The hunters burst through the fog like a tidal wave of claws and teeth.
They were nothing like the Shadehorn beast Kian had killed—
these creatures moved in coordinated packs, their bodies lean and muscular, their skin a slick mix of shadow and bone. Their eyes glowed like hungry embers.
Nyra didn't flinch.
She dashed forward first, blades slicing through the mist with a sharp hiss. The moment she struck, the world erupted into motion.
Kian followed her instinctively, keeping close behind as commanded. The ground shook beneath their feet with every impact. Hunters leaped from every direction—walls, pillars, even the ceiling of broken stone overhead.
Nyra cut down the first two before they even reached her.
Her movements were fluid, precise—too perfect, like someone who had spent her entire life fighting creatures like these. She used her momentum to spin, strike, and launch herself forward again.
"Stay close!" she shouted without turning.
Kian ducked under a clawed swipe from a large hunter that jumped at him from the side. His new low-light vision showed every detail: the sharp ridges of its spine, the saliva dripping from its teeth, the tension in its limbs before it struck.
He rolled aside as it lunged.
"Run!" Nyra commanded. "Now!"
She didn't need to say it twice.
Kian sprinted after her, dodging pillars, shattered stone, and lunging hunters. The world blurred around him, a chaotic mix of shadows and flashing metal from Nyra's blades.
But the hunters weren't chasing her.
They were chasing him.
For every one beast that tried to reach her, three targeted him.
Kian's breath grew ragged. "Why are they coming after me?!"
"The sigil!" Nyra shouted back. "You're a beacon to them!"
Great.
He was basically a walking dinner bell.
One hunter leaped from above, its jaws open wide. Kian reacted without thinking—he thrust his hand forward.
Echo Pulse activated.
A short blast of force erupted from him, slamming the creature away. The impact sent a shock of pain through his arm. He stumbled but kept running.
Nyra glanced back for a split second.
Her eyes widened slightly.
"You used an Echo ability… without command."
"I didn't have time to ask permission!"
Another hunter cut them off.
Nyra vaulted forward, slicing its head clean off and kicking the corpse aside.
"This way!" she ordered, pointing toward a massive fallen structure that formed a natural tunnel.
Kian followed, legs burning.
As they ran between the broken columns, the hunters poured in behind them like a roaring flood of bodies.
The tunnel narrowed until Kian and Nyra were forced to sprint in single file.
"Faster!" Nyra called.
"I'm going as fast as I can!"
"Not fast enough!"
Nyra suddenly grabbed his arm and pulled him with her. The speed of her movement nearly ripped his shoulder out of place.
"What are you—?!"
A huge shadow landed behind them.
Kian turned just in time to see the largest hunter yet—a towering, wolf-like creature with twisted horns and armor-like bone plating.
It roared.
The tunnel shook.
Nyra's grip tightened. "Don't stop. Not even once."
Kian nodded, panic clawing at his throat.
The monster charged.
The smaller hunters parted for it like loyal soldiers.
Nyra looked over her shoulder, jaw clenched. "It's a Ravager. Class E. There's no killing it in your state."
"Then what do we do?!"
"We live."
They burst out of the other end of the tunnel and into an open clearing. Strange blackstone shards jutted from the ground like broken teeth. Nyra scanned quickly—
"There!"
She pointed to a fractured obsidian pillar sticking out of the ground.
Kian didn't understand the plan, but he followed her anyway.
They reached the pillar just as the Ravager leaped at them.
Nyra grabbed Kian by the collar and shoved him behind the stone.
She then slammed her palm on the pillar's surface.
The pillar lit up.
Lines of glowing symbols spread across it like awakening veins.
The air vibrated—
The hunters skidded to a halt.
The Ravager roared but didn't cross the invisible boundary.
A barrier.
They were safe.
For now.
Kian collapsed to the ground, gasping for air, dripping sweat.
Nyra didn't sit.
She stood guard at the barrier's edge, blades ready, eyes locked on the snarling hunters pacing just beyond reach.
After several minutes of silence, Kian finally spoke.
"What… is this place?"
Nyra didn't look at him. "A sanctuary marker. Hunters cannot cross its borders."
The Ravager slammed its horns against the barrier, but the impact bounced back, sending crackles of energy across its body.
Kian flinched. "And how long does it last?"
Nyra took a slow breath.
Her expression tightened.
"That depends," she said. "On how long you can keep your Echo under control."
Kian's heart dropped.
"What does that even mean?"
She finally glanced at him eyes sharp but curious in a way they hadn't been before.
"It means," she said, "that the sigil on your chest isn't fully awakened yet. And if it reacts again…"
She pointed to the Ravager outside.
"…that thing won't be the only one hunting you."
Kian's blood ran cold.
And the chapter ended with the hunters circling outside the barrier…
waiting for their chance.