The air in the forest was colder than usual. Riku felt it first—his Echo Sense twitching like a warning whisper against his spine. Every sound seemed too sharp, too deliberate, as if someone was controlling the atmosphere itself. Aika walked ahead of him, silent but tense, her hand brushing the hilt of her concealed short blade.
Tonight wasn't normal.
Tonight, something was watching them.
They had finally picked up a clear Trace signal—one Aika was almost sure belonged to Haru. It radiated from deep within the abandoned river tunnels. According to the outline Aika showed Riku, Hollow Veil used the tunnels to transport "failed" subjects.
But there was another note.
A handwritten warning.
Beware the Hunters.
Riku didn't know what that meant yet—but the pit forming in his stomach told him he was about to find out the hard way.
A pebble shifted behind them.
Riku turned instantly—Pulse Step making him blur slightly as he rotated. He saw nothing, but his Echo Sense flared for a second. A heartbeat. Two heartbeats. Moving. Fast.
"Don't react too loudly," Aika whispered. "They're here."
"Who?" Riku muttered.
She didn't answer with words.
Instead, she stopped walking… closed her eyes… and slowly exhaled.
"Riku… keep your stance low. When I say 'drop'—you drop."
Suddenly the forest went silent.
Animals vanished.
Even the wind seemed to stop.
Then...
Ssssshhh
Something sliced through the air.
Aika yelled:
"DROP!"
Riku fell immediately—just in time to see a long black chain whip over his head, tearing into a tree with enough force to split its trunk
From the shadows stepped two figures.
THE SHADE HUNTERS....
One was tall, wrapped in black bandages from head to toe, moving like a shadow drowning in smoke. He held a heavy, jagged chain dripping black energy.
The second was shorter, muscular, mask-faced, cracking his knuckles like he'd been waiting to break something all night.
Aika's eyes narrowed.
"Shade Hunters," she breathed. "Dr. Kuro's personal trackers."
Riku clenched his fists.
"If they're here, that means—"
"Yes."
Aika stepped forward.
"Haru is close… and they intend to stop us."
The masked Hunter tilted his head. "The boy with the unstable Trace… hand him over."
Riku stepped forward. "Come take me then."
Aika hissed, "Riku—!"
But the fight had already begun.
The Hunter vanished. Not disappeared—just moved impossibly fast.
Riku barely blocked the first punch.
It felt like catching a hammer.
BOOM—!
The impact launched Riku backward, smashing him through a tree trunk. His body ached, but something inside him responded—the Shadow Veins lit up faintly under his skin.
The Hunter charged again.
Riku exhaled, planted his feet—
Pulse Step.
He blurred sideways, dodging a crushing stomp.
The Hunter's heel shattered the ground where Riku had been.
Riku spun and drove a fist into the man's ribs.
The impact echoed.
But the Hunter didn't even flinch.
"Weak," the man said flatly.
Riku gritted his teeth.
"Not done."
He raised his guard—shoulders forward, left foot angled—Aika's training stance.
The Hunter lunged.
This time, Riku didn't back away.
He slipped the punch, twisted his hips, and delivered a rapid combo: right cross, left elbow, knee strike
For a moment, he felt the Hunter slow down.
Then...
The man grabbed Riku's face.
Lifted him like nothing.
And slammed him into the ground so hard dust exploded.
Riku's breath evaporated from his lungs. His vision flickered.
Meanwhile Aika clashed with the chain wielder.
He swung with monstrous weight, each strike aiming to tear her apart.
Aika danced through the attacks—ducking, rolling, sliding.
Her blade flashed, slicing the chain links—
But the chain regenerated immediately, the shadows wrapping around the broken metal and restoring it.
Damn…
These chains aren't physical…
They're energy constructs.
Aika struck again, redirecting one swing and stepping into the wielder's guard.
Her elbow cracked his jaw—
Her blade nicked his shoulder—
Her foot swept his knee
But the man fought like a possessed demon, shadow energy pulsing from his arms, powering each chain strike with seismic force.
Aika knew she couldn't overpower him.
She had to outmaneuver him.
She leapt onto a fallen log
The chain snapped toward her chest
She flipped backward, barely avoiding death.
Back on the ground, Riku coughed blood.
The Hunter stood over him, cracking his neck.
"You're too early in your development. Your brother was stronger."
Something inside Riku broke.
Not physically—emotionally.
The image of Haru lying on a cold table flashed through his mind.
Haru crying.
Haru powerless.
And now… this monster comparing them.
Riku's heartbeat spiked.
His Shadow Veins lit up brighter—dark purple now.
His eyes sharpened.
He grabbed the Hunter's arm mid-punch.
The Hunter's eyes widened—first sign of surprise.
Riku stood.
Slowly.
Shadows wrapping around his fists.
"Don't… touch my brother."
He drove his forehead into the Hunter's mask—
CRACK!
The man stumbled back.
Riku didn't give him time to recover.
He launched forward
Pulse Step ×2
His body blurred in rapid bursts
A clean right hook smashed the man's jaw.
A left spinning kick cracked his ribs.
A follow-up uppercut sent him skidding across the forest floor.
The Hunter wiped blood from his lips.
"You're awakening."
Riku spread his stance.
"Good. Because I'm not done."
Aika was shoved into a tree by the chain wielder, pain ripping through her ribs.
He prepared to crush her with a final swing—
But Riku blurred behind him
BOOM!
His fist connected with the wielder's spine
Aika rolled forward, blade slicing upward—cutting across the wielder's torso.
The man screamed.
The two Hunters regrouped, anger rising.
"This is becoming troublesome," one growled.
"We call the third?" the other asked.
Third?
Riku tensed.
Aika's eyes widened.
"No… not him."
But it was too late.
A whisper floated through the forest.
Like wind exhaling through stone.
The temperature dropped instantly.
From the darkness, a figure stepped forward—tall, slender, wearing a glass mask with no mouth, only swirling black eyes.
Aika froze.
Riku felt something he had never felt before
Fear. Real fear.
The third Hunter spoke softly.
"Your chase ends here."
A wave of shadow pressure hit them.
Riku's knees buckled.
He couldn't breathe.
His Echo Sense went blind—like someone slapped darkness over his mind.
Aika whispered, voice trembling:
"Riku… don't… don't look into his eyes."
The world distorted.
Riku's vision twisted.
He saw… Haru.
Crying...
Calling his name.
Then....
Haru being pulled away into a void.
"RIKU!"
He fell to one knee, clutching his head.
Aika barely managed to grab him.
The third Hunter raised a hand.
Dark pressure gathered
And just as he struck.....
BOOOOOOOM!
The ground shook violently.
A flare of Trace energy erupted from deeper in the tunnel system.
The Hunters paused.
"That signal… it's him," whispered the chain wielder.
The third Hunter turned toward the source.
"Haru has awakened."
Riku's heart stopped.
Aika tightened her grip on his shoulder.
This wasn't a rescue anymore.
This was a race.
A race against monsters.
A race against a collapsing mind.
A race against the corruption growing inside Haru.
The Hunters vanished into the darkness.
Aika helped Riku stand.
He wiped blood from his mouth, eyes blazing with fury.
"Aika… we're going after them."
She nodded.
"But Riku… the Haru you find… may not be the Haru you remember."
Riku's fists tightened.
"I don't care. He's still my brother."
The camera zooms out on the dark, trembling forest.
The sound of distant screams echoes through the tunnels ahead.