CH1-EP3:

After a long day of work, Lucio made his way home. The clouds above rumbled, and distant thunder echoed through the city streets. The air smelled like rain.

Just my luck, he thought, picking up his pace.

Thankfully, he knew a shortcut — a narrow alley that would get him home before the downpour.

But as he turned the corner, a sharp sound cut through the city’s noise — a scream.

A young woman’s voice — frightened, desperate.

Lucio froze for half a second.

Then his instincts took over.

He ran toward the sound.

In the distant dark, laughter echoed through the alley. Lucio turned sharply.

Two men emerged from the shadows — big, muscular, and reeking of trouble. One of them swung a wooden bat over his shoulder with casual menace.

Against the wall behind them, Lucio spotted a young woman — blonde hair tangled, her clothes torn, bruises marking her skin. She lay crumpled on the cold ground, trying to stay upright.

Her eyes locked with his.

She whispered, her voice trembling.

“Please… help.”

Lucio’s fists clenched. He took a slow step forward, eyes burning with quiet fury.

“Tell me — are you the ones behind this?”

The men exchanged a look — then burst into mocking laughter.

“What if we are, dipshit?” the bat-wielder grinned.

Suddenly, one of them lunged forward, swinging wide to corner Lucio.

But Lucio moved fast.

A clean sidestep threw the thug off balance — and with a sharp twist of his shoulder, Lucio delivered a crackling right hook.

The sound echoed — a brutal snap of flesh and bone.

The thug stumbled back, blood trailing from his cracked cheek.

“You’re gonna regret that, punk — you’re dead!”

Before Lucio could react, a crushing pain exploded through his side.

The second thug had flanked him, delivering a devastating kick to his ribs from behind. The force knocked the air from his lungs. He collapsed to the ground, gasping.

Then came the boots. Fists. Blows. Laughter.

They beat him down, merciless and relentless.

Lucio curled inward, trying to protect himself — but it was no use.

He was broken.

Rain began to fall — a light drizzle at first, softening the city’s edge.

The alley was soaked in gloom.

Lucio’s vision blurred. The world swam in and out of focus.

But then… something shimmered beside him.

A glint of black. Faintly glowing.

A pair of sunglasses.

The sunglasses.

Lucio’s breath caught. He chuckled through the pain.

Didn’t I… throw them away? Why do they keep reappearing?

I must be going crazy…

He reached toward them, fingers trembling.

Something inside pulled him toward them — not fear, not hope… something deeper. Ancient.

He slipped them on.

And the world changed.

Time froze.

The pain faded. His breath calmed.

“What… is this feeling?”

Everything felt clearer. Sharper.

He felt alive — like he’d just been reborn.

He rose to his feet.

No limp. No struggle.

Like the beating never happened.

The young woman on the ground looked up, eyes wide in disbelief.

“W-who is he…?”

The two thugs turned, startled.

The one with the bat narrowed his eyes.

“No way,” he growled. “How the hell are you still standing?”

Then, rage.

He gripped his weapon tight.

“Screw this. Guess we’re digging two graves tonight!”

He charged, bat raised high.

The bat whistled through the air—

Lucio bent back effortlessly, letting it pass just inches above his face.

No fear. Just calm.

The thug snarled and swung again. Then again. Every hit missed.

Lucio moved like water — flowing around each strike without effort.

The thug’s swings turned wild, desperate, sloppy.

And then, in a blink—

Lucio was behind him.

The thug froze, sensing danger too late. He spun, swinging out of panic.

Lucio’s fist met him mid-motion — swift, precise, devastating.

Crack!

The impact shattered the wooden bat and sent the man soaring through the air, crashing into a nearby fence with a metallic clang.

Silence followed.

Only the soft rain dared to fall.

The last thug stood frozen in disbelief.

His eyes darted between his unconscious partner and Lucio — who now radiated an eerie, controlled intensity.

“This… this isn’t real,” he muttered, nervously chuckling.

But before he could take a step back—

BAM!

The world turned upside down.

In a blur, his body was launched into the air like a ragdoll.

Slammed onto the cold pavement, gasping for breath.

Pain throbbed through his back.

Then… silence.

He looked up — and instantly regretted it.

Lucio stood above him, cloaked in shadow and rain.

His presence alone was suffocating.

The sunglasses gleamed beneath the stormy sky.

His eyes were hidden, but his stare…

Unrelenting.

The thug’s body locked up.

He couldn’t move.

Couldn’t breathe.

Fear gripped him so tightly, it stole his consciousness.

And just like that — he was out cold.

His strength spent, Lucio dropped to the wet ground.

Unseen by him, the event did not go unnoticed.

Far beyond the flicker of city lights, in the folds of shadow, something stirred.

Eyes gleamed from the dark — cold, calculating — watching.

The ripples he created tonight would crash sooner than he expects.