The Hunter’s Trials – Part II

The city was alive with shadows.

Kairos sprinted through the narrow alleyways of Zenithspire, each breath ragged as his mind raced to make sense of the madness. The Eclipse loomed high above, casting an eerie twilight across the city, while distant clashes of power echoed through the streets. The Hunter’s Trials had begun — and he was the prey.

He darted into a crumbling courtyard, back pressed against a stone wall. His heart pounded as the sound of footsteps approached. Slow. Deliberate. A silhouette emerged from the gloom, bathed in emerald light.

A warrior.

The man wore dark armor etched with runes, his face obscured beneath a hood. Essence flickered around him — green tendrils of wind curling at his fingertips. Skyward Clan.

“I found him.” The warrior’s voice was cold, distant. “The Eclipse Bearer.”

Kairos barely had time to react. The air around him exploded, a gust of wind slamming into his chest and hurling him across the courtyard. He rolled, gasping for air as the warrior advanced, green energy crackling around his fists.

“Stay down,” the warrior ordered, raising his hand. The air shimmered, condensing into a razor-sharp spear of wind.

Kairos clenched his fists, willing the flames to return. Nothing happened. The warrior thrust his hand forward — the spear shot towards him — and then something snapped inside Kairos.

Move.

Time slowed. The wind shifted. Kairos twisted his body, the spear grazing past his cheek, slicing stone behind him. The flames roared to life, black and violet, swirling around his fists. His body moved on instinct. He lunged forward, flames crackling through the air.

The warrior barely raised a shield of wind in time, the black fire slamming into it, warping the air. “What the—?!” The shield shattered. Kairos grabbed the warrior’s arm, black flames searing his armor, and hurled him into the wall.

The warrior collapsed, unconscious. Kairos stood over him, breathing heavily, the flames slowly fading. He stared down at his hands.

What am I becoming?

A distant roar snapped him out of his thoughts. More were coming. He turned and ran.