Sparks of electricity from the Order’s sealing bolts shot out and burned through the theater seat exactly one inch behind Axel’s head cutting off every exit in the blink of an eye. The whole room turned into a high voltage furnace in an instant and the hair on Axel’s arms stood straight up stung by static that sank deep into his bones. The air felt dry and boiling just as it had all those times he stood beside the metal smelting furnace in the Order’s hidden workshop.Henderson’s hologram faded away leaving the two of them trapped alone inside a web of magic that drew closer like closing jaws. The glowing metal shafts shifted inward narrowing the cage circle fast enough to steal their breath. Axel gasped for air his chest heaving unevenly. The shock of his mentor’s betrayal had shattered the sharp hunter’s instinct he had spent years honing. His mind would not clear and the world spun wildly around him. Henderson’s cold smirk the name Vane carved into the badge Rena’s words sharp as t

The sharp smell of antiseptic mixed with the stench of rust from a leaky pipe, clashing with the sound of steady rain beating down on the roof. Water dripped slowly through a crack in the ceiling, falling over and over onto the floor until it formed a murky puddle in the corner. Axel paid it no mind. The world outside could crumble all it wanted, as long as his hands did not shake while saving the only person left on his side. "Just hold on a little longer, Rena," he said softly, even as his fingers trembled around the pocket knife. The tip of the metal had glowed red hot when he held it over a lighter, then the flame died—but the heat remained, enough to stop whatever was spreading inside her. Rena bit down on a fold of Axel’s cloak until the fabric was pressed deep between her teeth. Her eyes were squeezed shut, fighting a pain that felt like it was tearing her bones apart. "Do it," she whispered, her voice strained and broken.

The Order’s hound’s jaws gaped wide then snapped shut, stopping mere inches from Axel’s face, held back only by the spear’s silver crossguard braced tight across its maw. The creature’s breath reeked of rotting flesh, coating Axel’s skin in thick, hot saliva. In the dim light he saw its fangs glint sharp and ready to tear, and for a heartbeat real cold fear coiled in his chest."Rena, get down!" Axel shouted at the top of his lungs.He drove his boot hard into the beast’s throat to knock it reeling, then kicked it full force so its heavy frame slammed into the wall with a deafening crash. At the doorway Rena held back three advancing Stalkers with a wall of shadow that spiderwebbed with every shot from their high-grade silenced rounds. Every new crack felt like it tore right through her. Her face drained of all color, paler with every blow."This won’t hold much longer, Axel!" Rena called out, her voice rough with the strain of channeling power. Fresh blood seeped through her wounds a

The MRT train roared into the dark station, its rush kicking up dust and shadows so thick they almost swallowed the sound of footsteps closing in. Steel wheels screaming against the tracks filled the air, creating the perfect cover for an escape. Yet through the noise, Axel caught the sharp, fast rhythm of someone running straight for them."Axel, right side!" Rena called out.Axel’s eyes had long since adjusted to the dark of the Void Eclipse. He picked out the shapes of two Order hunters raising their weapons, then firing blasts of searing energy that tore through the air. Impacts slammed into concrete pillars, sending shards spraying over his back, but he did not slow down.Then an electric net shot out from a blind corner. It spread wide and snapped tight around Rena’s ankles just as she tried to run. Sparks bit through her jacket, and she crashed hard onto the cold platform floor. Her body jerked violently under the current, her cries swallowed whole by the train’s thunder."Rena

"All this time... I bowed to the man who slit my mother’s throat?"Axel’s voice dropped to a raw whisper that bit cold through every shadowed corner of the hall. The documents in his hand crumpled into useless lumps of paper. Twenty years he had lived by a lie of devotion. He had been proud to be the Order’s hound, never guessing that Henderson—the man he had called hero—was the monster who had stolen his mother’s life twenty years before. Every clap on the shoulder, every "𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘈𝘹𝘦𝘭," every proud smile when he struck down a demon... it had all been an executioner patting his own weapon."Axel, stop," Rena gasped from behind a pile of cloth at the edge of the room. Her voice was faint, yet carried a sharp urgency he could not ignore.Axel did not answer. Pure, dark fury erupted from his chest, flooding his veins like lava breaking free. His gray spear hummed in response, spilling a thick black aura that ate away at the concrete floor until it cr