The alert from Elmerton Wood was a siren call Kael could not ignore. The potential natural portal was a crisis, but also the perfect opportunity to field-test his new power without the immediate eyes of Skulker or Vlad upon him.
He arrived in a streak of electric blue, the December wind whipping past his sleek, Mark II armor. The scene in the forest clearing was both bizarre and telling. The air shimmered not with a full portal, but with a temporary, unstable rift—a jagged tear in reality that pulsed with sickly green light. Through it, three figures tumbled into the human world, disoriented and shivering.
They were Avian Ghosts, as Kael's HUD instantly classified them, C-Tier, Peak. Their forms were sleek, humanoid birds made of condensed ectoplasm, with sharp talons and feathers that shimmered with iridescent energy. They moved with a twitchy, hyper-agile grace, their heads cocking in sharp, avian motions. They were not mindless Echos; their auras flickered with intelligence and panic.
Seeing Kael, they didn't attack. They recoiled, their forms tensing, letting out sharp, chittering cries that were laced with fear, not aggression. They were defending themselves.
Kael didn't blast first. He assessed. His new B-Tier Temporal Perception allowed him to feel the nuances of their energy and predict their twitchy movements a crucial two seconds before they made them. They were weak, their signatures frayed at the edges from the traumatic transition. The human world was passively draining them.
"I am not your enemy," Kael stated, his voice modulated by his suit.
One of them, slightly larger with a crest of vibrant blue feathers, stepped forward. "Intruder! This place it burns! Where is our fledgling? Where is Kree?"
"They could talk. This changed everything." Thought Kael.
"There is no one of your kind here," Kael replied, lowering his blasters. "You came through alone. This world is toxic to your kind. You are fading."
The lead bird name Talvak—seemed to slump. "The rift was unstable. We were searching for our lost companion. Then we suddenly saw the door materialzing. It pulled us through. We cannot stay here for long. And, now the portal is gone. We are stuck here."
A plan formed in Kael's mind. A chance for a different kind of acquisition: not capture, but diplomacy.
"I can help you," he said. "I can give you the strength to return and offer you safe transport to the ghost zone. It won't be free though. I require something in return. Knowledge of the ghost zone. You will share all of your ghost zone knowledge to me."
He decided to demonstrate to establish authority, not with violence, but with undeniable control. He didn't aim to harm. He raised a hand, focusing his will. "Temporal Crush."
The air around the three avian ghosts solidified. Their frantic, twitching movements ceased instantly, frozen in place for a full three seconds. Their eyes widened in sheer, uncomprehending terror. It wasn't pain; it was an absolute, terrifying loss of mobility. As the effect released, they slumped, their will to fight utterly broken by the display of B-Tier dominance. He deployed three Containment Orbs, and they offered minimal resistance, too weak and despairing to fight an entity who could stop time itself.
For a week, he studied them not as specimens, but as informants. He built them Ecto-Boosters—small, disc-like devices that emitted a stabilizing field of concentrated ambient energy. In return, they spoke of the Ghost Zone.
Talvak, the most articulate one of them, became the spokesperson. "The Zone is not a chaos. It is a tapestry. Woven with territories. We are of the Aerie Spires, a minor flock. In the zone, strong ones such as you B-Tier, they command regions. Like Skulker in the Metal Wastes, or Ember in the Sonic Canyons. They are strong. They have many under them, or they are left alone by respect or fear."*
"And the A-Tiers?" Kael asked.
Talvak's feathery form shuddered, a ripple of deep-seated awe and fear passing through him. "The Domain Masters. The Peak. To stand before one is to know your place in the order of things."
"They are forces that can face down legions alone. It is said it would take a host of B tiers to merely stall a true Domain Master and even then, victory is not certain. Only another Domain Master can truly challenge one."
"And above them?" Kael asked.
At this, Talvak seemed to shrink into himself, his voice dropping to a terrified, superstitious whisper. "Above? You speak of things that should not be. The Masters are the peak of power. But above the peak... there is only the storm that washes the mountain away."
"They are not like Domain masters. Masters control. They are Calamities. They are the end of things. The Domain Masters can be fought. They can be understood. The Calamities, they are not fought. They are endured. That is all."
The information was a goldmine. It gave him more accurate information than the canon knowledge. And who knows how much this world is similar to canon. Active information is the best after all.
After a week, the deal was completed. Knowledge for freedom. Kael's cloaking technology for the portal was finally ready. In the Ghost Zone, he released Talvak and his flock but kept them sensor-blindfolded with energy dampeners. "The deal is done," he said, handing Talvak a small communication device. "This is a communication device. If you have need, or more knowledge of value, contact me. I believe in equal exchange."
Talvak took the device, bowing his head. "You are different from others. We will remember your grace."
As they flew off, a new alert screamed in Kael's HUD. <<< WARNING: HIGH-B TIER SIGNATURE DETECTED. PROXIMITY: IMMINENT. SIGNATURE MATCH: SKULKER. >>>
The hunter arrived with a low, threatening hum. His right arm was now fitted with a new, brutish-looking cannon. His green visor fixed on Kael.
"You," Skulker's voice grated. "The pest has grown into a nuisance."
"And the hunter is still missing his favorite toy," Kael shot back, his new Ghost Shield flickering to life on his arm in a stable, disc-shaped platform of swirling silver energy.
What followed was not a desperate flight, but a brutal, hour-long stalemate. Kael didn't run. He stood his ground this time. His B-Tier Ghost Fire Projection now manifested as a controlled, spinning vortex that deflected Skulker's plasma blasts. His Inferno Strikes landed with concussive force, denting the hunter's armor and forcing him back. He used his Intangibility, phasing his torso through a rock to avoid a missile and rematerializing to return to normal. He was smarter, faster, and now powerful enough to make every exchange costly.
Finally, Skulker disengaged, hovering a distance away. The respect in his voice was grudging, but it was there. "You are no longer a weak prey. You are a B-tier huh."
"I never was a prey," Kael replied, his breathing even, reactor at a stable 65%. "You just didn't see it Mr.Hunter."
Skulker's visor glowed. "The names Skulker. The portal. I know you control it. The Access to the human world is a prize. Currently, it's rare for anyone to control the portal like you do and go to the human world. Unstable portal and rifts are our only option now. You have what I need. I want to go the human freely and not be shackled by the rules of the ghost zone. I want new and more expandable hunting grounds."
Kael saw the opportunity for negotiation. "The situation is changing, Skulker. The worlds are blending together. You must have felt it. But for now, my gate is not for sale. Perhaps, in the future, we can discuss about this."
Skulker was silent for a long moment. Fighting a B tier without preparation can smell trouble even for him. Since there's room for negotiation, he can wait. Or else he will win over in the next time confrontation between them. "See that you do, brat. I don't have much patience," he finally growled. "I will be watching you."
With a final, threatening glare, the hunter shot off into the depths of the Zone, leaving Kael alone. He had held his ground against an Elite Predator not by fleeing, but by fighting as an equal. The board was set, and he was no longer a piece. He was a player now. An Elite predator.