That night, I had a vivid dream. It was almost like a memory playing. I was an Eclipse assassin again, the life that I had built in my past was gone. It never existed in the first place, to be precise. I went to Makarov Academy, got selected for the Prestige Program, lost everyone I loved, and became a cursed monster.

  It was somewhere in the middle of my life as an assassin. The Purge was still an unknown plan at this point, but metas had already been branded as something to fear and despise. Before the actual Purge, we were assigned high risk criminals, terrorists, and even certain political and social figures. This mission was one such assignment. There was a crime boss that had been gathering power for years — illegal drugs and weapons, gambling, prostitution, the whole shebang.

  His name was Kawasaki Shu, a real ogre of a man. He stood head and shoulders above his body guards and made them look like mini bosses in a video game with him as the final fight. Despite all that, he was a very prominent social figure, posing as a rich business man with a hobby list that stretched halfway around the world. He had everything an underground overlord could need — money, connections, firepower, a legion.

  The government knew who he really was, but they couldn't pin anything on him to bring him to justice. So they did the next best thing, or the worst, depending on how you look at it. They made a deal with the Devil, Eclipse, to take him down. In exchange, Eclipse would be set up as a sort of paramilitary police force at the beck and call of the government.

  My role in all of it was simple — eliminate Kawasaki Shu with as little collateral damage as possible. Captain Swift, my boss at the time, briefed me a week before my operation would begin. Like his replacement, Lieutenant Ryder and eventually Captain Ryder, he was very cold and neutral at all times.

  "Number 19, I shouldn't need to remind you of the importance of this mission."

  We assassins didn't have names anymore, only numbers. There were well over fifty of us in those days. By the end of the Purge, only twelve would remain.

  "Kawasaki Shu will be attending a philanthropist's banquet hosted by the Governor of the Nūmen District in the Upper Circle." He pointed to the map on the table. "His likely route will be through here, here, and here. Your job is to intercept him, eliminate him, and keep collateral damage to a minimum. The last part is why you in particular were chosen for this mission. Do you understand?" He looked up at me with his deep brown eyes.

  "Yes sir."

  "Then if you have no questions, you are dismissed. You will be summoned 24 hours before the operation. Take the time between now and then to prepare yourself accordingly."

  "Yes sir." We exchanged salutes, and I left for my new apartment in the Middle Ring.

  Daīn City, originally Hoenn City before the restructure, spanned for hundreds of kilometers. It was divided into three circles — the Upper, Middle, and Lower Rings — and those circles were divided further into the districts. My apartment was in the Farin District, a cozy and quiet one. Captain Swift and the office were in the Borin District which meant a train ride to and fro when I had to make reports and receive missions. I didn't mind it, though. The distance was enough to mentally separate myself from my job.

  The day before the operation, I got a knock on my door. I grabbed my bag carrying my load out, peaked to see Lieutenant Ryder at the door, and stepped out to meet her. Her long red hair glistened in the peaking sun, and her uniform was pristinely clean as always.

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  "Good afternoon, ma'am."

  "Hello, Number 19. I can only infer that you're ready?"

  "Yes ma'am."

  "Good, then let's move."

  We travelled back to the office, and Captain Swift updated me on any changes to the situation. There were none, save rain in the forecast. I set my bag down and took a short nap before moving out to my first position. There were multiple interception points along the route. I looked at a nearby sign with a clock. 5:22pm. Eight minutes until he would hit this point. My old habit of showing up early had kicked in.

  The point was below an overpass just before the meeting of the Middle and Upper Rings. His vehicle rolled up and stopped just past me. No one got out: no one could move. Time was standing still. The windows were tinted, so I could only make out two people in the car, nothing more. I picked the lock on the door and opened it up. What I saw was not what I was supposed to see.

  In front of me sat Captain Swift tied up and gagged with one of Kawasaki's goons across from him pointing a pistol at him. I eliminated the goon without a second thought and dragged the Captain out before shutting the door and resuming time. The car drove off, and the forecasted rain began to fall.

  "Number 19, this mission is compromised. We have a mole leaking information to Kawasaki. You are to return to base and await further—"

  Maybe it was because I was young and arrogant, or maybe it was because I hated being wrong or the feeling that I had lost; but I froze time again and went for a walk along the route. I found more dummy cars along the way with more goons. None of them would see their destination. One by one, I slit their throats, pierced their hearts, and cut them up so badly that they would barely be recognized.

  I eventually made it to the Nūmen District to find one more car. Inside I found my target. The ogre was smarter than he looked and more connected than I had anticipated. I looked around for something to use to my advantage. The Nūmen district consisted mostly of winding roads atop high cliff sides. I couldn't have planned it better if I had tried.

  I left Kawasaki in the back and went to pay the driver a visit. All the precious cars, I had left the drivers alone, but this one would be the exception. I hit his nose as hard as I could and clapped his ears with the same force. Finally, I gouged both of his eyes individually and jerked the steering wheel so that the car would go off the side of the cliff. It didn't feel like enough, though.

  I had a few special recovery syringes in case of an emergency thanks to Number 27. I poured one out and refilled it with air. I then injected the air into Kawasaki's arm. When time resumed, that air bubble would rush to his heart causing a heart attack. I figured two certain deaths would be enough for the ogre.

  The walk back to the first point seemed like it lasted for an eternity. My head was already hurting by the time I got back to Captain Swift and released the freeze. The pain became excruciating moments later.

  "— instructions. Do you — Number 19? Number 19!" The Captain almost sounded worried.

  I don't remember much of what happened after that, but I woke up in my bed in that tiny apartment. The newspaper on my kitchen counter read: Beloved Philanthropist and Businessman Dead in Car Crash. All that work paid off in the end. I made some plain black coffee, walked to the window, and started to read the article.

  As instructed, it looked entirely like an accident. The driver was so mangled from the crash that they couldn't tell anything that I had done to him. The part that surprised me was Kawasaki's death: the heart attack almost saved him because his body was more focused on dealing with that than tensing up during the crash. It was almost ironic, two certain deaths almost cancelled each other out.

  I took a sip of coffee and looked out of my steel hideout. Amidst the dusk-lit cityscape, Kawasaki Shu stared back at me. His mangled face, his broken body, his hate-filled eyes. I'd seen my victims before, so it was nothing new to me, but then... he pointed at me and said my name.

  "Ishigami. Kazuma. Killer."

  I dropped my cup and fell back. My hand landed in something warm and wet. I looked to see blood covering it. The dusk warped into dark. Eyes of all shades and sizes filled the pane of glass. A little girl's voice called out as my breaths grew short and jagged.

  "Why? Why did I have to die, Number 9? Why did Papa have to die? Why did you get to live? Oh... wait... you didn't live, did you, Number 9?"

  I sat up gasping for air in my bed back in my childhood home. I looked at my hands, covered in sweat but not blood. I looked around to make sure I was awake and not still dreaming. The Toriyama High School uniform, the bookcases, the posters, they were all there. The nightmare was over.

  Please, God, let it be over.