The Bureau agents froze.
The air thickened.
Even the lights overhead flickered, reacting to a pressure that didn't belong in the human world.
On the rooftop across the street—
Three figures stood, silhouettes framed by the night.
They weren't Shadowbound.
They weren't Bureau operatives.
They were too sharp.
Too still.
Too confident.
Kairon's jaw clenched.
"Fractured Clan hunters," he said. "Elite ones."
A cold ripple crawled through Arin's spine.
These weren't monsters.
These were people.
People trained to kill dragons.
Hale stepped forward. "All agents—evacuate civilians and secure the perimeter. Defensive posture only."
The Bureau scrambled, but the rooftop figures didn't move.
They waited.
For what?
For who?
Arin knew.
He felt eyes on him even from across the street.
One of the hunters—tall, cloaked in black armor with glowing silver lines—lifted a hand.
The building's front doors shattered inward as if crushed by invisible pressure.
Lira grabbed Arin's sleeve. "Move."
"But—Kairon—"
"Move!"
The air outside the windows suddenly warped, and three more hunters emerged from the shadows as if stepping through folds of night.
Arin's heart dropped.
They weren't attacking the Bureau.
They were converging on him.
As Lira pulled him toward the emergency exit, Arin's chest burned.
Not aching—more like igniting.
He stumbled. "Something's—wrong—"
Lira didn't stop. "Not wrong. Overloading. Kairon's fighting aura is dragging yours awake."
Arin gasped as heat surged under his skin, racing down his arms.
Blue light flickered around his fingertips.
"No—no no no— not now—!"
His pulse thundered. Every heartbeat sent ripples of pressure outward.
Lira shoved him into a side hallway. "Arin, listen—look at me."
"I can't—stop it—!"
"You have to. If you awaken here, you'll destroy half the building."
Arin's breath trembled. His vision blurred. The hallway tilted.
The bond inside him was responding to danger—
Kairon's danger.
"I— I can feel him—he's fighting—" Arin gasped.
Lira's expression twisted, somewhere between frustration and concern. "Then focus on breathing. Keep your aura down."
"I'm TRYING!"
Light burst from his palms. The walls vibrated, dust falling like rain.
Lira slammed her baton into the ground. A blue barrier flickered around him, containing the pressure.
"Do NOT break that barrier," she warned. "You'll level the floor."
Arin clenched his fists, panting. "What do they WANT from me?!"
Lira answered without hesitation.
"Your death."
While Arin fought for control, the building erupted with sound—
Glass shattering, metal twisting, energy cracking through the air.
Kairon met the elite hunter head-on in the fractured lobby.
The hunter landed silently from the rooftop, cloak fluttering as if gravity ignored it. Armor gleamed with mirrored scales—something that once belonged to a dragon.
Kairon growled. "You wear my kin."
The hunter tilted his head. "Your kin were weak."
Kairon's eyes narrowed. "I will correct your mistake."
The hunter moved first—
A blur of silver, blade igniting with pale fire.
Kairon caught it with his bare hand.
Sparks erupted.
Scales flashed.
A shockwave rippled across the floor, cracking tiles like eggshells.
The hunter's voice was monotone. "Bonded dragon. Still incomplete. Still killable."
Kairon's lips curled into a sharp grin. "Try me."
They clashed—
Blade against claw, fire against aura.
The hunter's movements were impossibly precise, every strike aimed to disable or kill. Kairon countered with raw force, each hit sending wind roaring through the lobby.
The Bureau agents stayed far away.
None of them could interfere.
Kairon ducked a blade, swung upward, and unleashed a burst of draconic aura that flung the hunter through a pillar.
But the hunter rose instantly, uninjured.
"You overrely on brute strength."
Kairon wiped blood from his jaw. "You overrely on your mouth."
The hunter blurred again—
And vanished.
Kairon's eyes widened—
The elite appeared behind him, blade aimed for his spine.
But at that exact moment—
Arin cried out from the hallway.
The aura inside Kairon surged.
His power doubled.
The hunter faltered, just a fraction, confused by the spike in draconic resonance.
Kairon moved on instinct.
He twisted, grabbed the blade, and slammed the hunter into the ground so hard the shockwave blew furniture across the room.
"I told you," Kairon snarled, voice deepening, "I'm not alone."
