Cain didn't sleep that night.
He sat by the cracked window of the hideout they'd stumbled into, staring out at the restless city. The Underground never really slept — its heartbeat just slowed, grew heavier, like it was dreaming dark dreams.
The fight with the Revenant had rattled him more than he wanted to admit. No matter how many monsters he stabbed, no matter how brave he acted, there was still that raw fear gnawing at him inside.
The fear that one day... he wouldn't be fast enough.
That one day, he'd lose Elias and Riven — and it would be his fault.
"Can't sleep, huh?"
Aiko's voice broke through the silence. She dropped down beside him without asking, tossing a half-eaten candy at him.
Cain caught it, raising an eyebrow.
"What's this?"
"Sugar helps with shock," she said simply, popping another candy into her mouth. "Or so Kaze says. Personally, I think he just likes an excuse to eat sweets."
Cain cracked a tiny, reluctant smile. "You're weird."
Aiko grinned. "Takes one to know one, blood boy."
They sat in silence for a while. Outside, neon signs flickered and hummed. Somewhere far off, a siren wailed.
Finally, Cain spoke.
"What did you mean... when you said we're keys?"
Aiko's smile faded.
She leaned back against the wall, staring up at the peeling ceiling like it held all the answers.
"You ever wonder why he made you?" she asked quietly. "Why your 'father' didn't just destroy the world himself if he wanted to?"
Cain swallowed hard.
He hated talking about him.
About the devil.
"Because we're tools," he muttered. "Weapons."
Aiko shook her head slowly.
"Not weapons. Not exactly. You're catalysts. The Master can't break the world without you. Your blood... your soul... it's linked to the foundations of everything."
Cain frowned. His chest tightened with a thousand unanswered questions.
"Why me? Why us?"
Aiko glanced at him, her eyes softer than before.
"That's what you've gotta figure out, blood boy."
Meanwhile, across the broken city, Elias and Riven were having a tense conversation of their own.
"You're reckless," Riven muttered, pacing the cracked floorboards.
Elias leaned against the wall, arms crossed, calm as ever. "And you're paranoid."
Riven spun to face him, eyes flashing. "You almost got yourself killed today. Again."
Elias shrugged. "Comes with the job."
Riven's fists clenched.
"You're not invincible, Elias. Neither of us are. And Cain sure as hell isn't."
At that, Elias's mask cracked — just a little.
A flicker of guilt.
"I know," he said, voice low. "But if we keep running... if we keep hiding... we're as good as dead anyway."
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
The only sound was the wind howling through the broken windows.
Finally, Riven exhaled sharply, raking a hand through his messy hair.
"We need a plan," he muttered. "Not just fists and knives. We need allies."
Elias nodded grimly. "Then tomorrow... we find the Guild."
Morning came like a fist to the face.
Cain stumbled down the rusted fire escape, half-awake and grumpy, with Aiko cheerfully bouncing beside him like an annoying younger sister.
They met up with Elias and Riven at the corner of a crumbling bridge, where Kaze was already waiting, perched lazily on the railing like a bored cat.
"Took you long enough," Kaze drawled.
"We were sleeping," Cain snapped.
Kaze smirked. "Cute. But if you want to stay alive, you'll need more than naps and teenage angst."
He tossed something at Cain — a folded scrap of ancient, weathered parchment.
Cain unfolded it carefully. It wasn't a map exactly, more like a series of coded symbols, layered over the Underground's twisting maze of tunnels.
"What is this?" Cain asked.
"The way to the Guild," Kaze said. "If you're serious about surviving... and about fighting back... you'll need to unlock what's inside you. Before he does."
Cain's heart thudded against his ribs.
He looked at Elias, then Riven, then down at the map again.
Somewhere deep inside him, something shifted — like a locked door beginning to creak open.
No more hiding.
No more waiting for death to find them.
It was time to fight for their own fate.
Together.
Far across the city, hidden in the endless shadows, the Master smiled.
His golden rings glinted as he turned the first chess piece on the bloodstained board.
The game had begun.
And the sons of the devil were finally waking up.