to bed without eating. Even when Ace and Zia invited him to to join them, he had refused with the excuse that he had eaten outside.
The night was long and throughout it, he didn’t close his eyes.
He couldn’t sleep.
The weight of his duty was pressing down on him and he could barely stand with it.
He never wanted to be a hero.
He hated the word so much.
They let his father and mother due unjustly and no one made or is making an attempt to justify them.
Even if he had avenged them, to the world, they were still traitors who had to die — They were meant to die.
This he didn’t want.
He could not move around freely as the son of Hero Steven and Heroine Felicia. Those who knew him very well all avoided him like a plague.
They wish not to have something to do with the son of traitors.
The reason why he became a hero was mainly because they had found out about his power. He didn’t want his power to be known by the world. So he would work for them while in exchange, they keep his secret hidden from the masses.
But during the journey, he soon realized that they were using him— Using him because they feel he has no choice but to obey them.
The case of Shadow’s body disappearing was something he didn’t want the headquarters to hear about.
They had requested for him to be brought alive but instead, he killed him and took his body, on top of that, he lied to them that he burnt the body.
He had not only lied but has also deceived them — the consequence of doing that was dire.
With a deep sigh, he rose and came down from the bed.
It was already in the early hours of the morning so there was no need to keep lying in bed waiting for sleep — which will never come, st least not while he was still bothered.
He took his bath and made for the door. Just as he opened it, he halted.
Zia and Ace. And why were they looking troubled.
"What is it?" He asked them.
Zia and Ace glanced at each other before giving Alex a small paper.
"What is this?" Alex asked, collecting the paper from them. He unfolded it and then looked into it
"If you want to get Shadow’s body back, come immediately."
After reading the content of the paper, Alex squeezed it and tossed it away. His expression changed but only faintly.
"Capty, we realized only now that Shadow’s body is missing," Zia said to Alex. "We are sorry for not being extra careful —"
Alex silently walked past them, heading to the entrance door. He didn’t say a word to them ajd it worried them.
"Captain!" Ace called out, his voice firm but respectful.
Alex halted.
"Captain, it is not our fault, you know —"
"And when did I say it was your fault?" Alex asked Ace without turning to look at him. "It is my responsibility so I’m going there to deal with it."
Ace glanced at Zia and then at the retreating shadow of their captain.
"Do you think he’s angry with what I said?" He asked Zia.
"I can’t say," Zia replied and sighed. "Perhaps we wait until he returns but... he didn’t even ask where the note came from," she muttered.
Ace leaned against the wall, arms folded. "He already knows. Or he’s guessed. Either way, he’s going in blind."
Zia stopped pacing. "Not blind. Just alone."
There was a long pause between them, both watching the door Alex had vanished through.
"We should follow him," Zia said.
"We should," Ace agreed. "But we won’t."
"Why not?"
"Because he doesn’t want us to. And because—" He hesitated. "Because wherever he’s going... it’s not just about Shadow. It’s about everything else he hasn’t told us."
Zia nodded slowly, the weight settling on her. "Let’s hope he comes back."
Meanwhile, outside the apartment.
Alex stepped out into the chill of the morning air. The sky was still grey, holding back the sun like it, too, was reluctant to begin the day. His boots crunched against the gravel as he walked, steady but fast, like he was trying to outrun his own thoughts.
The message wasn’t just a warning—it was a bait. Someone knew he had the body. Someone wanted him to come. And he would. Not because he trusted them, but because he couldn’t afford not to.
He wanted to know just how important or should he say special this particular villain was. Why they were so bent on retrieving his body, not just them —the ones hiding in secret but the heros as well. They had wanted him to bring the villain alive, but why?
To interrogate him? To kill him themselves? Or probably use him to do their dirty works. He was curious, more curious now than ever before.
Either way, he was going to find out.
Initially, he didn’t want to put his interest in the matter but now that things were happening faster than he can imagine, he’s left with no choice but to mind their business.
