The streets were still restless when Arden and his party turned from the markets.

The jeers and side glances followed them like shadows, but none of them looked too bothered.

Rael whistled low. "Back to being scorned again. Guess it's starting to feel like home."

Nyra shot him a look, but even she couldn't hide the faint smile tugging at her lips.

Zephyra only gave a rumbling growl, smoke curling faintly from her jaws as they pushed through the crowd.

When they reached the main street toward the inn, Arden slowed his steps.

Something tugged at him, a pulse just beyond the walls of Greyhold. His boots stopped moving.

"You all go on ahead," he said suddenly.

Rael frowned. "What now?"

Arden just waved him off. "Something I need to check. Don't wait up."

Nyra raised a brow. "Just don't die doing it."

Rael grinned. "And if you do, leave us your sword."

Arden smirked at them before turning on his heel.

He walked at first, but the strange pressure drew him harder with every step until he broke into a sprint, leaving the noise of Greyhold behind.

Past the fields, in the low brush where the moonlight spilled, he saw them.

A line of cloaked figures dragging a cage on reinforced wheels.

Inside, slumped against the bars, was a figure that at first looked human, but the longer Arden stared, the less human it appeared.

Its body was too broad, veins pulsing with a faint glow beneath skin that looked stretched thin. Two affinities bled out of it, flickering and clashing in the air, fire and wind— wild, unstable.

Arden's jaw tightened. A hybrid. No… more than that.

The ones transporting it grumbled among themselves. "Keep moving, before anyone notices."

Another hissed, "Why transport it here of all places? This thing's unstable"

They fell silent the moment Arden stepped from the shadows.

His eyes locked on the cage, then on them.

"You lot picked the wrong night."

Panic hit them. Two bolted immediately, while three scrambled to raise their weapons. But they didn't last. Arden's strikes cut through them with speed they couldn't follow, sparks lighting the dark as steel met steel, then silence as bodies dropped to the grass.

But one man, desperate, shoved his hands against the cage locks and shouted, "Burn it free!"

The seals cracked, glowing veins unraveling, and with a guttural roar the creature's head snapped up.

Its eyes glowed like twin embers, wind rushing violently as fire licked off its body. Chains melted, snapping loose.

Arden cursed under his breath. "Of course."

The hybrid turned to him instantly, instincts locking onto the only threat in sight. Then it moved.

The first blow nearly crushed him.

A flaming gust slammed into the ground where Arden had stood, the explosion tossing dirt sky- high.

He rolled, summoned fire into his palm, and countered with a burst of his own.

Boom! The clash echoed in the fields.

The hybrid snarled, body surging with wind that sharpened into cutting edges. It came at him fast, claws tearing across the ground.

Arden pulled on his life signatures. First, Cinderhorn Surge. Flame burst along his strikes, his blade erupting with concussive fire shockwaves. He swung hard, the air shaking as the hybrid staggered back a step.

But it roared and pressed harder, faster. Wind wrapped its body, boosting its movements, and Arden barely managed to hold.

Switching, he called on Ironburst Vein. His muscles hardened, strikes landing with heavier impact, but his movements slowed, and the hybrid's speed nearly carved him apart.

"Tch. Too fast," he hissed, dodging a flaming claw that scorched the ground.

Smoke and sparks filled the air. Arden's heartbeat hammered.

This thing's a weapon… and they were sending it into Greyhold?

The thought barely finished when another strike sent him skidding across the dirt, boots carving furrows in the ground.

For the first time in a long while, adrenaline surged hot in his veins. He wasn't sure he could win this without going all out.

But then the air turned cold.

A shadow appeared between him and the hybrid, masked and cloaked, moving with a grace that made Arden pause.

The man's voice was calm, almost amused.

"Looks like you noticed too. I'll take it from here."

Before Arden could answer, frost rippled out.

The stranger's hand flicked, and a wall of ice shattered into existence, blocking the hybrid's next charge. The ground hissed as flame met frost, steam rising in clouds.

Arden narrowed his eyes. He didn't ask who the man was. He already had a guess.

The hybrid roared and lunged. The masked man didn't flinch.

His palm swept, and shards of ice spiraled out, precise and lethal. Shhk! Shhk! Shhk! Each shard pierced the hybrid's limbs, slowing it.

Then, with a step, he unleashed more. A partial domain spread, a haze of cold, a space where the air itself obeyed him.

The hybrid struggled, fire sputtering against the encroaching frost.

Arden watched in awe, every movement clear to him. Vein Crown… this is the next realm. He's bending the element itself.

The hybrid shrieked, fire bursting wildly, wind raging into a storm. But the man was unmoved. His blade, coated in frost, cut straight through the chaos. One strike, then another— Clang! Crack!— breaking the beast down piece by piece.

Finally, he raised his hand. The air froze solid. Ice spears rained from above, pinning the hybrid into the earth. It screamed once, then went silent, the cold smothering its flames until nothing but steam rose into the night.

The masked man exhaled slowly, letting the frost fade.

He turned to Arden, who still stood with blade in hand, eyes fixed on him.

"Come," the man said, his tone quiet but firm. "Not here. Too many eyes will be drawn to this commotion."

Arden wiped his blade, sliding it back into place. He gave a faint, wry smile. "Lead the way, then."

Because whoever this man was, he wasn't ordinary. And Arden wanted answers.

A/N:

Please send Powerstones, Tickets and Gifts.

Also, Engage by leaving Comments and Reviews.

Thanks for the support.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.