Kev narrowed his eyes.
The skill… cell manipulation… had a question mark beside it.
And then he looked to the abyss below—ready to return.
Time in the Sixth Abyss didn't flow like in the other realms. Sometimes days lasted seconds, and nights stretched into years. Kev could no longer tell how long he had been here. But in Noctera, sixteen years had passed.
The wind crawled over Noctera, the stony city nestled on the northern edge of the Mystra Realm. Horse hooves clacked across old roads, and market stalls buzzed with dull noise. This urban shell hadn't changed in two years—but Kev had.
He stood atop a crumbling spire, cloak snapping behind him, red eyes scanning the city he once called home. His shadow writhed faintly beneath his boots, whispering silent warnings only he could hear.
Noctera didn't know it yet, but something ancient had returned.
"I know you're watching," he muttered.
He stepped into the shadow, vanishing like smoke as he used shadow movement.
***
Far away beyond snow-drenched mountains, rivers of glowing mana, and forested fortresses stood the capital of the Northern Kingdom of Mystra. And within its towering obsidian citadel, behind layers of enchantments and old secrets, Collen Koran sat.
One of the Three Kings of the Koran Clan, he stared out from his throne-like seat. A long, curved scar ran down his neck—a mark from a forgotten war. He radiated calm, but the air around him trembled with something darker.
A kneeling messenger spoke low. "The boy has returned to Noctera. 16 years passed… but the system clocked ten."
Collen's eyes narrowed slightly. "So he chose the Adventurer's Path."
Another voice emerged—a young man in crimson robes, bearing a snake tattoo down his arm. Dorrell and a silver hair, one of Collen's two disciples, stepped forward.
"Shall I move, Master?" he asked.
Collen did not answer at first. He opened a scroll—drawings of Kev as a child.
"We were careless," Collen murmured. "Now he walks again and that bastard Ken will start bark. "
He handed the scroll to Dorrell. "Find him. And restrain him dont kill him."
Then Dorrell ask who he is and then pressure decended upon him with cracked voice he spoke "I apologize for asking Master" "know ur place" said Collen.
***
Meanwhile, Kev sat across a robed figure in a ruined tower at Noctera's edge. The stranger's face was hidden, but his voice slithered like mist.
In front of d robed man was about 20 corpse it was obvious that a battle had happened.
"They know," the last man alive whispered.
"I figured," Kev replied, calmly sharpening a black dagger. "Why do the koran clan want from me?"
The man trembling with fear replied "I dont know but they will send someone ."
The stranger leaned forward. "And you? Are you ready?"
Then the man trebling with fear said "Ready for wha..." has he was about to finsh his statement his blood splashed on kev clothe has the skill cell control shaped his hand in dagger type way.
Kev's red eyes flickered has he knew something was wrong with him, most people that kill for the first time has a reaction that say disgusting but he didnt have any reaction at all or feel disgusted .
Then he vanished into thin air
***
That night, a whisper swept through the city. Dorrell had arrived.
He walked openly—tall, armored, with his tattoo beneath his cloak. He didn't hide. He wanted to be seen.
The city did not yet know it stood between two storms.
High above, Kev stood at the peak of a shattered bell tower, eyes locked on the man who'd been sent to collect him
His voice echoed in the dark:
"If they want me… they'll have to bleed for it." Has he said that he appereard in front of Dorrell.
The stone streets of Noctera pulsed with unease. The fog lay thick tonight, but it wasn't natural—it was breathing, alive, laced with aura. Somewhere in this once-calm northern city of the Mystra Realm, something was hunting.
Kev walked with measured steps, cloak covered with blood form his earlier killing dragging against the dirt. His appearance, his presence, his power—and yet, the past still chased him.
He felt the presence long before the figure stepped into the open. It was cold, pressing, like a needle brushing against skin teasing, testing.
A chuckle broke the silence.
"You walk like prey, but smell like something far more interesting."
Dorrell, one of the two disciples of Collen Koran—sent from the capital to restrain a problem that had returned stronger than expected.
He licked his lips. "Kev, isn't it? I was told you'd be cautious. But you're just walking in the open. Are you offering yourself, or testing me?"
Kev didn't answer immediately. His red eyes narrowed. "who re you?" Kev asked
Dorrell smirked wider and replied" Dorrell a hunter from the hunter path and a low general but i cant use energy amp yet"
"Ahhh they sent a low general rank against me what the fuck do u people want with me"
"U do not know " he said with his his facial expression changing" I guess i am not allowed to tell u then" He began to smile in a has if he found a prey
Dorrell smirked wider. " And you're still only a Peak Soldier Rank, yes? How unfortunate."
Dorrell's aura surged slightly. Low General Rank. The next level.
His Hunter Path energy leaked into the air—thick, predatory. Unlike Kev's path, which thrived through exploration and conquest, hunters grew stronger through kill-count and survival instincts. Their energy, Aura, sharpened senses, enhanced reaction, and strengthened all bodily functions over time. They weren't built for war. They were built to hunt.
Kev clenched his jaw. His Adventurer Path was rarer—but riskier. Fueled by Ether, the energy of origin, it made him stronger the more realms he conquered or explored. But it required danger, constant motion, and sometimes... losses. As aura uses is know ether own isn't it uses re mysterious .
Dorrell circled him like a beast. "You know… I expected something broken, something hiding. But you're standing tall. Strange. Collen said you were unstable."
"You came to toy with me?" Kev asked calmly, fingers twitching near his blade.
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]
"...General level, huh," Kev muttered under his breath. "You Koran bastards i guess i should investigate u guys"