Ash stepped out of the combat zone, his body still tingling with the aftermath of the intense battle. His opponent had been a tough nut to crack—Rune’s list of adversaries was nothing but unyielding challenges. Every single one was either a rock-hard wall or a steel-clad nightmare, each ready to deal a final blow even when shattered.

Still lost in the adrenaline-fueled recollection, Ash barely noticed his surroundings.

Suddenly, Rune’s voice resonated in his mind, sharp and commanding.

“Ash, be careful!”

Ash snapped to attention, his eyes scanning the area. “What’s wrong, Rune?” he asked, his tone cautious yet calm.

“You’re surrounded,” Rune’s reply came, accompanied by a detailed holographic projection of the hall. Four figures were marked clearly, slowly closing in on him, while a fifth lingered in a shadowy corner. “They’re Grey Domain Controllers. I’m not sure if they’re working together.”

“Grey Domain Controllers?” Ash frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I’ll explain later,” Rune answered tersely. “I can’t confirm their intentions, but this isn’t a coincidence.”

Ash shifted his stance, stepping slightly to his right. The four figures moved in unison, keeping him boxed in. His gaze darkened.

“Deliberate or not, this is getting on my nerves,” Ash muttered. He exhaled a sharp breath and prepared to act.

“Ash,” Rune interjected, “they’re attacking. Should I counteract?”

Ash rolled his eyes at the question. “What kind of dumb question is that? Of course, we’re fighting back. Even gnaw-rats bite back when cornered. Why should we wait to die?”

“Understood,” Rune replied flatly.

Meanwhile, the lone observer hidden in the shadows, Angel, narrowed his eyes, his attention honed. The faint ripple of his reconnaissance tool, Wisp, revealed every minute detail of the scene before him. The digital pulse even recorded the hall’s clock—9:15:32.

Ash, seemingly unfazed, stood unmoving. Angel’s instincts, however, told him that the Grey Domain Controllers had already deployed their weapons—guiding worms. These microscopic parasites would embed themselves into Ash within seconds, siphoning off his data like a leech. Once attached, they were almost impossible to remove.

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Is Ash just an ordinary man? Angel wondered, doubt creeping into his mind.

The promise of a lucrative bounty from the Luo family churned in his gut. He regretted his hesitation. His Bone Larva, far more potent than those guiding worms, could have handled the situation.

Just as regret began to consume him, the atmosphere shifted dramatically.

A crushing silence descended on the hall, and Angel’s heart seized as though gripped by an invisible hand. His body froze in place, his mind racing. He was keenly aware of Ash’s piercing gaze locked onto him.

The world around them seemed suspended in time. Not a sound, not a flicker of movement. The air grew unnaturally still, and Angel’s mounting terror threatened to choke him.

He struggled to even gulp, his terror escalating as Ash’s cold eyes seemed to penetrate his very soul. The icy stillness felt infinite, yet it shattered in an instant.

A void began to spread from Ash, dark and all-encompassing. The blackness expanded steadily, consuming everything in its path with an eerie calm. Angel tried to resist, but the darkness engulfed him entirely.

When he awoke, it felt as though no time had passed. A vivid dream? Angel wondered, his mind foggy.

Glancing up, his eyes caught the clock: 9:15:35. Three seconds?

Ash was gone.

Scanning the hall, Angel’s gaze landed on the four Controllers. They were frozen in place, their expressions blank and lifeless. Angel hesitated, then cautiously activated Ripple, sending a wave of energy to scan the four figures. No anomalies registered. Yet they remained unnervingly still, statues amid the bustling crowd.

He approached one cautiously, pretending to be a passer-by. What he saw sent chills racing down his spine. Their faces were deathly pale, devoid of life.

Angel stumbled back, his mind flashing to a memory—a battle between two powerful Grey Domain Controllers. The loser had been left in this same state: brain-dead, his nervous system utterly destroyed.

A shudder coursed through Angel as the realisation dawned. The events earlier weren’t a dream.

The void, the crushing silence, the deadly stillness—they were real.

Fear overwhelmed him. With a choked cry, Angel yanked himself out of the virtual net, disconnecting instantly.

----------------------------------------

Back in the quiet of his quarters, Ash leaned back in his chair, his expression calm.

“Rune, what were those Grey Domain Controllers you mentioned?” he asked.

“They are individuals with unique abilities in the virtual net,” Rune explained. “Neither wholly good nor evil, they operate in the grey areas, using their skills to manipulate the digital space. That’s where the ‘Domain’ comes from—their specialised fields of expertise.”

Ash scoffed, unimpressed. “Oh, so it’s about virtual stuff. No wonder I’ve never heard of it. I couldn’t care less about tech.” He paused. “What happened to them?”

“Complete neural failure,” Rune replied matter-of-factly.

“Neural failure?” Ash raised an eyebrow.

“There are two outcomes,” Rune clarified. “Death, or a permanent vegetative state.”

“Good,” Ash remarked coldly. “That way, they won’t get another chance to retaliate.”

The harsh realities of Garbage Planet 12 had taught him not to leave threats unresolved. A lifetime of battles on the edge of survival had sharpened him into someone who saw life and death with cold clarity.

Something about the earlier events nagged at him. “Wait,” Ash said, frowning. “Wasn’t there a fifth one?”

Rune was silent.