The night settled over Ridgebrook like wet cloth—heavy, smothering, impossible to lift. Torches flickered along the barricades, their flames small and trembling. No one spoke above a whisper. Even children sensed something unnatural in the air.
The hunters were coming.
Vlad stood at the gate, motionless, eyes fixed on the treeline. He didn't blink. Didn't breathe loudly. He looked like a statue forged from tension and shadow. His hands rested lightly on the handles of his blades—not gripping, not ready, simply waiting. Balanced.
Lira hovered a few steps behind me, arms wrapped around her body, eyes wide and searching. Orin paced the wall with her spear drawn.
Then the drums stopped.
Completely.
The silence that followed was worse than sound. It pressed against the village like a physical weight.
"Positions!" Orin hissed, and villagers rushed to take places along the barricades.
I gripped my spear tighter. My hands were slick. My breath uneven. My heart raced.
Then it happened.
A whisper of movement—too soft for human ears, too fast for untrained eyes.
One of the hunters appeared on the west wall.
No sound. No warning.
Just a shape—lean, low, deadly—vaulting over the palisade like a shadow come alive.
"CONTACT!" Orin shouted.
The hunter landed among three militia men. They barely had time to scream. A knife flashed, catching torchlight, and blood sprayed across the dirt in thin arcs. One man fell instantly. Another dropped with a gurgling gasp. The third backpedaled in terror.
I sprinted toward them on instinct.
"ORIN—LEFT!"
She didn't hesitate. She hurled her spear with a crack of muscle. The hunter twisted—impossibly fast—and the spear only grazed his shoulder.
Then he was on her.
He moved with quiet precision, dagger out, eyes locked onto her throat. I felt something tear inside me—panic, fear, desperation—and I ran harder.
Orin blocked with her forearm, but the blade cut deep. She gasped, stumbling back.
"ORIN!" I screamed.
The hunter lunged to finish her.
Then Vlad hit him.
Not with a weapon—his full body slammed into the hunter like a boulder hurled by the gods. They rolled across the dirt in a violent tumble. Vlad pinned him for a moment, but the hunter kicked free with terrifying strength and vanished into the shadows between two huts.
Vlad stood slowly, chest rising with a controlled inhale.
"He is strong," Vlad murmured, almost appreciative. "Good.
I knelt beside Orin. Blood ran down her arm, soaking the cloth she pressed against it.
"I'm fine," she hissed through clenched teeth. "Just—fine. Don't look at me like that."
But her face was pale. Too pale.
"Lira!" I shouted. "Get bandages!"
She ran immediately, feet slapping against dirt as she rushed toward the healer's tent.
Before I could help Orin stand, Vlad grabbed my shoulder—hard.
"Chief. Move."
"What—?"
A shadow materialized behind me.
Another hunter.
I twisted too late. The dagger was already cutting through the air. I felt the brush of wind as it swept toward my throat.
My heart seized.
My breath froze.
Time slowed.
Something inside me snapped open—heat rushing up my spine, vision sharpening until I could see individual flecks of dust in the air.
Qi.
Real Qi.
For one terrified heartbeat, everything aligned perfectly.
I ducked.
The blade passed overhead by inches. The hunter's eyes flicked with surprise—just before Orin, despite her injury, kicked a fallen bucket into his legs. The sudden impact knocked him off balance.
I thrust my spear forward with pure instinct.
He dodged, twisting like liquid shadow, and the spear barely grazed his ribs. But even that small wound made him retreat a step—surprised again.
Vlad's voice cut through the chaos, sharp and cold.
"Your breath shifted, Chief."
I didn't answer. I couldn't. My heart hammered wildly. The moment of clarity was gone, drowned in panic.
The hunter spun toward me again—but Vlad intercepted him, a blur of movement.
Steel flashed.
Blood followed.
But the hunter wasn't dead. He slipped away once more, disappearing into the cluster of houses.
"That's two accounted for," Vlad said quietly. "The third is still hiding."
A scream from the far side of the village chilled the air.
"CHILDREN!" Lira yelled
I sprinted toward the source with Lira beside me, her breath ragged with fear. Near the old barn, the last hunter had cornered three children. They huddled together, tears streaming, too terrified to move.
"HEY!" I shouted. "Fuckface!"
The hunter turned toward me with an almost curious tilt of the head.
He lunged.
I froze again—not out of fear, but because my body tried to shift into that Qi state. It came in a painful jolt of heat, but it wouldn't sync. My breath faltered. My limbs felt heavy.
Damn it—WHY couldn't I control it?
The dagger came closer—
And Lira threw a rock at the hunter's temple.
Not a big one—barely large enough to fill a hand.
But she threw it with desperation, precision fueled by terror.
It struck the hunter's head directly.
He staggered.
It was all the opening Vlad needed
He didn't appear—he descended.
Like gravity itself had pulled him from nowhere, he dropped from the barn roof with both blades out. The hunter barely looked up before Vlad's knee smashed into his spine.
The impact cracked loudly.
The hunter collapsed.
Vlad's blade followed—no hesitation, no mercy.
When he stood, his breath flowed in a slow, deep rhythm that made the air around him feel heavier.
His breakthrough was close.
Very close.
The villagers stared at him in terrified awe.
Orin limped toward me, clutching her arm. "Liam… are those bastards gone?"
I looked at Vlad.
He nodded once. "One dead. Two driven back."
Lira hugged the children, comforting them as they sobbed into her cloak.
But the night wasn't over.
A horn sounded from the forest—deep, singular, authoritative.
Garron Haldis.
The captain.
He had been watching the entire time.
Vlad looked toward the treeline, eyes burning with anticipation.
"He comes soon," Vlad whispered. "When he does… my evolution begins."
The Ledger pulsed violently in my mind:
[MAJOR ASSAULT: 24–48 HOURS]
[VLAD: BREAKTHROUGH IMMINENT]
[LIAM: QI ENGAGEMENT DETECTED]
[DAYS UNTIL NEXT SUMMON: 9]
I felt the village tremble with fear.
And for once… I trembled with it.