Day twenty-five began in darkness.

Owen woke to Jorik shaking his shoulder. "She’s close."

Owen sat up immediately. His CE sense flared. Extended outward.

There.

A massive signature. Tier 2, two-stars. Moving through the jungle. Two kilometers north. Heading directly toward their position.

Raxka.

"How long?" Owen asked.

"She’s been circling for an hour. Getting closer each pass." Jorik’s bioluminescent veins pulsed faster—anxiety. "The tracker. She’s homing in on it."

Tessa appeared from another chamber. Already armored. Ready. "We move. Now. Staying here makes us sitting targets."

Vren was packing supplies into crude sacks. "South. Toward Zone 18. The ruins. More cover. More places to hide."

Owen stood. His CE had recovered overnight. 4,800. Better but not enough.

"She’s faster than all of us," Owen said. "Running only delays the inevitable."

"Then we have to make the delay count," Tessa replied. "Every hour you survive is an hour closer to the hunt ending. Three days left. Seventy-two hours."

Owen nodded. "Let’s move."

They exited the shelter. Moved south through dense jungle. Fast but quiet.

Behind them, Raxka’s signature shifted. Adjusted course. Still closing.

"She knows we’re moving," Jorik whispered.

"Of course she does," Vren muttered. "Nullborns are the best trackers in the cosmos. This is her entire culture."

They ran.

Through streams. Over fallen trees. Past predator territories that scattered at their approach.

One kilometer of distance maintained. Then 800 meters. Then 600.

She was gaining.

"We can’t outrun her," Owen said.

Tessa’s jaw tightened. "Then we split up. Divide her attention."

"She’s hunting me specifically. She’ll ignore you."

"Not if we make ourselves problems." Tessa gestured to Jorik and Vren. "We set traps. Ambushes. Annoyances. Force her to deal with us."

"She’ll kill you."

"Maybe. But we’re Tier 5, four-stars. We’re not easy kills." Tessa’s expression hardened. "And you’re worth the investment. We agreed to help. This is how we help."

Owen wanted to argue. But the logic was sound.

"Traps won’t kill her. Won’t even slow her much."

"Don’t need to kill her. Just buy time." Vren pulled out crude explosives—scavenged from predator dens, combined with volatile jungle plants. "These won’t hurt a Tier 2. But they’ll annoy her. Make her cautious."

Jorik added, "And if she’s cautious, she’s slower."

Owen looked at them. Three prisoners he’d known for less than a day. Willing to risk their lives on a bet that he’d survive. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

’Desperation makes strange allies.’

"Alright. What’s the plan?"

---

They set the first trap at a narrow ravine.

Vren rigged explosives to collapse part of the cliff face. Jorik prepared a pitfall covered with foliage. Tessa positioned herself in the trees with sharpened stakes.

Owen continued running. The bait.

Raxka’s signature was 400 meters back now. Closing fast.

He heard her voice echo through the jungle. Amused. Confident.

"Clever, whelp. Using others as shields. But it won’t save you."

The ravine approached. Owen sprinted across. Reached the other side. Turned.

Raxka emerged from the jungle.

She stopped at the ravine’s edge. Looked at the obvious trap. The collapsed cliff waiting to be triggered. The covered pit. The hidden archer.

She smiled.

"Really?"

She jumped. Straight over the ravine. Twenty meters. Effortless.

Vren triggered the explosives anyway.

BOOM!

The cliff face collapsed. Rocks and debris fell. Dust clouded the air.

Raxka landed on the other side. Completely unharmed.

Tessa fired her stakes from the trees. Three projectiles. Tier 5 CE-enhanced.

Raxka caught them mid-air. Snapped them like twigs.

"Tier 5 attacks. Cute."

Jorik attacked from below. Emerged from the pit. Dual blades. Fast strikes aimed at her legs.

Raxka kicked him. Once. He flew fifteen meters. Hit a tree. Didn’t get up.

"One down."

Tessa dropped from the trees. Claws extended. Tier 5 speed. Everything she had.

Raxka grabbed her by the throat mid-descent. Slammed her into the ground.

CRACK!

Tessa gasped. Her CE dropped by half. Ultra-Regeneration activated but too slow.

"Two down."

Vren appeared. Threw more explosives. Desperation move.

They detonated around Raxka. Fire. Shrapnel. Noise.

She walked through it. Unburned. Unharmed.

She grabbed Vren by the arm. Twisted.

SNAP!

His arm broke. He screamed.

She threw him aside. "Three down."

Then she turned to Owen.

"Now. Where were we?"

---

Owen ran.

Not away. Toward.

Momentum Shift. 7 CE. He appeared beside Tessa. Grabbed her. Shifted again. 7 CE.

Appeared beside Jorik. Grabbed him.

Third shift. 7 CE. Beside Vren.

Fourth shift. 7 CE. Behind Raxka.

All three wounded allies deposited in one location. Away from the fight.

Owen faced Raxka alone.

She tilted her head. "Saving them? How noble."

"They bought me time. Least I can do."

"Time for what? To run again?" She stepped closer. "You can’t win, whelp. The gap between us is insurmountable."

"I’ve heard that before."

