Dust whips across the mine's edge. Kellan's body hangs limp, held mid-air by the Mindless crushing grip. His legs barely twitch now. His breath shallow.
Blake stands frozen, eyes wide. The world spins around him, but his feet won't move.
A sharp breath. His chest tightens. A memory flashes. A bathroom. Glass. Blood. His fists.
Then— His mother's voice. Soft. Singing.
Blake (internal, trembling): "Not again... I won't watch someone else suffer because I stood still." His fingers curl. But just as he steps forward—
SFX: SONIC BOOM overhead
A blur tears through the sky — a streak of black and blue.
SLAM!
A woman crashes into the Mindless from behind — wrapping it in a violent, armored back-hug. The force rips the ground open beneath them.
AYLA MBEKI Tier 2 Hunter. Low-cut hair, sharp eyes, and a smile that says she's done this before. Her toned arms grip the Mindless like a vice.
Ayla (smirking, whisper-close): "Surprise, baby."
The air distorts around her. An aura surges out — heat, pressure, raw controlled force. The Mindless released Kellan. He gasps as his body drops, barely conscious.
Blake (awed, staggering back, whispering): "What… is that pressure…?"
SFX: IMPACT
Ayla drives the Mindless straight into the ground — a thunderous slam that sends a shockwave across the mine. Planes approaching above shudder mid-air, veering off course. Soldiers on the ridge throw up their arms, shielding their eyes as wind and dust explode outward.
Hunter #1 (covering face): "Holy! That's a hunter for you!"
Hunter #2 (grinning): "She's not even using full restraint... and she grounded that thing with a single drop."
Down below, the wind stirred the dust in restless swirls.
D.V. force medics and Hunter support leap into action. They surround Kellan and Blake. Dragging them away from the crumbling impact zone. Blake stares ahead, lips slightly parted, heart still pounding. Blake's breath catches. Something inside him ignites — a heat, low and deep, like fire crawling beneath his skin. His vision blurs. His knees buckle.
Before he hits the ground, a medic grabs him.
But in that brief contact, the medic's eyes widen — sensing something unnatural. A flicker of energy pulses beneath Blake… sharp, heavy, alive. "Hold up... did you feel that?"
"What the..."
As the last shockwave from the battle settles, the dust begins to clear.
Moments after impact, a stillness settled.
Ayla rises slowly, breathing steady. Her expression cool, focused — but not cocky anymore.
Dust swirls. Cracked stone smolders beneath Ayla's boots. The Mindless lies embedded in the earth — not dead. Not broken. Just… still. A faint growl builds in its chest. Its fingers twitch. Its body begins to rise.
Ayla scans the battlefield. She turns slightly — eyes narrowing.
Ayla (softly, to herself): "Hmm." Her gaze shifts toward the medics. Toward the trembling figure being held up. Toward Blake.
Two Hunters kneel near the impact zone, activating compact tier-class scanners, their visors lighting up with data streams. The scanners beep rapidly — then glitch.
Hunter #1 (tapping the screen): "Something's wrong. The reading's unstable."
Hunter #2 (confused): "It spiked… then dropped… now it's blank. It's like the signal's being masked."
Hunter #1 (frowning): "But I can feel it. Something strong. Heavy."
They both glance toward the crater….
Hunter #2 (quietly): "…You think it's the Mindless?"
Hunter #1 (low, unsettled): "khhh"