Zephyr's last move was never meant to hit Rhyssa. That much was clear to him now. They had already pushed as hard as they could, and it still wasn't enough. Every clash, every exchange… Rhyssa barely looked pressured.
'This fight… we can't drag it out,' Zephyr thought, his mind steady despite the chaos around him.
He could feel it clearly.
The drain.
'A good amount of my energy is already gone just fixing my wing,' he continued. 'If this keeps going, I'll lose the transformation completely.'
That was the real problem.
The ring wasn't free.
Every second he stayed in this form, every movement, every burst of speed… it all burned through his qi. And Zephyr knew his limits. He could feel how much he had left. Not much.
So he made the call.
Not to win.
To survive.
'We get out. That's the priority now.'
Decision made, his body moved without hesitation. He flapped his wings and shot upward, climbing fast into the sky. The air rushed past him as he gained height. His wings, now fully healed, beat in a steady rhythm, giving him better control and balance than before.
Higher.
Faster.
He didn't stop until he reached a level that gave him space.
Then he shifted.
His wings pulled in tight, folding back along his body. His posture changed mid-air, aligning for speed. Less drag. Less resistance.
A dive.
He dropped.
At first, it was controlled. Then it built.
Faster.
The wind pressed hard against him, roaring past his ears as his speed climbed. The ground rushed up to meet him, growing larger by the second.
Then it crossed the line.
For a split moment, his speed broke past what the air could handle.
Boom!
A sharp sonic burst cracked through the sky, the sound trailing behind him as he cut forward like a falling blade.
Zephyr's wings snapped open at the last second. Not to slow down. Not to land. Just enough to guide his body. He angled himself mid-air, shifting his weight with sharp control, keeping every bit of speed he had built up. He cut through the air from behind Rhyssa, low and fast, but she had already moved. She stepped out of the line of attack cleanly, her reaction sharp, like she had expected it.
Zephyr didn't chase her. That was never the plan.
Instead, he pulled up slightly, claws stretching out. In one smooth motion, he hooked Isla and Lennox with his legs. Grip secured. No hesitation. The next second, he kicked off the ground and shot back into the sky.
They were leaving.
Air roared past them as they climbed. Fast. Desperate. No room for mistakes.
But Rhyssa wasn't done.
A sharp mechanical sound cut through the wind.
Whip!
From her waist, a thick cable shot out. It tore through the air with speed and precision. It caught Zephyr's back leg clean.
Tight.
Locked.
Zephyr felt the pull instantly.
"heckkk...!" he growled, wings beating harder as the drag hit him.
Below, Rhyssa didn't resist. She let it happen. Her body lifted off the ground as she was dragged upward, rising with them like dead weight that refused to fall.
This wasn't escape anymore. It had turned into a tug of war in the sky.
Zephyr twisted his neck slightly, just enough to see the line.
'She latched on… damn it.'
"hechkkk... both of you, cut that cable!" Zephyr shouted.
His voice came out rough, strained by the wind and effort.
Isla and Lennox dangled from his front claws, their bodies swaying with every flap. The cable, however, was tied to his back leg. Too far. Too unstable.
Still, they tried.
Lennox reached back, stretching his arm as far as he could. His fingers barely brushed the air near it.
Too far.
Zephyr's leg kept shifting with every movement. The pull from below made it worse.
"heck… why can't she just let us go!" Isla snapped, gripping tighter as the wind pushed against his face.
"Zephyr, we can't reach it!" Lennox shouted. His voice almost got swallowed by the rushing air. "It's too far… and you're not steady!"
Zephyr clenched his jaw. His wings beat harder, but the weight behind him didn't drop.
It followed. Like a hook buried deep.
And Rhyssa… she wasn't just holding on.
She was coming with them.
'heck... what should I do?' Zephyr's mind raced, sharp and fast, searching for anything that could work. One option stood out, risky and ugly, but it was still an option.
'If I do this, Lennox and Isla will get caught in it too… but their rings should keep them alive,' he thought. No time to debate. No time to be careful.
His wings beat harder. Then he changed rhythm.
Suddenly, his flight turned rough.
He jerked to the left. Hard. Then right. Then dipped low before pulling up again. Each movement was violent, forced, dragging the cable along with him.
The line snapped tight and yanked.
Below, Rhyssa's body swung with it. She was thrown sideways, then upward, then dragged across the air like something tied to a storm.
For a moment, it worked.
The movement was chaotic. Unstable. The kind of motion that would throw off balance, break focus, force a mistake. Against most people, that would have been enough.
But Rhyssa wasn't most people.
Small bursts of air fired from her suit.
Pshhh! Pshhh! Pshhh!
From her back. Her sides. Her palms. Even her legs. Short, controlled bursts. Each one corrected her position mid-air. Each one canceled the pull.
Her body steadied.
Then it locked in place.
She wasn't being dragged anymore.
She was riding it.
Zephyr didn't see it.
His back was turned. His focus was forward. Escape. Distance. Survival.
So he kept going.
He pulled harder. Twisted more. Trying to shake her off.
