Kova sat within his endless Void. Beside him lay a bound figure with three missing fingers, a silent testament to failure. Kova ignored the captives in stasis and the girl fighting demons in the dark, his mind focused entirely on his meditation. He was the untouched master, his consciousness tethered to the physical world as he watched the hunt for the white and black hair boy through the shadows of existence. The darkness here was not empty; it was a pressurized chamber of Kova's own making, where every breath taken by his prisoners was a resource he monitored. He could feel the girl's pulse quickening as she tore through another wave of manifestations, her pink flames flickering against the oppressive black. She was becoming what he needed her to be, a weapon forged in isolation. But his primary focus remained on the effigies rising from the sand at his feet.

  The sudden spike in Hykees aggression and Lokees fear echoed through the Void like a bell. Kova opened his obsidian eyes as black sand rose to form the heavy, suffocating effigies of Hykee, Lokee, and Kaola. He watched the trio move toward the apothecary shop, their internal rhythm fractured by the blow Hykee had dealt. Kaola was walking with a rigid stiffness, desperate to reclaim an authority that was rapidly slipping away. Kova watched the way her shadow wavered in the sand. She was overcompensating, her pride blinding her to the subtle clues the environment was screaming at her. She wanted a quick end to the hunt, a clean victory to present to Koma, but the boy they followed was not a creature of clean victories. He was a walking disaster.

  "They are breaking" Kova whispered into the dark.

  He watched Kaola lead them toward a small shuttered shop at the end of a sparse lane. "We go to the apothecary" Kaola commanded her voice strained. "If he was that sick he would have looked for medicine. The boy is struggling to contain the Yen and he needs suppressants to keep the flare ups from exposing them further."

  Kova watched from the Void his expression unreadable. They all knew the girl was with him. Koma had made it clear he believed she was alive back when this hunt began. But Kaola had underestimated the girls caution. The girl was practical and she knew that stepping into a shop in a town full of eyes was a death sentence. Under her direction they would never have stopped for pre made medicine. They would have kept moving using the herbs and leaves found along the path to mask his scent and dull the pain of the Yen.

  Kaola reached the shop and kicked the door open with a force that spoke more of her wounded pride than tactical necessity. The interior was cramped and filled with the overwhelming scent of dried lavender and bitter roots. An old man with glasses perched on the tip of his nose jumped back from a counter his hands covered in a green paste. He looked terrified as Kaola stepped into the light.

  "The boy" Kaola said her voice a low growl. "How much medicine did he buy?"

  The apothecary trembled his eyes darting to the twins who now stood in the doorway. He swallowed hard looking at the aggressive set of Kaolas jaw and the ominous pressure coming from the two figures behind her. "I... I have not sold suppressants in over a week" the old man stammered his voice cracking. "I saw them from the window but they did not stop! They were moving too fast toward the tree line! I only saw a pair of them and they did not even look at the door!"

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  The man stopped his heart hammering against his ribs as he realized he had confirmed seeing a pair of travelers without Kaola mentioning a second person. Kaola stepped forward grabbing the man by his collar and slamming him against the shelves of dried roots. "You saw them" she hissed. "And you knew they were fleeing. Why are you shaking so hard if they were just regular travelers?"

  "I was scared!" the man shrieked. "Anyone who looks that sick and moves that fast through a quiet town brings trouble! I did not want to be involved! I did not want any trouble from people like you! They did not stop here! I swear it on my life! They just kept going toward the woods!"

  Kaola released the man her hand trembling. She turned to look at Hykee and Lokee. The silence in the shop was deafening. By assuming the target would take the easy path and stop for medicine she had wasted precious minutes and lost the heat of the trail. The townspeople were already whispering and the lead the boy had was growing wider.

  Kova shifted his position in the Void his brow furrowing as he analyzed the failure. "She outsmarted you Kaola" Kova murmured. "The girl must have had a thought about coming here for suppressants to help him but her critical thinking saved them. She chose the harder path."

  He watched as Kaola walked out of the shop without another word to the apothecary. She stood in the center of the dirt road looking toward the dark woods. She noticed the way the grass at the edge of the path was beginning to wilt and the leaves on the nearest bushes were turning a sickly grey. The Yen was leaking from the boy and the flare ups were already poisoning the environment around him. The towns animals were skittish and the very trees seemed to lean away from the path the two had taken.

  "He is in the woods" Kaola finally said her voice small. "We missed them."

  Hykee stepped up beside her his shadow looming over her. "You missed them" he corrected his voice a low rasp that made Kaola flinch. "We followed your lead and you led us to an empty shop. If we lose him because you wanted to play god Koma will not be the one you have to worry about."

  Kaola turned on him her eyes flashing with a defensive fire even as she leaned away from his reach. "Play god? Hykee how could I play god? I was told to lead for a mission by a god and if Kova was here neither one of you would be acting out like this. If I fail this mission I will either answer to Koma or Kova. If you want to keep hitting me go ahead but it will not find Kota. If you want to actually finish this then let me do my job as the scout and leader of this mission please."

  Lokee stepped forward her voice cutting through the tension with a cold clarity. "Do your job as the scout and as the lead because without us this mission is impossible. You alone won't be able to finish the mission and Koma isn't a god. Stop this silly idolization you have for Koma."

  Hykee let out a low guttural growl that seemed to vibrate the very air. He turned his gaze toward Lokee his expression darkening. "Be quiet" he snapped before shifting his eyes back to Kaola. "Do your job. It is time to move on."

  Kova watched the interaction from the Void his lips curling into a thin dangerous smile. He could feel the threads of their cooperation fraying. "Hykee is starting to lose patience" Kova whispered to the empty dark. "I sense him doing something that neither one of the girls can control. I may actually have to step in."

  He turned his gaze toward the far corner of the Void where the girl remained. She was panting her body covered in the soot of the demons she had slain. "You have been in solitary for some time" Kova said to himself. "I think it is time for you to show me your resolve. It is time to show me if you are actually usable."

  Kova reached out his hand hovering over the missing digits of the boys hand beside him. The woods would not be kind to the hunters. They did not care about birth order or the desperation of a scout trying to prove her worth. They only care about who survives the night. Kova closed his eyes once more sinking back into the depths of his own power. The hunt was entering a new phase and the decay of the world was only just beginning.