The door burst open with a deafening bang, splinters of wood flying across the room.
Cold wind and swirling snow rushed inside.
Three figures stood in the doorway, their faces hidden behind dark masks. Each of them held a gun.
For a split second, the world froze.
Then everything exploded into motion.
"Down!" Adrian shouted.
He grabbed Luca's arm and pulled him behind the overturned table just as the first gunshot rang out.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
Bullets tore through the wooden walls.
Luca's heart pounded violently in his chest. Snowflakes blew across the floor, melting instantly near the fire.
"Who are they?" Luca yelled.
Adrian loaded his gun with quick, practiced hands.
"The kind of people who don't leave witnesses."
Another shot cracked through the air. The table splintered as a bullet struck its edge.
Adrian leaned out and fired.
Bang.
One of the masked men staggered back into the snow.
But the other two rushed forward.
"Stay here," Adrian said sharply.
Before Luca could argue, Adrian moved like a shadow — fast and precise. He slid across the floor and kicked a chair toward the attackers.
More gunfire erupted.
The cabin filled with smoke, the smell of gunpowder thick in the air.
One of the masked men lunged forward, aiming directly at Luca.
For a moment, Luca froze.
Then instinct took over.
He grabbed the metal poker beside the fireplace and swung it with all his strength.
Clang.
The weapon knocked the gun from the attacker's hand.
Adrian fired again.
Bang.
The man collapsed.
Silence suddenly fell over the cabin.
The storm outside roared, but inside everything was still.
Luca stood there breathing hard, the poker still clenched in his hands.
Adrian slowly lowered his gun.
"Are you hurt?" he asked.
Luca shook his head, though his hands trembled.
"Who sent them?" Luca asked.
Adrian walked toward the fallen attacker near the door and pulled off the mask.
The man's face was pale… lifeless.
But something on his neck caught Adrian's attention.
A small tattoo.
A neon serpent curled around a dagger.
Adrian's eyes darkened.
Luca stepped closer. "What does that mean?"
Adrian looked up at him.
"It means the Neon Syndicate knows you're alive."
Luca felt a chill run deeper than the winter storm.
"But that's not the worst part," Adrian added quietly.
Luca frowned. "Then what is?"
Adrian's voice dropped.
"The Syndicate only sends assassins…"
"…when someone close to them has betrayed them."
The fire in the cabin crackled.
And for the first time, Luca realized something terrifying.
Someone in their world had just marked them for death.