Lira dragged Arin deeper into the lower floors.
His aura pulsed wildly, shaking the air.
Blue cracks of energy crawled along the walls. Lights flickered out.
"Lira— I can't— hold—!"
"Then slow your breathing!"
"I CAN'T EVEN BREATHE!"
His chest felt too tight. His skin too hot. His vision flickered between human and something else—something reptilian.
He felt Kairon's emotions through the bond.
Rage.
Pressure.
The instinct to kill.
And it was bleeding into Arin.
His aura flared violently—
The barrier Lira created cracked.
"Oh no," she muttered.
Arin stumbled against the wall, leaving a glowing scorch mark where his hand touched.
"I'm burning things," he gasped.
"Yes, I see that!" Lira snapped. "Keep moving!"
They reached a maintenance corridor, pipes rattling overhead, harsh emergency lights flashing red across the walls.
Then—
A figure stepped out of the shadows behind them.
Another hunter.
No armor.
Just dark clothes, pale hair, and a calm, almost bored expression.
Lira raised her baton. "Back off."
The hunter ignored her and spoke directly to Arin.
"So you're the bond-holder."
Arin's skin prickled. His aura surged again.
The hunter smiled gently. "You're unstable. Dangerous. A hazard."
"Great. Another person who wants to kill me," Arin muttered.
The hunter shook his head. "Kill? No. We need you alive. Alive and controlled."
He raised a hand—
A chain of silver light formed around his arm.
Lira swore. "A Sealer!"
The hunter flicked his wrist—
the chain shot toward Arin.
Lira shoved Arin aside and deflected it with her baton, sparks spraying across the corridor.
The hunter sighed. "You're annoying."
He flicked his hand again.
Chains multiplied.
"Arin—RUN!" Lira yelled.
Arin didn't argue this time.
He sprinted down the corridor, aura bursting behind him like a shockwave. Pipes overhead exploded. Lights shattered. The floor cracked under his feet.
He didn't know where he was going—
he just ran, stumbling through emergency doors and into another stairwell—
Until a force from within dragged him to a halt.
He grabbed the railing, gasping.
His vision doubled.
His heartbeat synced with Kairon's.
Something was wrong.
Something was—
Close. Very close.
Arin stumbled outside through a service exit, collapsing onto the alley pavement.
Cold air hit his face.
His aura dimmed just enough for him to breathe.
But then—
the shadows shifted.
Not monsters.
Not hunters.
A tall figure stepped out of the alley darkness wearing a hooded coat, hands in their pockets, posture relaxed.
Arin froze.
The air around the stranger felt… odd.
Not threatening.
Not safe either.
Calm.
Ancient.
The stranger stopped a few steps away.
"You're flaring too hard, kid."
Arin blinked. "W-what?"
"Your aura. You're leaking it like a broken hydrant. Everyone in a kilometer can feel you."
Arin backed up until he hit the wall. "Who are you?"
The stranger didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he knelt to Arin's level, lifting his hood just enough for Arin to see a glimpse of eyes—
Not human.
Not dragon.
Something in-between, glowing faintly gold.
"Relax," the man said softly. "I'm not with the Bureau. Or the clans."
Arin swallowed. "Then what—"
The man tapped Arin's forehead with one finger.
The world went silent.
Arin's aura instantly compressed—
contained—
stabilized.
He gasped, feeling the burning pressure ease for the first time.
"H-how—"
The man pulled his hood back down, standing.
"You're waking up too fast," he said. "If someone doesn't help you regulate, you'll explode. Literally."
Arin stared at him, stunned. "So you helped me?"
"Temporary fix."
"Why?"
The man smiled faintly.
"Because if you die today, this city dies with you."
Arin's blood went cold. "What?"
The man turned toward the distant sounds of Kairon fighting. "The clans aren't your only problem. Something far older woke up when you did."
Arin felt his stomach twist. "What is it?"
The stranger cracked his knuckles. "You'll meet it soon enough."
He stepped forward into the alley shadows.
Arin reached out. "Wait—who ARE you?!"
The man paused at the edge of the darkness.
"I'm the one who put dragons to sleep the first time."
Arin's breath stopped.
"What does that mean?!"
The man glanced back, eyes glowing brighter.
"It means the real enemy hasn't arrived yet."
And he vanished as if swallowed by the night.