The world exploded into color, vivid, wrong, too bright to be real.
The young man stood alone in it, naked, trembling.
The cold wasn't just on his skin. It crawled through him, into his bones.
"Am I dreaming? How did I end up here?"
He asked as shiver ran down his spine.
Then….
A hand. Dark. Oily. Alive. It slid onto his shoulder, slow as a snake tasting fear.
"Gotcha."
The voice was everywhere at once, inside his ears, his skull, his soul.
He twisted, but his neck locked. His limbs wouldn't obey.
"What… who are you?"
His throat was raw, his words rasping.
The hand tightened. Pain spiked down his spine.
The world folded. The colors drowned.
Suddenly he was underwater, except the water burned cold, thick as ink.
His reflection below the surface was strangling itself. Bones cracked. His chest heaved.
"Ah—AHH!"
The scream tore out of him, sharp and ragged.
He clawed at his throat, but his fingers penetrated straight into his skin, blood rushing down like tears.
'Why can't I breathe?!' He asked inwardly.
Every nerve screamed. The pressure built until his vision went white. His ribs snapped like twigs. His lungs convulsed, then froze.
He should be dead. But he wasn't.
He was awake, trapped, every inch of him screaming, and that shadow hand was still there, forcing his head down into the black.
"Stay still," the voice hissed. "You'll wake too soon."
He screamed again, bubbles rising, the sound mangled and desperate. His body convulsed once, then the world shattered.
"HEY, BASTARD! HURRY UP! BOSS WON'T LIKE IT IF WE'RE LATE!"
The shout hit like a hammer.
He gasped, jerking upright, coughing water that wasn't there. His throat burned. His lungs felt raw.
Neon lights blurred above him. Cold metal pressed against his skin. He was lying in an alley, shaking.
A huge bearded man nudged him with a steel-booted foot.
"Sleeping on the job again? Kidding!" the man laughed, walking off.
The young man just stared at his trembling hands. The pain was still there. The cold was still there.
"YO, LUCEN! HURRY OVER HERE, DAMN IT!"
Another voice cut through the fog in his head, rough, impatient.
Lucen blinked, still trying to comprehend what had just happened.
His lungs ached, his throat felt shredded. He swallowed hard and pushed himself upright… only for his knees to buckle. He hit the ground again with a grunt.
"You're still drunk from last night, pal?"
A squat figure crouched beside him, a man with wild ginger hair and too much energy for this hour.
Lucen didn't answer. His breathing came out ragged, uneven.
"Don't tell me you're giving up already. What's wrong, you scared?" the ginger-haired man said, frowning now.
Lucen dragged in a shaky breath. "No… I just had a bad dream, Kelsey."
"Dream, huh?" Kelsey snorted. "You look like you met death in person. Hah!"
Lucen didn't reply. His frown deepened as he rose again, unsteady but determined.
The world around him felt wrong, every sound too sharp, every color too saturated. His skin still crawled with that cold, phantom pain.
"Enough chit-chat," the bearded man barked from beside a rusted car.
He slammed the boot shut and flicked his smoke to the ground, crushing it under his heel. "The portal door opens in twenty minutes. We move now."
Kelsey groaned. "Always the cheerful one, huh, Boss?"
Lucen barely heard them. His gaze drifted to his reflection in a cracked side mirror and for a moment, just a flicker, he saw it again.
Twenty faint glowing lines, running across his eyes like data.
Then they vanished.
Kelsey grinning at the boss's words, then slapped Lucen on the shoulder.
"Come on, man. Snap out of it, we've got millions to make once we take those bastards down. Artifacts, credits, glory, this time we're walking out rich if we beat the other teams."
He paused, studying Lucen's distracted face before smirking.
"Don't forget, you've got a family counting on that payout. Or do I have to remind you of every damn mission?"
Lucen exhaled sharply but said nothing.
"And hey," Kelsey added, his grin softening into something almost genuine, "your sister said we better make it back for family dinner. You know she'll murder me if we don't show up alive."
He gave Lucen a playful wink before heading to the car, hopping into the back seat with the ease of someone who'd done this a hundred times before.
Lucen managed a weak smile at Kelsey's words, though it didn't quite reach his eyes.
"Yeah… family dinner," he muttered under his breath, more to himself than anyone else.
He brushed the dirt off his pants, grabbed his gear from the back, and looked toward the horizon.
The sky was a bruised shade of purple, the kind that promised chaos.
Jagged towers of metal and holographic haze shimmered far ahead, the Outskirts, the battleground where death and fortune danced hand in hand.
The bearded man, Boss, was already in the driver's seat, the engine rumbling like a beast waking up.
Lucen climbed into the passenger seat, the cold metal of the door handle biting his fingers.
"Still thinking about your dream?" Boss asked without looking at him, eyes fixed on the road.
Lucen hesitated. "Something felt… off. Like it wasn't just a dream."
Kelsey snorted from the back seat. "Oh please, don't tell me you're getting spiritual on me. Last thing we need is you seeing ghosts again."
