The city did not calm after Kael Veridian vanished.
It grew quieter in the wrong way.
Wind moved, but without sound. Lights flickered without rhythm. Even the distant hum of engines felt delayed, as if reality itself was lagging behind its own existence.
Null walked at the center now.
Not because he chose to.
Because everyone unconsciously positioned themselves around him.
Hyung stayed half a step behind, eyes constantly scanning. D U walked ahead again, hands in his coat, posture relaxed—but his presence was sharper than before. Kael's warning had landed.
"They're late," D U muttered.
Hyung frowned."Who?"
"The ones who never forgive."
The air split sideways.
Not a rift like Adrax's.Not a fold like Kael's.
This one fractured—like glass cracking under pressure.
A boot stepped through.
Then another.
A tall figure emerged, wrapped in layered combat cloth and metal threads that shifted subtly, reacting to unseen forces. His face was young, but his eyes were old—older than D U's, older than Hyung's.
He carried no weapon.
He didn't need one.
Null felt it immediately.
Another Old Generation.
The man looked at D U and smiled thinly.
"Still breathing," he said. "That's disappointing."
D U sighed."Great. You're alive too."
Hyung's jaw tightened."Another one like you?"
D U nodded."Name's Rhel Cain. Old Gen Enforcer. Same era as Kael. Same level."
Rhel's gaze shifted to Null, lingering longer than Kael's had.
"So this is him," Rhel said. "The fracture carrier."
Null didn't respond.
Rhel's smile widened slightly."And Hyung Null… still pretending you're just a brother."
Hyung stiffened.
Before he could speak—
The shadows behind the buildings began to move.
One presence became many.
From broken alleys, shattered rooftops, and warped air pockets, figures emerged.
Null recognized them instantly.
Vyra — The Blood SurgeonHer surgical gloves gleamed red under the city lights, micro-strings twitching between her fingers like nervous thoughts.
Kage — The Silent VoidNo footsteps. No sound. Just two dim eyes hovering where a body should be.
Blaze Ryu appeared next—not hostile, but tense—standing atop a collapsed bus, flames restrained but ready.
Grayson "Gray" Locke stepped out beside him, Silent Beast aura restrained, eyes cold.
And behind them—
A figure Null never expected to feel again.
Ash Blade.
His presence was quiet, sharp, calculating.
They weren't attacking.
They were forming a circle.
Hyung's voice dropped."…They're not here for Null."
D U nodded slowly.
"They're here for me."
Rhel folded his arms.
"Volume I left too many loose ends," he said. "The Old System doesn't like survivors."
Vyra tilted her head, amused.
"D U," she said softly. "You disappeared when the Order fell. We assumed you died."
D U glanced at her."Disappointing assumption."
Kage's eyes shifted toward Null.
"The fracture lives," he said quietly.
Gray clenched his fists."This isn't about old grudges."
Rhel looked at him.
"It always is."
The air thickened again.
Not Adrax's weight.
Not Null's aura.
This was convergence.
Null finally spoke.
"If you're hunting him," he said, voice steady, "you'll have to go through us."
Rhel laughed softly.
"No, boy," he replied. "That's the problem."
He looked directly at Null.
"If you interfere… you become prey too."
D U turned slightly, glancing back at Null.
"See?" he said calmly. "This is why I told you not to get attached."
Then he smiled—just a little.
"But if they want a hunt…"
The ground beneath them vibrated.
"…I might as well remind them why they feared my name."
The city lights dimmed.
Every Old Generation presence sharpened.
And the hunt officially began.