Kai pressed his back against the fallen tree, chest rising and falling too fast.
The forest seemed to shrink around them—branches crowding overhead, shadows thickening like a living maze.
Lira watched the glow of the scouts inch closer through the fog.
"Three… no, four of them," she whispered. "And they're spreading out. They're herding us."
Kai clenched his fist. "They know this forest better than we do."
"They shouldn't," Lira hissed. "Council hunters don't operate this far out. They must have been closer than we thought."
A deep hum rippled through the air.
Each scout's armor pulsed, emitting a vibration that made the leaves tremble. Ether Path scanning — able to track movement, heat, even heartbeat signatures.
Lira's grip on Kai tightened."They're reading the forest. They'll find us in seconds."
Kai swallowed hard. "We can still outrun them—"
"No," she said sharply. "Not hunters. Not Ether users. If they find us, we fight."
Kai froze. "Fight? Lira, we can't—"
She turned on him, edges of her eyes shining with fear she refused to let control her.
"Kai… they won't capture you alive."She lowered her voice. "You know that, right?"
He didn't answer.
He didn't need to.
The Seventh Path was forbidden.It wasn't a crime.It was an execution order.
Lira unsheathed her dagger.
"Kai. Whatever happens—you run. You don't stop for me."
He shook his head instantly. "I'm not leaving you."
"You might not get a choice."
A heavy crack split the air as a scout stepped through a thicket, cloak brushing aside branches with unnatural ease.
"Kai Umbral," the hunter said calmly, voice muffled behind his mask, "you are ordered to surrender."
Lira stepped in front of Kai without thinking.
"You'll have to go through me first."
The hunter tilted his head.
"Noted."
He raised two fingers, and violet threads of Ether flared from his hand.
Lira lunged before he could release it—fast, fierce, fearless.
But the hunter moved with surgical detachment. He sidestepped, catching her wrist mid-swing, twisting it until her dagger clattered to the ground.
Kai's breath caught.
"Lira!"
The hunter struck her in the ribs with his free hand—an Ether shock knifing through her body.
She collapsed with a gasp.
Kai felt something inside him snap.
The hunter reached for her throat—
A tremor ran through the forest floor.
The air shifted.
Lightning crawled faintly across Kai's fingers.
The hunter paused, mask turning toward him.
"The Vessel is reacting."
Kai stepped forward, fists shaking violently. "Touch her again. See what happens."
But before he could move, two more hunters emerged from the trees, forming a triangle around him.
The leader raised his hand.
"Stabilize the target. Prepare restraining seals."
Lira struggled weakly on the ground. "Kai… don't…"
A hunter drew a glowing sigil in the air—a suppressing brand designed to paralyze Path energy.
If it touched him, the Seventh Mark would ignite.Kai didn't know what would happen if it reacted—but he knew it wouldn't be gentle.
The sigil grew brighter.
Closer.
Thump.
The Seventh Mark pulsed beneath his skin, responding to his fear.
No… not now… please…
The hunters advanced.
Lira reached out blindly, voice breaking. "Kai! Get away!"
He couldn't.
He wouldn't.
The leader lowered his hand—
"Seal—"
A branch snapped overhead.
Not from the hunters.
From something huge.
The hunters froze.
Lira's eyes widened.
Kai looked up—
—and saw the trees bend back as a massive shadow dropped from above, slamming into the earth between them with earth-shaking force.
The creature rose with a guttural growl, towering over the hunters. Its fur was black as void, its eyes glowing a feral gold, claws long enough to carve stone.
A Dire Fangbeast—a rare forest predator that normally avoided humans.
But this one's eyes… were locked on Kai.
As if it sensed something inside him.
The lead hunter cursed. "A monster? Now?"
The beast roared, shaking birds from the treetops.
In that heartbeat of chaos, Lira grabbed Kai's wrist.
"Kai—RUN!"
Lightning sparked in his veins.
Not out of fear.
Out of instinct.
Together, they sprinted into the darkness as the Fangbeast lunged, colliding with the hunters in a violent crash of claws and Ether.
Behind them, the forest erupted into shrieks, roars, and crackling energy.
But Kai didn't look back.
He couldn't.
The Seventh Path pulsed like a living heartbeat beneath his skin.
He had no idea why the beast had appeared.
He had no idea why it had chosen to attack the hunters instead of him.
And he had no idea…
…that the Seventh Path was beginning to awaken faster than the world could handle.