Chapter 561: The Silver Huntress

"Every blade has a master. But not every master controls the blade."

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Wind whispered through the broken trees above the Pavilion as the three emerged from the stairwell. But the forest was no longer still—it pulsed with danger, the kind that made even the shadows quiver.

Jayden Ochieng's eyes narrowed as he stepped into the clearing. Zayden had his back, twin daggers in hand. Matilda stood to the side, her breath caught in her throat. The silence wasn't natural.

Then, from above, she landed—graceful, poised, deadly.

The Silver Huntress.

Her cloak shimmered with moonlight. Her hair was silver-white, braided like a crown of ice. Her eyes—cold, piercing—locked onto Jayden like he was her prey. Her bow was already drawn, notched with a glowing arrow that hummed like a heartbeat.

"Jayden Ochieng," she said in a voice both melodic and merciless. "You weren't supposed to wake so soon."

Jayden took a step forward. "Who sent you?"

She tilted her head. "The ones who fear your full return. You're not just dangerous, Jayden. You're… incomplete. But the moment you unlock what remains in Kiremah…" She drew the string further. "…you won't be a man anymore."

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The first arrow flew.

Jayden spun, dodging it by a breath. Zayden lunged toward the Huntress with inhuman speed, his twin daggers clashing against her spinning glaive that appeared midair from her back like summoned lightning.

Steel danced in the night.

Jayden charged, fists glowing faintly with the light of the cube still clutched in his hand. Every strike the Huntress blocked, she returned with terrifying precision. But what stunned him more than her skill—was her familiarity.

"Who are you?" he growled, panting.

The Huntress paused mid-strike, her blade an inch from his throat.

"I'm the one who was meant to protect you."

Jayden's heart froze.

"I was your shadow. Before the Split. Before you became two. Before they erased me."

Zayden's dagger barely deflected her next strike.

Matilda gasped. "You're from the Omega Vault."

The Huntress's gaze flickered. "One of five. The last one alive."

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As their blades clashed again, a memory seared into Jayden's mind—of a girl with silver eyes watching him from a glass cell, her palm pressed against the barrier, mouthing words he couldn't hear.

The memory collapsed into pain as the Huntress kicked him hard into a tree.

Zayden, bleeding, yelled, "You knew him?!"

She nodded slowly. "He called me 'Sera.' The name he gave me."

Jayden rose, wiping blood from his mouth. "You were… my protector?"

She nodded once. "Until they reprogrammed me. Until they made me forget. But the cube... it's waking things inside me."

The cube pulsed in Jayden's hand again.

"I don't want to kill you, Jayden. But if I don't bring you in... they'll send the Red Veil."

Jayden met her gaze. "Then come with us. Let's tear them down together."

A long silence.

She looked down.

"I don't know who I am anymore."

Zayden approached cautiously. "None of us do. That's why we're still fighting."

Matilda added softly, "Help us. Help yourself."

Sera lowered her weapon.

Then nodded.

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From a floating orb high above the battlefield, a pair of ancient eyes watched the scene unfold.

"She's hesitating," a voice muttered from the dark.

Another replied, "Then initiate the Echo Protocol. If Sera won't kill Ochieng… she'll die with him."

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Beneath Sera's skin, something clicked. A seal behind her ear glowed red.

She gasped, falling to her knees.

"What's happening?" Jayden cried, rushing forward.

Her eyes shimmered—pain and confusion etched across her face. "They… they triggered my fail-safe."

Jayden turned to Zayden. "We need to find the Override Code. Now."

Zayden nodded. "We don't even know where to begin."

Jayden clenched his fists. "Yes, we do."

He looked at the cube.

And the word that glowed on its surface.

KIREMAH.

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