The heat in the air didn't match the time of year.
Queens was supposed to be cold in early December. But standing in the gutted shell of what used to be a warehouse district near the East River, Elijah felt like he was inside an oven.
Smoke drifted from broken skylights. The air was dry. Parched. Every surface was blackened and scorched.
"Elijah," Selene said, brushing ash off her shoulder, her pistol drawn. "This place feels… wrong."
"Yeah," Elijah replied, voice low. "It's not just residual fire damage. This is power. Still active."
They had tracked the anomaly here after whispers through underground channels hinted at a fire-wielding entity melting security patrols like wax. No shadow. No warning. Just screams, then silence.
Karu stepped forward, cloak snapping in the heatless wind. His red eyes narrowed beneath his bone helm. "Magic residue is… twisted. Not natural. Almost… self-aware."
Vaelith followed beside him, hovering inches above the scorched pavement. Her expression was unreadable. "No entity should be burning this hot without flame. I detect no ignition. No chemical accelerant."
Selene glanced at them both. "You're saying something is… generating heat without fire?"
"Worse," Elijah muttered, scanning the air for a signature. "It's evaporating light itself."
And then he felt it.
A pulse, like someone slammed his chest with a warm stone. The Banshee beside him hissed softly, her form curling protectively toward him. The Stalker faded fully into the ground—silent and unseen.
A voice rang out from above.
"You shouldn't be here."
Elijah snapped his gaze upward. A humanoid silhouette stood on the edge of a rooftop, backlit by a sky that somehow dimmed behind him. The shape glowed—not with flame, but with flickering embers. And most unnervingly, he cast no shadow on the wall behind him.
Elijah stepped forward. "You the one melting people?"
The figure tilted its head. "I don't melt. I purify."
That was all the warning they got.
The air split, and a column of sheer heat blasted down from above. Elijah dove, rolling to the side as the pavement where he stood moments ago turned molten. Vaelith threw a barrier of arcane ice, but it sizzled, cracking instantly.
Karu moved without hesitation—drawing both his curved blades and rushing forward with his knight at his flank. Their feet didn't even touch the street before another wave of pressure slammed into them.
Selene fired—three rounds in succession, enhanced with kinetic enchantments. The figure blurred midair, dodging all of them without moving its limbs. He just… displaced.
"Something's off," Elijah muttered, pushing to his feet. "He's not just powerful. He's unstable."
A bright, cracking snap signaled Karu's counter. The commander reappeared above the burning figure, blades flashing in a crisscross strike. The enemy caught them both—barehanded.
Then he spoke. Calm. Cold.
"I see you've brought the dead. I've been waiting for this."
With a flick of his arms, Karu was thrown backward like a ragdoll. The Undead Knight tried to shield him but was obliterated mid-air—armor collapsing into molten slag.
[Karu – Command Slots: 0/10]
• Undead Knight Destroyed
"Son of a—!" Elijah cursed and extended his hand. "Vaelith!"
She was already mid-cast. A sigil flared beneath her, and the Arcanist unleashed a torrent of cursed mist, weaving hexes into the air that sought the anomaly's soul. The Banshee dove alongside her, shrieking as her Terror Cry filled the entire block.
The figure stumbled, cracking slightly—its flame flickering.
Elijah pounced on the opening.
"Stalker—left flank. Now!"
The rogue emerged from the shadow, dual bone daggers flashing. It landed three precise strikes into the figure's side, staggering it—until it turned and unleashed a pulse of gravity. The Stalker was sent flying, embedding into a wall.
• Undead Stalker – Temporarily Disabled
"Stalker's out," Elijah muttered, mentally calling the Banshee back to defend him. "We need to break this guy's defense."
Vaelith's eyes glowed as she spoke. "I can bind him—but you'll need to interrupt his core. There's something inside of him feeding the effect. A relic or rune."
Karu limped up beside Elijah, helm cracked.
"Then we tear it out," Elijah said. "You with me?"
Karu nodded. "Always."
The plan formed mid-movement.
Banshee swept left, crying again, forcing the anomaly to stagger. Vaelith cast a gravity seal that pulled the enemy into a focused space. Elijah launched forward, necrotic energy crackling around his fists. Karu flanked right, blades now imbued with death magic, the first stage of a technique Elijah hadn't taught him.
The anomaly roared as its flame began to collapse. Elijah ducked a heat wave, flipped forward, and slammed his hand against the chest of the glowing enemy.
He saw it.
A sigil, pulsing beneath the skin. Not human. Not from this world.
He whispered the command word. "Break."
Necrotic energy spiked from his palm and shattered the sigil like glass.
The enemy convulsed. Heat exploded outward. Karu pulled Elijah back a split second before the burst leveled the street around them.
Then… silence.
The flames died.
The light returned.
The enemy's body lay in a crater, twitching before finally going still.
[Elijah Voss – Status Update]
EXP Gained: +430
Rank: F – 430/1000 EXP
Progress to E-Rank: 43%
Elijah sat on a cracked pillar, breathing hard. Karu stood guard nearby, while Vaelith drifted above the crater, inspecting the body.
Selene crouched beside him, handing him water. "That was... new."
He took it, gulping it down. "Yeah. We've fought monsters. But this wasn't just raw power. That guy had tech, runes, possibly a relic embedded in him. That's organized. Engineered."
"You think someone made him?" she asked.
"I think someone's playing god with people who shouldn't exist."
Vaelith floated down. "This was a prototype. A failed vessel. The sigil was incomplete. Its creator will notice its destruction."
"So we're on someone's radar now," Elijah said, standing. "Perfect."
Karu glanced at his hand. "You are one step closer to evolution."
Elijah looked down at his status again. Still F-rank, but progress was progress.
His eyes flicked to the symbol on his hand. Two Triad arcs dimmed. One still silent.
Soon.
He would need all three to face what was coming.
As they walked away from the wreckage, the Stalker limped behind, recovering. The Banshee floated silently, still feeding off the energy left behind. She hummed quietly—a sound like distant wind chimes in a crypt.
Selene nudged him. "You ever gonna explain how you're still alive after stunts like that?"
He smirked, already conjuring the sarcasm. "Unhealthy coping mechanisms and excessive charm."
She laughed.
But the levity didn't last.
Because behind them, the remains of the anomaly twitched again. The flame relit for just a second—then went cold.
Far away, in a skyscraper bathed in black crystal, a woman watched a floating screen, Elijah's face highlighted.
"Found you," she whispered.