There was a chain of events that led Isla to meet up with his siblings.
It started the moment the tournament began.
Their team of four was split into two without warning.
No pattern. No fairness. Just random placement.
Isla was paired with Alex.
Lennox was paired with Zephyr.
From the start, things went bad on Lennox's side.
The place they were dropped into was brutal.
Cold winds. Sharp cliffs. Thin ground that felt like it could give way at any moment.
And that was before the real problem showed up.
They were being hunted.
A sky beast.
A Griffin.
It came fast.
No warning.
Just a shadow passing over them and then—
Impact.
The Griffin dove down and grabbed Lennox.
Its claws sank deep into his flesh as it lifted him straight off the mountainside.
There was no time to react.
No time to fight back.
Just raw speed and overwhelming force.
The beast flapped its wings once.
Then twice.
And it was already in the air.
High.
Too fast.
Too sudden.
But Lennox wasn't alone.
Zephyr had grabbed him at the exact moment the Griffin struck.
Now he was being dragged along with him.
His grip tight.
His body swinging in the air.
"Argh—shit!" Zephyr screamed.
His legs kicked wildly below him.
Nothing to stand on.
Nothing to hold except Lennox.
"Hold me! Hold me!" he shouted again, panic breaking through his voice.
They were already high above the ground.
The wind slammed into them hard.
It wasn't just air anymore. It felt like pressure.
Like something trying to crush his chest.
Every breath was a struggle.
The higher they went, the worse it got.
Zephyr's fingers dug deeper into Lennox's arm.
He refused to let go.
And not only that, Zephyr could feel it.
His grip on Lennox was slipping.
Slowly.
Bit by bit.
His fingers were losing strength.
Meanwhile, Lennox was in no better state.
He was the one caught in the Griffin's claws.
Held like prey.
Lifted like he weighed nothing.
He could not feel the pain from the claws digging into him, but that did not matter.
Fear still came.
The kind that crawled up your spine and sat there.
"Shit... Lennox, snap out—!" Zephyr tried to shout.
But his voice broke.
The wind swallowed most of it before it could even reach Lennox.
Breathing was getting harder.
Each inhale felt thin.
Each exhale rushed out too fast.
The Griffin circled the mountain.
Once.
Then again.
Each turn made the wind worse.
Stronger.
Sharper.
Zephyr's body was thrown to the side.
He swung like a loose weight, barely holding on to Lennox's arm.
His fingers tightened.
Then slipped again.
'shit... if I can get closer to the mountain... I might be able to jump,' Zephyr thought.
His eyes moved quickly, scanning the distance below.
Calculating.
'I won't die...'
'It will hurt... but I won't die from that height.'
His thoughts ran fast.
Then suddenly—
A hand grabbed his wrist.
Zephyr looked up.
Lennox.
His eyes were clear now.
No panic.
He had snapped out of it.
Now he was the one holding Zephyr.
Tight.
'I am sorry...!' Zephyr tried to say.
But again, the wind stole his words.
Lennox did not reply.
He just held on.
For Lennox, holding Zephyr was not the problem.
He could not feel the strain in his muscles.
He could not feel the pressure pulling at his arms.
But Zephyr could.
And that difference was starting to show.
A cry tore out of Zephyr's mouth at that moment.
"Ahr...!"
Now he was the one being held, but that did not make things better. The Griffin's sharp turns and sudden shifts in direction dragged at his body, pulling hard on every joint. The force alone was enough to strain him. Unlike Lennox, he could feel everything. Every pull. Every twist. Every bit of damage building up.
Crack!
The sound was clear. Too clear.
Zephyr froze for a split second, his breath hitching. He didn't know whether to scream or just give up right there. That sound… it came from his own body.
His hand.
The one Lennox was holding.
It had twisted badly, bent in a way it should never bend. Pain shot through him, sharp and constant, refusing to fade.
"Shit..." he muttered, his voice shaking.
But things were not done getting worse.
