The ground exploded.
Xin was thrown backward before he even realized Zane had moved. Not a punch. Not a kick. Just raw force released at point blank. He smashed through a broken wall, concrete tearing his skin, and rolled hard across the rubble.
Rion slid back beside him, boots carving lines into stone.
"Fast," Rion muttered. "Too fast."
Zane stood where he had been, one hand still raised, looking almost bored.
"That wasn't an attack," Zane said. "That was me checking distance."
Tara shouted from behind, "Formation. Do not split."
Zane's eyes flicked toward her.
"Ah," he said. "The thinker."
Then he was gone again.
Scene: Zane Tests Them
Rion felt it before he saw it.
The air behind him compressed.
He twisted and slashed.
Steel met flesh.
For the first time, Zane reacted.
The blade cut across Zane's shoulder. Not deep, but enough to draw blood. It dripped slowly, glowing faintly under the gray light.
Zane looked down at it.
Then he laughed.
"Oh. You're real."
He vanished and reappeared in front of Rion, knee already rising. Rion barely blocked with the flat of his blade. The impact launched him across the street, crashing him through a rusted vehicle.
Xin was already moving.
He charged, muscles burning, storing everything he had.
Zane turned just in time to meet him.
Xin punched.
Phenom Force activated.
The redirected force hit Zane square in the chest.
The shockwave cracked the road for twenty meters and sent debris flying.
For half a second, it looked like Zane had been pushed back.
Then his boots scraped to a stop.
He looked up, smiling wider.
"That was cute."
Scene: Power Gap
Zane stepped forward.
Every step felt heavier than the last. Like gravity bent toward him. Xin's legs trembled, not from fear, but pressure.
Zane grabbed Xin by the face.
Lifted him.
"You hit harder than most," Zane said calmly. "Still not enough."
He slammed Xin into the ground.
Once.
Twice.
The third impact cratered the street.
Xin coughed blood, vision blurring.
Zane raised his hand to finish it.
A blade cut down.
Rion.
Berzar.
The slash tore through the air and clipped Zane across the ribs, forcing him to release Xin and leap back.
Zane landed lightly, eyes bright now.
"This is getting fun."
Scene: Tara Takes Control
Tara fired without hesitation.
Explosive rounds detonated around Zane, kicking up smoke and fire. Not to kill. To blind.
"Move," she shouted. "Down the access slope. Now."
Xin pushed himself up, every bone screaming. Rion grabbed his arm and hauled him forward.
Zane stepped through the smoke like it was nothing.
He raised his hand.
The air screamed.
A shockwave ripped past them, throwing Tara into a wall and snapping the rifle from her hands.
Zane smiled.
"I said hunting. Not letting you run."
Scene: Narrow Escape
Alaric triggered the charges.
The road behind them collapsed inward, the ground splitting open and swallowing half the street in a violent cave-in. Dust and debris filled the air.
Xin and Rion jumped down the slope as the ground gave way.
Tara rolled after them, barely making it as the collapse sealed the opening.
The tunnel swallowed them in darkness.
Above, Zane stood at the edge, looking down into the pit.
He tilted his head, listening.
"Running into holes," he said. "Classic."
He turned away.
"No rush. Fear tastes better when it marinates."
Scene: Underground Silence
Deep below, the group staggered through the tunnel, breath ragged.
Xin leaned against the wall, blood dripping from his mouth.
"That thing," he said quietly. "He wasn't serious."
Rion wiped blood from his forehead. "No. He was playing."
Tara steadied herself and looked back up the tunnel.
"Then we do not let him catch us again," she said. "Next time, we're ready."
Above them, far beyond stone and darkness, Zane smiled to himself.
The hunt had begun.