INTRODUCTION
Thunder rumbled across the **obsidian sky**, lightning carving jagged scars through the darkness. Rain lashed against the towering skyline of **Erevar Prime**, neon lights flickering as they fought against the storm. **But the real danger wasn’t the storm. It was what lurked in the shadows.**
**Jasper Lightningheart ran.**
Boots slammed against the metal walkway of the **Dominion Research Spire**, alarms screaming behind him. Blood dripped from a fresh wound at his side—a magitek lance had grazed him during his escape. The pain barely registered. He had bigger problems.
**In his hand, the stolen data crystal pulsed with arcane symbols—a secret too dangerous to exist.**
The Dominion wasn’t protecting the world. It was preparing to destroy it.
Behind him, the sounds of pursuit **closed in**. The **clank** of magitek sentinels, the high-pitched **whir** of drone scanners, the **thudding boots** of elite Dominion soldiers. But none of it sent a chill down Jasper’s spine like the voice that crackled through his earpiece.
Stolen novel; please report.
*"You always were fast, Lightningheart,"* the voice drawled—smooth as silk, cold as steel. *"Not fast enough, though."*
Jasper skidded to a halt, plasma pistol snapping up—**but the figure waiting for him at the end of the walkway was no ordinary soldier.**
**Ren Skydraenz.**
The **Windstalker.**
Draped in a sleek, black-and-crimson combat suit, Ren’s presence was suffocating—like the very air had been stolen from the world. A **plasma blade hissed to life in his hand, violet light cutting through the rain**. His emerald eyes locked onto Jasper, filled with something sharper than the weapon he wielded.
Betrayal.
*"Hand it over, Jasper."* Ren’s voice was calm, almost bored. *"You know how this ends."*
Jasper clenched his jaw. **One chance. One shot.**
*"You don’t even know what you’re fighting for, Ren."* He took a slow step backward toward the ledge. *"They’re lying to you. To all of us. If they open the Dark Realm—"*
*"I don’t care,"* Ren cut in, voice like a blade. *"Power belongs to those who take it. And you? You threw yours away."*
Then **he moved**.
**Faster than lightning.**
Ren’s blade **slashed through the rain**, Jasper barely twisting in time to avoid the killing blow. **Sparks exploded** from the railing as the energy blade sheared through metal like paper.
Jasper didn’t wait.
He **turned and leaped into the void.**
Wind roared in his ears as **the cityscape blurred past in a dizzying rush**. He reached for his belt—fingers grasping the stolen grappling magitek—
**Click.**
The line caught. His arm wrenched painfully, but the force **swung him hard—**right onto the roof of a speeding hover-train below.
**He hit the metal surface, rolled, exhaled.**
**Alive.**
But **Ren was already moving.**
**The hunt had begun.**
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