Right then, the Griffin suddenly stopped circling. Its wings spread wide, holding its position in the air for a brief moment. Then it adjusted its body, angling itself upward.
And then—
It flapped.
Hard.
The force pushed them higher instantly.
Another flap.
They shot upward, climbing straight into the sky.
Not forward. Not sideways.
Up.
Straight up.
The mountains below started shrinking fast. The ground pulled away from them as if it had been cut loose.
The air got thinner.
Colder.
Harsher.
Soon, they were inside the clouds. Thick mist wrapped around them, blocking most of their view. The world turned white and endless, with only the violent beating of wings reminding them they were still moving.
Zephyr's eyes widened as the situation finally made sense in his head.
Clear. Simple. Deadly.
"Shit... shit... shit!" he panicked.
His voice cracked as he forced the words out.
"It's planning to drop us from this height!"
The realization hit hard.
No guessing anymore. No doubt.
That was exactly what the beast intended to do.
Lennox heard him. Barely, but enough.
The meaning still landed.
And it was terrifying.
For a brief moment, both of them understood the same thing.
They were too high.
Too exposed.
And right now…
They had no control over anything.
As they kept rising through the clouds, something changed.
The Griffin slowed.
Its wings still moved, but not with the same rhythm. Not the same control.
Then it stopped climbing.
Just like that.
It hovered in place for a brief moment, its massive wings spreading wide as it held itself in the air.
Its head turned.
Not toward Lennox. Not toward Zephyr.
Down.
It was looking at something below.
Lennox narrowed his eyes, trying to see through the mist.
Zephyr followed his gaze.
'What is it looking at?'
Neither of them could tell. The clouds were too thick, the distance too far.
For a split second, everything felt still.
Then—
Something shot up from below.
Fast.
Too fast.
It tore through the clouds like a spear cutting through cloth, the wind screaming around it as it rose.
There was no time to react.
No time to think.
The object closed the distance in an instant and—
Impact.
It slammed straight into the Griffin.
Hard.
Brutal.
Clean.
"ARGHHHHH!!!"
The Griffin let out a piercing scream.
The sound ripped through the air, wild and pained.
Blood burst out.
Not a trickle. Not a spill.
A full spray.
It shot outward like a fountain, hot and thick, splashing across Lennox and Zephyr.
Their bodies were instantly soaked.
The warmth of it hit their skin, sharp and sudden against the cold air.
"ARGHHHHH!!!"
The Griffin cried out again, louder this time.
Its wings flapped wildly now, losing rhythm. Losing balance.
Its body jerked in the air as it tried to stay afloat.
The sky around them turned chaotic.
Wind. Blood. Feathers. Motion everywhere.
Lennox forced his eyes open despite the blood running across his face.
Zephyr blinked hard, trying to clear his vision.
They both looked up.
Then they saw it.
Right at the Griffin's neck—
Something was lodged deep inside.
A massive spire.
Thick.
Rough.
It looked almost like a sharpened tree trunk.
Too large to be held by any normal human hand.
Too solid to be anything natural at that speed.
It had pierced straight through the Griffin's neck, burying itself deep as if the creature's body had been nothing but soft ground.
The source of the attack…
Was still below.
The spear itself didn't look like metal. It wasn't polished. It wasn't forged. It looked carved. Rough. White. Like it had been shaped out of bone.
But Lennox and Zephyr didn't have the luxury to study it.
They had something far worse to deal with.
The Griffin's body jerked again. Its wings flapped out of sync, struggling to hold its weight. Blood kept pouring from its neck, the white spire buried deep and unmoving.
Then its strength gave out.
Just like that.
The massive body dropped.
No glide. No control.
It fell.
And it took them with it.
The air rushed past them violently as they were dragged down at high speed. The clouds split apart around their falling bodies, wind tearing at their clothes and skin.
Lennox's eyes widened as the ground below started coming into view.
Fast.
Too fast.
