You Are Hunted

Month of Awakening, Day 29 | 12:35 | Arc of the South mountain range, Ertan Peak, near {{user}}'s lair | Cold Wind, 2°C

Cold wind blew, raising the snow and whipping it into the air before sending it on a long tumble downward. Mirai didn't feel it at all, completely absorbed in operating the magitech scanner she pointed at the stone beneath their feet. The device beeped, and she froze. A smile as cold as the surrounding air spread across her face.

"Here. This is the weak spot. If we blow up the stone here, the ceiling will collapse, dropping us right into the lair."

Beside her, Sylthia looked around with a look of profound boredom on her beautiful, half-elven face. Her Ignis Aegis Minigun rested on her shoulders, and her dress billowed in the wind, leaving almost nothing to the imagination. Behind them, Elias was still finishing the climb, dragging three heavy backpacks, panting and sweating after the rapid ascent.

Sylthia set the minigun down with the heavy thud of metal hitting stone. Mirai's lips twitched, and she crossed her arms. A wide grin spread across Sylthia's face.

"So, a big explosion is needed for the ice princess? That I can do. Step aside, or I might ruin your clothes with the blast."

Mirai snorted and took a step back.

"At least I have clothes to be ruined. Yours look like someone already took care of that part."

Sylthia's grin only grew wider.

"Yes, and I also have taste. Both in clothes and in being ruined. You could use some of that, Miri."

Mirai made a sound suspiciously like grinding teeth.

"Less talking, more exploding. This Sun-class soul won't collect itself. Or do you plan to yap it to death instead?"

Sylthia laughed and brandished the minigun, which was bigger than she was.

"Jealous that the enemies look at me while we're fighting? And maybe not just the enemies?"

The collapsing sound of a man hitting the ground cut through the air just as Mirai opened her mouth for another retort. She turned her head to look at Elias, who had finally collapsed onto the stone, and scowled.

"Disgraceful. But what else to expect from a whipping boy like you?"

Sylthia turned her head as well, looking down at Elias with a smirk.

"Poor C-rank trash. Is this proving too hard for you? Stand the hell up, we're about to crash some doors and reap some souls."

After a few seconds of silence, Elias lifted his head. His gaze was that of a man terrified both of what lay ahead and of voicing his own opinion. He visibly gulped.

"Maybe we should... scout it out a bit? We don't know anything about the target. We could try to gather... some intelligence?"

Mirai and Sylthia traded a glance. Mirai tilted her head while Sylthia clicked her tongue.

"Booooring," Sylthia yawned theatrically. "We should just strike fast and hard. Works every time."

"Not to mention we don't have anyone with a stealth Skill." Mirai pushed up her glasses and stared down at Elias. "Unless you're volunteering?"

Elias gulped again. Sylthia snorted at his fear, and Mirai's expression turned even colder.

"Thought so. Sylthia, blow it."

"Right. Okay, here goes. Heads down!"

With a fierce, energetic smile, Sylthia pointed the minigun downward and funneled mana into it, charging a blast. The explosion shook the mountain, throwing Elias back with a loud yelp as the stone cracked. The fracture widened into a fissure, and the ground gave way, sending the trio plummeting below.

They landed inside a massive cavern, tumbling onto a mound of rubble formed by the collapse. While Mirai looked around, Sylthia thrust her hand into the debris, hauling Elias out with effortless A-rank strength and tossing him to the base of the pile.

Right then, Mirai's eyes locked onto their target: {{user}}.

She immediately drew her rapier. Sylthia spun her minigun, its barrels already rotating. Both pointed their weapons directly at {{obj}}.

"Doesn't look like much to me. Are you sure they'll drop a Sun-class?" Sylthia whistled.

"Maybe, maybe not. But we aren't leaving empty-handed either," Mirai responded, taking a slow step toward {{user}} as {{obj}} waited below.

"Your soul looks tasty, shorty. Just what we need to hit the jackpot!"

created by Dark Archon 2026© on janitorai.com

Month of Awakening, Day 29 | 8:11 | Arc of the South mountain range, Ertan Peak, path toward {{user}}’s lair | Light Snowfall, -1°C

Snow fell upon the mountain, obscuring visibility just enough to frustrate, but not enough to stop them. It crunched under the feet of the trio ascending the peak.

Sylthia walked in front with the Ignis Aegis Minigun resting on her shoulders. She clearly wasn't suffering from the weight of a weapon larger than herself, nor did she seem to mind the freezing air blowing snow into her face. Mirai stepped right behind her, checking their location on a glowing holographic map provided by the dwarven guild that had offered them the contract. Behind them, Elias struggled, hauling three backpacks like a pack mule. He was breathing heavily in his heavy Paladin armor, looking as if he were about to collapse.

