The hallway should've been empty.
Instead, a tall, hunched figure stood at the far end—silhouette stretched unnaturally, limbs too long, head tilted as if listening for prey.
The Shadowbound.
Its body wasn't fully solid. Its edges flickered like smoke trapped in a human shape, eyes glowing like coals embedded in darkness.
The moment it saw Arin, it twitched.
Not stepped.
Not walked.
Twitch—like a frame skipping forward.
Even Lira's expression changed from cold professionalism to something close to… alarm.
"Kairon," she said sharply. "Get him out."
Kairon didn't hesitate. He shoved Arin behind him.
"Stay close. Do not run."
"Are you insane?!" Arin whispered. "Running sounds like the best idea right now!"
"No," Lira said, stepping beside Kairon. "Shadowbound hunt motion."
"So what—if we freeze, we're fine?" Arin hissed.
Kairon shook his head. "If we freeze, it eats our essence slower. Worse."
Fantastic.
The Shadowbound twitched again, closer now. Less than ten meters away. Arin's legs vibrated with instinctive fear. His heart hammered so hard he could hear the blood rushing in his ears.
Kairon lowered his stance.
Lira reached inside her coat, pulling out a small metallic cylinder that unfolded into a glowing baton.
Arin whispered, voice trembling, "You two can fight that thing, right?"
"No," both answered at once; Kairon calm, Lira annoyed.
Arin's eyes widened. "WHAT?!"
"We can hold it back," Lira corrected, "but a kill is unlikely."
Kairon tightened his hands. "We are buying time."
"For what?" Arin whispered.
The Shadowbound twitched again.
"For you," Kairon said.
The creature didn't leap.
It simply appeared in front of them in half a second, as if reality skipped frames.
Arin yelped and stumbled back.
Lira reacted first. Her baton flashed in an arc, striking the creature across the arm. Sparks burst where the baton hit—but the creature simply staggered as if mildly inconvenienced.
Kairon slammed his scaled hand into its chest.
A shockwave burst through the hallway, rattling the walls.
The Shadowbound slid back, feet leaving streaks of smoke on the ground.
Arin's breath caught.
Kairon was fighting like a monster. His muscles tightened, scales spreading over his arms, glowing faint blue. His pupils had narrowed—thin, reptilian slits.
He looked half-dragon already.
"Kairon," Lira snapped, "you're revealing too much—"
"Do you want to live or not?"
Their brief glare at each other was cut short as the Shadowbound lunged again, claws elongated, jaws opening unnaturally wide.
Lira struck its throat. Kairon blocked its claws with his bare forearm, scales clashing against smoke-like matter.
Arin watched in horror as the creature's body tried to wrap around Kairon, as if pulling him into the dark.
Kairon snarled, ripping free.
Lira shouted, "Arin! Doorway to your left—RUN!"
Arin turned—
The Shadowbound twitched and suddenly stood right in front of him.
Too close.
Arin screamed and threw his hands up.
The bond pulsed.
His chest burned.
His arms tingled.
His vision turned white-blue for a heartbeat.
A shockwave burst from him.
Pure instinct.
Pure dragon.
The Shadowbound was blasted down the hall like it had been hit by a truck. It slammed into a wall, dissolving halfway into smoke before reforming.
Kairon stared.
Lira stared.
Arin stared at his own shaking hands.
"What… what did I just do?!"
Kairon grabbed him by the arm. "Your awakening is accelerating. Too fast."
Lira swore under her breath. "If he manifests before his body stabilizes, he'll tear himself apart."
Arin felt sick. "Okay, NOT liking these updates!"
The Shadowbound twitched again—angrier, shape distorting.
Lira raised her baton. "We're moving. Now."
They bolted into the stairwell.
Arin was breathing hard, adrenaline pumping in panicked bursts. His chest still burned with the leftover energy, like a second heartbeat had activated inside him.
Kairon kept a hand on his shoulder.
"Do not use that energy again," he warned. "Your vessel—your body—is not ready."
"I KNOW it's not ready! I didn't do it on purpose!"
Footsteps echoed above them.
Too fast.
Lira checked her scanner. "It's following us. Fast. And it's phasing through walls. Fantastic."
Kairon grabbed Arin's hand and pulled him faster. "Do not fall behind."
"I'm TRYING!" Arin gasped.
They reached the ground floor and burst into the building's lobby.
But the front doors—
were blocked.
Not by one Shadowbound.
By three.
Their shapes flickered like walking voids, all staring directly at Arin.
Kairon pushed Arin behind him. "They want the bond-holder, not us."
"Oh, that's great!" Arin shouted. "Love being the target!"
Lira's jaw clenched. "Kairon. Listen carefully. We can't fight three."
"Agreed."
Arin looked between them. "Then WHAT DO WE DO?!"
Kairon placed a hand on his back.
"Awaken."
Arin froze. "No. No no no— you JUST told me not to!"
"Just enough," Kairon said quietly. "Not fully. Feel the bond. Let it surface only to your senses, not your form."
