The sound of horns echoed through the stone paths of Astera, cutting through the air like a war cry.
Then came the cheers.
I stood on the supply deck, helping stack bundles of dried herbs when the clamor began. My head turned instinctively toward the central lift. Something big was happening.
Kael was already leaning over the railing beside me, squinting down.
The hunters were returning.
And from the looks of it — victorious.
---
The elevator platform groaned under the weight of four bloodstained hunters, armor splattered with soot, claw marks, and mud. Two were dragging something enormous behind them — a chunk of Rathian's tail, the green scales glinting like emerald shards in the late-afternoon sun.
The others carried claws. Fangs. And one proudly hoisted a scorched piece of hide — unmistakably Anjanath — leathery and marred with burns, likely from the beast's fiery breath.
A cheer erupted from the handlers, smiths, and even the grumpy old cook. Some of the younger field hands clapped and whooped as the hunters disembarked.
But not all was joy.
One of the hunters limped, blood soaking through her greaves. Another was half-carried, chestplate shattered and shoulder hanging unnaturally.
---
Kael didn't hesitate.
The smile he wore for a moment vanished, and he rushed down the stairs.
I followed — not out of command, but instinct.
By the time we reached the med station, Kael already had a knife out, slicing away armor to get to the wounds. His hands were practiced — efficient. He didn't speak unless needed. Just nodded to me, and I brought cloth and water.
The woman who'd fought the Rathian had burn marks across her forearm. She was silent. She'd clearly screamed herself hoarse earlier. Kael gently applied some herb paste — it hissed as it touched the wound — and bandaged it tight.
> "ᛋᛏᚨᚾᛞ. ᚨᚢ. ᛋᛏᚱᛟᚾᚷ."
He was encouraging her. I recognized some of the words. Stand. You're strong.
---
When the worst of the treatment was done, and the medics had taken over, Kael finally stepped back.
He sat on the bench, wiping his brow with the sleeve of his tunic, sweat and blood staining the fabric.
I sat beside him.
Neither of us spoke for a long moment.
Out beyond the edge of the courtyard, the celebration continued. Meat sizzled on iron grates, ale mugs clinked together, and even the Felynes were dancing near the hearth.
But here, it was quieter. Heavier.
Kael broke the silence first.
> "Good hunt," he said, voice dry. "But not free."
I glanced at the bandaged hunters nearby, then back at him.
> "They… almost die?" I asked.
He nodded.
> "Almost."
I looked at the firelight dancing off his cheek.
> "Why risk it?"
He stared into the flame, not answering at first.
Then, slowly, he said:
> "You eat today?"
I blinked.
> "Yes."
> "Why?"
I frowned. "Because… food here. Cook… made."
Kael nodded.
> "Cook made. Because hunter bring. Because hunter bleed."
He tapped the table softly with each word.
> "We fight. We hurt. So others live. So village stand. So Astera survive."
I stared at my hands.
> "But… is not fair," I whispered.
Kael looked at me.
Then, quietly:
> "No. Not fair. Not fair… but right."
---
His voice softened. The crackle of the fire behind us painted shadows across the wall.
> "Some think hunt is… glory. Gold. Power."
He shook his head.
> "But real hunt? Real price?"
He placed a hand over his heart.
> "Here. In breath. In dream. In how much you lose."
---
I swallowed hard.
> "They happy. Laugh. Feast. But… almost die."
Kael nodded again.
> "Because they live. And to live, sometimes… enough."
---
We sat in silence for a long time.
I watched the stars begin to emerge.
In the distance, the main canteen rang out with music and cheering. But I didn't feel like celebrating.
Not yet.
Because now… I understood just a little more.
This world didn't give anything freely.
But those who took — gave something back, too.
---
Here is the revised version of Chapter 10 – Part 3, with your update:
> ✅ Kael and Nurazam get official approval from the Handler and Commander of Astera to investigate the missing hunter team.
✅ This adds authority, structure, and a sense of duty to the journey.
✅ Emotional depth, mystery, and grim tone are retained, but grounded in the reality of how Astera operates.
