The convoy rumbled forward, its reinforced wheels grinding against the cracked canyon floor. The cliffs loomed overhead, towering monoliths of stone that swallowed the sky in jagged, uneven shadows. Kael rode near the lead truck, his eyes scanning the horizon. The further they moved toward Hollowshard Pass, the more the air thickened with an oppressive weight, like the canyon itself was holding its breath.
He gripped his vambrace tightly. Something felt off.
Drevan must have sensed it too. The captain rode just ahead, his sharp gaze locked on the distant mountain ridges. "Eyes up," he called over the convoy's radio. "This pass hasn't been cleared in weeks. If there's trouble, we'll see it before we hear it."
Kael wasn't so sure.
The convoy pushed forward, dust rising in its wake. The sun had dipped lower now, the sky turning gold-red, bleeding into the horizon. Even with the canyon shielding them from direct sunlight, he could feel the distant rays pressing against his skin—a subtle warmth that felt unnatural, whispering temptation and danger in equal measure.
A howl split the silence.
Kael's breath hitched. He turned sharply toward the ridges—just in time to see movement. Dozens of dark, sinewy shapes peeled away from the crags and outcroppings above, scrambling down the steep incline with unsettling speed.
"Contact!" Drevan barked. "Lesser Hollows inbound from the cliffs—north side! Stay in formation!"
The convoy jolted forward, engines roaring as the drivers pushed their speed. Kael's pulse quickened. They weren't close yet, but they would be soon.
The Lesser Hollows descended like a landslide—four-legged, skeletal beasts with elongated jaws and bone-white flesh burned by the Hollow Sun's radiation. They moved in chaotic, unnatural bursts, their twisted limbs pulling them forward in a frenzy. The pack thickened, pouring from the ridges in a living wave.
Kael glanced at Rendrik, who was already grinning. "Took 'em long enough," the pyrokinetic muttered. "I was getting bored."
"You won't be for long," Kael shot back.
Drevan's voice cut in over the comms. "Convoy, keep moving! We're faster than them as long as we don't stop! Chosen, hold formation and do not engage unless they reach the canyon floor!"
The engines roared louder. The convoy surged forward, tires kicking up dust and gravel as they raced toward Hollowshard Pass. The mountains were still at a safe enough distance that the Lesser Hollows wouldn't catch them unless—
The ground ahead exploded.
Kael barely had time to react before the sand erupted in front of the convoy. A hulking mass shot upward, limbs twisting, jaws snapping, its emaciated body covered in jagged, blackened exoskeletal armor.
An Elite Hollow—a Hunter.
Then another burst from the sand. Then a third.
Kael's stomach twisted. Shit.
The convoy screeched to a halt as the Hunters fully emerged, standing tall on insect-like hind legs, their elongated arms tipped with serrated claws. Their glowing, pupil-less eyes locked onto the convoy like predators spotting prey.
The Lesser Hollows were still swarming down the cliffs, but the Hunters were here. If they didn't act now, they'd be caught between both threats.
Drevan didn't hesitate. "Stop the convoy! We can't outrun them now. We hold this position!"
The brakes hissed. The Chosen leapt into action.
Drevan spun to face them. "New plan! Kael, Rendrik—you two stay with the convoy! Keep those Lesser Hollows off our backs. The rest of us will take down the Hunters before they can tear through our front lines!"
Kael barely had time to protest before Drevan and the other Chosen moved. This was bad. Hunters were fast, vicious. Kael could hold his own against a Lesser Hollow, but against a full-fledged Hunter? He swallowed the lump in his throat and turned to Rendrik.
The pyrokinetic grinned, his palm already flickering with embers. "Well, rookie. Looks like it's just you and me."
Kael exhaled, shadows curling at his fingertips. "Try not to set the convoy on fire this time."
Rendrik scoffed. "No promises."
The first Hollow reached the canyon floor.
The battle had begun.
The air was thick with the scent of scorched sand and Hollow blood. The sound of metal clashing, bones crunching, and guttural howls echoed through the canyon. Drevan and the others moved like monsters themselves. Especially, Drevan. There was no punches held by the Captain. No swing of his gradient dual-handed long sword that wasn't meant to split the canyon in half.
He was a force Kael had never witness, until now.
