The king's hall thrummed with quiet machinery. Lanterns and electric sconces lined the walls, their steady glow cutting across polished steel beams and marble floors. Yet the modern shine of the chamber did little to mask the raw anger in the air.
King Alaric stood at the center, fists clenched, his crown casting a shadow over his eyes. His voice rang out like a hammer striking iron.
"Three days. Three days my daughter has been gone, and still no one has brought her back."
The soldiers kneeling before him kept their heads down. None dared to speak.
The king's jaw tightened. "If my men cannot find her, then I'll turn to those who can. Hunters, mercenaries, even outlaws, I don't care. Whoever returns Juliette alive will receive ten million crowns."
The hall erupted. Whispers spread like sparks catching dry kindling. Ten million crowns wasn't a reward, it was a life rewritten. Enough to draw out every blade for hire, every drifter, every desperate man or woman looking for fortune.
At the edge of the room, two figures stood apart from the chaos.
Cain, broad-shouldered and steady, kept his expression unreadable. Beside him was Axel, no longer the boy who had once lost everything, but a hardened young man with sharp eyes. His left arm gleamed under the light, a mechanical prosthetic of iron and brass, built for battle. Strapped across his back was his weapon: a chainsword, a combination of a chainsaw and a sword, its teeth glinting faintly as though hungry for blood.
Cain leaned slightly toward him, his voice low. "The king's put a price on her head. Every hunter in the realm will be moving by nightfall."
Axel's gaze stayed fixed on the throne, his mechanical fingers flexing with a quiet whir. "Then we move faster." His grip brushed the handle of his chainsword. "If Ash really has her, he won't keep her for long. Not this time."
Cain studied him for a long moment, then nodded.
The hunt for Princess Juliette had begun.
The crowd of mercenaries erupted into motion, some bolting from the hall already barking orders into comms, others shoving each other aside, desperate to be first on the trail. The king's guards struggled to keep the chaos from spilling too close to the throne.
Axel and Cain didn't move with the mob. They slipped out quietly, the heavy doors of the hall thudding shut behind them.
In the outer corridor, Cain finally spoke. "You alright?"
Axel flexed his prosthetic hand, the metal plates clicking faintly as the servos shifted. "You heard him. Every vulture in the kingdom's circling now. If we're not ahead of them, she's as good as gone."
Cain's calm gaze never wavered. "Revenge won't steady your aim, Axel. That arm..."
"I didn't lose it because of me," Axel cut in sharply, voice low and bitter. "I lost it because the Witch Boy burned my town to the ground. Because while he walked away, I crawled out of the rubble with nothing left but hate."
Cain's jaw tightened, but he said nothing.
Axel's lips twisted into a grim smile. "And now I've got something stronger than flesh." His hand dropped to the grip of his chainsword. "The Witch Boy thinks he's untouchable, hiding behind that floating fortress of his. But everyone falls eventually. Everyone bleeds."
The younger hunter's mechanical arm clenched with a low whir, and the sound of the chainsword revving faintly echoed in the hall as he tested the ignition.
"First we find out where that fortress went," Cain said at last. "Then we move."
Axel nodded sharply. "Agreed. The sooner we drag him down, the sooner the princess is ours."
They stepped out into the night streets of the capital. Neon signs buzzed above, mercenary crews rushed into vehicles, and airships lifted from the docks one after another, engines growling into the dark. The hunt for Juliette had already turned the city into a storm.
Cain pulled his coat tighter against the wind. "Looks like we're not the only ones with a head start."
Axel grinned, fire glinting in his eyes. "Good. Let them come. Whoever gets in my way…" His hand tightened on the chainsword's handle, the faint growl of the weapon answering his intent. "…gets cut down."
The capital streets were chaos, mercenaries flooding vehicles, engines roaring as airships cut through the night sky. Cain led them away from the main crush, down a quieter side street lit by the soft glow of hovering lanterns.
"Where do we start?" Cain asked, his voice level.
Axel tilted his head back, staring at the stars above the neon haze. His mechanical hand whirred faintly as he flexed it, the scars of memory pressing in. "The Witch Boy left tonight. Flew out. People would've seen him. Hell, you can't miss a shadow like that."
They moved toward the outskirts where the city opened into the sprawl of the lower districts. It didn't take long, chatter filled the streets, vendors and locals whispering about what they'd glimpsed in the sky.
