The stars had barely begun to fade when the wanted posters spread like wildfire.
In every major city across the continent—etched in blood-red ink and sealed with the Dominion Guild's crest—the same face stared back at the world:
> WANTED – KAIRO VELAN
Possession of Forbidden Artifacts.
Rank: Threat Level Black.
Reward: 1,000,000 Gold. Dead or Alive.
By morning, every mercenary, assassin, and bounty hunter with a thirst for gold had heard the name.
But only one smiled when he read it.
---
His name was Verrian.
Once a Dominion commander, now a rogue hunter who worked only for the highest bidder. He was tall and lean, with a long black coat stitched from shadow wolf hide. His eyes gleamed amber in the dark, unnatural and inhuman. But it wasn't his gaze that chilled people—it was the thing inside him.
A curse. A pact.
> "I'll need extra chains," Verrian muttered, snapping his fingers.
From behind him, a black mist slithered upward and formed the shape of a snarling beast—horned, eyeless, and bound by glowing sigils. It was Noctyr, his shadow beast.
> "The boy's bonded to Thalor's fragments?" Verrian laughed darkly. "Perfect. I've always wanted to taste a god's scream."
---
Meanwhile, Kairo and Zevrin trekked down from the Crystal Vale, unaware that the continent was already hunting them.
Kairo clutched the second fragment tightly. It pulsed in his hand like a second heartbeat. Since claiming it, he'd started hearing things—whispers, sometimes in his dreams, sometimes while awake.
> "You were not meant to live this life," the voice murmured.
> "You were built for something far more… destructive."
He hadn't told Zevrin yet. Not about the voice. Not about the ache behind his eyes that hadn't stopped since absorbing the new power.
> "You alright?" Zevrin asked, breaking his silence. "You've been quiet since the Forge."
> "Just thinking," Kairo lied. "About what comes next."
Zevrin gave him a knowing look.
> "You mean who comes next."
They both knew the truth.
Someone would be coming.
---
They stopped at a hidden outpost near the western border. It was a peaceful village built under an illusion barrier, meant to house refugees and travelers. Kairo hoped they'd go unnoticed for a few days—just enough time to rest and plan their next move.
But peace was a luxury he'd never have again.
That night, it rained.
Thunder rolled over the village as the air thickened with pressure.
And somewhere beyond the trees… a presence stepped into the border of the illusion and tore it in half.
Villagers screamed.
Guards ran.
The sky darkened unnaturally—and Verrian walked through the flames with a smile on his lips.
---
> "Kairo Velan!" he called. "You don't know me yet, but I know you. And I've been dying to see what a god fragment looks like… up close."
Kairo stepped forward, summoning the mana-blade to his hand. Zevrin flanked him, spear ready.
> "Who are you?"
> "The man who ends your story," Verrian said. "Or maybe just the chapter."
The shadow beast lunged without warning.
Kairo barely raised a shield in time, but the force sent him skidding back, feet tearing into the mud. The beast was faster than anything he'd faced. Liquid darkness that moved like thought. Zevrin threw a spear charged with lightning, but it passed through the creature like smoke.
> "You can't hurt it," Verrian said. "Not unless you become like it."
> "What do you want?"
> "The fragments," Verrian said simply. "Give them to me, and I might let you keep your bones intact."
Kairo stood tall.
> "Come and take them."
Verrian's smile vanished.
> "So be it."
---
The fight exploded into chaos.
Kairo activated Flame of the Fallen God, igniting the battlefield in blue fire. Zevrin danced through shadows, aiming for Verrian directly. The two clashed in a flurry of sparks and shadowsteel. But the hunter was too quick, too precise. He moved like he knew every move before it was made.
Then he whispered something.
A spell. Ancient.
> "Unchain the hunger."
The shadow beast broke free of its binding sigils and roared—a sound that shattered the stone walls of the nearby inn. It doubled in size, sprouting wings of smoke and a mouth filled with spinning rings of teeth.
Kairo's vision blurred. The fragment in his chest reacted, glowing hotter than ever before.
And then…
> [Warning: Hostile Magic Detected. Soul Armor Unlock Available.]
[Do you wish to activate: Soulbound Phase I?]
> "Do it," Kairo said.
Blue runes wrapped around his skin. His eyes blazed like stars.
---
The fight turned.
Kairo's blade no longer sparked—it screamed with divine energy. He cleaved through shadow tendrils and countered Noctyr's fangs with raw flame. Every blow he landed left trails of light in the air.
But Verrian wasn't done.
> "You've impressed me," he said. "I'll enjoy killing you even more."
He vanished into shadow—and reappeared behind Zevrin.
The spear shattered.
Blood flew.
> "No!" Kairo roared, catching Zevrin as he fell. "You—!"
But Verrian was already gone.
Smoke, silence, and a whisper of laughter in the wind.
---
Kairo dropped to his knees.
Zevrin gasped for breath, bleeding badly but alive—for now.
> "Don't… let him win," Zevrin whispered. "Don't give up."
Kairo looked toward the stars once more.
He was done running.
The hunt had begun.