Riel stood frozen on the narrow forest path, staring at the man who had stepped out from the trees. The stranger wore white armor that looked too clean for someone who had been traveling through the wild. Thin blue lines moved across the armor like light flowing through glass. A silver mask covered the upper part of his face, leaving only his cold blue eyes visible.
Mira moved closer to Riel and lowered her voice. "Who is that?"
"I don't know," Riel whispered.
The man smiled.
"You don't need to know my name."
His voice was calm, almost friendly, but something about it made Riel's skin crawl.
"You only need to know that I was sent to bring you back."
Riel frowned. "Bring me back where?"
The man's smile disappeared.
"To the System."
The glowing threads around Riel suddenly became brighter. They stretched from his hands into the trees, connecting to the ground, the sky, and even the stranger standing before him. Riel could see hundreds of them, but one thread stood out more than the others.
It was dark.
And it was connected directly to the man.
Riel slowly stepped backward.
Mira noticed his movement. "Riel?"
"Stay behind me."
The stranger tilted his head. "Interesting. You can see them already."
"See what?"
"The threads."
Riel's heart sank.
The man raised one hand.
A small blue window appeared in the air.
[Unregistered Entity Detected.]
[Classification: Unbound.]
[Capture Protocol Activated.]
Riel stared at the message.
"That's your System?"
"No," the man replied. "The System belongs to everyone."
His eyes moved toward Riel.
"I am simply one of the people chosen to protect it."
Riel's hands tightened.
"Protect it from what?"
The man paused.
"From people like you."
A wave of energy suddenly rushed toward them.
Riel reacted without thinking.
He reached forward and grabbed one of the glowing threads.
The world shook.
The wave stopped in midair.
Mira's eyes widened.
Riel stared at his own hand.
He had stopped the attack.
The stranger's eyes narrowed.
"So it is true."
Riel pulled the thread toward himself.
The energy changed direction and crashed into the ground beside the Hunter, sending dirt and broken pieces of stone into the air.
Mira grabbed Riel's arm.
"Run!"
They turned and rushed into the forest.
The Hunter didn't chase them immediately.
Instead, he stood among the dust and watched the glowing threads disappear between the trees.
Then he smiled.
"An Unbound who can already manipulate the System's energy."
He touched the side of his mask.
"Target confirmed."
A faint voice answered him from somewhere inside the armor.
[Capture priority increased.]
[Target must not be killed.]
The Hunter's smile returned.
"Of course."
Meanwhile, Riel and Mira continued running.
Branches struck their faces as they pushed deeper into the forest. Riel could hear Mira breathing heavily behind him, but he didn't stop.
"Where are we going?" she asked.
"I don't know!"
"Great!"
Riel almost laughed despite the situation.
Then something struck the tree beside his head.
A thin silver blade was buried deep inside the bark.
Riel stopped.
Mira nearly crashed into him.
The Hunter's voice came from behind them.
"You cannot run forever."
Riel turned.
The man was standing several meters away.
He had followed them without making a sound.
Riel looked at the glowing threads around him.
There were dozens.
Maybe hundreds.
For the first time, he understood something important.
The threads were not only connected to objects.
They were connected to possibilities.
Every thread showed him a different path.
One led toward the river.
Another led toward the mountains.
Another disappeared into the ground.
But one thread was brighter than all the others.
It stretched far into the distance.
Toward the north.
Toward Eren.
Riel reached for it.
The Hunter noticed.
"Don't."
Riel pulled the thread.
The forest suddenly changed.
For one brief moment, everything around him became silent.
The trees disappeared.
The ground vanished.
Riel found himself standing in a strange white space.
And there, only a few steps away, stood Eren.
His brother was holding a sword and wearing a torn cloak. Blood covered one side of his clothes, but he was alive.
Riel's eyes widened.
"Eren!"
Eren looked up.
"Riel?"
The connection lasted only a few seconds.
But it was enough.
Riel smiled.
"I'm coming to find you."
Then the world shattered.
Riel returned to the forest and fell to one knee.
The Hunter was already standing in front of him.
"You connected to another location."
Riel slowly raised his head.
The Hunter's expression had changed.
For the first time, there was fear in his eyes.
"Who did you connect to?"
Riel said nothing.
The Hunter stepped forward.
"Tell me."
Riel stood.
"No."
The threads around his body began to glow.
Mira stared at him in shock.
"Riel…"
He raised his hand.
The air in front of him twisted.
A thin crack appeared in space.
The Hunter immediately stepped backward.
"That ability…"
Riel looked at the crack.
He didn't fully understand what he was doing, but something inside him told him to continue.
The crack widened.
A bright light poured through it.
The Hunter drew his silver blade.
"Stop!"
Riel pulled the final thread.
The world exploded with light.
Far away, Eren suddenly stopped walking.
His System flashed violently.
[Connection Detected.]
[Code–ΔRiel.]
[Distance: Unknown.]
[Dual Synchronization: 13%.]
Eren stared at the message.
"Riel…"
Then another message appeared.
[Warning: The Hunter of the Unbound has located your brother.]
Eren's expression changed.
His hand tightened around his sword.
"Lyra!"
She turned toward him.
"What happened?"
Eren looked toward the distant horizon.
"We're going to Ashbrook later."
Lyra frowned.
"Then where are we going now?"
Eren's eyes hardened.
"I'm going after my brother."
Far away, the crack in space finally closed.
Riel stood alone in the forest.
Mira was gone.
The Hunter was gone too.
And in Riel's hand was a small piece of white armor that had broken off during the escape.
Riel stared at it.
A strange symbol appeared across its surface.
[Hunter Protocol: Failed.]
[New Target Registered.]
[EREN KAITO.]
Riel's eyes widened.
"They're going after Eren too."
He looked toward the north.
This time, he didn't wait.
He started running.
And somewhere beyond the forest, something unseen opened its eyes.
The hunt had begun.