A hunter went for the neck of the know-it-all woman Chosen from earlier while she was distracted with another. Her head would've fallen clean off, hadn't Drevan sliced the beasts legs with blinding speed, reducing its massive size by meters. However, it did nothing to stop the falling Hunter from ripping a chunk of flesh from Know-it-all's torso. The air was filled with agonizing screaming as she dropped to her knees pressing both hands against the gaping wound.
But it was too late. She died in seconds. And so did the remaining half of the Hunter as Drevan's blade pierced its skull. The darkened expression on his face hid eyes of pure energy.
They would pay.
Kael stood back-to-back with Rendrik, both of them watching as the wave of Lesser Hollows thundered toward them. The mindless beasts barreled down the slopes, kicking up massive dust clouds and snapping their jaws in blind hunger. There were too many.
"This is bad,' Kael muttered. "Even if we kill a few, the rest will just rip through the convoy."
Rendrick exhaled sharply, flickering fire along his finger tips.
"No argument there." He paused for a beat, then snapped is fiery fingers. "I got it."
Kael glanced at him: "I don't like the sound of that"
"Relax. It's genius." Rendrik smirked and gestured toward the convoy. "We don't need to fight them. We just need to keep them away long enough for the others to finish with the Hunters."
Kael frowned: "And how do you suggest we do that?"
"A barrier. A big-ass shadow barrier."
Kael grimaced and his stomach twisted: "What? I can't create something that big. My affinity-"
"Is weak?"Rendrik scoffed. "You don't know that. You've never tried."
Kael clenched his fists. He wasn't wrong. Kael had always struggled with is affinity, had always been told that shadows weren't as strong as fire or stone. So, because of that, he had never tested his limits, never pushed beyond what he thought he could do.
But this wasn't about his limits. It was about the convoy. The people. The families.
Kael turned to the sky. The sun was still hidden behind the peak of the western mountain, shrouded in darkness. He could feel its absence like a weight a weight in his chest. The sun's energy fueled their abilities, even if it was poisonous. Without it, they were weaker. Slower.
And then, as if fate had heard them--
The sun broke free.
A golden ray pierced through the canyon, cutting across the battlefield like a divine blade. Kael inhaled sharply as heat rushed through his veins. The shadows at his feet stirred--alive, hungry, and surging to his command.
He didn't think. He acted.
"I'm not dying today!"
Kael slammed his hands against the earth, and the shadows erupted. A thick, billowing darkness spilled outward, swallowing the convoy in a shroud of pure black. It wasn't perfect--parts of it wavered, tendrils flickered--but it held.
The fast approaching Lesser Hollows skidded to a stop, confused and snarling. After a moment, they began to circle the barrier, their glowing eyes darting wildly, unable to see their prey.
Rendrik let out a low whistle: "Not bad, C Class."
Kael panted, wiping the sweat dripping from his brow. He could feel the strain, but he held firm: "How long should I keep this up?"
"As long as you can hold it," Rendrik said. "Let's just hope the others hurry the hell up."
From beyond the darkness, they could still hear the battled raging--Drevan barking orders, explosions of earth and fire. The Hunters screeched in fury as they fought, and the clash of abilities rang through the canyon in a endless echo.
Then, suddenly--
Everything went silent.
Kael stiffened. The sounds of battle were gone. No shouts. No growls. No... anything.
Just silence.
The civilians, hidden safely within the vehicles of the convoy, felt it too. Murmurs turned to fearful whispers. Fearful whispers turned to outright panic.
"Why did everything just stop?" a woman's voice trembled.
"Yeah. What's the deal? Where are the rest of the your squadron?" another asked.
"I don't hear Drevan," Kael muttered, turning his head toward the direction of the battlefield. "I don't hear anything."
And then--
The barrier exploded outward.
A monstrous force ripped the shadows away, shattering the veil Kael had worked so hard to hold.
The convoy was gone.
Kael and Rendrik froze.
The vehicles were gone. The people--gone.
Blood splattered the ground where they once stood, and torn pieces of metal and cloth drifted like dust in the wake of something horrible.
The only sound left were their breathing.
And the screams.
They came from the darkness--agonized, helpless screams of civilians being torn apart. Bones snapping. Flesh rending. Wails of horror swallowed by monstrous, wet growls.
The sound made Kael's heart pound uncontrollably.
"What the hell--"
Rendrik turned, wide-eyed and gripping his flames tighter. There was something tall hovering just out of view, near the edge of the shadow barrier. Both Kael and Rendrik squinted hard, trying to filter through the swirling shadows.
And then--
It stepped out.