The first sound was the wind changing.
A low, mournful rush swept through the canyon, rattling loose stones and snuffing out the survivors' meager fire. Then came the footsteps—measured, heavy, each one making the ground shiver.
The survivors jerked awake in the dark, eyes wide. Yun Xue scrambled to her feet, dagger in hand, and looked to Shen Yuan.
He was already standing at the cave's mouth, spear gripped tightly, jaw set.
"Get everyone up," he said.
Yun Xue's voice cracked. "Who is it?"
I didn't let Shen Yuan answer.
[ WARNING: WARDEN Jurok Ironveil – PROXIMITY DETECTED ]
The name alone sent a ripple of fear through the tether.
The canyon's shadows shifted, and he appeared.
Jurok Ironveil towered at the entrance, a black silhouette framed by fractured moonlight. Seven feet of corded muscle wrapped in scavenged armor, his face hidden behind the iron mask fused permanently to his skull.
The colossal war-axe in his hands gleamed like a predator's fang.
The survivors froze, caught in his gaze like prey. Even Yun Xue, usually unflinching, stepped back.
Shen Yuan didn't move.
The Warden stopped just beyond the firelight, head tilting slightly. When he spoke, his voice was a guttural rasp that carried easily through the canyon.
"You… ran far," Jurok said. "Not… far enough."
[ SUPPRESSION FIELD INTENSITY: 89% ]
The weight of it crashed down on the group like a physical blow. Survivors dropped to their knees, clutching at their meridians as their qi was smothered. Han Fei gasped, clutching the half-severed brand at his neck.
"Stay together!" Shen Yuan barked.
Jurok stepped forward. One step. Two. The ground cracked under his boots.
He raised the axe slowly, deliberately, and pointed it at Shen Yuan.
"Captain," he rumbled, mockery seeping through the single word.
The survivors looked to Shen Yuan. He could see it in their eyes—the unspoken truth. If he fell, they would break.
We can't fight him, I said, my voice hard in the tether. Jurok isn't like Veylan. He doesn't toy with prey. He crushes it.
"We don't have a choice," Shen Yuan murmured.
Then we die here.
Shen Yuan's grip tightened. "Better here than on our knees."
Jurok came at them without warning.
The first swing of the war-axe split the ground where Shen Yuan had been standing a heartbeat before, sending shards of stone whipping through the air. Shen Yuan rolled aside and thrust the spear, aiming for the Warden's knee.
The blow barely slowed Jurok. He caught the spear on the haft of his axe and wrenched it aside with bone-snapping strength.
Shen Yuan staggered but didn't fall. He spun, using the momentum to drive a kick into Jurok's masked face. The impact rang like striking iron.
The Warden didn't flinch.
[ HOST INJURY: FRACTURED RADIUS DETECTED ]
Pain lanced up Shen Yuan's arm, but he forced himself to keep moving.
"Yun Xue! Get them out!" he shouted.
"No!" she yelled back. "We can't outrun him!"
She wasn't wrong.
Jurok stepped forward, axe sweeping in a deadly arc that tore through the canyon wall.
He's anchoring a suppression formation through his armor, I warned. We're already cut off. No one escapes unless he's dead.
"Then we kill him," Shen Yuan said.
He launched himself forward, spear darting like a viper. Jurok shifted his stance, catching the attack on the axe blade and twisting. Shen Yuan was ripped off balance and hurled into the rock wall.
He hit hard, breath exploding from his lungs.
The Warden didn't give him time to recover. He closed the distance in three strides, axe raised high.
Shen Yuan barely managed to roll aside as the weapon struck, stone splintering under the force.
The survivors finally moved. Yun Xue led a desperate charge, two others flanking her with scavenged weapons.
"Now!" she screamed.
They hit Jurok's back like a wave. One survivor drove a rusted sword toward the gaps in his armor. The blade snapped on impact.
Jurok reached back and caught the man by the throat.
The snap of his neck was louder than the survivors' screams.
He hurled the corpse into the others, sending them sprawling.
We can't win like this, I said. I'll burn what Prots we have left. It won't be enough to kill him, but it might buy you a window.
"No," Shen Yuan said.
You're already dying, host!
Shen Yuan pushed to his feet, blood dripping down his temple. "I won't leave them to him."
He met Jurok's next strike head-on. The spear rattled under the weight of the axe but didn't break. Shen Yuan twisted, redirecting the blow and stepping inside Jurok's guard.
He drove the spear upward with all his strength.
The point struck the iron mask.
Sparks flew, but the mask held.
Jurok's massive hand closed around Shen Yuan's throat.
He lifted him easily, the spear falling from his grasp.
"Too… weak," Jurok growled.
Yun Xue hurled her dagger. It struck the side of Jurok's neck and bounced harmlessly off the enchanted armor.
The Warden didn't even turn.
We're out of time, I said. I'm burning the Prots.
Shen Yuan's vision swam. "Do it."
[ PROT CONSUMPTION SEQUENCE INITIATED ]
Power surged through the tether, raw and unstable. Shen Yuan's body convulsed as the infusion hit, his meridians screaming in protest.
He grabbed Jurok's wrist with renewed strength and wrenched free, landing hard on the canyon floor.
Jurok turned toward him slowly.
"You fight harder," the Warden said. "Good."
Shen Yuan scooped up the spear and planted it in the ground, legs trembling from the strain.
"We end this here," he said.
The survivors formed up behind him, Yun Xue at their head. They weren't strong, but they stood anyway.
For the first time, Jurok paused. He looked at them—the ragged, hollow-eyed Dregs standing shoulder to shoulder behind Shen Yuan.
"Then… you all die together," he said.
[ QUEST GENERATED: DESTROY THE ANCHOR ]
Objective: Break the suppression formation by targeting Jurok's armor seals.
Reward: Chance of survival.
The tether pulsed with new instructions, mapping glowing points across Jurok's armor.
Shen Yuan lunged forward, the survivors screaming as they charged at his side.
Jurok Ironveil lowered the war-axe and met them head-on.
The canyon erupted into chaos.