Chapter 8: Shift day
The next morning, soft golden sunlight slipped through the windows of the small house. Kaela moved around quietly, tying her hair and packing her bag for work. She glanced toward the table, where Ryz sat near the window, sipping warm tea in silence.
"I've got a long shift today," she said, adjusting her jacket. "You can take the day off. The shop's okay for now."
Ryz gave her a short nod, his eyes still distant.
"Don't break anything while I'm gone," she added, her tone light, playful.
She left with a wave, and the house returned to its familiar stillness.
Ryz stood and walked to the hallway mirror. He adjusted his coat a long, dark gray one with a high collar and buttoned it up. The reflection staring back at him was tall, well-built, and sharp. His face was smooth and symmetrica, pale like moonlight, with calm crimson eyes that seemed cold and deep. His black hair, slightly messy, framed his face and brushed the tops of his sharp brows.
He looked at himself with indifference. Handsome, cold, unreadable. He adjusted his collar once more and walked outside.
The morning air was cool and crisp. The sun was rising gently over the rooftops, casting soft gold across the cobbled streets. As he made his way down the path, someone stepped out from the house next door.
Velmira.
She wore a clean black coat over a white blouse and gray pants simple but sharp. Her long white-blonde hair was tied neatly in a braid that hung down her back. Her golden eyes shimmered as they locked onto him.
"Well, what a coincidence," she said, voice calm but carrying a slight tease. "Are you heading out too?"
Ryz didn't answer. He just turned and kept walking.
Vel narrowed her eyes and fell into step behind him. "You're not very talkative, are you?"
Still, he said nothing.
After several minutes of silence between them, her voice cut through again. "Are you going to tell me where you're going?"
He glanced briefly at her. "No."
Vel sighed. "I figured. Still, I'm coming. Surveillance, remember?"
Ryz didn't respond. She walked with him anyway.
They passed quiet streets, rows of sleeping shops, and alleys painted with dew. Eventually, they arrived at an empty lot, abandoned and overgrown with grass and broken concrete. But something shimmered in the air a ripple that didn't belong.
Velmira's expression shifted. "A dungeon gate," she whispered.
To normal people, it would be invisible. But to them, it pulsed with quiet power A-rank strength by the feel of it. Fresh. Undiscovered. No hunters had arrived yet.
She reached out and brushed the air. "It's real."
Then she turned to him. "How did you know this was here?"
Ryz stared at the gate. "Instinct."
Velmira narrowed her eyes slightly but didn't argue.
He stepped forward, stopping just before entering. "How are these gates formed?" he asked.
She hesitated. "I'm not telling you."
Without waiting for more, Ryz passed through the gate.
Velmira followed.
---
Inside was a twisted reflection of the real world. The sky had vanished. The ground was red stone veined with dark lines, like dried blood. Strange plants pulsed like organs. The air was heavier, almost like breathing through mist.
Velmira glanced around. "We're not alone," she said in a whisper. "Two people. A-rank, by the feel of them."
Footsteps echoed in the distance.
Two hunters came into view. One had short red hair and cocky eyes. The other had spiky brown hair and a long scar across his cheek. They both wore light armor and carried weapons carelessly, like they'd been in enough fights to stop caring.
The red-haired one grinned. "Well, what do we have here?"
"Couple out for a romantic dungeon stroll?" the brown-haired one added with a chuckle.
Ryz, without missing a beat, stepped behind Velmira and put his hands on her shoulders. He leaned forward slightly and whispered, "They look dangerous. Don't let them hurt me."
Velmira blinked, caught off guard. "What… are you doing?"
"Hide me. Please," he added with mock innocence.
The two hunters burst out laughing.
"Look at that guy! Hiding behind a woman?"
"Coward! What's he doing in a dungeon?"
Velmira turned her head slightly, whispering to Ryz, "What are you doing?
Ryz smiled behind her. "They're mocking me. Kill them."
Vel rolled her eyes. "That's not necessary."
She raised one hand. A flash of soft blue light shimmered in the air. In an instant, both hunters stiffened and collapsed, unconscious.
"They'll sleep for a few hours," she muttered.
Ryz stepped forward, back into view. His expression was cold again emotionless, distant.
Velmira glanced at him and thought silently, "Tsk… is this really the one they're afraid of?"
They continued deeper into the dungeon. The walls seemed alive, pulsing slowly. Shadows moved in the distance. Twisted beasts crawled across ceilings and walls mutated things with far too many limbs and eyes.
Ryz didn't fight them. He watched them like someone watching ants in a jar.
Vel, still alert, kept glancing his way. "Why did you want to come here?"
"I was curious."
"That's it?"
"For now."
She didn't ask more.
They eventually found the dungeon core chamber still untouched, still quiet. No one had been here before.
After standing in silence for a while, Ryz turned and walked away.
Vel followed, as always.
---
They emerged from the gate just as the morning light fully broke through the clouds. The city was waking up beyond the empty lot. Birds chirped. Cars rolled in the distance.
Vel stood beside him, arms crossed. "Strange day."
Ryz didn't reply. He simply walked back toward home.
Vel kept pace, her eyes occasionally drifting sideways to look at him curious but unreadable.
As they were walking back to their house, something unnatural filled the sky.
A red gate appeared massive, circular, glowing like molten iron. It hung above the city like a second sun. Its size was so great it felt like it would swallow the world.
People screamed. Panic spread like fire.
Sirens rang out. Streets flooded with evacuating civilians.
Hunter guilds deployed immediately. Vehicles arrived. Dozens of hunters ranging from B to A gathered at the base of the red gate.
And then five figures landed. The S-rank hunters.
Garrick Vohl – Iron Howl's Commander. Short steel gray hair, dark green eyes, muscular build. Stoic and silent, his rank in the guild is Head of Operations.
Liora Crestvale – Skyglass's elite scout. Long silver-blue hair, ice blue eyes, athletic build. Speedy and sharp-tongued, ranked First Wing of Skyglass.
Kaelen Drayce – Crimson Ward's enforcer. Crimson red hair, black eyes with red flecks, scarred armor. Cold and sarcastic, holds the title Crimson Executioner.
Selra Nyx – Mireveil's shadow agent. Midnight-black chin-length hair, violet eyes with shadows. Whisper-silent and unnerving, ranked The Black Whisper.
Zevren Hale – Arclight's face. Wavy blond hair, glowing amber eyes. Flashy and arrogant, his role is Beacon Commander of Arclight.
Vel's expression turned sharp. "Something's wrong," she muttered.
Ryz watched the chaos unfold quietly.
"If this gate is what I think it is, leaving you out here could be worse."
"I have no intention of destroying this world," Ryz said calmly.
Vel didn't look convinced. "I don't believe that. Not fully."
"_"
"I'm going to find Kaela," Ryz said. "To make sure she's safe."
Vel studied his eyes. Then, with a small nod, she turned and ran toward the gate.
She leapt into the air and disappeared into its red glow.
Ryz stood still for a long moment. Then he began walking.
He passed people running, sirens flashing, hunters shouting orders.
He searched for Kaela.
Finally, he found her.
She was at the evacuation center, helping others bandaging someone's arm, giving instructions, keeping calm.
Ryz watched from a distance, unmoving.
Then he turned and vanished into the crowd.