The man's announcement echoed through Luke's mind. He didn't know how to react, because he had no memory of his family at all. There was nothing to react to. No memories. No images. He didn't know if they were good people, or if they were cruel enough to order the murder of their own family.
Luke widened his eyes.
"Are you sure about that?"
"Look, it's what it says here... House Varyn sent a contract with no option of refusal for Luke Varyn-"
Mira interrupted.
"What do you mean, no option?"
"There are contracts that lead to other contracts, and you probably have one that forces you to accept these missions."
A silence filled the room.
Even though Mira didn't know the full situation, she understood enough of what was happening, so she didn't question Luke. Her instincts for observation and interpretation were sharp.
Suddenly, the man's system opened, and a folder emerged from the panel. He calmly took it and opened it.
"Another contract, I'll just store it-"—The man paused, then stuttered before continuing. "A-assassination of: Mira Lordys, Petra and Luke Varyn, contract issued by House Varyn, accepted by House Kalgan"
Petra immediately snatched the paper from his hand.
"No fucking way, Marco! House Kalgan would never-"
Her anger vanished, replaced by shock. She dropped the paper back into Marco's hand and turned to the other two.
"They don't know where we are... yet. But when they find out, they'll come down on us like lions." —Petra turned back to Marco. "Check everything. What they have on us, the reward they're offering. All of it."
Mira said nothing. Her silence was a mix of overthinking and trying to steady herself.
"Petra, Mira, what does this mean? House Kalgan?"
Mira raised her hand and placed it on Luke's shoulder. Now that they were close, Luke noticed her features. Long blue hair, streaked with purple. A round face. Large eyes, dark blue, almost black.
"Luke, they live off this."
She kept her hand on his shoulder.
"Contract killings."
A brief pause.
"And they almost never fail. You were part of House Varyn... how do you not know them?"
Petra stared at Luke.
"Right. I would believe you if you said you didn't know your own name. But being from a family and not knowing them? That's too much."
Luke hesitated, but decided it was better to tell the truth.
"I didn't mention this to you... I don't have memories. Nothing from my childhood or my family. Just fragments. And even those feel like they belong to strangers."
Petra and Mira watched him, trying to understand. They weighed whether to believe him or not, when Marco suddenly interrupted.
"I think he's telling the truth."
"Why do you say that?"—Petra asked.
"The reward for Luke to wipe out House Varyn was a 'memory fragment'."
"And what did you remember, Luke?"
"I remembered some moments with my younger brother."
Silence settled again. The situation was more delicate than they had imagined. A possible feud between houses. And something bigger behind it.
The system alerted.
[Threat detected]
House Kalgan
Assassins approaching: 4
Status: group at risk of annihilation
[ . . . ]
Luke analyzed the information. It was precise. There was no time to question how the system knew, only how to use it.
[Executor system: entering phase 1.
Abilities unlocked: 1
Remaining: ???
Suggested ability unlock]
[ Ability: choose.
Lethal Parry
or
Shadow
Choose.]
Luke didn't fully understand it. It was too much information at once. But he knew it would help.
He hesitated for a brief moment.
It didn't make sense.
But the answer came before the thought.
He had already chosen.
Luke placed his finger over "Lethal Parry".
"How much time do we have?"—Luke asked Petra.
Petra removed her hood, revealing short brown hair, a sharp and refined face, and very light green eyes.
"If they accepted the contract, not much."—Petra sighed. "Mira, you're still just using your crossbow, right?"
"Yeah. It's tied to my ability, so the ammo only runs out when my mana does."
"That helps. But we still need a backup."
Petra pulled a dagger from her belt and handed it to Mira.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome."
No one spoke after that.
But no one was still.
They knew they were safe for now.
But not for long.
Luke thought.
"There are four of them. And we're three. We need one more."
Petra frowned. "How do you kno-"—She stopped herself and sighed. "Never mind. I know someone who owes me. He won't refuse. But we need to move. He's not far."
They ran out, barely saying goodbye to Marco. Only Petra shouted back:
"Thanks, Marco!"
'She never changes...'—Marco thought.
They stepped outside. Right in front of the building was a vehicle rental shop.
Petra exhaled.
"We take one. A taxi is too slow."
They headed inside and chose the cheapest option. A basic car, but enough to get them there.
Petra took the passenger seat. Luke got behind the wheel. Mira stayed in the back.
"So, where to?"—Luke asked.
"Straight. First left. I'll tell you when."
Luke started the engine.
He didn't slow down at any intersection.
Traffic lights didn't matter.
He wasn't stopping.
Eventually, Petra spoke.
"This is it."
They got out and rushed to the door. Petra reached it first and knocked hard.
A few moments later, a male voice answered from inside.
"Who is it?! And why are you hitting the door?!"
"It's me, Zhiang, Petra! Open up, it's urgent!"
Zhiang opened the door, worried. He was of average height, with medium-length black hair.
"What happened?"—he asked, out of breath. "And who are these two?"
"Today's the day you pay me back."
"What do you mean, Petra? How?"
"House Kalgan is after us."
Zhiang tried to slam the door, but Petra blocked it with her foot.
"YOU DEADBEAT! WE HAD A DEAL!"
"IT WAS A DEAL TO HELP WHEN I COULD! AND I CAN'T DEAL WITH KALGAN, PETRA!"
"THEY'RE AFTER YOU TOO!"
Zhiang's face fell. He dropped to his knees and slowly opened the door again.
He stepped outside, wiping tears from his eyes.
"Damn..."
Luke stared at him.
'This is the one who's going to help us?'
The system alerted again.
[Alert]
Imminent threat approaching
Estimated time: 10 seconds
Luke raised his head.
"They're here."