Mal stood frozen, face to face with the shadow wraith. The creature loomed just a few feet away, its green eyes crackling like fire in the darkness. He glanced over his shoulder at Nezami, who sat on a nearby bench, completely oblivious. He wasn’t sure if she could actually see the thing or not, and part of him was thankful she was intoxicated. Maybe she wouldn’t notice the nightmare standing in front of them.

  The wraith’s fiery green eyes suddenly flickered and shifted, glowing an eerie pink. The pink flames lit up the shadows inside its hood, and for the first time, Mal could barely make out a face—pale and twisted with malice. But before he could focus on it, the wraith darted at him, fast as a bullet.

  “Shit!”

  Mal barely had time to react, diving out of the way in the opposite direction from Nezami. He didn’t want this thing anywhere near her. Years of skateboarding helped him roll to safety, but the creature’s speed caught him off guard. His foot twisted mid-roll, and he went sliding across the rough concrete. His costume leather pants ripped at the knees, shredding his skin open. He skidded to a painful stop, dirt and grit grinding into his arms and legs.

  Groaning, Mal forced himself to his feet, his mind racing. He didn’t have any powers—at least, not the kind that could take down a wraith. But he had to get it away from Nezami. If he could draw it down the street, maybe she’d be safe.

  But just as Mal stood, preparing to run, he noticed something was changing. The wraith’s ragged, shadowy form now transformed into an elegant black gown, still woven from darkness but with an almost ethereal grace. The hood had fallen back, exposing the face of a woman with short, bright pink hair, matching the burning fire of her eyes. Her pale skin glowed in the dim light, unnaturally radiant.

  Mal’s heart stopped. “Itchka!” he gasped, horrified.

  “Well if it isn’t my little death.” The words dripping with mockery.

  She glanced at him briefly, her lips curling into a faint smirk, before looking back at Nezami.

  “What do we have here?” she asked, her voice soft but menacing, Mal clenched his fists, rage boiling inside him. “I’ll end you,” he spat venomously.

  Itchka’s smirk grew. “Will you now, my sweet boy?” Her voice was taunting, she very much was enjoying the game.

  Her shadowy form began to hover toward Nezami, who was still completely unaware, her head lazily bobbing as she munched on a spring roll. Mal’s heart rate increased uncontrollably. He had no idea how to stop her—he couldn’t touch her shadow form—but he had to do something.

  Anything.

  With no other option, Mal bolted, making a beeline for Nezami. As he reached Itchka, he threw himself at her, hoping to at least delay her. But the moment he made contact with her shadowy figure, an icy blast tore through his arms. Pain shot through his body as his skin burned, not with fire but with frostbite. He cried out in agony, the cold biting deep into his flesh, spreading like venom.

  Mal hit the ground, clutching his arms, screaming as the frost seared through his skin, turning it a ghastly blue. His vision blurred, and for a moment, he thought he was done for.

  Then, without warning, a bright flash exploded from around the corner of the convenience store. The light expanded, silently engulfing everything in its path, consuming Nezami and in one massive, radiant bubble. And then, just as suddenly as it appeared, the light and Nezami were both gone.

  Mal lay there, gasping for breath, his arms still burning from the frostbite. He struggled to push himself up as Itchka hovered over him, her eyes flickering with amusement.

  “Well, aren’t we full of new tricks since the last time I saw you,” she said, her voice filled with a dark amusement. Her eyes gleamed as she stared down at him, clearly savoring his pain.

  Mal’s vision swam, the cold still gripping his limbs, and he could barely think straight. He tried to speak, to demand answers, but his voice wouldn’t come. The only sound was Itchka’s soft, mocking laughter, echoing in the empty street.

  Mal lay there frozen, eyes locked on Ichika as she loomed above him, her aura suffocating, the sound of hooves thundered through the fog, announcing Sumi’s arrival. Her toxic green horse emerged from the shadows first, its skin pulsating with sickly veins, dripping a vile, neon-green liquid with every step. The ground beneath its hooves hissed and smoked as though being eaten away by the sheer disease it carried.

