He noticed it, acknowledged it, and then pushed it aside.
Now wasn't the time to get greedy.
"Left side," he called out. "They're circling again."
One of the rescued awakeners, the elementalist, swallowed and raised his hands. This time, his spell came out controlled, a short burst that forced the beasts back instead of overextending.
"That's it," Lucien said. "Keep that pace."
The words weren't praise, but they steadied the man all the same.
They advanced as a unit, Lucien guiding them through narrow paths and broken terrain, always angling toward the nearest anchor point. He kept his eyes on Lyra's reactions and the system's subtle warnings, piecing together a bigger picture as they moved.
This wasn't random.
There was a secondary opening somewhere in the Rift. Something unstable, bleeding beasts into areas they shouldn't be appearing in. That explained the frequency. The emergency flares. The pressure building.
Lyra's light dimmed slightly as she hovered closer to him.
"Stronger," she sent. "Closer."
Lucien nodded once.
"D rank," he muttered under his breath. "At least."
And if that was true, then their current safety was borrowed time.
"Anchor's five minutes out," Lucien said aloud. "We don't stop moving."
The warrior laughed weakly as he parried another attack. "You say that like it's easy."
Lucien allowed himself a brief glance back. "I didn't say easy. I said necessary."
That earned a short, breathless chuckle.
For a while, it worked.
The beasts thinned. The awakeners adjusted, their movements becoming smoother, their attacks better timed. Someone even cracked a joke after Lyra stunned three wolves at once, the sound sharp and relieved.
Lucien didn't laugh.
He felt it before it happened.
A wrongness in the air. A pressure that didn't belong.
His jaw tightened.
"Get ready," he said quietly.
The mood shifted instantly. The joking stopped. Weapons came up. Even the rescued group felt it, the sudden return of fear crawling up their spines.
"What is it?" the summoner asked.
Lucien didn't answer right away.
Then the ground ahead tore open.
Not wide. Not violent. Just enough.
A裂 sound echoed as the Rift peeled back on itself, dark light spilling outward like a wound being forced open.
Lucien swore under his breath.
From the tear, a shape began to emerge. Larger. Heavier. Its presence alone pressed down on the air, making it harder to breathe.
A D rank Rift Beast.
The system warning flared bright.
Lyra's light flared in response, her posture shifting as Static Arc surged higher than before.
The rescued awakeners froze, terror snapping them back into reality.
Lucien exhaled slowly, eyes never leaving the forming creature.
"So that's the twist," he muttered.
He tightened his grip on the situation, voice steady as steel despite the weight settling in his chest.
"Everyone listen," he said. "This isn't over. Not yet."
The Rift howled.
And the hunt took a darker turn.
Lucien's calm composure broke through the rising panic like a blade cutting rope.
"Run!"
The word snapped the group back to life.
It did not come from fear, and anyone who looked at his face could see that. His eyes were steady, his breathing controlled. He had already measured the distance, the terrain, and the odds. Running was not surrender. It was the only correct move.
"Move now!" he shouted again.
They did.
Boots hit the ground hard as the group surged forward, breath tearing out of their lungs in sharp bursts. Lucien raised his hand without slowing and fired his emergency flare into the air. The red streak shot upward and burst, painting the Rift sky in a warning glow.
If the guards at the anchor point were paying attention, they would see it.
Lyra shifted seamlessly into motion beside them. She did not fly far ahead or lag behind. She moved in rhythm with Lucien, her light flickering as she turned mid-run and released Static Arc.
CRACK.
Lightning snapped backward, chaining through two E rank beasts that had rushed too close. Their bodies convulsed and collapsed, buying precious seconds before the next wave closed in.
The D rank beast behind them did not rush.
That alone made it terrifying.
It moved with heavy patience, each step deliberate, while the remaining E rank beasts surged forward like hunting dogs released from a leash.
"Shit!" one of the rescued awakeners yelled as he stumbled. "They're still coming!"
"Why is it not attacking?" another shouted, voice cracking. "Why is it letting them chase us?"
Lucien didn't answer immediately.
Because it doesn't need to hurry, he thought.
The ground trembled again.
Then the system flared in his vision, sharp and urgent.
▒░ [Emergency Alert]
Multiple Hostile Signatures Detected
Threat Level Escalation: High
Estimated Rank: D
Approach Vector: Rear-Left] ░▒▓
Lucien swore under his breath.
Another one.
"Lucien!" Cael called out, panic creeping into his voice. "What now?"
Lucien's mind was already racing ahead, overlaying paths and distances he had memorized earlier. He had always done this, even back on Earth. In games, in maps, in fights that came down to seconds. The habit never left him.
Straight ahead was fastest.
Straight ahead would get them killed.
"Change direction!" Lucien yelled. "Left, now!"
"What?" the summoner barked. "That's longer!"
"We won't make it going straight!" Lucien shot back. "Move!"
The group hesitated for half a heartbeat, fear warring with instinct.
Cael looked at Lucien, really looked at him, searching for doubt.
There was none.
Lucien met his gaze and nodded once. "Trust me."
That was enough.
Cael turned and ran left, shouting for the others to follow. They cursed, voices sharp and ragged, but they changed course. They had no better plan, and Lucien had already saved them once. That bought him trust, whether he wanted it or not.
They ran.
Lyra continued to stall the pursuit, her Static Arc flashing again and again, the sound of crackling energy and snarling beasts blending into a chaotic roar behind them.
Lucien's legs burned.
His lungs screamed.
But he noticed something even as exhaustion crept in.
He was still keeping pace.
His stride did not falter as badly as it should have. His breath recovered faster between gasps. The ache was there, sharp and honest, but it did not overwhelm him.
Resonance, he realized.