Shadow Reckoning

The pain was unbearable.

Shade dropped to one knee, his vision flickering between past and present.

The lab. The conditioning. The missions. The blood on his hands.

Jade gripped his shoulders. "Fight it!"

Lucian sighed. "Why fight what you are?"

He knelt in front of Shade, whispering. "Let it out. Let it consume you. Become what you were always meant to be."

Shade's breathing slowed. His pulse steadied.

And for a split second—

He almost let go.

Then—

Jade did something insane.

She kissed him.

Hard.

It wasn't gentle. It wasn't soft. It was violent. Desperate. Like she was ripping him out of the abyss with sheer force.

And it worked.

The fog lifted. The control broke.

Shade's mind snapped back—

Just in time to hear the gunshot.

Jade screamed.

Shade turned—

Lucian had fired.

Jade collapsed.

Her hand clutched her stomach, blood spilling between her fingers.

Shade's world shattered.

Lucian smiled. "Now that should wake you up."

Shade saw red.

The Revenant was fully awake now.

But it wasn't Lucian's anymore.

It was his.