"That sounds incredibly complicated for someone who just blasted a monster by accident!"
Lira snapped, "Arin—focus. You don't need to transform. You just need to release enough aura to intimidate them."
Arin gulped. "Intimidate… void monsters."
"Yes."
"Oh perfect. Easy."
The Shadowbound stepped closer.
Time ran out.
Kairon pressed his forehead briefly against Arin's.
The world muted.
Arin felt something inside him stretch—like a sleeping dragon uncoiling.
His heart beat in two rhythms at once.
He inhaled.
And the aura rose.
Not fully.
But enough.
Blue light coiled from his skin, faint at first, then sharper, dragging the air with it.
The Shadowbound froze.
Kairon whispered, "Good. Do not push further."
Lira held her breath, watching the creatures flicker and retreat.
The Shadowbound hissed, body shrinking back into deeper shadow.
They sensed him.
Recognized him.
Feared him.
For the first time.
One twitched violently, then dissolved back through the wall.
Another screeched and vanished.
The last one hesitated—until Arin's aura pulsed again.
It evaporated like mist.
Arin gasped and dropped to his knees.
His aura flickered out.
His vision blurred.
Kairon caught him before he could fall.
"Your body is not built for this. You must stop forcing it."
"I didn't FORCE anything," Arin panted. "It just—happens—!"
And that terrified him.
A rush of footsteps filled the lobby.
Not monsters.
Men and women in black coats, carrying glowing restraints and scanning devices.
Bureau agents.
Leading them was Lira's senior—the man Arin had briefly glimpsed earlier. Tall, stern, with sharp features and eyes that looked like they could calculate a crime before it happened.
He took one look at Arin and exhaled.
"So it's true," he said. "The anomaly is conscious."
Arin blinked. "EXCUSE me— the what?!"
Lira cleared her throat. "Director Hale… this is Arin Rao. He has entered a dragon bond."
Hale's eyes narrowed. "And the entity?"
Kairon stepped forward, unafraid. "Alive. Watching."
The Bureau agents stiffened.
Hale nodded slowly. "Very well. Arin Rao, under Article 7 of the Phenomenon Safety Accord, you are now classified as a Protected Anomaly."
Arin nearly choked. "A WHAT?"
"It means," Hale said, tone cold but not unkind, "you are under Bureau protection. No individual or organization may capture, study, or harm you—legally or illegally."
Arin's voice was small. "That makes me feel zero percent better."
"It shouldn't," Hale replied.
Kairon glared. "You are declaring him property."
"No," Hale said firmly. "Protected. Meaning if he dies, we treat it as a catastrophic event."
Arin blinked. "I… cause a catastrophic event by dying?"
Hale didn't blink. "Potentially."
"Oh. Great."
Kairon stepped closer to Arin, posture protective. "I stay with him."
Hale didn't argue.
He didn't even hesitate.
"Good," he said. "If the Fractured Clans learn the bond-holder is awakened this early, they will come."
Arin stiffened. "Who are they exactly?"
Lira glanced at Kairon. "You never told him?"
Kairon sighed, as if preparing to drop a weight he didn't want to carry.
"It is time," he said softly. "Arin must know."
Kairon placed a hand on Arin's shoulder.
Not heavy. Not forceful. Just grounding.
"The Fractured Clans were once united—borne from dragon bloodline factions," he began. "But when bonds between dragons and humans began forming, the clans panicked."
Arin frowned. "Why? Isn't a bond supposed to be good?"
"That is the problem," Kairon said quietly. "A true dragon bond… creates something stronger than any dragon or clan member alone."
He looked Arin in the eyes.
"Dragons believe in independence. Power. Sovereignty."
"Humans believe in unity. Adaptation. Evolution."
"When both combine—" Lira interjected, "you get something the clans fear more than anything."
Arin swallowed. "Which is…?"
Kairon said it simply:
"A bonded dragon and human can surpass a pureblood dragon."
The words sank into the air like a stone sinking into water.
Arin's voice went thin. "So they hunt the bond before it grows."
"Yes," Kairon said. "Before it becomes unstoppable."
Arin stared at his hands.
"Before… I become unstoppable?"
Kairon nodded.
"And because the bond awakened too early," Lira added grimly, "the clans will consider you a priority target."
"Fantastic," Arin muttered. "So I'm a glowing, bonded death magnet."
Kairon didn't deny it.
He only placed his hand on Arin's shoulder again, firmer this time.
"You are not alone. I chose this bond. I will protect you until you can protect yourself."
Arin met his eyes.
For a moment, despite the chaos, despite the fear, something steady cut through all of it.
"Okay," Arin whispered. "Then… let's survive this."
Kairon smiled faintly.
"We will."
Outside, the night sky shuddered—
dark shapes appearing on distant rooftops.
Shadowbound?
No.
Something worse.
Kairon's expression hardened.
"They found us."
"Who?" Arin whispered.
Kairon didn't look away from the windows.
"The first hunting party of the Fractured Clans."