The hunter's smile didn't reach her eyes.
Brown eyes. Human eyes.
That was the first wrong thing.
The second was the way the air around her bent, warping like heat haze over a corpse-strewn battlefield. Her coat—tattered, streaked with old blood—fluttered in a wind that didn't exist.
Lucian's claws flexed. His System spat static:
[WARNING: UNKNOWN ENTITY DETECTED]
[Analysis Incomplete]
[Blood Corruption: 32% — Stable]
Stable. Funny word for the storm in his chest.
"You're dead," Lucian said, his voice rough. "I watched you die."
The hunter tilted her head. A strand of dark hair slipped free from her hood. "Did you?"
Memories flashed—
Silver knives glinting in moonlight.
His own blood pooling on asphalt.
Her face, pale with shock, as the real monster tore her throat out.
Lucian bared his fangs. "You bled out in an alley. I heard your heartbeat stop."
The hunter's lips curled. "And yet." She spread her arms. The shadows at her feet twitched, alive in a way no human's should be.
A trap. Had to be.
Lucian forced his breathing steady. Think.
Vaelros had bought him time, not salvation. The Veilbound were still coming. This thing standing in his path wasn't the woman who'd killed him. It was a trick. A phantom.
Or worse.
"What do you want?" he growled.
The hunter's smile faded. "To remind you." She took a step forward. The ground didn't crack. The air didn't tremble.
That was the third wrong thing.
"You were supposed to die that night," she whispered. "But something cheated. Something stole you." Her fingers brushed the hilt of a knife at her belt—silver, just like the ones she'd buried in his ribs. "Now the scales need balancing."
Lucian's pulse hammered. Not with fear. With rage.
"Try," he snarled.
The hunter moved.
Fast. Too fast.
Her knife flashed. Lucian twisted, shadows coiling around his forearm like a shield—
The blade passed through them like smoke.
And bit.
White-hot pain lanced up his arm. His System screamed:
[ALERT: SOUL LACERATION DETECTED]
[Blood Corruption: 34% — Rising]
Lucian staggered. His shadowform flickered, patches of his skin reverting to flesh—pale, scarred, human.
The hunter watched, her head tilted like a curious bird. "Oh," she murmured. "You really don't know, do you?"
"Know what?" Lucian spat.
Her eyes gleamed. "What you are."
Then the world exploded.
A shockwave of silver light tore through the ruins, shattering stone. Lucian barely had time to dive behind a collapsed pillar before the blast hit.
The Veilbound had arrived.
And they weren't alone.
Three figures stood amidst the settling dust. Two wore the silver masks of Veilbound enforcers. The third—
Vaelros.
His left arm hung limp, blackened veins spiderwebbing up to his shoulder. His dagger was gone. His smirk wasn't.
"Miss me?" he called.
The hunter sighed. "Persistent bastard."
One of the Veilbound raised a hand. Runes ignited in the air—
Vaelros moved.
Not toward them.
Toward Lucian.
He crashed into him, knocking them both behind cover as silver fire scorched the ground where they'd stood.
"Plan?" Lucian hissed.
Vaelros' grin was all teeth. "Run."
"Again?"
"You're learning."
A roar split the air. The hunter lunged past them, her knife carving a vicious arc toward the nearest Veilbound. The masked figure barely dodged, their silver cloak rippling.
Lucian blinked. "She's—?"
"Attacking them? Yes." Vaelros wiped blood from his lip. "Seems you're not the only heresy tonight."
The System's text flickered, warped:
[WARNING: VEIL INTEGRITY COMPROMISED]
[New Quest: Survive the Cleansing]
[Reward: Answers]
Lucian's laugh was raw. "Finally."
Then he surged to his feet
And charged.