The world burned.
The roar that tore through the clouds didn't echo — it devoured sound.
A flood of fire followed, cascading from the heavens like judgment itself.
Flames fell so hot they vaporized rain before it could touch the ground.
Hunnt's lungs screamed. Every breath was pain. Every step through the inferno felt like walking on knives.
Beside him, Pyro ran low, shield raised, fur singed and smoking. The Palico's breath came in ragged bursts, each one shorter than the last.
"Keep—moving—Pyro!" Hunnt shouted, his voice nearly lost in the roar.
Above them, the wyvern soared in slow circles, a streak of gold and red tearing across the cloud line. Each beat of its wings summoned gusts that fanned its own flames. It wasn't attacking to kill — not yet. It was testing them.
Each fireblast hit with surgical precision, cutting off their paths, hemming them into a moving cage of fire.
The message was clear: Run. Dance for me.
Pyro hissed as another fireblast struck close, the wave of heat hurling him sideways.
"Nyah—! It's—playing with us!"
Hunnt caught him mid-fall, barely keeping his footing as the ground trembled beneath them. "Stay with me! It's watching—learning how we move."
His mind sharpened despite the exhaustion. He didn't need sight — his senses reached outward through the air, through the vibration of each wingbeat. Observation guided his every breath.
"It's charging again!" Hunnt yelled. "Soru!"
They vanished.
The blast hit the space they'd been standing a heartbeat earlier. The explosion sent molten debris spiraling skyward.
Hunnt reappeared at the treeline, knees almost buckling from the strain. Pyro stumbled beside him, panting heavily, tail twitching from burns.
"Nyah—! That's the fifth one!" Pyro gasped. "We can't keep doing this!"
Hunnt didn't reply. He couldn't waste air on words. His chest burned; sweat turned to steam across his skin. The world blurred at the edges of his vision.
Above, the wyvern roared again. It didn't sound angry — it sounded amused.
Hunnt looked up, vision tinted orange by the firelight. The creature banked through the clouds, a burning silhouette against the blackened sky. The heat shimmered in waves from its wings. It was effortless — the fire didn't slow it; it was the fire.
Pyro coughed. "It's not even trying, nya. It's just—"
"—playing," Hunnt finished.
The wyvern's chest glowed again. Another pulse — another wave of intent. He felt it before it came. "Down!"
They dove behind a half-melted boulder as another torrent of flame carved through the forest. The impact shook the ground. A wall of heat blasted past them, leaving a pit of molten earth.
Pyro trembled. "It's too fast! We can't even get close enough to strike!"
Hunnt gritted his teeth. "Then don't strike. Survive."
He forced his legs to move again, pulling Pyro up. Their bodies felt heavy, sluggish. The Soru bursts were taking a toll — each one drained their stamina faster under the unbearable heat.
"Pyro," Hunnt rasped, "stay ahead of me. I'll read it."
The Palico nodded weakly. "Nyaa… if we die, you're buying the first round in the afterlife."
Hunnt almost smiled. "Deal."
Another roar split the air. The ground vibrated — too close.
"Now!" Hunnt barked. "Soru!"
They vanished just before another blast consumed the area. Hunnt reappeared a few meters away — too short, too late. The shockwave struck him mid-motion, hurling him forward. He hit the dirt hard, rolling through hot ash.
Pain exploded through his ribs. He coughed, tasting iron. The armor along his shoulder had warped from heat.
He forced himself to his feet, blinking through the blur. "Pyro!"
"I'm—nyaah—here!" Pyro appeared, sliding out from behind a fallen log, smoke trailing from his tail. "That one nearly took my whiskers off!"
Hunnt's breath came shallow and uneven. His muscles ached from overuse; his legs felt like lead. He could feel his heartbeat echoing in his skull. We can't keep this up.
Above, the wyvern's eye caught the faint glint of their motion. It tilted its head — a predator studying endurance. The next roar came not from distance but descent.
It was coming down.
Hunnt's blood ran cold. "Pyro — brace! Tekkai!"
He locked his body in place as the creature's tail slammed into the ground near them, the impact shattering stone. The shockwave threw dust and fire through the clearing. Hunnt's stance held, but his arms screamed with pain. Pyro was hurled backward, shield torn from his grip.
The wyvern's claws raked the ground next, scattering molten debris. Each strike was calculated, deliberate — an execution, not a battle.
Hunnt lunged forward, pulling Pyro out from the path of the next swipe. His movements slowed now, no longer perfect bursts of Soru but desperate dodges driven by instinct.
"Stay behind me!"
"Master—!" Pyro's voice cracked. "We can't—"
"Move!" Hunnt shouted. He barely managed to twist aside as the creature's wing cut through a burning tree, sending splinters flying like knives.
Heat blistered his skin. His armor smoked. His entire body trembled from fatigue. But his gaze stayed locked on the shadow before him — immense, fluid, alive.
The wyvern drew back its neck, chest glowing once more. Hunnt's stomach dropped.
"No—" he breathed.
The blast came point-blank.
Hunnt threw himself forward, grabbing Pyro with both arms, diving through the ash. Fire exploded behind them. The shockwave flung them across the clearing like ragdolls.
They landed hard. The world spun. For a moment, all Hunnt could hear was his own pulse — slow, heavy, hollow.
When his vision cleared, the sky above was blood-red from reflected flame. The wyvern hovered above them, unmarked, unbothered. Its massive wings beat lazily, stirring embers into swirling light.
Pyro coughed weakly, voice shaking. "It's… not even breathing hard."
Hunnt wiped blood from his mouth, staring up at it. "No. It's not."
The realization hit him like another blast — they hadn't survived because they were strong. They'd survived because the creature let them.
The wyvern tilted its head, studying them. Its eyes burned gold — curious, almost… entertained.
Pyro's voice trembled. "Why's it looking at us like that, nya?"
Hunnt's reply came as a whisper, half-growl. "Because it knows we're finished."
The creature rumbled deep in its throat — not a roar, but a sound of acknowledgment. Then it turned, wings folding slightly, rising back into the clouds.
Hunnt stood unsteadily, fists clenched. "Don't you dare fly away…"
But it did. Effortlessly. The fire trailed behind it like ribbons of mocking light until it vanished into the smoke.
Pyro collapsed onto his side, chest heaving. "Master… we're still alive."
Hunnt stared at the sky for a long time before answering. His voice came rough, but certain.
"No. We're still standing. There's a difference."
He looked at his hands — burned, trembling, raw. "Next time… I'll make it see me."
The wind carried heat and ash through the ruined forest. The air was thick with silence — not peace, but the kind that comes before something worse.
Above the clouds, thunder rolled. Or maybe it was wings.
Either way, the hunt wasn't over.