The jeep died with a sharp metallic cough.
Rion swore under his breath and slammed the brake. The vehicle rolled forward a few more meters before stopping completely in the middle of the narrow road. Dead trees lined both sides. Broken cliffs rose like walls.
Bad place. Worse timing.
Xin felt it before he saw anything.
That pressure.
That wrongness in the air.
"Don't get out yet," Rion said quietly, already reaching for his sword.
Xin didn't answer.
Because he remembered.
The air ahead distorted, not like heat, not like light. More like reality hesitating. A figure stepped forward from nothing, boots touching the ground without sound.
Black cape. Calm posture. Eyes that looked bored and hungry at the same time.
Zane.
Xin's chest tightened.
"…You," Xin said.
Zane smiled slowly. "Ah."
He took one step closer, hands relaxed at his sides.
"Long time no see."
Rion's grip tightened.
Kurai screamed.
Not fear. Recognition.
So it is him.
Zane's gaze shifted to Rion, eyes narrowing slightly. "And you brought the cursed one with you. How thoughtful."
Xin stepped forward, putting himself between Zane and the jeep. "You should have stayed away."
Zane laughed softly. "That's funny. You always say that."
He looked Xin up and down like he was inspecting meat.
"You got tougher," Zane continued. "Still not enough."
Rion drew his blade halfway. "We are not your prey."
Zane tilted his head. "Everyone is prey. Some just scream better."
The wind stopped completely.
No birds. No insects. Nothing.
Zane raised one finger.
Xin's body locked instantly. Not frozen. Pressured. Like gravity had suddenly tripled around him. His knees bent slightly as the ground cracked under his boots.
Rion moved.
He vanished and reappeared beside Zane, blade flashing.
Berzar.
The slash cut clean through Zane's chest.
For a fraction of a second, blood sprayed.
Then Zane looked down.
The wound closed slowly, casually, like it was never a problem.
He looked back up, amused.
"Oh," he said. "You remembered how to bite."
Zane backhanded Rion.
The hit sent him flying through the jeep, ripping it in half and launching him into the cliff wall. Stone exploded outward as Rion embedded into it.
Xin roared and broke the pressure with brute force, muscles screaming as he charged.
He punched Zane square in the face.
Phenom Force detonated.
The shockwave flattened the trees behind them and blasted dust into the air.
Zane slid back a few steps.
Only a few.
He wiped blood from his lip and laughed.
"There it is," he said. "That rage."
Zane disappeared.
Xin felt it too late.
A knee slammed into his ribs and lifted him off the ground. Zane grabbed him midair by the throat and slammed him down hard enough to crater the road.
Xin coughed blood.
Zane leaned down close, eyes glowing faintly.
"You don't remember me because I hurt you," Zane said softly. "You remember me because I let you live."
Rion tore himself free from the wall, regeneration already sealing cracked bones. He rushed again, faster now, shadows trailing his movement.
Zane glanced at him and sighed.
"This is not the day," he said.
He stepped back.
The pressure vanished.
Zane floated upward slowly, cape rising behind him.
"But soon," he added. "Very soon."
He looked directly at Rion.
"And when I eat you," Zane said calmly, "your demon screams first."
Then he was gone.
The sky relaxed. Wind returned. Sound crept back into the world.
Xin lay on the broken road, breathing hard.
Rion limped over and extended a hand.
"That," Xin said between breaths, "was him."
Rion nodded. "Yes."
Kurai whispered, shaken but clear.
He is not hunting yet. He is tasting.
Xin stared up at the gray sky.
"…Then we don't let him choose the meal."
Far away, unseen, Selena watched the encounter end.
And for the first time, she knew the moment was approaching.