'Can I survive this fall?' he thought as his gaze locked downward.
The distance was closing rapidly.
The mountain. The trees. The ground. All rushing up to meet them.
'Heck... I can't feel pain… but that doesn't mean I can't break…'
'I'm not indestructible…'
Panic crept in. Slow at first. Then sharp.
Meanwhile, Zephyr was different.
He wasn't panicking.
Not even close.
His eyes were focused as he looked down, his expression steady despite the fall.
Blood covered him.
Warm. Thick. Fresh.
The Griffin's blood.
'Finally… I got it,' he thought, a small smile forming.
'It's all over me… that's enough…'
'All I need is to use it for the ring… and activate it.'
His hand moved, even as the wind fought against him.
Then—
The ring reacted.
A bright purple glow burst out from it.
Sharp. Sudden.
The light spread fast, wrapping around his entire body in an instant.
It pulsed once.
Then again.
The glow intensified, covering him completely.
For a moment, his human shape blurred inside the light.
Then it changed.
When the glow faded, Zephyr was no longer human.
Feathers.
Wings.
Claws.
A full Griffin.
Identical in form to the one falling beside him.
He didn't hesitate.
His wings spread wide.
They caught the air.
Hard.
The downward speed slowed. Then stabilized.
He held himself mid-fall, regaining control almost instantly.
Meanwhile, Lennox—
Kept falling.
Still dropping.
Still helpless.
Still fast.
Zephyr's head snapped toward him.
"…Oh. Shit."
No time to think.
He folded his wings slightly, then pushed forward.
Diving after Lennox.
One of the effects of the shape-shifting ring was simple but powerful. It didn't just change your body. It gave you control. Even if it was your first time in that form, it guided your movements, steady and precise.
Because of that, Zephyr didn't struggle. Not even for a second.
His wings moved clean.
Strong.
Natural.
He cut through the air and closed the distance fast, catching up to Lennox as the latter kept falling.
Lennox saw the Griffin coming up beside him.
His eyes widened. Panic hit again.
Another one?
"HECK—!"
"Get on my back, or do you want to die?!" Zephyr shouted.
His voice came out rough, deeper, carrying the weight of his new form.
Lennox froze for a split second.
Then it clicked.
'Zephyr…?'
No time to question it.
Zephyr moved under him, positioning himself with careful control despite the speed of the fall. He angled his wings, slowed just enough, and slid beneath Lennox's body.
Then he caught him.
Clean.
No struggle.
No crash.
Just a smooth pickup mid-air.
At that same moment—
Boom!
A heavy impact shook the ground below.
The sound echoed up through the air.
Both of them looked down.
The Griffin.
It had hit the ground.
Hard.
Too hard.
Its body didn't hold. It burst apart on impact, flesh and blood spreading across the ground in a violent mess.
Silence followed for a brief moment.
Only the wind filled the gap.
Zephyr steadied himself in the air, wings beating slowly now.
They hovered a few meters above the ground, both of them looking down at what remained of the beast.
"I wouldn't have survived that," Lennox thought.
No doubt. No pride. Just truth.
Then—
A sound broke the moment.
Thud.
A step.
Heavy.
Close.
Another one followed.
Thud.
Slow.
Measured.
But each step carried weight. The kind that pressed into the ground and echoed outward.
Both of them turned.
Their eyes locked onto the source.
And then they saw it.
A figure.
Huge.
Towering above the nearby trees like they were nothing more than grass.
It was human in shape, but far too large to be called one.
Its body was bare from the waist up, muscles thick and defined, covered in streaks of dried and fresh blood. Its lower half was wrapped in rough beast hide, tied crudely around its waist.
Primitive.
Brutal.
Raw.
In one of its hands—
It held a person.
Alive.
Dangling.
Like it meant nothing.
Lennox felt his chest tighten.
Zephyr's wings slowed for just a moment.
They both knew.
No need for guessing.
No need for confirmation.
"An Anakim," they said at the same time.