The air thickened with every step. Kota slowed without realizing it.
His breath caught in his throat. His chest felt wrong. It was tight and compressed, as if the world itself was pressing inward on his lungs. "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, her eyes scanning the street ahead with a predatory sharpness. "It's centered," she said quietly. "Someone's close."
They were passing through the fifth town since dawn. It was a small, forgettable place. It was the kind of town where people vanished without anyone ever 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. The paper snapped loudly in the quiet street. Kota turned instantly.
His posture shifted and his weight dropped as if he were ready to fight. Even through the haze of his sickness, there was a lethal edge to his stance. He wasn't weak. He was a caged storm waiting for a reason to break. "What is it?" he asked.
Leiya didn't answer right away. Her jaw tightened as she read the ink.
WANTED 5,000 Black Shards or 50 Gold Aelons
The name sat beneath the numbers in bold, unapologetic letters.
Kota
The edges of the paper trembled slightly in her grip. Black Shards were diamond shaped and four pointed. They were a sharp edged currency passed hand to hand in blood soaked deals.
They were the coins of criminals and bounty hunters who preferred money that didn't ask questions. Gold Aelons were different. They were Kingdom currency. Clean. Official.
That was new.
It meant the word had spread. People didn't just know he was dangerous, they knew why.
Kota hadn't seen the paper. Not until Leiya folded the bounty and slipped it into her coat.
"Don't," she said before he could ask. She saw the Yen beginning to flare and warp in his eyes, the dark energy swirling like ink in water. "Not now."
His voice dropped, dangerous and low. "How much?" "Enough," she replied. "And more than yesterday."
Kota didn't move for a long second. The sickness pulsed in sync with his anger. The dark energy was ready to unleash on whoever had posted the price on his head.
He was more than capable of handling any hunters that came their way, but he knew the timer was running. Pushing too hard would let the Yen consume him entirely.
Leiya placed a hand on his arm. The contact 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 the full dark set in. The air softened. It was no longer heavy or watching them. Leiya worked quickly.
Her practiced hands crushed herbs while she murmured under her breath as the potion took shape. "Drink," she said, passing the cup to him. "and rest. When dawn breaks, we leave."
He drank it down.
The burning in his veins dulled. It wasn't gone, but it was quieter. It was manageable.
For now. Elsewhere, the air was far from peaceful.
Kaola halted just outside a town's edge. Her eyes narrowed 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 night.
Koa landed hard, her boots cracking the dry earth. Kaola's bow was clutched tightly 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 the third strongest," Koa said. Her voice shook with a restrained, violent fury. "Among the siblings."
Kaola laughed. She stepped forward and snatched her bow from Koa's grip with a fluid motion. "You? Third strongest?" She tilted her head. "That's cute." Flame bloomed instantly in Koa's palm. A fireball screamed to life, casting orange light across the trees. "Say that again," she hissed. "I dare you."
Kaola sighed. She cracked her neck and arched her bow toward Koa in one seamless movement.
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 one here."
Lokee perched on a low branch above him. She crossed her arms and laughed softly. She mimicked her older brother Koma's secret technique to close the gap between her and Koa in a blink.
"If you were that strong," Lokee said calmly, "you wouldn't need to say it. Look at you. Emotions everywhere. No control."
Koa's breath came hard and fast. Lokee's tone didn't change. "Put out the fire. Go home. And Kaola, for you to indulge in her pettiness irks me."
Koa stared at them with her teeth clenched. She extinguished the flame with a sharp, angry exhale. "You won't get away with this," she said coldly. "All three of you. Koma too."
She lifted off the ground. Her body ignited. Fire wrapped her frame and lightning snapped along her limbs as she tore through the sky like a supernova. She left scorched ground and wounded wildlife in her wake. Hykee laughed as the echoes of her flight faded.
Nearby, drifting just beyond sight, Kova watched from within the Void.
If anything goes wrong, I'll step in.
His mission was complete. He had secured the top secret scrolls 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 was flat and vibrated against the walls of the rift.
"She easily could be top three."
He paused to shift the scrolls. His expression was one of pure annoyance.
"But power without control is just noise. It's irritating."
He turned away. His mind drifted 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 was 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 darkness of the rift swallowed him whole.