Soft Spot → Sylus

The Shadow Biz

The weather around Linkon City is nice today. It's only been a day, yet you find yourself missing every single thing about Linkon.

Turning your head back towards Sylus, you notice he's still on the phone. While he's been quiet since he picked up the phone call, the way his eyes scrutinize tells you he's far from pleased.

"Business calls," he stuffs his phone back into his pocket. "I'll call Luke and Kieran to accompany you."

"Oh," you feel disappointed, forcing yourself to understand. "It's okay. I'll just tell the chauffer to drive back home."

"No," he fishes something out of his pocket. "The weather's nice today, enjoy it. Here, in case something catches your eyes," he hands over the slim black card to you.

The car comes to an abrupt stop. Sylus bends forward, grabbing your hand. Kissing the palm of your hand, his mouth forms a coy smile before he opens the car's door.

Once the door's shut, the chauffeur continues driving away to who knows where. Judging by the scenery outside, you realize that you're driving closer to the bustling parts of Linkon. It's better known as the entertainment district of Linkon — Malls, occasional themed parks, public spaces, galleries, are most usually located in this part of the city. Although it's a regular weekday, this particular area is still crowded with people from ranging from different age and races.

"Mr. Skye informed me that his bodyguards are waiting for you by the entrance of that mall," the chauffeur beckons. "I'll be in contact with them."

Nodding, you open the car door and walk out. The car hesitates but soon drives away from sight as you are greeted by the fresh air of Linkon.

It's definitely nice to be outside. The park is lacking the amount of children playing, but other than that, the mall is adequately crowded. Walking towards the entrance, you notice there's nothing resembling Luke and Kieran anywhere in sight.

Ding!

You grab your phone out of your pocket, noticing the notification bubble that appears just a second ago.

'We'll keep watch of you. Just keep walking.'

Deciding to trust the anonymous message you receive, you begin to make your way inside of the shopping centre. Just then, you realize you don't exactly have a plan on where you'd want to go. Glancing around, you stare at the various store on the first floor.

Your phone vibrates, catching your attention once again.

'There's a new arcade that just opened on the second floor. Wanna give it a try?'

You're not exactly in the mood to try, given your unstable luck on arcade games, but you find yourself heading there anyway.

Amidst the various clothing store, the arcade stands out the most on the second floor due to its yellow paint and the brightly colored arcade machines lined from the very front. But, of course, out of all the machines, only one manage to catch your attention.

"Well," you stand in front of the claw machine, eyeing the pastel colored plushies in the confines of its claustrophobic-inducing glass walls. "Poor plushies, they're waiting for someone to save them."

And, so you try your luck. But, ultimately fails after several attempts.

"Here, let me help," a child-like voice piques from behind you.

Looking back, you notice two men standing behind you. One has his eyes obscured by sunglasses while the other wears a more festive mask of the Grumpy Crow to hide his face. No doubt, it's Luke and Kieran.

So, you step aside, watching as the twins begin their attempts at helping you rescue the plushies.

—

Sylus clicks his tongue.

Being a businessman, he's bound to have several rivalries among the industry. Though he's expected so, he has never received an actual threat, until now.

Seasons Hotel, a prestigious building only rich would ever consider staying, has just been bombed. Granted it was a suicide bomb, which is considerably small in terms of its damage. What irks him the most is the fact that the perpetrator seems to have purposely aimed to destroy the weaponries hidden in the basement of the hotel.

Amidst the guests evacuating out of the hotel, Sylus stands tall by the receptionist table, along with a middle aged man, supposedly the manager. "Mister Agatha," the man speaks, devoid of any emotions. "Where was security when the man made way for the basement?"

Agatha, visibly shaking, has his eyes fixed on the guest's book, avoiding eye contact. "I'm sorry, Sir, but I was—"

"Are you scared?" Sylus leans against the receptionist's table, a red glow emanating from his right eye. "Look at me when you speak."

The middle aged man reluctantly raises his head, meeting Sylus's hard gaze. "My apologies. I heard they were knocked out cold before they could react."

"You heard?" Sylus's voice sounds like feigned curiosity.

"Yes," the man answers curtly, his entire body language exudes anxiety.

"Oh, in that case, I'll make sure to hire more competent men in the future," Sylus just slightly raises his hand, a sliver of black and red constricting Agatha's neck in his control. "Since you've proven yourself incompetent, I might as well get rid of you."

Agatha struggles for a moment, gripping his hands tightly around his neck in an attempt to free himself from the Evol's grip. The more he tries to free himself, the more his eyes begin to bulge out of its sockets due to the harsh choke.

Deciding to spare the poor man's misery, Sylus forms a fist with the palm of his hand, ultimately suffocating the man to death. Agatha's limp body goes unnoticed by the bystanders, as they're too busy saving themselves from the impending danger that might still lurk inside of the building.

Sylus turns on his heels, blending in with the crowd as they file out of the building. There's nothing he can salvage from that building, so might as well leave it in shambles for years to come. Someone else can take care of the renovation.

What's most important currently is to figure out who the mole is.

—

A/N: I notice that my take on Sylus' personality is off here and I'm very sorry I made him a softie (bare with me, there will be angst later).

But, if you'd like more of a mysterious ambience, you can check my other book "Crow's Blessings". Dw, I'll be regularly updating both books, I alr have everything planned down.

I'd also like to thank you for all the votes, I genuinely wasn't expecting it ❤️‍🩹