The outside world was no longer predictable.
Ari could feel it as soon as he stepped out of the sanctuary. The city, once orderly in its chaos, now quivered. Streetlights flickered, buildings leaned at impossible angles, and shadows moved independently of their sources. Every step carried the faint pulse of something unnatural—something watching, probing, testing boundaries.
Mika moved beside him, fists clenched, eyes scanning constantly. Lune followed, holding tightly to Ari's other hand. The faint threads of Kael's will glowed softly around them—almost invisible, but Ari could feel them tugging, guiding.
"This is… worse than I thought," Mika muttered, voice tight. "Even with Kael's mark, I can feel the fractures spreading."
"Yeah," Ari replied, jaw set. "Everywhere the rift touched… it's like reality itself is bleeding."
Lune's eyes narrowed. "And the system isn't hiding anymore. I can feel its gaze. It's… calculating."
Ari stopped suddenly, sensing a subtle change in the threads. The pulse of Kael's tether flickered—momentarily disrupted. Something had intersected with it.
"Did you feel that?" he asked.
Mika stiffened. "Yes. Someone—or something—is close. They're… aware of us."
Before Ari could respond, the air shimmered ahead. A figure appeared—human-shaped, but warped, with glimmering edges that distorted light around it. Its face was obscured by a mask, etched with shifting sigils that Ari had never seen before.
"Hunters," Lune whispered. "But… different."
The figure stepped forward, moving effortlessly over the cracked pavement. "Kael Ryven's children," it said, voice layered and unnatural. "You carry his mark. The system has noted your deviation."
Ari's eyes narrowed. "We're following Kael. Step aside."
The figure tilted its head, analyzing. "Following does not grant immunity. The threads you bear are valuable… and fragile. You risk everything merely by moving."
Mika stepped forward, energy flaring slightly around her. "If you think we'll let you stop us, you're wrong."
The figure's edges shimmered. "Wrongness is irrelevant. Survival is dictated by calculation. The Abyss, the system, and I… all observe. Deviance cannot persist."
Ari clenched his fists. He could feel the pulse of Kael's will tugging harder, guiding them around the figure—but also urging caution.
"We're not deviant," Ari said firmly. "We're awake. And we're going to find him."
The figure paused, tilting its head in what seemed like curiosity. "Awake is only a word. What you awaken may destroy more than it saves."
Before Ari could respond, the air around them shifted violently. A new fracture opened along the street—like a thin wound in reality itself, glowing faintly red. From it, black tendrils of energy lashed outward, seeking, testing, probing the boundaries of the city.
Mika reacted instantly, extending her hands. A soft barrier expanded outward, fending off the tendrils. Sparks of distorted energy collided with it, flickering and fizzing like lightning trapped in glass.
Lune's eyes glowed again as she focused on the threads of Kael's will. "We have to move—now," she urged. "These fractures are multiplying."
Ari took a deep breath and turned to the figure. "We're going through. No matter what you say."
The figure's body shimmered violently, as if considering interference. "Then move… but understand this. Every step brings consequences. Every deviation will be recorded. Every thread you follow is a path to danger."
And then it vanished.
The trio continued, moving quickly but carefully along the path Kael had left. The city around them groaned, warped streets bending unnaturally, broken glass forming intricate patterns on the ground. Faint traces of the Abyss pulsed nearby, drawn to the residual energy from the collapsed god-beast rift.
Ari felt it too—the system recalibrating. Its gaze was heavier now, more precise. Every shadow, every fracture, every movement was observed.
Mika looked back at him. "Do you think Kael knew this would happen?"
Ari swallowed. "He probably did. And he still left us the path. He trusted us to follow it, even if we don't understand yet."
Lune's hand squeezed his. "Then we'll follow. And we'll protect each other. Just like he would."
They pressed on, weaving through fractured streets, narrowly avoiding collapsing structures and anomalous energy fields. With every step, Ari felt the pull of Kael's will growing stronger—closer—but also heavier. The distance to Kael was shrinking, but so were their options.
Behind them, faint ripples in the city signaled that something—or someone—was moving in response. Something that didn't belong to the system, the Abyss, or even Kael.
Ari's heart pounded. "We're not just walking into danger… we're walking into the unknown."
Mika smirked despite herself. "Good. Makes it more exciting."
Lune glanced at him. "Exciting doesn't mean safe."
Ari nodded, feeling the weight of responsibility pressing down on him. "We don't have a choice. Kael needs us. And we're going to find him… no matter what it takes."
The city shifted again beneath their feet, streets bending and twisting unnaturally, as if the world itself was testing them. And somewhere, beyond the visible fractures, the first sign of new enemies stirred.
Something ancient. Something calculating. Something that had noticed Kael's mark—and now noticed them.
And the chase had only just begun.