The air collapsed inward.
Not exploded.
Not shattered.
Collapsed.
Rourke felt it before he saw anything—
a crushing pressure that pressed against his chest, his crown, his very thoughts. Gravity Sight flared violently, flooding his vision with warped lines screaming toward a single point.
Seren staggered.
Her knees hit the ground.
"Rourke…" she whispered, struggling to breathe. "Something's wrong."
The Memory Core dimmed to a dull, anxious glow.
"No…
This presence should not be here yet."
The guide flickered erratically, barely maintaining form.
"That pressure—
it is not environmental.
It is intentional."
Rourke clenched his fists.
Every instinct screamed danger.
The fractured sky darkened—
not with clouds,
but with density.
Space itself thickened, folding like wet cloth.
Then—
A figure stepped through.
Hunter Prime
He did not emerge in a flash of light or violent rupture.
He simply appeared, as if gravity had always meant for him to stand there.
Tall.
Perfectly proportioned.
Armor layered in smooth, pale plates etched with subtle glyphs that bent light away from his form. No jagged edges. No unnecessary ornament.
Everything about him was… efficient.
His helmet was featureless save for a thin vertical slit glowing with soft white light.
Seren gasped.
"That's not like the others…"
Rourke swallowed.
"No.
It's worse."
The Memory Core spoke with uncharacteristic restraint.
"…Hunter Prime.
First of the perfected class."
The guide's voice trembled.
"He does not hunt by force.
He hunts by inevitability."
Hunter Prime looked at them.
The pressure increased.
Not crushing—
measuring.
Rourke felt his crown vibrate, reacting violently to the presence.
Prime tilted his head.
And spoke.
"Rourke Talon."
Hearing his name from that voice—
calm, precise, absolute—
sent ice through his veins.
Seren shot him a look.
"How does it know your full name?!"
Rourke didn't answer.
Because Prime was still speaking.
"Carrier of the Heart of Resonance.
Bearer of integrated collapse potential.
Your survival probability has exceeded projections."
The Memory Core pulsed sharply.
"You were not authorized to activate Omega."
Prime's head turned slightly toward the relic.
"Omega activation was inefficient.
This correction is optimal."
The air grew heavier.
Seren struggled to her feet, planting herself between Rourke and Prime.
"Hey! Giant murder-statue!
If you're here to kill him, you'll have to go through me."
Prime's gaze shifted to her.
For the briefest instant—
The pressure around Seren vanished.
She sucked in a breath, shocked.
Prime analyzed her.
"Human companion.
Psychological anchor.
Threat level: negligible."
Rourke felt something snap inside him.
He stepped forward.
"Don't talk about her like that."
Prime turned back to him.
"Correction accepted."
The Weight of Perfection
Prime raised one hand.
The fractured ground beneath Rourke's feet sank—
not cracked,
not broken—
pressed downward like clay beneath a god's thumb.
Rourke reacted instantly, bending gravity upward to counter—
Nothing happened.
His power met resistance.
Not stronger gravity—
immovable gravity.
Seren cried out, "Rourke!"
Rourke dropped to one knee, teeth clenched.
The Memory Core flared.
"Impossible…
He is locking the gravitational constant."
Prime spoke calmly.
"You manipulate forces.
I define them."
The pressure increased again.
Rourke's vision blurred.
He forced Gravity Sight wider—
saw the structure of Prime's field.
It wasn't chaos like Omega.
It was law.
Perfect alignment.
No waste.
No emotion.
Rourke gasped.
"This isn't power…
It's authority."
Prime lowered his hand.
The pressure vanished instantly.
Rourke collapsed forward, catching himself.
Seren rushed to his side.
"Say the word and we RUN."
Prime did not pursue.
Instead, he stood still.
Waiting.
"This encounter is not termination," Prime said.
"It is evaluation."
Rourke pushed himself upright.
"Evaluation for what?"
Prime's voice was unchanged.
"For inevitability."
The Prime's Purpose
The Memory Core floated forward, trembling but defiant.
"You are destabilizing the timeline.
The Heartbearer must reach convergence before Engine synchronization."
Prime turned slowly.
"Incorrect."
The relic's glow flickered.
"Clarify."
Prime's gaze returned to Rourke.
"The Obsidian Engine does not require convergence.
It requires compliance."
Seren's blood ran cold.
"Compliance with what?"
Prime answered her without looking.
"With collapse."
Rourke clenched his fists.
"So that's it.
You're here to force me to become what you want."
Prime tilted his head again.
"No.
I am here to determine whether you already will."
The silence that followed was suffocating.
The guide whispered to Seren:
"Prime does not kill unless necessary.
He waits.
He watches."
Seren hissed under her breath,
"That's somehow worse."
Prime stepped closer.
The ground did not crack.
It did not resist.
It simply made room for him.
He stopped an arm's length from Rourke.
Rourke forced himself not to step back.
Prime's voice dropped—
not softer,
but more focused.
"You have integrated collapse without surrender.
That is… anomalous."
Rourke met the glowing slit of Prime's gaze.
"Maybe you're just wrong."
Prime considered this.
"…Possibility acknowledged."
Seren stared.
"Did it just… respect you?"
The Memory Core pulsed weakly.
"Prime only acknowledges data."
The Warning
Prime turned away from Rourke and looked up at the fractured sky.
"The Obsidian Engine will complete its sequence.
This outcome cannot be prevented."
Rourke stepped forward.
"I'll stop it."
Prime turned back.
"No."
The single word hit harder than any attack.
"You will attempt.
You will fail.
Then you will adapt."
Seren snapped,
"You don't get to decide that!"
Prime's attention flicked to her again.
The pressure returned—
light this time,
measured.
"You influence deviation.
This is… inefficient."
Rourke moved instantly, placing himself between Seren and Prime.
"Enough."
Prime looked at him.
For the first time, the pressure around Rourke eased—
just slightly.
"You are defensive," Prime observed.
"This increases your deviation probability."
Rourke's jaw tightened.
"Good."
Prime paused.
Then said something that chilled them both.
"Ten days remain."
Seren's breath caught.
Prime continued:
"When the Obsidian Engine reaches synchronization,
I will return."
Rourke stared.
"And then what?"
Prime's answer was immediate.
"Then I will end uncertainty."
The air shifted.
Prime stepped backward—
And vanished.
No explosion.
No ripple.
He was simply gone.
Aftermath
The pressure lifted fully.
The fractured world groaned as if exhaling.
Seren collapsed to the ground, shaking.
"That…
that thing didn't even try."
Rourke stared at the spot where Prime had stood.
"That was him trying."
The Memory Core dimmed, voice heavy.
"Hunter Prime does not fight unless the outcome is guaranteed.
He will return only when he believes you can no longer escape."
Seren looked up at Rourke, fear clear in her eyes.
"So what do we do?"
Rourke clenched his fists, feeling the faint tremor in his crown.
"We change the equation."
The Memory Core pulsed once—slow and grave.
"Then you must learn what gravity can do…
when it is taken away."
Rourke closed his eyes.
Null Gravity.
He exhaled.
"Start the lesson."
The sky darkened again.
And far away—
something ancient noticed him.