Kyon's POV

We moved as one. My grip tightened on the heavy wooden table as I surged forward, channeling my Arkamon Flux into its frame. The coppery energy pulsed through the wood, reinforcing it just enough to withstand the onslaught we knew was coming.

Gunfire erupted the moment we broke cover. Bullets slammed into the table, the impacts rattling through my arms and sending splinters flying. I gritted my teeth and pushed harder, using the makeshift shield to clear a path.

Behind me, Sia darted like a shadow, her dagger glowing faintly with Flux. She stayed close, weaving through the chaos as we pressed toward the hunters.

The floor ahead was a maze of shattered furniture and debris, the air thick with smoke and the acrid stench of tear gas. The hunters’ coordination was unnerving. They moved like clockwork, covering each other’s blind spots and adjusting their formation with military precision.

“Six on the left, three on the right,” Sia’s voice cut through The Pulse, calm and precise despite the chaos.

“I’ll take the left,” I replied, shifting the table to absorb another volley of bullets.

The first hunter was too slow to react as I barreled into him, the edge of the table slamming into his chest. He staggered back, his rifle clattering to the floor. I dropped the table and swung my fist, copper-colored energy flaring as I drove a Flux-enhanced punch into his jaw.

He crumpled instantly, but I didn’t have time to celebrate. Another hunter lunged at me from the side, his knife flashing in the dim light. My EchoFlux flared, warning me just in time. I twisted, the blade grazing my ribs instead of finding its mark.

I countered with a brutal strike to his wrist, disarming him before delivering a sharp kick to his chest. He hit the ground hard, and I turned just in time to see Sia dispatch another hunter with a fluid slice of her dagger.

She moved with lethal precision, her Flux-enhanced strikes cutting through their defenses like paper. But the hunters were relentless. They adjusted quickly, their thermal goggles allowing them to track our movements even through the smoke.

A sudden burst of gunfire forced us back. I dove behind a toppled planter, grabbing a broken chair leg as I landed. My Flux surged instinctively, wrapping the jagged wood in a faint coppery glow.

Sia slid into cover beside me, her breathing steady but labored. “We need to keep moving,” she said, glancing toward the remaining hunters.

“Working on it,” I muttered, stepping out of cover to deflect an incoming knife strike with the chair leg. The makeshift weapon held, its Flux reinforcement amplifying the force of my counterattack.

I drove the chair leg into the hunter’s stomach, doubling him over before finishing him with a swift strike to the side of his head. Another hunter rushed in, but Sia intercepted him, her dagger flashing as she parried his blade and struck with surgical precision.

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ers adjusted their tactics, two of them firing suppressive bursts while another lobbed a tear gas canister into the air.

“Gas!” I shouted, covering my mouth as the canister hissed, releasing a choking cloud.

My eyes watered as I struggled to breathe, but I couldn’t afford to stop. I grabbed a spent gun from the ground, channeling my Flux into the weapon. The metal groaned and warped under the energy, transforming into a solid, blunt instrument.

The first hunter I faced hesitated for just a moment, his confidence faltering as he saw the glowing weapon in my hand. I didn’t give him a chance to recover. With a wide arc, I brought the weapon down on his shoulder, the force of the blow knocking him off his feet.

The battle was brutal and unrelenting. Every move, every strike took a toll on my body and mind. My Flux reserves were running low, the coppery glow flickering as exhaustion set in.

The floor around us was a battlefield, littered with broken furniture, spent shells, and the bodies of fallen hunters. But there was no time to dwell on the destruction. The remaining hunters regrouped, their formation tightening as they prepared for another assault.

And then it hit.

At first, it was subtle—a faint vibration at the edge of my senses, like the distant hum of machinery. But it grew stronger, louder, resonating in my bones and drowning out the chaos around me.

I froze, the makeshift weapon slipping from my grasp as I tried to make sense of the sensation.

The air seemed to shift, heavy with an energy I couldn’t define. My EchoFlux flared wildly, sending sharp, insistent pulses through my mind. This wasn’t just a shift in the environment—it was something far greater.

Sia stiffened beside me, her eyes widening as she felt it too. Through The Pulse, I caught a flash of her emotions—confusion, unease, and a flicker of fear.

“What is that?” I whispered, my voice barely audible over the growing hum.

It was unlike anything I’d ever experienced. The energy wasn’t chaotic or wild—it was deliberate, controlled, and impossibly vast. It pressed against my senses, filling every corner of the room with its presence.

Sia’s gaze darted toward the far end of the hallway, her knuckles white as she gripped her weapon. “Do you feel that?” she asked, though I could tell she already knew the answer.

I nodded, swallowing hard. “Yeah.”

The hunters felt it too. Their movements faltered, their formation breaking as they exchanged uneasy glances. For the first time since the fight began, they seemed unsure.

The rushing sound grew louder, a deep, resonant hum that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere. It was like the roar of a waterfall, but sharper, more focused. My Arkamon Flux reacted instinctively, sparking faintly around my hands as if trying to shield me from the sheer force of it.

Sia’s voice cut through The Pulse, steady but tinged with urgency. “It’s… coming from outside.”

I didn’t need her to explain. The presence was approaching, its intensity growing with every passing second.

My EchoFlux painted a vivid picture in my mind—a ripple of energy spreading outward, affecting everyone in its path. It wasn’t just us. Every Flux user in the building must have felt it by now. Even the hunters, despite their technology and training, were visibly shaken.

“It’s like the air itself is alive,” I muttered, more to myself than to Sia.

She nodded, her expression grim. “Whoever this is… they’re not ordinary.”

Ordinary didn’t even begin to describe it. The sheer weight of the presence was overwhelming, making my skin crawl and my heart race. It was power, raw and unfiltered, but with a precision and control that made it even more terrifying.

The hunters exchanged nervous glances, their confidence eroding with each passing moment. One of them muttered something under his breath, his voice barely audible over the hum of the Surge.

I clenched my fists, the faint glow of my Flux flickering as I tried to steady my breathing. The battle wasn’t over, but whatever was coming felt bigger than all of this—a force that could change everything in an instant.

“We need to move,” Sia said, her voice firm despite the tension in her eyes.

I nodded, forcing myself to focus. The Surge was still distant, but it was closing in.