The wind howled across the shattered northern stone streets of Noctera as silence settled like dust. The once-busy city now stood eerily quiet, a thick tension hanging in the air. The skies above churned a strange, pale red. Somewhere near the heart of the ruined city, Kev stood amidst the cracked ground, his red and purple eyes focused forward.
From the mist emerged Dorrell—smiling.
Tall and lean, Dorrell's dark hunter robes fluttered with each breeze. His hair was a slick silver, eyes sharp like a hawk's. His aura was erratic yet refined—dangerous. On his gloved hands, blood threads danced subtly between his fingers. Unlike warriors who overflowed with brute Qi, Dorrell's power pulsed in short, intense bursts—more like coiled springs waiting to snap.
Kev narrowed his eyes.
[ANALYSIS: SHADOW EYE ACTIVE]
Target: Dorrell Koran
Race: Human
Path: Hunter
Rank: General - Low
Unique Skill: Predator's Echo (Extraordinary)
Normal Skill: Threaded Fang, Blood Lure, Mind Split , unknown
"...General level, huh," Kev muttered under his breath. "You Koran bastards really don't know how to give up."
Dorrell chuckled. "You returned much too strong, Kev. Collen was right to send me."
Kev's expression remained calm, his fingers twitching as his shadow stretched beneath him. Shadow Movement kept his form slightly blurred as if melting into the ground and reappearing with each subtle shift. It allowed him to narrowly match Dorrell's terrifying speed, though the strain was building.
Kev wasn't trained in the Abyss… he survived it. He explored it. The Sixth Abyss wasn't a place of structured guidance. It was chaos, and that chaos forged him through constant death trials and puzzles no living being should've endured.
"Shadows," Kev whispered internally. "Track his blood movement."
From within his cells, ancient voices stirred.
[YES, KING.]
His vision sharpened as bloodstreams glowed faintly around Dorrell's limbs. Kev adjusted his stance slightly.
Dorrell blinked. "That eye of yours… it's not just for show."
"Neither are the voices in my bones," Kev whispered.
Suddenly, Dorrell struck. His body blurred forward, leaving only red lines where his blood threads lashed out like razors. Kev's form dissolved into a shadow and reappeared behind him, blade-shaped fingers grazing Dorrell's side.
But Dorrell didn't flinch. "Predator's Echo," he muttered.
In a blink, Dorrell twisted his body mid-air, perfectly anticipating Kev's angle—striking his rib with a blood-threaded knee. Kev staggered back as blood trickled from his mouth.
"You're fast," Dorrell said. "But not faster than time itself. I only need to watch you once."
Kev's breath was ragged, but his eyes remained focused. "Then I won't let you watch me again."
The street around them cracked as Kev unleashed Shadow Movement at full tilt. Dorrell grinned and followed with hunting precision, their battle spiraling deeper into Noctera's collapsing ruins.