1 Prologue pt1

The small transport ship shuttered and creaked. Through thick glass panes of the starboard corridor the vast expanse of space could be seen, if the viewer was able to look past the blood splatters. The stars were tinted red in the reflection, the floor slick with his and his target's blood. They were the primary source of light, as the ship had long since entered nighttime mode, casting the two people in dreary shadows. 178 clutched his side in agony, the pigment in his skin shifting furiously in bright splotches and iridescent shimmers as a response. He sucked in a breath and applied pressure onto the wound, although he knew it was futile. With a short hiss, purple slitted eyes looking down at the blood that had begun to pool in his hands. His eyes slipped closed in a grimace and he tilted his head up, letting the back of his skull lightly thunk against the metal wall he pressed himself to for support. Opening his eyes again, he scoffed as he watched several small ships zip away, unable to even feel irritated.

178 could only sigh, exhausted by his fate. Having started as an assassin with the worst skill, then fighting and clawing his way up close to the top of their organization, he'd been faced with rumors and hearsay for a long time. He felt as if he should have seen this coming.

The mission had been going fine at first. Although a newbie had been swapped in at the last minute, he was well trained and followed orders well. It was only after 178 had reached the supposed location for the target that things had gone from good, great even, to worse than finding a two-headed bull snake slithering against you in your sleeping bag in the middle of the night. The target wasn't there. Instead, the newbie and one of his oldest comrades turned on him. It was so sudden 178 thought maybe someone on the ship was capable of reverse divinity… until he overheard them talking while he hid and was trying to tend to his deep leg wounds. Jealousy over rank, over his skill, over conceived notions of 178 seducing the newbie's lover with his omega body, 178 heard it all.

[Idiots, I don't even know who her lover is… and I don't sleep with co-workers.]

"H–" A rough voice began to speak from across from him that was interrupted by a wet fit of coughs. "How are you holding up?"

178 looked across from himself with a frown at his supposed target. Wan Weiyuan, a young man who rose to the position of general only because of his family's mechanisms. Hair as black as the space between stars paired with silver puppy dog eyes. Even at a glance, few could deny the black haired man was ill-suited for the military. All he had going for him were his handsome looks, and a good physique. Even now, when his lung has been punctured by a knife, he is worrying over his would-be murderer. Meeting his target was an accident while he'd been focused on outrunning his fellow assassins with slashed and heavily bleeding legs. A meeting that turned out to be the downfall for both of them.

178 huffed out a wheezing chuckle, "Worry about yourself."

Weiyuan gave him a helpless smile, dark blood reflecting on his lips. "What is there to worry about now?"

178 had nothing to say to that. It wasn't as though either of them would be making it out. "You are a fool."

The other man laughed at that before breaking down into another long fit of coughs. A child-like grin remained, despite their situation, "I hear that a lot."

Purple eyes narrowed in a mock glare, but he couldn't prevent himself from smirking in spite of that. He still couldn't believe that Weiyuan had jumped in front of him to take the thrown knife aimed for 178's back. It had been for naught, as the general's own men had apparently also been in the midst of a coup, leading the two of them to take blows for one another.

"They'll probably say we killed each other."

"What do you mean?"

178 gave the dark haired man a pitying look. "They didn't attack each other or seem surprised." He stated, his sight starting to turn blurry. "Most likely, this was a set up to get the two of us with one stone."

Wan Weiyuan was silent, a slightly bitter and self mocking smile appearing on his face. Finally, he sighed, although it was clear his breath had turned faint, "Well, I guess I can thank them for at least sending me off with someone as pretty as yourself."

178 smiled back, his vision began to darken and his voice turned soft. Perhaps the blood loss was affecting his temperament. "Maybe we'll meet again… after all, science has never proven what comes after this."

"Let's be friends if we do."

Purple eyes turned gentle for what must have been the first time in a long while, and 178 nodded with a hum of approval. His hand had grown weak and vision had begun to go black. "Yes…"

The thing he saw last was a pair of tearful silver eyes and a pitiful smile.