Chapter 92

The hunt had become a siege. The GAMA skiffs maintained a tight perimeter around the Labyrinth of Spires, their powerful searchlights cutting sterile, white lines through the moonlit rain. They were methodical and patient. On the command skiff, Commander Borja watched his tactical display.

"He's not moving," Borja grunted. "Exhausted, just as we thought. Send in the ground teams. Two squads. I want him flushed out or pinned down by dawn."

"Commander," Anya's voice was sharp from her station. "The ambient Aether around his position is becoming unstable. The readings are erratic. I advise caution."

"Caution is for the academy, Specialist," Borja dismissed her. "In the field, we use overwhelming force. Deploy!"

Deep within the labyrinth, Ren rose to his feet. The power from the Heart of the Tempest surged through him, a torrent of raw, ancient energy. It was intoxicating, but also volatile. He could feel the strain on his Aetheric channels; they were conduits for a power they were not designed to hold, like riverbanks trying to contain a tidal wave. He knew this state was temporary and dangerous.

"This power is a weapon, not a wellspring," Zephyrion's voice was a sharp warning. "Every second you hold it, it corrodes your vessel. Use it. Use it now, and escape."

He heard the GAMA ground teams entering the labyrinth, their shouts echoing off the stone. They were hunting him on foot. He had to break the perimeter, and he had to do it now.

He didn't climb to the top of a spire. He moved deeper into the maze, using the chaotic terrain as cover. His target wasn't the command skiff, which would be the most heavily shielded. His target was one of the two smaller enforcement skiffs holding the southern edge of the cordon. He needed to create a hole.

He found his position—a narrow canyon that opened out towards the cliff edge. The skiff hovered just beyond it, its searchlight sweeping back and forth. Ren took a knee, bracing himself against the rock wall. He held his palm out, and the full, terrifying power of the Heart of the Tempest gathered into a single, blinding point of azure light.

He was not forming a controlled Needle. He was gathering the raw, untamed storm essence into a chaotic, unstable mass. It was a crude but devastatingly powerful attack.

He unleashed it.

A cannonball of pure, roaring lightning shot out of the canyon. The GAMA pilot saw it coming and yelled a warning, his shields flaring to maximum. The bolt of raw Aether slammed into the shield, and the sound was not a clean crack, but a grinding, tearing roar.

The skiff's shield held, but only just. It buckled and warped violently, and the entire ship was thrown sideways, its engines screaming as the pilot fought for control. The shield was drained by ninety percent in a single hit. The attack had been powerful enough to punch through, but Ren's lack of fine control over the raw energy meant it wasn't a clean kill.

The cost, however, was immediate. Ren cried out, a sharp pain shooting up his arm. The backlash from unleashing such a raw, untamed blast of Aether had sent a shockwave back through his own channels. They were tempered, but not invincible. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

On the command skiff, Anya's eyes were wide. "He's hemorrhaging Aether! That last attack was incredibly powerful, but wildly inefficient! And his own bio-signatures are flaring red. It's hurting him!"

Commander Borja saw his opportunity. "Skiff-Two is damaged! Pull back for shield regen! Ground teams, converge on his position! He's wounded! Pin him down!"

Ren stumbled back into the shadows of the labyrinth, his arm numb, his Aether reserves—filled moments ago by the shard—now half-empty from a single, desperate blast. The Heart of the Tempest pulsed weakly, its borrowed power nearly spent.

He had created a breach in the perimeter. But he was wounded, running on fumes, and now the GAMA hunters were closing in on foot, their Aetheric senses locked onto the scent of his own spilled power. The tiger had broken from the ring of fire, but he was bleeding, and the hounds were right behind him.