Behind him, Rhyssa adjusted once. Then she stopped moving completely.
That was when she attacked.
From her shoulder, a small device slid out. Clean. Smooth. Like it had always been there.
A thin line flashed.
Zzzzt!
A laser shot forward.
It sliced across Zephyr's body, grazing him. The heat hit instantly. A sharp burn cut through his side, leaving a scorched line across his feathers and flesh.
Not deep.
But not harmless either.
"Graahh!" Zephyr flinched mid-air, his wings stuttering for half a second.
That half-second mattered.
He turned his head, eyes locking behind him.
More lights.
More beams.
They were already coming.
"shit… plan B," Zephyr muttered, his voice rough under the wind.
No pause. No hesitation.
He folded his wings slightly and dived.
The air screamed past them as they dropped fast. The ground rushed up, trees rising to meet them like a wall of green spikes. Rhyssa was still locked onto him, still aiming, still trying to line up another shot.
Too slow.
Zephyr hit the tree line.
Not crashing. Cutting through.
He forced his way into the thick woods, branches slapping against his wings and body. Leaves burst around them, snapping and scattering. For a brief moment, everything became tight, crowded, chaotic.
Then he pulled up.
Hard.
He shot back out, just above the trees, keeping low. Very low.
Now he flew straight, but close. Too close.
Branches brushed against his wings. Tree tops rushed past beneath him. He angled his path so tight that even a small mistake would mean crashing.
Behind him, Rhyssa got dragged into it.
Boom!
Her body slammed through a tree.
Bang!
Another one snapped as she clipped it with her side.
Crack!!
Wood shattered and fell, branches raining down.
For a second, it worked. The forest fought for him.
But only for a second.
Her suit reacted.
Pshhh! Pshhh!
Thrusters fired again. Short bursts. Precise. Each one correcting her position just before impact. She twisted mid-air, adjusting, slipping past branches that should have hit her.
The forest stopped being a trap.
It became noise.
Still, it wasn't useless.
Her aim suffered.
Laser shots fired, but now they hit trunks instead. Some beams burned through bark. Others missed completely, slicing through empty space as Zephyr weaved between trees.
It bought them something.
Not safety.
Just time.
Zephyr pushed harder, shifting left, then right, trying to line her up with something solid. A thicker trunk. A closer pass. Something that would finally hit.
Nothing worked.
Every near-hit turned into a clean dodge. Every trap failed by inches. And when a tree got too close to her…
Zzzzt!
She cut it down herself. Clean. Instant.
'She's adapting too fast,' Zephyr thought, jaw tightening.
Then he felt it.
A pull.
Different from before.
Stronger.
The cable.
It wasn't just holding anymore.
It was reeling in.
Little by little, the slack vanished. The distance between them started shrinking. Rhyssa's body moved closer, dragged upward, closing the gap.
Fast.
Too fast.
Zephyr's eyes narrowed.
'Not good…'
Because once she got close enough…
This wouldn't be a chase anymore.
It would be a fight.
As Rhyssa closed the distance, everything about her sharpened. Her aim. Her timing. Her control. The gap between them shrank with every second the cable pulled her in.
Her arm shifted again, metal flowing and locking into place as it formed the familiar gun. Sleek. Precise. Deadly.
She fired.
Bang! Bang!
Shots tore through the air, faster now, cleaner.
'Come on…!!' Zephyr pushed harder, his wings straining as he twisted and dipped, forcing his body through tight gaps between trees.
But it was getting harder.
Much harder.
'I can't keep this up…!' The thought hit him clean. His body was already giving signs. His energy was draining fast, and he could feel it slipping.
Behind him, Rhyssa was getting closer.
Too close.
The trees weren't helping anymore. What used to be cover was now just decoration. She adjusted easily, weaving through, her thrusters firing in short bursts to keep her steady.
She raised her arm again.
This time, she didn't rush.
"All I need… is one clean shot," she thought, her focus narrowing.
Then her system locked in.
A marker appeared.
Zephyr… highlighted.
Green.
"Got you," she said, a small smile forming as her finger tightened.
She was about to fire.
Then—
Something shifted.
It wasn't visual at first.
It was weight.
A sudden, crushing pressure spread through the air. It wrapped around her body, subtle but heavy, like the world itself had just tilted.
Her system reacted instantly.
[Your surrounding gravitational pull has increased]
"What…?" Her eyes narrowed, confusion breaking through her focus.
She felt it too.
Her body grew heavier. Not enough to stop her… but enough to matter.
Ahead, Zephyr felt it as well.
His wings dipped slightly under the sudden weight.
'This…' His eyes widened.
He knew exactly what this was.
'This is bad…'
But then another thought followed, colder, sharper.
'It's not just us.'
He looked forward.
And there it was.
Waiting.
A massive figure stood ahead, planted like a wall in their path. Tall. Immovable. Watching them approach without a single step taken.
In its hand—
A spear.
Not just large.
Tree-sized.
Held steady. Aimed straight at them.
The air itself felt heavier around it, like everything was being pulled toward that one point.
The Anakim.
And this time…
It was ready.