"Big blade on his back. Black-eyed freak."
"Cut through the clouds like smoke."
"My daughter swore she saw sparks fall from his boots."
Each snippet tightened the coil in Axel's chest.
They found their first solid lead at a skyport , a docking platform where a merchant airship was being reloaded. The pilot, a burly woman with grease on her hands, squinted at them when Cain flashed a bounty license.
"Yeah," she said slowly. "I saw him. Shot across my flight path about an hour ago, nearly clipped my rig. Headed east, toward the Shattered Cliffs."
Axel's jaw clenched. He turned to Cain. "The fortress."
Cain frowned. "You don't know that."
"I know enough," Axel bit out. The chainsword strapped across his back rattled faintly, like it hungered with him. "That's where he's hiding her. Where else would he run?"
Cain exhaled, scanning the night sky. "East, then. But if the other hunters catch wind of this…"
"Then we move faster," Axel growled. "Let the rest chase shadows. We'll be the ones to bring the Witch Boy down."
They pushed off from the dock, slipping into the current of departing ships. Engines roared around them, lanterns swinging in the wind, and the capital shrank beneath as their craft climbed higher.
Axel gripped the rail with his steel hand, eyes locked on the horizon. Somewhere out there, the Witch Boy's floating fortress drifted unseen — and with it, the princess.
This time, Axel swore silently, he wouldn't crawl out of the rubble. This time, he'd be the one doing the burning. Engines thrummed beneath their feet as the small skiff cut through the clouds, lanterns along its frame glowing a steady blue. Cain adjusted the throttle, his eyes scanning the horizon while Axel stood at the prow, mechanical hand gripping the rail so hard it groaned.
They had been following faint reports of a moving structure — a house drifting among the clouds, half-seen by merchants and patrols. The "witch boy's fortress," as the capital was already calling it. Axel's gut told him Juliette was inside, locked away behind those strange walls.
But before they could trace its exact course, Cain stiffened. "Axel."
Axel's head snapped up.
Far ahead, a lone figure streaked across the sky, dark against the moonlight, cutting through the clouds with impossible speed. Even from this distance, the glint of steel strapped to his back was unmistakable.
The Witch Boy.
Axel's chest went tight, the scars of his ruined town burning fresh. "Forget the house," he growled. "We've got him."
Cain's jaw tightened, but he eased the skiff into a sharper climb, engines whining. "If we push the drive this hard, we'll overheat before dawn."
"Then we catch him before dawn," Axel snapped. His mechanical hand flexed, servos whining. "I'm not letting him vanish again."
They chased the dark shape as it darted eastward, cutting between cloudbanks, always just far enough to taunt them. The house in the sky was forgotten for now — all Axel saw was the boy who had torn his life apart, flying free as if the world belonged to him.
"Closer," Axel barked. His chainsword rattled across his back with each lurch of the skiff, hungry, restless.
Cain's eyes narrowed as he adjusted their course. "You realize if we catch him without support, we might not walk away from it."
Axel's lips pulled into a thin smile, cold and sharp. "Good. Then we'll finally find out who survives — the Witch Boy, or me."
The skiff surged forward, the lanterns along its hull flaring brighter as Cain pushed the engines beyond safety. Clouds split apart around them, and the hunt was on. The skiff roared through the night, cutting closer, the figure of the Witch Boy growing sharper with every second. His black hair whipped in the wind, the massive blade gleaming faintly across his back.
"We've got him," Axel hissed, leaning forward, mechanical fingers digging grooves into the railing. "Just a little more—"
And then the boy slowed.
Not because he was tired. Not because the engines had gained on him. He slowed because he wanted to.
Cain's breath caught. "He knows we're here."
The Witch Boy turned midair, drifting backwards on the currents as if gravity itself bowed to him. His movements were lazy, careless, a cat toying with mice. From this distance Axel could see his grin — wide, mocking, almost childish.
"Well, well," the boy's voice carried unnaturally across the wind, like laughter bouncing off the clouds. "Look who's chasing me. A shiny toy arm… and his babysitter."
Axel's entire body went rigid, fury boiling under his skin, The witch boy the same boy who destroyed his village was right before him looking like he hasn't aged a day and it infuriated Axel even more. "You—"
The boy wagged a finger at him, drifting just out of reach. "Ah-ah. Careful, tin man. Wouldn't want to lose the other arm, would you?" His grin widened, cruel and delighted all at once.
