Because of its location far north, Evernight City was -as the name suggests- dark for the better part of every year. Not to mention that it was also very cold, wintery, and snowy for an equal period of time.
For newcomers, the city was gloomy, dark, and yet also beautiful in its own right. In rare cases, darkness might exude charms untouched by any other aspects and Evernight was a prime example of that.
The people who lived in this place were characterized by their noticeably paler skin, probably from the lack of sunlight.
Anyway, Evernight, being a dark city -literally- was completely shrouded with a dark veil all day every day, adding a layer of mystery to it. Perhaps that was the reason why the Hitman Guild chose this place of all places.
The founder must've thought that the darkness of this city would hide the darkness of his Guild. In any case, the headquarters of the Hitman Guild was built there.
The outer design of the places was akin to that of an ancient, medieval castle. Its walls were built out of dark bricks harvested from a certain cave system in the northern eastern area. The bricks were rough in nature and extremely sturdy, making the castle look like an impenetrable fort.
Aside from ominous statues sprinkled all over the outer walls, the castle lacked an aesthetic touch. However, the same can't be said about the interior. The moment one enters the place, they would be shocked by the sheer technological advancement of the place.
It was as if the ancient outer appearance was just a clever trick to hide what was inside. And it worked like a charm. In the eyes of the Evernight City citizens, this castle was just an oddly built construction company.
To hide their business, the Hitman Guild made sure to dedicate a section of the building to an actual construction business. Aside from being a good, constant stream of income, it also worked in making people completely ignore the idea that this place might actually be a huge organization dedicated to blood-thirsty maniacs.
Inside the building, in some secret section, unaccessible to most was the Dojo of a certain man. Being a high officer, this man -like others of the same standing- has his own quarter for personal use.
His day was mostly spent there, training like there is no tomorrow. His days consisted of training, eating, and sleeping.
Ever since that day, Grey had become completely obsessed with getting stronger. It was the thing he slept dreaming of and woke up trying to achieve.
Now, inside his dojo, he was standing still with his eyes closed. After that, he took a fighting pose before he sent a punch flying, hitting thin air. The attack was so fast that no normal eyes could keep up with it. Even more than that, the punch didn't seem to leave any effect or sound.
Or so people would think, for the first few seconds.
*BOOOOM*
An explosion of air, originating from the punch occurred out of nowhere, shaking the whole dojo. Grey then sent another punch, having the same effect, then another one and another one after that. He kept punching forward with unbelievable technique.
Eventually, he stopped punching and stood up again, exhaling a breath. His eyes opened again, showing two deadly cold eyes.
'Not enough! This isn't enough!!' He clicked his tongue as he touched his left eye, where a horrifying scar could be seen. His fingers dug into the skin, trying to pull the scar out. But, no such thing happened. 'This isn't enough to completely crush him!!' He thought.
After that, he walked toward the window of his dojo and gazed outside. The familiar sight of the city was visible in all of its twisted glory.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Grey suddenly spoke, without looking back.
A second later, a blob of darkness appeared in the ground before a silhouette rose from within the darkness.
"Ugh, my back. I really hate this place. Too much darkness." The mysterious figure said in an annoyed tone as he cracked his back.
"I warned you before not to disturb me. Do you have a death wish?" Grey spoke with a threatening tone. His face finally turned to look at the newcomer.
"It's good to see you too, Grey. I see you're still addicted to training. You need some rehabilitation called 'Resting'."
Grey's aura flared up like a violent tornado, aimed at the black figure.
"Hey, chill. I'm here for a drink between friends." The man said as he pulled a huge flask from his black spot.
"We're not friends."
"But you won't say no to your favorite drink, right?"
"..."
Grey didn't reply so the black figure took the opportunity and threw the flask toward him. The latter grabbed it easily before he opened the lid and smelled it.
"Where did you get this?"
"I know a guy who knows a guy who killed another guy and got it from him. So I killed all of them and took it."
"Disgusting bastard…" Grey murmured as he took a sip from the flask. The rich flavor of alcohol hit him instantly.
"Damn good stuff, isn't it?"
Grey didn't as he took another sip before he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "I'm waiting for you to speak. You didn't come here to serve me a good drink, did you?"
"As I said, I'm here to have a small chat. You know, for old tim-"
"A bastard like you is the last person to have such antics. Now, speak before I break every bone in your body."
The two stared at each other, tensing rising slowly in the room. Eventually, the black figure diffused it with a chuckle before he stepped forward.
"Fine, fine. I'm here to deliver some good and bad news. Which one do you want first?"
"..."
"Ok, fine, good news first, it is. You won't have to search for the Black Phantom for long. He is coming for you soon."
Grey's hand halted when he heard that. "Where did you hear that?" His tone had sharpened considerably.
"A little birdie told me." He said. "The bad news is: The Black Phantom is coming for you."
"What did you say?" Grey's pressure increased. But, the black figure ignored it as if it was a kid's tantrum rather than the anger of a monster.
"Did your memory grow sluggish, Grey? Or perhaps you don't look that often in the mirror?"
"Fuck… You!!" Grey was about to approach the Black figure when the latter continued.
"Hey, hey, I have nothing to do with this. I'm just an eager viewer, ready to watch the show that will happen. The bad thing is, I already know the ending. The Black Phantom will change the whole world again just like how he did it 5 years ago. As for you, my friend. Well, let's say you're as good as dead."
"I'm going to crush him!"
"And I will ride an elephant that can fly with its ears over the skies of Lunaria."
Grey's face turned colder.
"What I mean is, you're just spouting nonsense. What happened on that night five years ago, even I will never forget. It was, after all, the best show I have ever seen. A true award-winning show." The Black Figure spread his arms as he spoke with pure ecstasy.
The memory of that night is still engraved in his mind.