The air thickened with every step.
Kota slowed without realizing it, breath catching just slightly. His chest felt wrong tight, compressed, like the world was pressing inward.
"it's getting hard to breathe with this dense air," he muttered.
Leiya had already noticed. She always did. Her fingers brushed the hilt at her side, eyes scanning the street ahead. "It's centered," she said quietly. "Someone's close."
They were passing through the fifth town since dawn. Small. Forgettable. The kind of place people vanished in without anyone asking why.
Leiya stopped suddenly.
A tavern wall loomed to their right, layered with old notices and half torn warnings. Before Kota could register what caught her eye, she reached out and tore one free.
Paper snapped.
Kota turned, his posture shifting, weight dropping slightly as if ready to fight. Even through the sickness, there was a lethal edge to his stance the boy wasn't weak; he was a caged storm.
"What is it?" he asked.
Leiya didn't answer right away. Her jaw tightened as she read.
WANTED
5,000 Black Shards or 50 Gold Aelons
The name sat beneath it.
"Kota" In bold letters.
The edges of the paper trembled slightly in her grip.
Black Shards diamond shaped, four pointed, a sharp edged currency passed hand to hand in blood soaked deals. Used by criminals. Bounty hunters. People who preferred money that didn't ask questions.
Gold Aelons, Kingdom currency clean and official.
That was new.
Word had spread.
Not just that he was dangerous but why.
Kota hadn't seen it. Not until Leiya folded the bounty and slipped it into her coat.
"Don't," she said before he could ask, seeing the Yen beginning to flare and warp in his eyes. "Not now."
His voice dropped, dangerous and low. "How much?"
"Enough," she replied. "And more than yesterday."
Kota didn't move for a second. The sickness pulsed in sync with his anger, the dark energy ready to unleash on whoever had posted it. He was more than capable of handling any hunters that came their way, but he knew the timer was running and pushing too hard would let the Yen consume him. Leiya's hand on his arm grounded him before the sickness could take hold.
They moved on.
By the time the road bent toward the low hills, dusk had begun to settle. The pressure in the air eased slightly, like a held breath finally let go.
"Just a little farther," Leiya said. "We'll make camp. I'll brew something to calm your sickness through the night."
Kota nodded. He trusted her more than his own body at this point.
They reached a shallow clearing just before full dark. The air softened no longer heavy, no longer watching. Leiya worked quickly, practiced hands crushing herbs, murmuring under her breath as the potion took shape.
"Drink," she said, passing it to him. "And rest. When dawn breaks, we leave."
He drank. The burning in his veins dulled, not gone, but quieter. Manageable.
For now.
Elsewhere…
Kaola halted just outside a town's edge, eyes narrowing as she scanned the terrain. The Void rippled nearby, its boundary thin and restless.
Behind her, the air distorted.
A sharp rush of heat cut through the air.
Koa landed hard, Kaola's bow clutched in her hand.
"I'm tired of this," Koa snapped. "You and Koma treat me like some fetch-it doll. I grab things, you toss me aside."
Kaola turned slowly.
"I'm third strongest," Koa said, voice shaking with restrained fury. "Among the siblings."
Kaola laughed. Snatching her bow from Koa
"You? Third strongest?" She tilted her head. "That's cute."
Flame bloomed instantly in Koa's palm. A fireball screamed to life. "Say that again," she hissed. "I dare you."
Kaola sighed while cracking her neck and arched her bow towards Koa.
Hykee barked out a laugh from where he leaned against a tree. "You both are really dense. You make me look smart and I'm the dumbest here."
Lokee perched on a low branch above him, arms crossed laughed softly. mimicking her older brother Komas secret technique to close the gap between her and Koa "If you were that strong," she said calmly, "you wouldn't need to say it. Look at you. Emotions everywhere. No control."
Koa's breath came hard.
Lokee's tone didn't change. "Put out the fire. Go home." "And for you to indulge in her pettiness irks me Kaola"
Koa stared at them, teeth clenched, then extinguished the flame with a sharp exhale.
"You won't get away with this," she said coldly. "All three of you. Koma too."
She lifted off
And her body ignited.
Fire wrapped her frame, lightning snapping along her limbs as she tore through the sky like a supernova, leaving scorched ground and wounded wildlife in her wake.
Hykee laughed as the echoes faded.
Nearby, drifting just beyond sight, Kova watched from within the Void.
If anything goes wrong… I'll step in.
His mission was complete top secret scrolls secured from the king's hidden vaults. His attention lingered on the scorched horizon where Koa had vanished. He didn't look concerned he just looked tired of the noise.
"She's not wrong," he said to himself, his voice flat and vibrating against the walls of the rift. "She easily could be top three."
A pause. He shifted the scrolls, his expression one of pure annoyance.
"But power without control is just noise. It's irritating."
He turned away, his mind drifting back to the survivors he had dragged from the estate. He watched them in his mind, noting a lethality that was beginning to rival even the twins. It was a clinical observation, devoid of any pride.
"After this, I'll train her," he decided, his tone cold and bothered. "I'll break her and rebuild her. I'll train her exactly how I trained those Whiteflame pests."
His eyes narrowed as he stepped deeper into the Void.
"By the time I'm done, she'll be just as useful as they are. At least then she'll be quiet."
The night thickened.