The sun had barely risen over the jagged cliffs of the northern coast when Kairo met her.
Selene.
She stood at the edge of the rocky plateau, hair streaked silver catching the first rays, teal eyes scanning the waves below. Calm. Focused. Unmoved by the crash of the ocean against black stone.
"Ready?" she asked, voice low and even, with just the faintest edge of amusement.
Kairo nodded, adjusting the strap of his gear. He felt a flicker of something strange in his chest—excitement? curiosity? He wasn't sure. He had trained for missions like this countless times, but standing next to Selene, the air felt charged differently, like the world had shifted slightly just for them.
Their mission was simple on paper: infiltrate the ruins of an ancient temple hidden along the cliffs, retrieve a relic said to contain fragments of a Greek god's essence, and avoid awakening any of the guardian spirits still bound to the site.
Simple on paper.
Kairo and Selene moved in silence, their boots crunching over gravel as the ocean wind whipped around them. The cliff edge fell sharply to the churning waters below, and the ruins sprawled ahead, carved into the mountainside, ancient and foreboding.
"You work fast," Kairo said finally, breaking the quiet.
Selene smirked. "You'd be surprised how slow people can get themselves killed by rushing."
He laughed softly. Her confidence was infectious, but there was more behind it—calculated precision, a readiness he hadn't seen in anyone else. Even in Ayo or Kaito, he realized.
As they entered the temple, the air changed. Thick with Aether, the space felt alive, walls pulsing faintly, whispers curling around them like smoke. Kairo felt his Mark flare slightly beneath his skin.
"This place… it's more than a ruin," he muttered.
"Most temples tied to gods are," Selene replied. She raised her hands, weaving Aether into the air, forming faint glimmers of light and shadow. "We proceed carefully. If we trigger the guardians, we may not make it out."
Kairo nodded, focusing. He felt Aether coiling in him, a silent pulse begging to be released. But he restrained it. Selene's presence grounded him, channeling his energy into precision rather than raw power.
Then the first guardian appeared.
A massive Cyclops, its single eye glowing a faint gold, stepped silently from the shadows, wielding a jagged obsidian club that radiated menace. Its skin shimmered like molten stone, veins glowing faintly. The floor trembled with each step.
Kairo and Selene moved in perfect tandem. He struck first, lashing out with Aether-infused punches, forcing the Cyclops to stagger. Selene's hands blurred, weaving light and shadow around the guardian, creating illusions that disoriented it.
It roared, smashing the ground with its club. Sand and debris erupted around them. Kairo twisted mid-air, narrowly dodging the strike, then struck again, this time channeling Astra to enhance his speed. The Cyclops reeled, swiping blindly at the illusions.
"Focus!" Selene called, merging her light and shadow into a concentrated strike that pierced the guardian's shoulder. Its roar faltered, pain etched across its massive face.
For a moment, they moved like one—every strike, every dodge, every spell perfectly synchronized. Kairo realized, in awe, how rare it was to find someone who could match his instincts and power so seamlessly.
The Cyclops fell, shattering into stone fragments that dissolved into dust. The temple trembled, ancient runes along the walls pulsing as if recognizing their victory.
Selene exhaled, brushing sand and stone from her hands. "Not bad," she said casually.
Kairo smirked. "You weren't bad either."
They paused, catching their breath. For a fleeting moment, the tension melted, replaced by something lighter—curiosity, camaraderie, and the unspoken acknowledgment that this partnership might just be lethal.
Yet, in the shadows of the temple, whispers lingered. Not the guardians this time, but something older, colder. Something watching.
A flicker of dread passed through Kairo. The whispers spoke a single name.
Sensi.
He tightened his fists. The truth he had glimpsed in the desert months ago—the betrayal, the stolen power—lingered at the edges of his mind. And now, each mission, each artifact, each victory, brought him closer to the reckoning he knew he could not escape.
Selene glanced at him, reading the tension beneath his calm. "Don't let them get in your head. Not yet. Not until we have what we came for."
Kairo nodded, forcing his jaw to relax. They moved deeper into the temple, unaware of the eyes that followed them through shadows, ancient and patient.
And somewhere, beyond the veil of reality, a figure observed. Silent. Cold. Smiling behind a mask of calculated intent.
The game was beginning.