  Sumi rode atop the grotesque beast like a figure of impending doom, her armor oozing with the same pulsing, green poison that trailed from her horse. Her twisted, skeletal shoulder plates and jagged gauntlets gleamed under the pale light, slowly leaking a fluid that seemed alive with rot. The dark fog followed her as she advanced, the air thickening with the stench of decay and sickness.

  Mal’s breath hitched as she dismounted, her skeletal helmet turning slowly toward him, the hollow gaze burning with an unsettling focus. Her mere presence made his skin crawl the very essence of Pestilence was creeping into his bones. Every movement of hers left a faint cloud of toxic mist in her wake. She walked forward, the ground sizzling beneath her boots, her voice cold and unwavering.

  Sumi, wielded a massive two-handed mace. The long silver shaft was tarnished, and the oversized ball at its end was corroded, matching the twisted, toxic state of her armor.

  Ichika turned her head to Mal, her eyes locked on him, she was instantly over the top of him close enough for him to feel her breath.“I guess I’ll see you soon then,” she said softly, her words a chilling promise.

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  Without warning, she kissed him on the cheek. Instantly, Mal felt a searing pain, his skin freezing under her lips. His right cheek beneath his eye paled, burning with a frostbite-like sting. It wasn’t just a simple mark — the skin turned pale, and small, crystalline formations seemed to grow beneath the surface, glittering like ice as it gnawed into his flesh with the rest of the icy decay.

  Mal gasped in pain, attempting to roll away and stand up, the burning intensified, and his hand instinctively reached up to touch the mark. It felt like his face was being eaten away by ice.

  He barely had time to process it as Sumi launched her mace at Ichika. She transformed back into a Wraith-like appearance and was gone safely missing the hammer’s end.

  The air crackled with the two women’s power, but all Mal could focus on was the creeping cold spreading across his cheek.

  By the time the automatic doors of the convenience store opened, Sumi was already back in her normal form (well in her costume), crouched beside Mal as he groaned in pain, his hand clutched tightly to his face where Ichika had kissed him. His breath came in shallow gasps, and the burning sensation from the frostbite mark pulsed with an intense cold that spread across his cheek, right beneath his eye. The pale mark, faintly shimmering with crystalline shapes, burned as if the frost was eating away at him.

  The convenience store kid rushed out, his eyes wide. “Hey, you guys alright? What the hell was that flash? And where’s the other girl?”

  His confusion about the scene he was witnessing with the strange sounds made him completely miss the fact that a gigantic magical mace was stuck into the brick wall that separated the convent store parking and the house beyond.

  Sumi didn’t miss a beat, turning to face him with her usual composed demeanor. “Oh, it was nothing serious,” she said smoothly, flashing him a reassuring smile. “Just a flash from my friend’s headlights, he was being a jerk and flipped on his spotlight. He picked up the other girls since she was a little too tipsy.”

  The kid blinked, looking skeptical as his eyes darted to Mal, who was still slumped against the curb, clearly in pain. “Ya that checks out but uh, that dude looks like he’s in bad shape. Do I need to call someone? Cops, maybe?”

  Through gritted teeth, Mal forced himself to sit up, the pain making it hard to speak, but he managed to laugh weakly. “Nah, man, I’m good,” he muttered, waving a shaky hand. “I just slipped off the curb like an idiot trying to dance in that light.”

  The store clerk stared at him, clearly not convinced. “You sure, bro? I mean, you look kinda—”

  “I’m fine, thanks,” Mal cut him off, forcing a strained grin. “Just bruised my ego more than anything.”

  The kid lingered for a moment, looking between Sumi and Mal, but eventually shrugged. “Alright, if you say so,” he muttered, eyeing them one last time before heading back into the store. “If you need a phone come on in.” He said as the door chimed softly behind him.

  Once the clerk was gone, Mal groaned and leaned against Sumi. “God, my face is on fire,” he muttered, the pain still radiating from the icy burn.

  Sumi knelt down beside him, her eyes narrowing as she examined the mark. “Don’t be a baby and hold still,” she said quietly, placing a hand gently against his cheek.

