Lyra couldn't stop thinking about it.
A dangi. A manifestation of the soul. A partner that reflected who you truly were.
She sat in her quarters, staring at her hands. She'd been a Hunter for years. She'd fought Riftspawn, protected civilians, followed the Order's commands without question. She'd thought she knew everything there was to know about being a Hunter.
But Theo had shown her otherwise.
What would my dangi look like?
Would it be fierce? Elegant? Something sharp and deadly, like her starlight blade? Or something softer, something she kept hidden beneath the armor she wore every day?
She didn't know.
And that bothered her more than she wanted to admit.
What does my soul look like?
She closed her eyes, trying to imagine it. A wolf? A hawk? Something that soared above the chaos, watching everything with clear, steady eyes—
BRRRRRRRRRR!
The alarm shattered her thoughts.
Lyra's eyes snapped open. She was on her feet in an instant, her hand already reaching for her blade.
Not now. Not when I was so close.
But duty called.
She ran.
The briefing room was chaos.
Commander Adebayo stood at the center, her face grim. The holographic map flickered, showing two massive red markers spreading across the city.
"A twin Rift," she said. "Two openings, less than a kilometer apart. We don't know if they're connected, but we can't take that chance."
"How bad is it?" Grace asked.
"Bad. The creatures are already emerging. They're lizard-types, fast and aggressive. Some are already consuming human life force."
My stomach turned. "Consuming?"
"They feed on the living," Commander Adebayo said flatly. "The longer they feed, the stronger they become."
"Then we need to move," Lyra said. "Now."
Commander Adebayo nodded. "You'll have backup. A senior Hunter will be joining you."
The doors opened.
A little boy walked in.
He was young—maybe twelve or thirteen—with a red bandana tied around his head. His eyes were sharp, confident, and he was grinning like this was the most exciting thing that had happened all day.
"Yo, peps," he said.
Everyone stared.
"Who's the kid?" Michael asked.
The boy's grin widened. "Name's Tom. I'm your senior."
I blinked. "You're a senior Hunter? You're like... twelve."
"Thirteen, actually." Tom cracked his knuckles. "And I've been hunting Riftspawn since I was nine. So don't let the face fool you."
Commander Adebayo sighed. "Tom is one of our most experienced Hunters. Despite his... appearance."
Tom puffed out his chest. "You're welcome."
I looked at Lyra. She looked as confused as I felt.
"Alright," Commander Adebayo said. "You have your orders. Move out."
The tank car sped through the streets.
I sat across from Tom, studying him. He was small, but there was something about him that made me uneasy. Something that reminded me of Theo.
"Stop staring," Tom said. "It's creepy."
"Sorry," I said. "I've just never met a thirteen-year-old senior Hunter before."
"Well, now you have." He grinned. "And I'm about to show you why I got the job."
Lyra ignored the exchange. Her eyes were focused on the road ahead.
"How far?" she asked.
"Three minutes," Michael said.
Lyra nodded. "Everyone ready?"
We all checked our weapons, our armor, our energy levels.
"Yeah," I said. "Ready."
The Rifts were massive.
Two gaping wounds in reality, side by side, bleeding violet energy into the sky. The creatures that spilled from them were like nothing I'd seen before.
Lizards. But wrong.
They were covered in scales that shimmered with void energy, their eyes glowing with the same violet light. They moved fast—too fast—their claws scraping against the ground as they lunged at anything that moved.
And some of them had already found prey.
I saw a woman being dragged into an alley, a lizard-thing wrapped around her legs, its jaws opening wide—
"LYRA!" I shouted.
She was already moving.
Her starlight blade flashed, severing the creature's tail. It screeched, releasing the woman, and Lyra finished it with a single, precise strike.
"Get her to safety!" she shouted.
Grace was there in an instant, her healing hands already glowing.
"Support incoming!" Grace called. "Mark, locate any survivors!"
Mark's eyes glowed with the eerie light of a Lurker. "Three more in the eastern building. Five in the western. One child—"
"Get them out!" I shouted.
Mark nodded, already moving.
Tom watched.
His grin widened.
"Alright, peps," he said, cracking his neck. "Time for a little show-off."
His hair began to glow.
White light radiated from him, bright and pure. His eyes shifted—from black to deep, burning red. Energy crackled around his body like a second skin.
"Combat Art," he said. "Stand One."
He launched forward.
He was fast. Faster than anything I'd ever seen. One moment he was standing next to me, the next he was in front of a lizard-creature, his fist driving into its gut.
BOOM.
The creature didn't just fall. It turned to ash.
"Death Fist," Tom said calmly.
He turned, already looking for his next target.
I stared.
"What the hell was that?" Michael asked.
"I don't know," I said. "But I want to learn it."
Michael and I headed for the Rifts.
"We take one each," Michael said. "The Riftguards will be inside."
"Got it," I said.
He headed for the left Rift. I headed for the right.
The moment I stepped through, I felt it.