Boss's deep voice rumbled over him. "If he's seeing ghosts, let's hope they're the kind that bleed credits."
The car roared to life, tires kicking up ash and dust as they sped toward the portal site.
Lucen leaned his head against the window, watching the skyline blur. His mind replayed the moment… the hand, the voice, that cold that didn't feel human.
The engine's steady rumble suddenly sputtered.
The car shuddered once… then slowed on its own.
Boss frowned, tapping the dashboard. "What the hell… ?"
The steering wheel locked. The lights on the console flickered erratically.
"Damn it, why's this thing stopping?" a young man from the back, quiet until now, leaned forward, his voice sharp with unease.
Kelsey groaned. "Don't tell me the beast ran out of gas again."
Boss shook his head, his brows knitted together. "No. The fuel's full. Something's wrong."
He turned the key again. The engine coughed once, then died.
He tried again, nothing but a hollow sputter.
"Come on, don't you dare," he growled, twisting the key one more time.
The car made a choking noise, the dashboard lights flashing weakly before going dark.
"Fuck! Why's this bastard acting up now?" Their boss barked, slamming a hand on the wheel.
"Thought you said you checked the damn car," he snapped, glancing at Kelsey in the rearview mirror.
Kelsey threw up his hands, scowling. "Yeah, mahn, I did!" He immediately turned to Lucen for backup. "Lucen saw it."
Lucen blinked, startled at being dragged into it. "Yeah… yeah, I saw. It looked fine."
Boss wasn't having it. He slammed his fist against the vent near the A/C panel, the old metal creaking under the hit.
The lights flickered for a split second, then a faint spark hissed out from under the dashboard.
And the engine roared back to life with a low growl.
"Great," Kelsey muttered, bursting into laughter . "See you just had to threaten it a little. Genius, boss."
"Shut it," Boss grunted, leaning closer to the console. But yet he couldn't hide the smile on his face.
Even Lucen let out a weak chuckle as the tension eased. The car rolled forward again, headlights slicing through the dusty road.
Minutes later, a massive steel gate loomed ahead thick, reinforced, and humming faintly with energy. The kind of gate that didn't open unless someone important said so.
Boss honked twice. The sound echoed through the cold night air.
A mechanical whir responded as the gate split down the middle, opening slowly, heavy gears grinding.
Beyond it lay the portal compound, floodlights, metal barricades, armed patrols, and a dozen vehicles parked in rough formation.
Hunters. Dozens of them. Some checking weapons, others trading last-minute banter. Rival crews. Same job, different banners.
Kelsey leaned forward with a grin. "Looks like our team beat us here, boss."
"Blame that on the car," Boss muttered, steering inside before parking near a row of armored trucks.
Engines idled. Voices carried. The air buzzed with that restless, pre-mission energy, equal parts excitement and dread.
Lucen stepped out, he adjusted his gloves, his eyes darting around the crowd.
He felt that pulse again, not from the car this time, but from the ground itself.
It was faint. Rhythmic. Almost alive.
A cheer erupted nearby, immediately.
"Boss! You made it!"
Their team, five hunters in matching dark vests with the emblem of a coiled serpent, rushed over.
Boots pounded against the cracked pavement as laughter and relief filled the air.
Kelsey barely had time to step out before being caught in a rough hug. "Kelsey, you bastard, thought you'd chickened out again!"
"Ha! As if I'd let you have all the fun," Kelsey shot back, grinning.
Lucen got a few quick slaps on the back too, though his smile stayed small, eyes still scanning the horizon.
Boss climbed out last, towering over the rest. His presence alone was enough to hush the chatter for a beat.
"Relax, people. We're not late. Just… delayed," he said with a smirk.
Before he could say more, a woman pushed her way through the group, slim, fierce-eyed, her short hair tied back with a crimson band.
She was dressed in tactical armor, the kind that said she'd been in more fights than she'd lost.
"'Delayed,' huh?" she said, arching an eyebrow. "That's your excuse again?"
Boss chuckled. "You missed me, admit it."
She grinned, grabbed him by the collar, and kissed him. The team whooped and hollered, someone even whistled.
"About damn time!" Kelsey laughed. "If we're dying tonight, at least we got a romance subplot!"
Boss just smirked as the woman, Rhea, his second-in-command, pulled away. "You're late, but I kept your favorite toy polished," she said, tossing him a modified pulse rifle.
"Good," Boss said, catching it easily. "Let's arm up. We move as soon as the signal comes. Everyone should be ready."
The team circled the back of the car, cracking open weapon crates.
Boss slung his rifle across his shoulder, scanning the rows of armed figures bustling across the compound.
"How many peeps we got this time?" he asked, his voice cutting through the noise.
Rhea checked her wristpad, the holographic numbers flickering in blue. "Ninety hunters total. We're still the smallest team out here, but we'll come out on top. Same as last time."
Boss smirked. "Hmm." He nodded once. "That's what I like to hear."
Behind them, their squad was already gearing up.
Cases cracked open with metallic clicks as weapons were pulled free, sleek pulse rifles, twin daggers forged from quantum alloy, plasma-coated swords humming faintly in the air.
