SEASON 2 — EPISODE 13: THE SIXFOLD HUNT
Cold Open — Six Shadows
The Tribunal's capital hung in the orbit of a dead star — a silent colossus of black stone and pulsing crimson veins.
Inside its central chamber, six warriors knelt in perfect symmetry before the Tribunal Master.
Each wore a different kind of death:
• One's armor was a seamless fusion of obsidian plates and writhing muscle fibers.
• Another's mask was fused to their face, bone merged with metal.
• Their weapons dripped alien energy, alive and hungry.
The Tribunal Master's voice was low, distorted — like it came from a hundred throats speaking in unison.
"He killed your brothers. He shamed your order. Bring me his head… or do not come back at all."
The six bowed without a word.
In the next breath, they dissolved into a single pulse of distortion, vanishing into the void.
Act 1 — The Stalking Begins
The Arkship cut a slow path through the dust belt, asteroids tumbling in silence. Inside, most crew were at ease — but Xavier's instincts prickled.
On the HUD, faint blips appeared… and disappeared.
Shadows darted between drifting rock.
HUD ALERT:
Hostiles Detected — Sixfold Tribunal Elite
Levels: 3,500 / 3,600 / 3,700 / 3,800 / 3,900 / 4,000
Kai's hands tightened on the controls.
"Evasive pattern Delta-Seven."
The ship jolted, weaving between asteroid shadows.
But Xavier saw it — the pattern.
"They're not chasing the ship," he muttered, eyes narrowing.
"They're herding me."
Act 2 — The First Test
The bait came quick. A derelict freighter drifted ahead, one side split open like a cracked egg.
Xavier landed inside alone.
The air smelled of ozone.
Magnetic mines lined the walls, humming faintly.
From the far end, a tall hunter stepped forward — black armor reflecting starlight, blade drawn.
"Your speed is your weapon," the hunter said. "I'll take that from you."
The mines detonated in a wave — WHUMP-WHUMP-WHUMP — releasing gravity wells that pulled and twisted the air. Xavier's Absolute Velocity snapped off instantly, the distortion locking his movement to a crawl.
The hunter lunged. Xavier countered with Gravity Anchor, yanking himself sideways at impossible angles, slamming into wall beams to redirect momentum.
A feint — a pivot — and he pulled himself into the hunter's blind spot. His blade punched through the chest plate with a crack of lightning.
The body fell.
HUD: Level Up — 2,510 → 2,512
Act 3 — Hunter-Killer Tactics
Asteroid surface. A storm of dust swirled in low gravity.
Kai's breathing was ragged as he clashed with the second hunter — twin gauntlets sparking with every strike. The alien tech inside them was absorbing and nullifying every blade cut.
Xavier burst in, deflecting one gauntlet with his own weapon. The second came for his ribs — but Kai hooked it with a reverse twist, holding it in place.
Xavier didn't hesitate.
A brutal knee drove into the exposed neck joint — a loud CRUNCH — and the hunter went limp.
HUD: Level Up — 2,512 → 2,515
Act 4 — The Sniper in the Dark
The ice cavern was silent except for the hiss of vapor rising from fissures.
Xavier stepped carefully — until a railshot screamed past, vaporizing an entire wall behind him.
A second came instantly after, closer.
Hunter #3 was somewhere deep — weapon long and narrow, muzzle still glowing from the last shot.
Every move Xavier made tightened the corridors. His speed meant nothing here.
So he closed his eyes.
Beast Sense bloomed in his mind — every vibration in the ice, every shift in pressure.
The sniper adjusted position — just slightly.
Xavier's hand moved.
He threw a dagger — lightning-charged — at the wall. It ricocheted once, twice… then curved, slipping around an ice pillar.
The sniper didn't even scream before it pierced the visor.
HUD: Level Up — 2,515 → 2,517
Act 5 — The Trap
The remaining three came together.
Levels: 3,800 / 3,900 / 4,000.
Their combined aura bent the air, warping reality like heat on metal.
Kai's voice crackled over comms.
"That's too much even for you. Pull back!"
Xavier tightened his grip.
"No. If I run now… they'll never stop."
They clashed in a blur — the hunters moving with perfect coordination, forcing him onto the defensive.
A blade swept low. He vaulted over it.
A spear lunged — he twisted, feeling the point skim his ribs.
The third dropped from above — Xavier rolled, planting a Gravity Anchor on the ceiling and yanking himself upward to avoid the strike.
They pressed harder.
He waited.
Then — Arc Storm Cleave.
The lightning-charged strike hit the ground, sending a shockwave deep into the asteroid's crust. Cracks webbed outward, and in seconds, the surface collapsed.
Tons of rock came down, swallowing the hunters.
It wouldn't kill them — but it bought him time.
HUD: Level Up — 2,517 → 2,520
Ending Cliffhanger
Far off in the belt, the three survivors emerged from the wreckage. Their armor was unmarked.
Hunter #4 tilted their head, voice a distorted growl.
"You're faster than we thought, prey… but we'll cut that speed from your bones."
They vanished into the void.
On the Arkship's bridge, Xavier watched the empty screen where their signals had been.
His hand closed into a fist.
"Then I'll be ready."