Chapter 2 — The Hunter of Cracks
Kael jerked awake to the sound of boots crunching over broken stone. The valley was quiet now, the Riftspawn's body dissolved into smoke hours earlier. But someone else was here—moving with purpose.
A shadow stepped over a ridge.
It wasn't another monster.
It was a man.
Tall, wrapped in a black traveling cloak, with silver hair tied behind him and eyes like molten gold. He studied Kael with unnerving sharpness, as though he could see straight through flesh into the soul beneath.
"You're still alive," the man said, sounding almost impressed.
Kael swallowed. "Who are you?"
Instead of answering, the stranger knelt beside the scorched earth where Kael had unleashed the blue fire. He ran gloved fingers over the ashes and hummed thoughtfully.
"Skyflame residue. Resonance type… unstable. And a mark on your arm." His eyes snapped to Kael's glowing patterns. "How did a village boy ignite a celestial ember?"
"I don't— I didn't try—" Kael stammered. "It chose me."
The man rose slowly. "Embers do not choose. They awaken. Usually in the hands of trained Sentinels, not… children."
Kael bristled. "I'm not a child."
"Aren't you?" The stranger finally gave a thin smile. "My name is Rhyne Veylor. Hunter of Cracks. I track the tears in the sky—and those who fall through them."
His gaze lifted to the faint glowing fissure above. "This one should not exist. And if a Riftspawn already crossed, more will follow."
Kael clenched his fists. "Then teach me to fight them."
Rhyne raised a brow. "You don't even understand what you are."
"I know enough," Kael insisted. "If I don't fight, people die."
For a long moment, the Hunter simply watched him—measuring, weighing.
Then he threw Kael a short, silver-handled blade. Kael grabbed it clumsily.
"Lesson one," Rhyne said, stepping back. "Power is a burden. If you can't control it, it will destroy you before any monster does."
The sky rumbled above them, the crack widening by an inch.
Rhyne's expression darkened.
"Lesson two," he added quietly. "You are out of time."