-----
The location on the paper led Alex far from the city, past broken fences and forgotten roads. By the time he reached it, the sun was well above the horizon, but the place was drenched in shadow. Tall, skeletal trees rose on all sides, their branches so thick they blocked most of the light. It was quiet—too quiet. No wind. No birds. Just the soft ticking of his cooling engine.
He killed the bike and stepped off, scanning the surroundings.
A figure emerged from between the trees. Silent. Deliberate. Dressed in black from head to toe, a mask hiding everything but a pair of sharp, unreadable eyes.
Alex didn’t move.
The masked man stopped a few feet away, just far enough to keep things safe—just close enough to make the threat clear.
"You came," the man said. His voice was filtered, mechanical. Probably a modulator.
"You wrote," Alex replied flatly.
There was a pause.
"I expected you’d bring backup."
"I don’t need backup," Alex said. "If you have something to say, say it. If you have Shadow’s body, show it. I didn’t come to play guessing games."
The masked man tilted his head, almost amused. "Still arrogant. Just like your father."
Alex’s jaw tightened.
"You knew him?"
"Knew him, fought beside him... until they decided he was better off dead."
A rush of heat flared in Alex’s chest, but he kept his voice level. "You were one of them?"
"I was one of many. Most are dead now. A few of us remember the truth."
"Then say it," Alex growled. "Why are you here?"
The man slowly pulled something from his coat—a small device, blinking red. He tossed it on the ground between them.
"That," he said, "is a tracker. It’s attached to Shadow’s body. You want it? You’ll have to follow it. But fair warning, Captain—what you find at the end won’t just be a corpse."
Alex narrowed his eyes. "Then what will it be?"
The man took a step back, fading into the trees.
"Something that’ll make you question everything you think you know about Shadow. And maybe... about yourself."
Before Alex could respond, the masked man was gone.
Only the blinking tracker remained.
Alex picked up the tracker. It was no larger than a coin, pulsing steadily in his hand. Red light, red warning. He didn’t like it.
He slid it into his pocket and followed the weak signal it emitted on his wrist comm-link. The trees thickened as he moved. Each step took him further into darkness, the canopy above like a lid sealing the world shut.
His boots crunched over fallen leaves, twigs, and the occasional bone. Animal, hopefully. The silence pressed in like a wall—no wind, no life, no sound except his breathing and the soft beeping in his ear.
After nearly fifteen minutes of weaving through the dense forest, the signal grew stronger. Then suddenly—dead silence. No more pulse. Just a blinking dot, now fixed in one place, twenty meters ahead.
He slowed, hand moving to the knife at his side. The last time he trusted anyone, he ended up bleeding. He wasn’t going to make that mistake again.
The trees broke into a small clearing.
There it was.
A black coffin-shaped pod, half-sunken into the ground, metallic and humming faintly with power. The blinking light on the tracker synced perfectly with a panel on its lid.
He stepped forward.
As he did, the pod hissed—pressurized gas escaping. The top creaked, then slowly opened.
Alex reached for his blade.
But there was no attack.
Just the body— Shadow’s body. It was intact, pale. Eyes closed. No sign of rot, no sign of burning.
Alex blinked. This didn’t make sense. He had killed Shadow. Stabbed him clean through. Watched him fall. Checked for signs of life. He had taken the body himself.
So how...?
Before he could think further, Shadow’s eyes snapped open.
Alex didn’t hesitate. Blade out, stance lowered.
But Shadow didn’t move. Just stared at him with eyes that were not the same. Not human. Something behind them flickered. Something watching.
"You..." Shadow said, voice dry and cracked. "You’re late."
Then the pod’s lights flared red.
Alex backed away instinctively.
Shadow sat up.
"You weren’t supposed to kill me. Not yet."
Alex clenched his jaw. "You were supposed to stay dead."
Shadow grinned—if that thing wearing his face could even be called Shadow anymore.
"That was never the plan."
