Chapter 11: Defying Erasure
Heat rushed through his veins.
The crushing weight bearing down on him—**the force trying to erase his existence—**wavered for a split second.
And that was all he needed.
His body moved.
Faster than before, sharper—as if something within him had finally awakened.
The Hunter's blade whistled through the air, but this time, he didn't just dodge—he countered.
His fist lashed out, colliding with the Hunter's arm. A shockwave rippled outward, sending cracks through the stone beneath them.
The Hunter staggered.
A first.
A tremor ran through the ruins. The stranger, still watching from the side, let out a low whistle. "Now that… is interesting."
The Hunter recovered instantly.
It lunged again, its speed blurring—but he could see it now.
Not just its movements, but the way the world itself shifted around it.
It wasn't fast. It was manipulating space.
And worse—it was adapting.
The next attack was different, unpredictable. A feint, then a sudden twist—its blade aiming directly for his heart.
He had no time to dodge.
But something else happened.
His mark flared.
Instinct took over. His body twisted, moving in a way that shouldn't have been possible.
His hand caught the blade.
The world stilled.
The Hunter hesitated—just for a fraction of a second.
It was the first time its attack had been stopped.
The golden light from his mark surged, flooding the blade.
For the first time, the Hunter reacted.
A sharp, unnatural hiss.
Then—it vanished.
Gone, as if it had never been there.
The pressure in the air disappeared. The ruins fell silent.
He stumbled back, his chest rising and falling in rapid breaths.
"What… was that?" he muttered.
The stranger smiled. "Proof that you are not just an anomaly."
They turned, their gaze darkening.
"You are something worse."