Smoke drifted lazily through the clearing, curling above the still-burning ashes of the Condemned Beast. The scent of scorched fur and iron clung to the air.
Aren sat slumped against a half-burnt tree, clutching his bleeding shoulder. Each breath rattled. Every heartbeat sent sparks of pain through his ribs.
Mira paced in front of him, tail twitching. "You're lucky that thing was only Rank Two. Any higher and I'd be burying you."
Aren gave a weak laugh. "You mean—what's left of me."
"Don't get clever." She sniffed the air, ears flicking. "There's more."
Aren froze. "More?"
"The Heavens rarely send one test." Her fur bristled. "They send waves."
The ground trembled. Distant howls echoed through the forest — low at first, then rising, layered, furious.
Mira's eyes flashed gold. "Three. Maybe four. They're drawn by the residue of your Qi."
Aren grimaced, forcing himself upright. "Then we run."
"For once, you say something smart." She leapt onto his uninjured shoulder. "East. There's a ravine ahead. If we make it before they close in, we might live."
Aren staggered forward, every step a battle against exhaustion. The trees blurred past in streaks of black and green. Behind him, branches cracked — heavy footsteps closing fast.
The howls grew louder.
"Mira—how much farther?" he gasped.
"Too far if you keep talking. Move!"
He gritted his teeth and pushed harder. Fire flickered faintly beneath his skin, propelling him faster. The world became a smear of motion and heat.
Then, from the corner of his eye — movement.
A beast burst from the trees on his left: smaller than the first, but faster, leaner, its eyes burning with violet flame.
He barely ducked as it lunged. Claws grazed his back, tearing fabric and flesh.
Mira hissed. "Left arm—ignite!"
He didn't think. He let Qi flood his arm, and a sheet of fire roared outward. The beast shrieked, recoiling.
But two more appeared ahead.
"Down!" Mira shouted.
Aren dropped, rolling as the creatures collided midair. They hit the ground in snarls of teeth and black mist.
He stumbled to his feet and ran. His lungs screamed for air. The world spun.
He could feel it — the curse thrumming beneath his skin, feeding on the chaos, whispering like fire in his veins.
More will come, a voice seemed to hiss inside him. You cannot stop what you are.
"Shut up," he growled, staggering forward.
"What?" Mira snapped.
"Nothing," he lied.
The ravine came into view — a jagged wound in the earth, fifty feet wide, plunging into darkness.
Mira's eyes flicked between him and the gap. "You can't make that jump."
"Then we don't jump."
Before she could ask, Aren dropped to one knee, pressed his palm to the ground, and drew in every scrap of Qi he could muster.
The world tilted. The air thickened. Fire surged.
"Aren—"
He slammed his palms down.
A wave of flame exploded beneath him, hurling him across the gap. For one impossible moment, he was weightless, surrounded by blazing light.
Then he hit the opposite ledge hard, rolling across the dirt. Mira yowled, tumbling free. The forest behind them erupted in fire — the beasts screaming as the inferno swallowed them.
Silence.
Aren lay on his back, chest heaving, the smell of smoke filling his nose. "Still alive?"
Mira groaned beside him. "You're insane. Completely insane."
He smiled faintly. "But it worked."
Her golden eyes narrowed. "You burned through almost all your Qi. If another wave comes—"
"Then I'll burn again."
She stared at him for a long moment, then sighed. "You really don't know when to stop."
"Stopping's what got everyone in that city killed," he said quietly.
Mira tilted her head. "You mean Crystal Mine?"
He nodded. "They bowed. They obeyed. And they died anyway. I won't."
Something flickered in her gaze — respect, or perhaps recognition. "Then you'll need a teacher who can keep you alive long enough to make that stubbornness useful."
He looked at her. "You?"
She snorted. "I'm a cat, not a miracle worker. But I know someone who might help." She leapt onto a nearby rock, tail flicking toward the horizon. "Oxenfort City. Two days east. There's an alchemist there named Master Solen. He owes your bloodline a debt."
"An alchemist?"
"Old, brilliant, and paranoid. If anyone can stabilize your cursed channels, it's him."
Aren pushed himself up slowly. "Then that's where we go."
Mira's ears twitched. "You're bleeding."
"I'll live."
"Not for long if you don't rest. We move at dawn." She curled up beside the dying flames, already closing her eyes. "Try not to die in your sleep. I hate dragging corpses."
Aren chuckled softly, lying back against the earth. His entire body throbbed, but for the first time, there was something else beneath the pain — purpose.
He looked at the pendant on his chest. The cracks still glowed faintly, the light pulsing like a heartbeat.
"Oxenfort," he murmured. "Let's see what waits."
Above, the stars shimmered faintly — and somewhere beyond them, a cold, distant presence stirred.
End of Chapter 5 – Hunters of the Condemned