SEASON 2 — EPISODE 5: HUNTER'S CHOICE
Cold Open — Two Fronts, One Hunter
Snow clawed at the air in whirling spirals, the wind shrieking like a chorus of ghosts. Xavier stood in the Frostwraith Citadel's courtyard, locked in a deadly stillness with the Cloaked Hunter. Their breath misted in the freezing dark, steel flashing briefly in the torchlight.
The ground trembled beneath their feet.
A sound—deep, slow, almost like the heartbeat of a mountain—echoed from beyond the war gate. The massive ice-forged doors shuddered once, then tore open with an explosion of frozen shards.
From the darkness emerged a behemoth of steel and frost—two hundred feet tall, its body plated with jagged crystal armor. Frost vapors spilled from its mouth with every exhale. Its eyes burned with cold fire.
HUD: Titan Warlord — Threat Level: 85
The Cloaked Hunter's half-mask caught the light, his single silver eye glinting.
"Two hunts at once… let's see what you're really made of."
Lightning snapped in Xavier's blood. His grip tightened on his blade. "Bring it."
Act 1 — Chaos Unleashed
The Titan Warlord moved first.
Its clawed foot came down like a collapsing glacier, the shockwave toppling whole sections of the Citadel wall. Hunters on the ramparts opened fire with siege ballistae—massive bolts tipped with mana cores—but the monster's breath was a killing blizzard. The projectiles froze mid-flight and shattered before reaching their target.
Xavier ducked a slash from the Cloaked Hunter—only to be knocked sideways as the Titan's claw scythed across the courtyard, ripping apart stone and ice alike.
Over comms, Kai's voice crackled through the storm.
"Xav! You can't take both—"
"I can." Xavier's voice was steel. "And I will."
Act 2 — Splitting the Fight
The Titan roared, its voice splitting the air like an avalanche. Xavier surged forward with Volt Breaker Overdrive, lightning erupting in his wake. He slid under the behemoth's front leg, driving his blade deep into the knee core. Cracks spread through the frost crystal plating.
But before he could finish, the Cloaked Hunter was there—blades crossing his path, the clash ringing like a church bell in the freezing dark. They locked weapons beneath the Titan's bulk, the monster's shadow swallowing them whole.
"Kill the Titan," the Cloaked Hunter growled, "and you give me the kill shot on you. Kill me, and the Titan levels this fortress. Choose."
Xavier bared his teeth in a grin that didn't reach his eyes.
"I don't choose. I win."
Act 3 — The Level-Up Mid-Battle
The Titan slammed a claw down between them. Xavier reacted in pure instinct—grabbing the Cloaked Hunter by the front of his cloak and hurling him onto the massive limb as it rose. They both sprinted upward, using the jagged armor as footholds, blades sparking as they clashed mid-run.
Bolts of frost lightning lanced from the Titan's horns, slicing through the clouds above. The ice burned cold against Xavier's cheek as he ducked one and came up slashing.
They reached the shoulder. Below, the Titan's armored chest shifted—its crystal plating parting just enough to reveal the faint glow of its chest core.
HUD ALERT: XP Surge Imminent — Level Cap Threshold
Adrenaline flooded him. Xavier poured everything—Apex Hunter Mode, Volt Breaker Overdrive, Arc Storm Cleave—into a single chain attack. Lightning and golden arcs exploded outward, striking both his rival and the monster in the same breath.
The Cloaked Hunter's guard shattered; his weapon arm flinched back. At the same moment, the Titan's chest core cracked like breaking ice.
HUD EXPLOSION:
LEVEL UP! 40 → 50
NEW ABILITY: Hunter's Duality — Lock onto two targets simultaneously without loss of precision.
Act 4 — Two Kills, One Blade
Now the real hunt began.
With Hunter's Duality, Xavier's senses split like a predator with two sets of eyes. Every slash at the Cloaked Hunter's guard angled his off-hand lightning into the Titan's open core. Every dodge from the Titan's claws positioned him perfectly to counter the Cloaked Hunter's feints.
The Cloaked Hunter's movements were still a blur of lethal precision, but Xavier could see the shifts now—his weight changes, the tiny shoulder drops before each strike.
The Titan Warlord's roar became desperate. It dropped to one knee, frost armor fracturing in jagged sheets.
The Cloaked Hunter lunged for Xavier's throat. Xavier pivoted in a single fluid motion, his blade spearing straight through the Titan's glowing chest while the follow-through slashed a deep line across his rival's abdomen.
The monster's death scream shook the air. Its bulk toppled backward, smashing into the Citadel wall with the force of a falling mountain. An avalanche of crystal shards buried half the courtyard.
Act 5 — Stalemate
Snowflakes drifted through the haze, lit by the glow of the Titan's fading core.
Xavier stood over the fallen Cloaked Hunter, his blade leveled at the man's throat. His breath came in white bursts, the frost clinging to his hair and armor.
"End of the hunt."
The Cloaked Hunter's smirk was maddening. He triggered a palm device—light flared white-hot. When it faded, only a shattered weapon and a single drop of blood remained in the snow.
Ending Cliffhanger
Far away, within the Shadow King's Throne Room, frost-mirrors rippled, replaying the battle in ghostly images.
The Shadow King's voice was a cold whisper. "He's grown too quickly… accelerate the First Hunt."
Beyond the palace walls, through a blizzard-wrapped horizon, something far larger than the Titan Warlord moved. Not a beast—this was a walking mountain of black armor and molten eyes.
The Titan King himself.
And he was coming.