Owen activated Dragon’s Aura. 100 CE. Full power.

The pressure exploded outward. Trees bent. Leaves scattered. The ground cracked.

Raxka felt it. Her eyes widened slightly. "That’s... more than Tier 5, five-stars should produce."

"I’m full of surprises."

He attacked.

Cosmic Impact Fist. 500 CE. His strongest punch.

She blocked with one hand. The impact created a shockwave. Dust and debris flew outward.

But she didn’t move.

Owen’s fist throbbed. Bones cracked despite reinforcement. Ultra-Regeneration activated. 250 CE.

Raxka smiled. "Better. But still not enough."

She countered. A simple punch. No technique. Just overwhelming CE.

Owen used Momentum Shift to dodge. 7 CE. Appeared behind her.

Dragon’s Breath. 300 CE.

Black flames erupted. Consumed her position.

She walked through them. Again. Unburned.

"Your flames are impressive. But Tier 2 CE reinforcement is nigh absolute. You need at least Tier 4 power to penetrate my defenses."

Owen’s CE: 3,547.

Hers: Barely touched.

He couldn’t win. Not like this.

But he didn’t need to win. Just survive.

He ran.

Momentum Shift. Again. Again. Burning CE for distance.

Raxka laughed. "Yes! Run! That’s what prey does!"

She chased. Not at full speed. Toying with him. Enjoying the hunt.

Owen’s mind raced. ’Three days left. Seventy hours. I need to hide. Lose her. Buy time.’

He headed for Zone 18. The ruins. Where Korvan said there were ancient structures. Labyrinths. Places to get lost.

Behind him, Raxka followed. Patient. Methodical.

The hunt continued.

---

Owen reached the ruins by nightfall.

Massive structures. Ancient. Crumbling. Stone buildings that stretched toward the sky. Archways. Columns. Collapsed walls creating natural mazes.

He dove into the labyrinth. Turned left. Right. Straight. Down a collapsed staircase. Through a narrow tunnel.

His CE sense tracked Raxka. She’d entered the ruins. Moving slower now. Searching.

He found a chamber. Partially collapsed. Entrance hidden by debris. He squeezed inside. Sat. Breathed.

His CE: 2,890.

Too much spent on combat and shifting.

He cycled RCT. Slowly recovering. 2,920... 2,950... 2,980...

Hours passed.

Raxka’s signature moved through the ruins. Methodical. Room by room. Corridor by corridor.

She was hunting by elimination. Eventually, she’d find him.

But not tonight.

Owen waited in darkness. Silent. Still.

His mind drifted to Gorvax. To their partnership. To the fight that ended it.

’I’m still alive because you sacrificed yourself. I won’t waste that.’

Morning came.

Owen’s CE had recovered to 4,200.

Raxka’s signature was on the other side of the ruins. Distant but still searching.

He moved. Quietly. Through different corridors. Deeper into the labyrinth.

He found water. A collapsed fountain still somehow flowing. He drank. Refilled his containers.

Then he heard footsteps.

Not Raxka.

Someone else.

A figure appeared from the shadows. Humanoid. Covered in tattered robes. CE signature: Tier 4, one-star.

A Lifer.

The figure spoke. Male voice. Rough. Tired. "You’re the False Fist."

Owen’s gauntlets hummed. "And you are?"

"Someone who knows what it’s like to be hunted." The figure pulled back his hood. Scarred face. One eye missing. "Month 2, Season 41. Ordained hunter chased me through these ruins for four days straight."

Owen recognized the strategy. "So what! You’re offering to help!."

"Information. This labyrinth has patterns. Safe rooms. Dead ends where hunters get confused. Ventilation shafts that mask CE signatures." The Lifer’s remaining eye focused on Owen. "I can show you. For a price."

"What price?"

"When you kill something valuable, I want ten percent of the credits."

Owen considered. "Deal."

The Lifer smiled. "Smart. Follow me."

---

For two days, Owen played cat and mouse with Raxka through the ruins.

The Lifer—who called himself Dren—knew every corridor. Every hidden passage. Every room where CE signatures dispersed.

They stayed ahead of Raxka. Barely.

She grew frustrated. Her hunts were usually quick. Decisive. This one was dragging.

On day twenty-seven, Owen heard her voice echo through the ruins.

"Impressive, whelp! Most prey breaks by day two. But you’re persistent."

He didn’t respond.

"Two days left. Then I return home. But I will find you before then. The tracker doesn’t lie."

She was right. The tracker pulsed faintly in Owen’s chest. A constant beacon.

But the ruins’ stone interference made it less precise. She knew his general location. Not his exact position.

It was enough.

Day twenty-eight arrived.

One day left.

Raxka’s signature intensified. She was done playing. Moving faster. More aggressive.

Dren led Owen to a deep chamber. Underground. Thick stone walls.

"This room has the best interference. She’ll have trouble pinpointing you here. Stay until tomorrow. The hunt ends at midnight."

Owen nodded. "Thank you."

Dren smiled. "Don’t thank me yet. You still have to survive twenty-four hours."

He left.

Owen sat in darkness. Alone again. Waiting.

His CE recovered. 5,600. Full.

Above, Raxka hunted.

The final day had begun.