Those Who Hunt the Unwritten

There are predators born in darkness.

Others are forged in pain.

But the ones who walk between systems—

They are hunted by both.

---

Lyle didn't speak of the dream.

Neither did Muka.

But the silence between them shifted—less of a wall, more of a current. When she looked at him now, it wasn't with suspicion or teasing sarcasm.

It was with something unspoken.

And he couldn't deny it: he'd felt closer to her that night than to anyone since—

Since his parents vanished.

But closeness came at a cost.

Especially now.

---

A message pulsed in his Codex the moment he entered the main hall.

> [New System Flag Detected: Multiple Signature Traces — Inconsistent Evolution Path]

[Warning: Your system fusion has drawn attention from External Entities.]

[Passive Trace Barrier: Active]

[Observation Source Unknown]

He stood still in the corridor as other students passed.

Something—or someone—was watching him.

Not like the usual stares from jealous cadets or cautious instructors.

No, this was deeper.

Older.

Muka caught up beside him a moment later, sensing his tension.

"Bad message?"

"Bad eyes," he muttered.

She scanned the corridor, gaze narrowing. "I'll sniff them out. You focus on acting normal."

"That's the problem," Lyle said. "I haven't been normal for a while."

---

Later that afternoon, Instructor Vareen called an emergency session in the south dueling hall. But it wasn't for a duel.

It was for protection.

Half the elite class had reported system fluctuations—glyphs glitching, spell queues misfiring, even bloodline traits activating without command.

"What's causing it?" one student asked.

Vareen's face was grim.

"We don't know."

She looked directly at Lyle.

But said nothing.

---

That night, Lyle sat alone in the rooftop garden, his fingers tracing the merged rings now fused into his skin. One cold. One silent. But both alive.

> [System Sync 59% – Fused Integrity Stable]

[Bone Claw Presence: Dormant]

[Vampiric Arcanum: Updating Passive Traits…]

[New Skill Slot Available: Choose Mutation Type? Y/N]

Before he could respond—

The air twisted behind him.

Not like shadow travel.

Not like blink teleportation.

Something slower.

He spun.

And saw her.

A woman cloaked in dusky red, eyes pale gold, skin like midnight glass etched with living runes.

She wasn't a student.

Or staff.

And she wasn't human.

"You shouldn't have fused them," she said softly.

Lyle rose to his feet, heart hammering.

"Who are you?"

"A Collector," she said. "Of anomalies. Of broken patterns. Of those who steal power meant to stay buried."

She stepped forward, ignoring the warning glyphs flickering around her feet.

"Give me the rings. Or I'll take the hand."

Lyle didn't hesitate.

> [Codex Override: Shadowstep]

[Vampiric Surge Activated]

He vanished, reappeared behind her—and slashed with pure mana.

She caught it mid-air.

With two fingers.

Then flung it back.

Lyle barely raised a shield before it shattered, tossing him into the garden wall.

> [Warning: System Disruption Field Engaged]

[Skill Slots Locked Temporarily]

The Collector walked slowly toward him.

"You are not of the systems," she said. "You are what happens when balance is defied."

"I didn't choose this," he hissed.

"Power never asks," she replied.

Suddenly, a sharp crack echoed.

A flash of light blinded them both—

And a dagger slammed into the Collector's leg, forcing her back.

Muka dropped beside Lyle, hand already glowing with a twin-blade spell.

"Told you," she snapped. "I always watch."

The Collector hissed and vanished into a spiral of sigils—no flash, no gate, just gone.

Lyle coughed and sat up. "Thanks."

She helped him to his feet, then looked at the spot where the woman had disappeared.

"She'll be back."

"I know."

Muka's grip on his arm tightened. "Next time, I'm not letting you face her alone."

---

Far below the academy, within a sealed chamber behind six arcane locks, the Collector reappeared.

She limped toward a circle of robed figures. Each one bore the same sigil burned into their palms: a triangle of teeth.

"He resists," she said. "But he's still… incomplete."

One figure stepped forward. His voice was oily silk.

"He won't be. When the other ring awakens fully, we strike."

Another added, "And if the Bone Claw finishes its contract?"

A pause.

Then the first answered:

"Then we bury them both."