Kelsey whistled low, pulling out a bow that gleamed under the floodlights.
Its curved limbs shimmered with faint circuitry, and the quiver on his back lit up as arrows formed one by one out of pure energy.
"Finally upgraded the Arcbow, huh?" Rhea said, watching him test the drawstring.
"Hell yeah," Kelsey grinned. "These babies track heat signatures now. One shot, one barbecue."
"Just don't fry our own team this time," Boss muttered dryly, tightening his armor straps.
The hunters laughed, the brief levity cutting through the tension.
Kelsey shook his head. "Nah, I ain't using it."
He turned toward Lucen with a sly grin, holding the weapon out.
"Hey, catch. A little gift from me to you, brother-in-law."
He winked, the teasing sparkle in his eyes earning a few chuckles from the others.
Lucen barely had time to react before the weapon hit his chest. He fumbled, almost dropping it.
"Careful, man!" Kelsey laughed. "It's worth more than your rent."
Lucen shot him a dry look, adjusting the weapon in his hands. "You know, one day that mouth of yours is gonna get you killed."
Kelsey just smirked. "Yeah, but until then, it keeps the ladies entertained."
Rhea rolled her eyes. "You two done flirting? We've got a mission, not a comedy show."
Their Boss gave a short laugh under his breath. "Let 'em have their moment. Might be the last peace they get for a while."
Before he stepped forward, his boots crunching against the gravel as the chatter faded.
"Alright, listen up, team. This mission's different."
That tone alone silenced everyone.
He glanced around, his gaze sharp. "We've handled tough ones before, and we've come out on top every single time. But this… this isn't just another hunt. We'll be contesting against over four hundred hunters or more, divided into groups across the field."
A few gasps and whistles cut through the silence.
Rhea muttered under her breath, "Four hundred or more ? Great. Just a casual death party."
The Boss continued, unfazed. "Our zone is Sector 7B. Objective's in the northern cave. You'll see it marked in your wrist pads. Check them now."
Everyone raised their wrists. The holographic map flickered to life, painting blue light across their faces.
Kelsey squinted. "Wait… this can't be right."
Rhea frowned. "What?"
He turned the display toward her. "It says our primary target is… a bunny?"
Laughter rippled through the group.
"Who the hell sends trained hunters after a rabbit?" Lucen asked, deadpan.
The Boss didn't even blink. "That's not an ordinary bunny. According to the data, it's tagged as a Rank-A field boss. Anyone who takes it lightly might end up as dinner."
Kelsey leaned toward Rhea, whispering, "Man, imagine explaining to your ancestors you got killed by a rabbit."
She smirked. "Wouldn't surprise me if it bites harder than you talk."
The Boss cut them off with a single, commanding gesture. "Gear up. We move in five. The cave won't wait for us, and neither will the other teams."
The hunters exchanged glances. The teasing stopped. The air thickened with tension.
"Let's hunt," the Boss said simply, and the team started moving toward the dark mouth of the cave.
Then…
RUMMMBLE!
The ground convulsed. Dust cascaded from above, the sound of grinding rock swallowing their startled shouts.
"Earthquake?" Kelsey yelled, stumbling as the tunnel twisted violently.
Lucen exhaled shakily. "Tell me this part of the plan…"
The Boss's expression darkened, "No. That… wasn't supposed to happen."
"Move! Move!" Rhea shouted, grabbing one of the rookies before he fell.
But before they could retreat, the entrance behind them sealed shut, stone fusing into stone, until nothing but a smooth, silent wall remained.
A wave of panic rippled through the hunters.
"Hey! We're trapped in here!"
"Someone, light the exit!"
"Boss, what the hell is happening!?"
The Boss clenched his jaw, his voice cutting through the chaos. "Everyone calm down! Nobody move until I say…"
He stopped mid-sentence.
Lucen froze too, staring at his wrist pad.
A droplet of red slid down the edge of the glowing interface. Then another.
Blood.
"What the… ?" Kelsey muttered, tapping his pad. "Why is it…"
Every wrist pad started to bleed.
Crimson liquid seeped from the seams, dripping onto the floor in thin, slick trails.
The light flickered and pulsed wildly, as if something alive was inside the devices.
Then, without warning, a huge black screen materialized in midair.
It was suspended at the center of the cave, flickering with static, its surface rippling like liquid blood.
The stench of iron filled the air as thick red ooze dripped from its corners, splattering onto the stone floor and the hunters themselves.
Gasps. Screams. The sound of weapons being raised.
And then handwriting. Jagged, luminous crimson words began scrawling themselves across the screen, letter by letter, as if written by an unseen hand.
"WELCOME, DEAR HUNTERS."
"IT'S A PLEASURE TO HAVE YOU ALL AGAIN."
"YOU ARE ALL WELCOME… ANOMALY 🩸."
The screen pulsed once—deep, alive, almost breathing.
Lucen felt his stomach twist. His heartbeat synced to the flicker.
"…What the hell kind of mission is this?" he whispered.