Cain's grip on the controls tightened. "Axel, don't let him bait you—"
But it was too late. Axel ripped the chainsword from his back with his good arm, the motor snarling to life, teeth grinding against the night. "Stop running and face me, monster!"
The Witch Boy only laughed, the sound echoing like bells. "Monster? No, no, no. I'm the story you tell children so they don't wander too far from home." His eyes flicked, glinting with amusement. "And you're too slow to catch a story."
Before Axel could lunge, the boy spun, soaring upward with impossible speed. The skiff's engines screamed as Cain tried to match the climb, but within moments the dark silhouette was swallowed by the clouds.
Gone.
Axel slammed the chainsword back into its mount, teeth grinding. "He was right there. Right there."
Cain exhaled, steady, though his knuckles were white on the throttle. "And he wanted you angry. Don't give him what he wants."
Axel's mechanical hand clenched until the servos shrieked. His voice came low, like a promise etched in iron.
"I'll tear the sky apart if I have to. Next time, Witch Boy — you're mine."
The skiff cut through the clouds, engines straining, but the night had already swallowed their quarry. The skiff's engines hummed beneath their boots, carrying them deeper into the drifting clouds. Silence stretched, broken only by the grind of gears and the fading echo of mocking laughter still clinging to Axel's ears.
Cain kept his eyes forward, the glow of the lanterns catching against the scars on his cheek. He didn't need to look at Axel to feel the heat rolling off him.
"You're letting him crawl under your skin," Cain said quietly, voice nearly lost to the wind.
Axel didn't answer.
Cain's jaw tightened. "Be careful. Hate sharpens a blade, but it also breaks it."
Axel's silence lingered, heavy and dangerous, as the skiff cut through the night sky. The hum of the engines swallowed their words, carrying both men toward a hunt that promised no easy end.
Far above the clouds, laughter still echoed.
Ash drifted lazily through the night air, arms spread wide as though he were letting the wind itself carry him. The city below shrank into glittering dots of lantern-light, and the hum of distant skiffs was swallowed by the vast silence of the sky.
"Chasing, chasing, always chasing," he sang under his breath, spinning once in the air before tilting his head back toward the endless dark. His black eyes gleamed with a childish mischief that would have unsettled anyone watching. "But they'll never catch me. Not unless I want them to."
His buster sword clinked softly against the metal straps on his back as he slowed, drifting toward a faint glow among the clouds. At first, it looked like a star—but then the shape emerged: his house, suspended in the sky, its great fans turning with a steady thrum, steam hissing from vents, gears clicking like the heartbeat of some strange mechanical beast.
Ash touched down on the porch, boots clicking against the wood. He paused for just a moment, tilting his head toward the horizon. He could feel them—the hunters, somewhere out there, burning with their little flames of fury. One of them in particular glowed brighter, hotter, more desperate.
Ash's smile widened, sharp and cruel.
He dragged a hand over his chest where his heart should've been, feeling nothing but the empty chill of the pact he'd made. A faint chuckle escaped him. "Good. Hate me harder. It'll make the game sweeter."
The door creaked open.
Leo's golden eyes peered out, his tail flicking. "You're back."
Ash spun lightly on his heel, all menace melting back into a boyish grin. "Of course I am. Did you miss me?"
Behind Leo, Juliette lingered in the shadows, her gold-and-blue necklace catching the dim light. She stiffened as Ash's gaze slid toward her, but this time he didn't move closer. He only laughed softly, shaking the sting of the earlier burn from his hand.
"They're coming," he said, almost sing-song, like he was sharing a secret. "Hunters. Angry ones. Oh, this is going to be fun."
Juliette's stomach twisted, and Leo's tail lashed once in unease.
Ash just leaned against the doorway of his impossible house in the sky, humming to himself like a child waiting for the next round of a game only he knew the rules to. Silence settled over the room after Ash's words, broken only by the low thrum of the engines outside.
Juliette's fingers curled loosely around her necklace, the cool surface of the crystals steadying her racing thoughts. Her voice came out sharper than she meant: "Hunters? You mean… they're after you."
Ash tilted his head, black eyes glimmering with amusement. "Mmm. After me, after my home…" He turned suddenly, grin widening as his gaze settled on her. "…after the little princess here."
