The light flickered violently.
Kael's body locked in place.
The Hunter's hand remained pressed against his chest—right over the core.
"Interesting…"
His voice was calm. Curious.
"It reacts."
Kael couldn't breathe.
It felt like something inside him was being pulled apart.
Not physically—
Deeper.
"Core integrity: unstable."
Aetherion's voice glitched.
"Immediate separation… required…"
"Separation?"
The Hunter's eyes sharpened.
"So you can be removed."
Kael's eyes widened.
"No—"
Pain exploded.
Not like before.
Worse.
His vision cracked—like glass shattering from the inside.
"STOP—!"
The core pulsed.
Once.
Twice.
Then—
It reacted.
Not to Kael.
To the threat.
BOOM.
A surge of energy erupted outward—violent, uncontrolled, different from before.
Dark.
Not just electricity.
Something deeper.
The Hunter was forced back this time—his grip breaking as the explosion pushed him away.
He landed several meters back, boots grinding into the floor.
Silence fell for a split second.
Then—
Kael collapsed.
His body hit the ground hard.
The light around him flickered weakly now.
Unstable.
"…"
The Hunter straightened slowly.
His expression had changed.
Not amused anymore.
Focused.
"That wasn't you."
He stepped forward again.
"That was it."
Kael tried to move.
His body refused.
Everything hurts.
His vision blurred in and out.
"Emergency protocol… initiated…"
Aetherion's voice was faint now.
"Host preservation priority."
Kael's fingers twitched.
"…I'm not… dying here…"
The Hunter stopped a few steps away.
"You don't get to decide that."
He raised his hand.
The air shifted again—pressure building, invisible but crushing.
"You're coming with me."
Kael's heart pounded weakly.
No strength left.
No control.
Only one thing remained.
Survival.
"Last option…"
Aetherion whispered.
"Forced displacement."
Kael's eyes widened slightly.
"…What?"
Too late.
The core pulsed—
Once.
Then—
Everything warped.
Space twisted around him.
The room bent.
The Hunter's eyes narrowed instantly.
"No—"
CRACK.
The air shattered.
Light swallowed Kael completely.
And then—
He was gone.
Silence returned to the ruined room.
The Hunter stood alone.
The energy slowly faded.
Debris settled.
He exhaled.
"…So it can run."
A faint smile returned to his face.
Not frustration.
Interest.
"Good."
He turned toward the doorway.
"That just makes the hunt more interesting."
His eyes darkened slightly.
"Find him."
The command wasn't spoken loudly—
But something… heard it.
And far away—
In a place Kael had never seen before—
His body crashed onto cold ground.
Unconscious.
Broken.
But alive.
And this time…
He wasn't in the city anymore.