---
Chapter 10 – A Voice Among Monsters
(Part 3 – "The Weight of a Name")
The sun barely peeked over the cliffs of Astera when Kael led me toward the command post — that central platform above the gathering hub, where the Commander watched the world with eyes that missed nothing.
He stood at the railing, arms crossed. Beside him, the Handler was hunched over a stack of notes, her brow furrowed.
Kael stopped me at the base of the stairs and whispered, "Let me speak first."
I nodded, heart already drumming.
---
The Commander noticed us immediately.
> "Kael. You're early. What's the report?"
> "Request, sir," Kael said, voice steady. "To track Squad 3. They missed check-in. No flares. Last seen in Wildspire Wastes."
The Handler looked up sharply. "It's been over a day. We were going to send a team if they didn't return by tonight."
Kael's eyes shifted toward me.
> "We'll go now. I want to take the outsider."
The Commander raised an eyebrow.
I tried to stand straighter, though my pulse screamed otherwise.
> "He's not a hunter."
> "Not yet. But he learns quick. He's seen things." Kael's tone darkened. "If he's to live here… let him understand what it means to lose."
---
A heavy silence.
Then the Commander spoke.
> "You take full responsibility."
> "I do."
The Handler scribbled something quickly and handed Kael a rolled scroll.
> "Supply requisition and field map. Don't go far. Priority is information. If they're alive — help them. If not… bring something back."
> "Yes, ma'am."
---
We left with only what we needed:
Two water skins.
Sharpening kits.
A red flare.
A green bottle Kael called "Dust of Life".
And something else — a note of the missing hunters' names.
> Rujan. Meris. Halton. Three names.
They weren't numbers.
They were people.
---
The journey to the Wildspire Wastes was blistering. The land stretched wide and cruel — cracked salt, wind-carved stones, and cliffs that cut the sky. The further we traveled, the fewer signs of life we saw.
Kael was quiet. More focused than I'd ever seen him.
---
Kael brushed the sand with one gloved hand, revealing deep claw tracks that split the cracked floor of the Wildspire Wastes.
> "Diablos," he whispered again, the word almost reverent and grim.
I knelt beside him, heart pounding. The heat, the silence, the scent of sunbaked dust — it all blended into a pressure that wrapped around my skull. Something about this place felt wrong.
The deeper we went, the more I felt like the land was watching us.
Then it happened.
---
The world ripped away.
My vision flickered, like my eyes had been pulled behind my own skull.
The desert vanished.
I stood in a void, black as oil and deep as a nightmare.
Chains hung from every direction — great links the size of trees, wrapped around the limbs of something colossal. A dragon. No — something more than a dragon. Towering, unnatural, godlike.
Its head was a crown of fused skulls, eyes burning like molten metal. Its wings crackled with lightning and magma. A dozen different elder dragon traits warred for space across its hide — like it had stolen pieces of them and turned them into one terrifying unity.
It looked straight at me.
Not through me — at me.
And then it spoke.
> "Find me."
Its voice didn't echo. It drilled into my bones. I could feel it in my ribs, my teeth, my soul.
> "Equal Dragon Weapon."
Then—
---
"AZAM!"
Kael's voice yanked me back to reality.
I gasped, stumbling on the sun-scorched earth, sweat dripping down my neck. My legs barely held me up.
> "You alright? You blanked out—"
Before Kael could finish, a roar split the canyon.
A second roar answered it.
Something heavy landed in front of us.
Dust exploded upward. I coughed, trying to shield my eyes—then froze as the silhouette became clear.
It moved like a reptilian executioner.
Bladed tail raised, glowing with fire and molten heat. Teeth bared. Muscles tense.
Glavenus.
I didn't need Kael's reaction to tell me what it was. I'd fought it in the game. I knew that burning tail slash. But this wasn't a game.
It was massive, alive, and snarling at us with a predatory glare.
> "Shit—move!" Kael shouted, grabbing my arm.
Glavenus lunged — its burning tail arcing midair in a red-hot death spiral.
