The jungle was alive… but not in the way it should've been.
Every branch creaked like a whisper of warning. Shadows twitched unnaturally under the moonlight, and the thick, damp air hung heavy with the smell of rotting leaves… and blood. Somewhere in the dense fog, a low growl echoed—deep, guttural, and hungry.
Kairos Valen tightened his grip on the dull iron blade strapped to his back, his breath shallow, controlled. The worn leather straps on his hunter gear dug into his shoulders, soaked with sweat, though the night was cold. He crouched low behind a cluster of mossy rocks, eyes scanning the clearing ahead.
"Stay quiet… observe. Don't engage until the flare signal," he whispered to himself, echoing the instructions from the Hunter Guild supervisor. But deep down, he already knew. This was no ordinary E-rank trial.
Not tonight.
This part of the jungle—Blackroot Hollow—was recently flagged for irregular Shatterbeast activity. Yet the Guild sent trainees anyway, brushing it off as "rumors and wind."
Rumors don't leave behind half-eaten carcasses. Wind doesn't scream like that.
Kairos adjusted the hood on his cloak, hiding the silver streak in his otherwise black hair—a mark of his lineage. He had spent years ensuring no one knew who he really was. Kairos Valen, last surviving heir to the fallen Akaros throne, now just another nameless hunter recruit, surrounded by people who wouldn't think twice before stabbing him for a promotion.
Still… his father's voice echoed in his head.
> "A king is not born to rule. He is shaped by fire, blood, and the burden of choice."
He shook the memory away.
Suddenly, the ground beneath him trembled—subtle, like the heartbeat of something massive beneath the soil. Birds exploded from the treetops. Then… silence.
Too much silence.
Kairos stood. Every fiber of his body tensed. The wind shifted.
Then he saw it.
Emerging from the mist, crawling on elongated, bony limbs, its body hunched and pulsating with sickly violet veins, came a creature out of nightmare—a Shatterbeast. No… this one wasn't standard. This was a "mutated variant." Its body had cracked open in places, revealing shards of obsidian-like armor growing out of its flesh, twitching as if alive.
Its eyes… no, its mouth—that's where the eyes were. Dozens of glowing eyes embedded inside its open jaw, blinking in chaotic rhythm.
Kairos felt his stomach churn.
He reached for the emergency flare. The plan was simple—spot, signal, retreat. But the creature turned toward him… and charged.
Too fast.
Too close.
No time.
He ducked, rolled sideways as claws ripped through the trees like paper. A huge splash of earth erupted behind him as the beast crashed into the rocks he was hiding behind.
Kairos drew his blade.
It was pathetic.
Worn, chipped, barely E-grade steel. Against this thing, it might as well be a stick.
But he had no choice.
He dashed forward, slicing at one of the exposed joints on its leg. The blade glanced off harmlessly. The Shatterbeast snarled, its breath reeking of burnt meat and sulfur, and with one swipe, sent Kairos flying across the clearing.
He slammed against a tree, his body screaming in pain. Something cracked in his ribs. Blood filled his mouth. His vision blurred.
And then…
It happened.
A pulse—not from the jungle… but from within him.
Somewhere deep in his chest, something ancient awoke.
His heart rate dropped. Time slowed. Everything froze.
The world dimmed—colors drained into grayscale, except the creature. It burned in his vision like a flare of purple flame.
Kairos stood. Or maybe he floated. His body moved, but it didn't feel like his own.
In that moment, something in his mind snapped open.
Void.
Not darkness. Not emptiness. Something deeper.
His eyes burned with black light. Veins pulsed in silver patterns across his arms. The Shatterbeast lunged again.
But this time… Kairos raised his hand.
A thin ripple shot out from his palm—silent and sharp.
The creature froze midair. Its body locked up, spasming violently. Its bones cracked as if compressed by invisible pressure. It screeched—a sound that shook the treetops—and then collapsed to the ground, twitching uncontrollably.
Kairos stared at his own hand.
"What… did I just—?"
Pain.
Blinding, nerve-splitting pain exploded in his skull.
He screamed, collapsed, convulsing as black energy crackled out from his body like broken lightning. His skin felt like it was being peeled. His ears rang with whispers in a language he didn't know but somehow understood:
> "Child of the Void… You are marked. The world will bend… or break."
And then, it stopped.
The jungle returned to sound. The wind blew again. The beast was gone—vanished into ash.
Kairos lay gasping, barely conscious, staring at the stars.
A pair of boots stepped into his blurred vision.
A woman, tall, wrapped in a sleek dark cloak, white hair braided tight behind her, stood over him. Her eyes glowed faint gold as she looked down at him.
Ravenna Vale.
S-rank Hunter. Guild Legend. Monster Slayer.
And she looked… curious.
"You," she said calmly, "are not who you pretend to be."
Kairos tried to speak, but his voice failed.
Ravenna crouched beside him, placing a cold-gloved hand on his chest.
"That energy just now… that wasn't Cursed Core. That was Void."
She leaned in closer, her voice now a whisper.
"Tell me, Prince Kairos… are you ready to claim what's yours?"
---
[To Be Continued…]