The hunt began at dusk.
Opening of the Hunt
Word had spread across the war-torn realms: the vessel of sealed memories had been found. Every faction moved at once. The Balance Faction wanted to guard him, yet whispers inside their own ranks spoke of fear—fear that the memories locked within him might tear through the Singularity itself. The Betrayal Faction sought to seize him, hoping the power in his mind would open every Gate ever sealed. And somewhere behind the chaos, the Hidden Faction watched in silence, their plans buried deeper than anyone could guess.
I ran through ruins painted in firelight, the sky above split by collapsing Gates. Each crack of thunder carried dust and sparks through the air. The Balance soldiers shouted for me to stay under their protection, but the fear in their eyes betrayed them. Even they no longer knew whether I was a man or a weapon waiting to detonate.
Caught Between Factions
From the east, Betrayal fighters advanced in gray cloaks, blades drawn, cutting through what remained of the stronghold walls. From the west, Balance defenders pushed back, trying to reach me first. Neither side cared what I wanted. To them, I was no longer a person. I was the key.
I sprinted across a shattered bridge as arrows burned through the wind behind me. Stone cracked beneath my feet; half the bridge fell into the chasm before I reached the other side. My lungs felt carved from iron. No direction offered safety. The war had folded in on itself, and I stood at its center like prey running in circles.
The first Betrayal fighter cornered me near the edge of a ruined courtyard. His blade gleamed red with reflected firelight. I barely caught his strike on a fallen spear. Another soldier leapt the wall behind him. And another. Three against one. My arms shook with every clash of steel.
Then the wind rose.
A blur cut across the courtyard faster than the eye could follow. One soldier fell before he even turned his head. The second staggered back, his weapon clattering to the ground. The third tried to run but never made it three steps.
Wind’s Return
She stood in the settling dust, cloak snapping in the sudden gale.
Wind.
For a moment, the battlefield fell silent around her. It was unmistakably Wind—the same girl who once helped me decode the clues to find Hoàng Long. Yet she was taller now, carrying the shape of a young woman rather than the small figure I remembered. The thought flashed through me—surprise, even suspicion—but the chaos moved too fast for questions. Moonlight caught the edge of her blade, white against the smoke, as her eyes held a calm that felt older than the war itself.
“Come with me,” she said.
I stared at her, breathing hard, every instinct torn between trust and suspicion. But the Balance soldiers closed in from one side, the Betrayal fighters from the other. I had no choice left.
Escape into Darkness
She cut us a path through fire and broken walls, moving like the storm itself had taken human form. Behind us, the factions clashed in chaos. Ahead of us, the night opened like a promise of escape.
I followed her into the darkness, believing—for now—that she had come to save me.