Juliette froze for only a moment, then a strange relief washed over her chest. If they were after her, then it wasn't just a nightmare—someone out there was searching, someone wanted her back. But the thought twisted as quickly as it came. She glanced at Leo, his ears angled back and his tail flicking with tension. If the hunters came here, he'd be caught in it too.
Her stomach knotted uneasily. She couldn't bear the thought of him getting hurt because of her.
Leo stepped forward, his tone cautious but firm. "You should take this seriously. If they've tracked this far—"
"—then the game's just getting interesting," Ash cut in, grin sharp. "Besides, do you really think I'd let them touch this place? My house is untouchable."
Juliette's brows furrowed, torn between that odd relief and the gnawing worry that Ash was underestimating everything.
Ash leaned back against the wall, casual as ever. "Insane, brilliant, what's the difference? I built this home where no king, no army, no god could touch it. If they want to try, let them."
For a heartbeat, his grin slipped, the mask cracking to reveal something darker beneath. "Let them come. I've been waiting."
Leo's eyes narrowed. "You mean… you want them to."
Ash's smile snapped back into place, boyish and reckless. "Maybe I do."
The engines outside shifted, carrying the floating house deeper into the clouds. Juliette's relief lingered—but so did the unease, heavy in her chest.
The hunters might be coming to save her.
But if they found this place, she wasn't sure who they'd really be saving her from. Juliette sat at the edge of the long table, her fingers tracing patterns against the smooth surface. The gold-and-blue necklace felt heavy against her skin now, not just an ornament but a beacon—something that had already drawn eyes she didn't want.
Her relief still pulsed quietly: if the hunters were after her, then the world hadn't forgotten her. Somewhere beyond this endless sea of clouds, people cared enough to send help. That thought should have comforted her.
But it didn't.
Because help meant conflict, and conflict meant danger. Her gaze drifted toward Leo, who was fiddling with a jar of glowing fruit to distract himself. His ears twitched whenever Ash moved, his tail flicking like a live wire. He acted casual, but Juliette could see the tension crawling across him.
She pressed her lips together, guilt pricking at her chest. If hunters came, Leo would stand in the way. She knew it. He'd joke, he'd smirk, but when the time came, he'd fight for her. And what if that fight broke him?
Her eyes flicked toward Ash. He lounged in the corner, arms folded, shadows curling in his black gaze. There was no guilt in him, no hesitation. He was a wall of confidence, reckless certainty, as though the hunters were a puzzle piece sliding exactly where he wanted.
Juliette shivered. She couldn't tell if she was safer with him or more trapped.
"Lost in thought, little princess?" Ash's voice cut the silence like a blade.
She startled, clutching the necklace without meaning to. "I'm just… wondering what happens when they get here."
Ash's grin curved, sharp as ever. "When. Not if. You're learning fast."
Leo scowled, muttering, "Don't encourage her."
But Juliette only lowered her eyes, heart twisting between fear and hope. The hunters were coming. That much was certain.
What wasn't certain was whether they'd rescue her—or drag her into something far worse. Juliette straightened in her chair, her hands tightening around the necklace until the edges of the crystal pressed into her skin. Her pulse was loud in her ears, but she forced herself to meet Ash's black-eyed stare.
"This wouldn't even be happening if you hadn't kidnapped me," she said, her voice trembling at first, then firming with each word. "The hunters—they wouldn't be after me. Leo wouldn't be in danger. You caused this."
Leo froze mid-motion, tail stiff, his wide eyes darting between them.
Ash's smirk faltered, though only for a second. He tilted his head, studying her like she was a chess piece he hadn't expected to move. "Bold words, little princess."
"I mean it." Juliette's breath came quick, but she didn't stop. "You keep circling around this necklace, touching it like it's some kind of key. You want it? Then tell me why. Tell me the truth—or I'll protect Leo, even if it means letting the hunters kill you."
Leo's jaw dropped. "Juliette—"
But Ash only chuckled low, like she'd just played a dangerous card. He stepped forward, each step unhurried, the weight of his presence pressing into the room.
"You think you can threaten me?" he murmured, almost amused. Then, leaning closer, his grin widened. "You want details? Fine. That necklace doesn't just protect you, it rejects me. That burn—" he flexed his hand where the skin had already healed "—it means your pretty little trinket is bound to something much older. Something that pushes me back."
Juliette's fingers tightened around the gold chain, heart hammering.
"Why do you care if it rejects you?" she asked, though her voice nearly cracked.