The weight of the Void pressed against me, heavy and familiar. The air tasted like ash and copper. Shadows danced at the edge of my vision.
And standing at the center of it all was the Riftguard.
A frog. But massive—the size of a truck, its skin covered in glowing pustules that pulsed with violet light. Its eyes were pools of darkness, and its tongue lashed out like a whip.
"Great," I muttered. "A giant frog."
It croaked.
Then it attacked.
The battle was brutal.
I dodged its tongue, barely avoiding the sticky appendage. It smashed into the ground where I'd been standing, leaving a crater. I rolled to my feet, summoning my black sword.
"Okay," I said. "Okay. I've got this."
I charged.
The frog was fast. Faster than it looked. It hopped to the side, avoiding my strike, and its tongue lashed out again. I blocked, the sword absorbing the impact, but the force sent me staggering backward.
"You're not strong enough to defeat it head-on," the Voice whispered.
"I know," I grunted. "But I don't have a choice."
I dodged again. Attacked again. The frog kept evading, kept countering, kept pushing me back.
"Think, Eren. Use your head."
My head. Right. I was a science student.
I studied the frog. Its movements. Its patterns. Every time it attacked, it followed the same rhythm—tongue, hop, tongue, hop.
Like a metronome.
I smiled.
"Gotcha."
I waited for the next attack. The tongue came—and I didn't dodge. I dropped to the ground, sliding under it, and came up swinging.
The sword connected with the frog's leg.
It croaked in pain, stumbling. I pressed the advantage, striking again and again. The frog was slowing down, its movements becoming erratic.
I didn't give it time to recover.
One final strike—and the frog dissolved into ash.
I collapsed to my knees, gasping. The Rift began to close.
"One down," I muttered. "Michael, you better be okay."
Michael was not okay.
The left Rift was filled with a crab-like Riftguard. Massive, armored, its claws snapping with enough force to crush steel.
And Michael was struggling.
"Void Deck!" he shouted, throwing a card.
Attack Card. A burst of energy shot forward—only to be deflected by the crab's armored shell.
"Damn it!"
He threw another.
Defense Card. A barrier formed around him, absorbing the crab's claw strike. But the barrier shattered, and Michael was thrown backward.
"Come on!" he shouted, scrambling to his feet. "I've got more!"
He threw a Switch Card. The crab and Michael swapped positions. For a moment, the crab was disoriented.
"Now!" Michael threw a Bind Card. Void energy wrapped around the crab's legs, slowing it down.
But the crab was too strong. It broke free, its claws snapping toward Michael.
He was out of options.
"I can't—"
Wild Card.
The card materialized in his hand—blank, pulsing with chaotic energy. Michael didn't know what it would do.
But he threw it anyway.
The card exploded.
Light and shadow erupted, blinding him. The crab screeched, its armored shell cracking under the assault. When the light faded, the Riftguard was frozen—its body covered in ice, its movements sluggish.
Michael didn't hesitate.
"Attack Card!"
He threw it with all his remaining strength. The energy struck the frozen crab, shattering it into a thousand pieces.
Michael collapsed.
His void energy was completely drained. He couldn't move. Couldn't think.
But he'd won.
I found him in the aftermath.
He was lying on the ground, staring at the sky, his chest heaving.
"Michael!" I rushed over. "Are you okay?"
"I won," he said weakly.
"Yeah. You did."
"I used all my energy. I can't—"
"Shh. Save your strength."
Grace appeared, her hands glowing. "Healing incoming."
She knelt beside him, her energy flowing into his body. Michael sighed, his eyes fluttering closed.
"Good job," I said. "You did good."
He didn't respond. He was already asleep.
The lizards were gone.
Tom had killed most of them. The rest had retreated when the Rifts closed.
He stood at the center of the battlefield, his hair back to normal, his eyes black again. He was grinning.
"Great first Abuja battle," he said. "Not bad for rookies."
"Is that what we are?" I asked. "Rookies?"
Tom laughed.
"Relax. You did fine." He clapped me on the shoulder. "I'm Tom. And I'm your senior."
He looked around at the carnage.
"Alright. Get everyone to safety. We can call it a day."
We gathered the wounded. We escorted the civilians to shelters. We made sure the area was secure.
And when the last survivor was safe, we finally stopped to breathe.
I sat on the hood of the tank car, staring at the closed Rifts. The sky was clear again. The city was quiet.
"Eren."
I looked up. Lyra was standing beside me, her blade still glowing faintly.
"Yeah?"
"Good job in there."
"You too."
She was quiet for a moment.
"Theo's words," she said. "About dangi. I couldn't stop thinking about them."
"Me neither."
"Do you think..." She hesitated. "Do you think I'll find mine?"
I looked at her. The moonlight caught her silver hair, making it glow like starlight.
"I think," I said, "you'll find it when you're ready. And when you do, it'll be amazing."
She almost smiled.
"Thanks, Eren."
"Anytime."
End of Chapter