Then—
CRACK.
A wall of sand and bone exploded between us and Glavenus.
A second shape charged in from the side, horns down, rage like a quake.
Diablos.
Its horn gored into Glavenus' chest, shoving it backward with such force the rock behind them cracked.
Kael pulled me behind a nearby ledge as the two monsters clashed. The sound was deafening — tail slashes, sand blasts, thunderous roars.
> "They're fighting over territory," Kael hissed beside me. "Stay low. Stay quiet."
But I barely heard him.
Because my mind was still reeling from those words, that voice, that thing:
> "Find me."
> Equal Dragon Weapon.
It knew me.
---
We ran.
The sound of two monsters locked in battle echoed behind us like rolling thunder. The canyon shook with each blow — Glavenus' burning tail clashing with Diablos' brutal horns. The air trembled with rage and primal instinct, and I didn't look back.
I couldn't.
Kael's grip on my wrist kept me grounded, feet pounding through the shifting sand, lungs aching with each breath.
When we finally made it back to the supply camp — sun now a dull, bleeding scar across the horizon — neither of us said anything for a long while.
Only when the wind picked up and the roars fell silent behind us did Kael finally speak.
> "We're lucky," he muttered. "Lucky it didn't kill us. Or worse."
---
Astera – Nightfall
The walk into Astera was slow.
The heat of the Wastes was gone, replaced by the crisp salt breeze of the docks and the soft orange glow of lanterns lining the wooden walkways. Hammer clangs rang in the distance, distant laughter floated from the canteen, and the gentle churn of waves against hulls was almost enough to calm my heartbeat.
But I couldn't stop shaking.
Not from exhaustion. Not entirely.
It was that voice.
That thing.
> "Find me."
It had spoken to me — only to me.
---
We stood before Commander shortly after returning.
The Handler was already there, flipping through records and scribbled maps, her brow furrowed.
Kael gave a full report — starting with the traces of the missing hunter, then the first sighting of Diablos, and the ambush by Glavenus in the canyon.
> "We couldn't confirm if the hunter was alive," Kael said, rubbing the back of his neck. "But… we saw the remains. Armor scraps. Blood. I'm sorry."
The Handler lowered her pen. Her face dropped.
> "I knew him," she whispered. "He was a brave scout. Always volunteered for recon."
> "We did what we could," Kael added. "But the monsters—both of them—they're out there. And they're not behaving normal. Glavenus has never pushed this far south before."
> "And Diablos is territorial," the Handler said. "If Glavenus is encroaching... it could trigger a turf war. Force both monsters closer to Astera."
The Commander stood slowly from his seat. His gaze was heavy and cold.
> "Then we can't ignore it."
---
New Urgent Assignment:
> "I want a hunt team formed immediately," the Commander ordered. "We'll post two urgent quests. One for Glavenus, one for Diablos. Any capable hunter ready for a fight — gear up."
The Handler nodded and jotted it into her board. The bells above the bounty counter began to ring. Murmurs swept across the gathering hall as hunters gathered.
But the Commander's eyes turned to me.
> "And you, stranger…"
I swallowed hard.
> "You've seen them now. Survived. I don't know who you are or where you came from — but Astera's seen you fight. You ran when you needed to. You helped your partner escape. You reported in, even though you're half-dead."
> "Rest tonight," he said. "But tomorrow, if you still have the will — join the hunt."
---
Later That Night
Kael and I sat on the upper deck near the sleeping quarters. A cold breeze drifted in from the sea. The moonlight shimmered off the ropes and sails like silk.
I stared at the stars.
> "Kael…" I asked quietly. "Why do you keep doing this? Hunting?"
He didn't answer right away.
He stared out at the stars with me.
Then finally:
> "Because someone has to," he said. "And I'm still breathing."
He nudged a mug of water into my hand and smiled faintly.
> "Sleep. Tomorrow, we hunt. Whether you're ready or not."
But even as I lay back against the wooden wall and tried to sleep…
That voice lingered.
Burned into the back of my mind.
> "Find me."