The dungeon reeked of ash and blood.
Hunters moved like shadows through the broken gate, their auras flaring in bursts of color — crimson, violet, pale blue — fogs of pheromones rising in the air like glittering storms. At the center of it all stood Seo Haneul, a Dominant Alpha and one of the world's rare S-rank hunters, his golden mist burning brighter than any, streaked with threads of molten red. The monsters bent beneath it, trembling, collapsing as if his very presence crushed them.
When the last beast fell, silence stretched. The air quivered with fading pheromones, yet Seo Haneul's golden aura still rippled restlessly. Something was wrong. Something else was here.
That was when he saw him.
A hunter stood across the battlefield, dark hair matted with blood, his blade slick with ichor. His aura was invisible — no pheromone fog, no scent. To the others, he was just a Beta: skilled, but ordinary.
But to Seo Haneul—
His breath caught. His heart lurched violently, as if it recognized something his mind could not.
The stranger lifted his head. A scar slashed down from his brow, cutting across one eye to his cheek. One iris was a faded amber, dulled to the color of autumn leaves. The other — silver-grey, threaded with faint cracks of light, as though the wound itself had stolen its glow.
The man met Seo Haneul's stare, frowning as if unsettled.
"…What are you looking at?"
Seo Haneul's lips parted. He didn't know the answer. All he knew was that his chest ached, a hollow burn deep beneath his ribs, as though something once carved there was stirring awake.
Who is he, Seo Haneul thought.