  As her fingers brushed his skin, a strange, almost invisible stream of smoke began to rise from the frostbite. Mal winced as the coldness under his skin started to shift, slowly pulling away as Sumi worked her magic. The frost poison swirled into the air like a thin vapor, dissipating into nothing as she drew it out of his face.

  “There,” she said softly, removing her hand as the smoke finally faded. The intense cold was gone, but in its place, a thin, discolored scar remained, tracing just beneath his right eye and across his cheekbone. It wasn’t hideous, but noticeable—a permanent reminder of Ichika’s touch.

  Mal let out a shaky breath, gingerly touching the scar. “What the hell… it’s still there.”

  Sumi sighed softly, her expression apologetic. “It’ll heal eventually, but it’s going to be there for a while. The frost poison wasn’t easy to pull out, but I can put it back in if you’re gonna complain.”

  He nodded, still feeling the faint sting. “It’s fine. Better than having half my face frozen off.” He tried to smirk, but the scar made the motion stiff. “Guess I’ll have to rock the new look for a bit.”

  Sumi gave him a small smile, her eyes softening. “It’ll fade, but for now…”

  “Where the hell did Nezami go?” Mal said getting himself upright and dusting off the parking lot rubbish.

  Sumi shook her head, clearly frustrated. “I don’t know.”

  “I saw something before all this went down. Like… a light orb. It was following us. I thought it was following me or maybe her…”

  Sumi’s eyes flashed with anger.

  “You saw an orb and didn’t call? We told you something was out there tonight, that it was close! And you just walked off with some girl, saw a light orb, and didn’t think to tell anyone? You’re even dumber than I thought.”

  Realizing his earpiece had flown off during the chaos, Mal scanned the ground until he spotted it. Grabbing it, he muttered, “Damn thing must’ve fallen out.”

  Sumi pressed her earpiece. “Cas, the girl disappeared.”

  A crackle sounded before Cascadia’s voice came through. “Oh, that’s bad. There’s no way we have an unaccounted-for Nephilim in the area.”

  Aurora chimed in over the headset. “Do you think the Baroness knew?”

  “No, I think it’s a coincidence… but now the Baroness does know,” Cascadia responded quickly.

  “Knows what?” Sumi and Mal asked simultaneously as he fixed his earpiece back in.

  “That you don’t have an orb, Mal… and that there’s an unaccounted-for one. You do the math.”

  Mal’s stomach dropped. “Shit.”

  "Sumi, take Mal to the park. I’ll meet him there." Cascadia said.

  Sumi glanced at Mal, her frustration giving way to concern. "You good to make it the rest of the way?"

  "Yeah, it's just my face that’s burning like hell…otherwise I’m good.”

  Sumi studied him for a moment, then sighed. "Alright. I can only take you as far as the park. You know I can’t enter, so from there, you’ll have to make your way to the cemetery."

  Mal understood the weight behind her words. The cemetery was also a gateway into the "The Dreah" a dimensional rift even Sumi, with all her power, couldn’t enter. He'd have to walk the short path alone.

  "Got it," Mal said, shifting to stand taller despite the lingering pain. "I can manage."

  Sumi swirled her hand in a slow, deliberate motion just above her shoulder. From the shadows behind her, a dark dust cloud began to form, swirling faster and faster until her horse emerged— The beast stood tall next to her, exuding its unnatural phantom decay.

  "Get on," she said.

  Mal didn't hesitate. He hoisted himself onto the back of the horse behind Sumi, gripping her waist. Without a word, she gave a subtle command, and in one fluid motion, the horse reared up. Before Mal could even brace himself, they shot into the sky at a dizzying speed, the ascent unnaturally vertical, straight up toward the clouds.

  The wind whipped at Mal’s face as the city lights below became distant pinpricks. The ground disappeared beneath them, and for a second, it felt like they were suspended in the stars.

  Far below, the convenience store's automatic doors slid open again. The kid working there stepped out, looked up, and blinked in disbelief at the vanishing figure in the night sky.

  "Man," he muttered, shaking his head. "I need to find a new job and get the hell out of this neighborhood." He stood there for a moment, then turned and went back inside, the doors hissing shut behind him as if nothing had happened.