Chapter 70

---

The early morning sun crept over the horizon, casting long shadows across the city as Ashen sat in his small apartment, the weight of the night's revelations pressing heavily on his mind. His thoughts were a tangled mess of strategies and concerns, but one thing was clear: he couldn't face The Ascendants alone. He needed help—people he could trust, people with skills as sharp as his own.

Ashen pulled out his old phone, a burner he hadn't touched in years. The device was ancient compared to the sleek, modern gadgets he used daily, but it held the contacts he needed—those who lived in the gray areas of society, the ones who didn't ask questions.

He scrolled through the list of names, each one bringing back memories of missions completed, lives saved—or taken. Most of these people were ghosts themselves, long vanished into the underworld or buried in unmarked graves. But a few were still active, still in the game.