Ash's gaze darkened, something unreadable flashing there. "Because if I can't touch it, I can't control it. And if I can't control it…" He smiled again, sharp and cold. "…then maybe you're more important than I thought."
Silence stretched, the air heavy between them.
Juliette didn't know if she'd won something or just made herself his next experiment—but one thing was certain: Ash had stopped underestimating her. Juliette's breath came shallow, her grip tight around the necklace as if holding it harder could shield her from his words. "You keep saying it rejects you. What does that even mean?"
Ash's smile thinned, his eyes narrowing slightly. He leaned against the table, casual but predatory, like a cat cornering its prey. "It rejects the dark. Anything tainted, anything corrupted—it burns. That's why I can't touch it without pain."
Juliette frowned, trying to steady her voice. "So why want it at all? If it hurts you?"
For the first time, Ash's grin softened into something quieter, almost tired. "Because pain isn't the same as death. And sometimes you need fire to burn fire."
Her stomach knotted. "What are you saying?"
Ash's gaze flicked toward the window where the clouds churned faintly beyond the floating house. When he spoke again, his voice was low, cryptic, and edged with something darker.
"There's a demon out there. Old. Powerful. One the world pretends doesn't exist anymore. It doesn't just destroy towns, it devours. Leaves nothing behind but emptiness." He tapped his chest once, slow, deliberate. "I know what that feels like."
Juliette's throat tightened. "And you think this necklace… can kill it?"
Ash tilted his head, black eyes glittering. "Not the necklace alone. But it's a piece. A spark. The kind of thing that can cut through the dark if it's wielded right."
Juliette shook her head. "You're not telling me everything."
A low chuckle slipped from him. "Of course I'm not. Some truths aren't ready for your ears, little princess. But know this ..." he leaned in, close enough that she could see the faint scar that cut across his lip, "without that necklace, the demon wins. And when it does, Leo won't just be in danger. Neither will you, nor your pretty palace, nor anyone else you've ever cared about."
Her heart pounded, anger and fear twisting together. "Then why not just say that from the start instead of dragging me out here like some prisoner?"
Ash straightened, the smirk returning as though he'd grown bored of showing cracks. "Because prisoners don't run away. And because now…" His eyes flicked briefly toward Leo, then back to her. "…you'll think twice before throwing the necklace away."
The air in the kitchen went still, the faint hum of the floating house the only sound.
Juliette hated it, hated that for the first time, Ash's madness felt less like chaos and more like a plan.
Juliette sat cross-legged on the edge of the bed, the faint hum of the engines beneath the floor a constant reminder she was adrift in the sky. Her fingers toyed endlessly with the necklace, the golden chain glinting in the soft lamplight, the blue crystals warm against her skin.
It rejects the darkness.
Ash's words echoed in her head, cryptic and heavy, like they carried more weight than he'd let her see. She should have felt relieved that there was some reason for all this, but instead her chest tightened with unease.
He'd spoken of demons. Of killing something powerful.
But what unsettled her most wasn't his words. It was his eyes—flat, black, claiming emptiness—yet for just a flicker, she could have sworn she'd seen something stir there. Something human.
Juliette clutched the necklace tighter. "If you feel nothing," she whispered to the empty room, "then why did it hurt you to touch this?"
A soft knock pulled her from her thoughts.
"Come in," she said, quickly hiding the necklace beneath her palm.
The door creaked open and Leo stepped in, hoodie slightly askew, tail flicking behind him. He looked awkward for a moment, then padded over and flopped onto the chair opposite her.
"You look… stormy," he said carefully. "Like you've got a whole fight happening in your head."
Juliette sighed. "That obvious?"
Leo shrugged. "You don't have to tell me what it's about. But… sometimes talking makes it less heavy."
For a moment she almost snapped, almost told him it was none of his business. But his golden eyes were too earnest, too raw. He wasn't prying. He was offering.
She softened. "Do you ever… wonder what he's really after? Ash?"
Leo's tail stilled. He didn't answer right away. "All the time," he admitted finally. "But he saved me when no one else would. So… I don't question him too hard. Not yet."
Juliette leaned back, watching the boy who looked so at ease and yet carried a quiet scar in his voice. He's loyal… but even he doesn't know everything.
Silence stretched between them, but it wasn't uncomfortable. For the first time since being torn from her palace, Juliette felt a thread of calm. Fragile, but real.