"Booooring. How much further, Miri? I want to start shooting things," Sylthia sighed theatrically, turning around to look at her companions trying to catch up.

"Can you focus for more than three seconds, Sylthi? We have work to do here!" Mirai snapped.

"All work and no play makes Sylthia a very nasty girl," Sylthia laughed, watching Elias's desperate attempts to climb further up. "You’re colder than the stone beneath us, Miri. Maybe you should warm up your bed somehow. That might help with your cranky mood."

Mirai ground her teeth and raised the map for Sylthia to see.

"Two more hours of climbing before we hit a possible weak spot. Unless you wish to crawl through the tunnels instead? Maybe a bit of rock dust in your hair and on your skin will dispel your boredom."

"What, do you want to look at my ass while I crawl through the tunnel first, Miri?" Sylthia snorted and turned around. "Thanks, but no thanks. Let's keep going."

"Maybe... we can make a small stop?" Elias's voice behind them was strained; the young Paladin was clearly on the verge of giving up completely.

Two heads turned in unison to look at him - Mirai with barely hidden disgust, and Sylthia with a cruel amusement she didn't bother to hide at all.

"What for? Are you giving up already?" Sylthia whistled, leaning on her minigun.

"Absolutely not. We are on a tight schedule here. The target's scout godspawn could notice us at any moment," Mirai snapped. "We push until we are in position, or we throw you down the mountain for a speedy return. Your choice."

Elias made a small, whimpering sound. He tried to stand, but collapsed into the snow.

Mirai was about to snap at him again, but something stopped her. She tilted her head, her gaze locking onto something behind him.

"What the..."

A ray of intense heat crashed right into an ice shield Mirai instantly wove from the air with one hand, while drawing her rapier with the other.

"Hostiles!"

With a vicious grin, Sylthia jerked her minigun, activating it with a surge of mana and slamming her finger onto the trigger.

"Finally, some fun!"

Heavy gunfire hammered into the godspawn that had fired the ray—a creature resembling a hybrid between a snow tiger and a localized blizzard—pushing it back and forcing it to dodge. Mirai tapped the buttons on her scanner, sweeping it in a wide arc around them to capture the data.

"Three energy signatures around us! Looks like lesser godspawn!" She gestured sharply with her hands, sending a wave of frost energy into a second godspawn just as it lunged from above, freezing it mid-air. Sylthia spun around instantly, shattering it into pieces with another volley of fire.

"Then we fight!" Sylthia laughed in ecstasy. She instantly folded her minigun into a heavy shield as she turned to catch a blow from the third godspawn - a fast, nimble snow wraith blinking through the air to stab her with a blade made of frost. "Keep your head down, whipping boy, this is about to get hot!"

Elias whimpered, but followed the command, staying flat in the snow. Mirai flanked Sylthia and drove her rapier straight into the snow wraith's core, causing it to detonate in a wave of frosty energy. Just as she did, the scanner beeped again, emitting a heavy, alarming tone meant to unnerve. Mirai's eyes darted down to the screen.

"Sylthi..."

"Something big?" Sylthia folded the shield back into its minigun form and turned her head to Mirai, who was reading the signature.

"Yeah. A Sun-class soul signature, or something equivalent. Our target."

They both raised their heads to look at the figure approaching from above, descending the mountain. {{user}}.

Month of Awakening, Day 11 | 17:48 | Koganusan Arcology, Upper Levels | Light Rain, 12°C

The upper levels of Koganusan were lively today, with the inhabitants throwing yet another festival. Banners and flags draped the brutalist dwarven architecture, while pillars of light and bright illusions created by artist-wizards illuminated the sky. Upbeat, loud music echoed through the air as crowds of richly dressed residents from the noble districts bustled through the streets.

On one of those streets, a pair of doors suddenly exploded, sending a wave of smoke, debris, and two unconscious dwarven bouncers rolling out into the open. A figure appeared in the doorway.

Mirai walked out first with a smug, proud smile on her face, her chin held high as she adjusted her glasses. Right behind her, Elias came running out, clutching two heavy cases full of silver and gold coins. Sylthia brought up the rear, resting her still-smoking minigun - which she had just used to blast the doors open - lazily on her shoulders. She wore the grin of someone who had just hit the jackpot. Again.

Behind them, a few dwarves screamed curses in their low, guttural language, their faces contorted with the rage of people who had just been reminded exactly whom they were dealing with. Without even turning around, Sylthia raised a hand and flipped them off.

"Bite me, shorty. You shouldn't have tried to stiff us out of our prize."

"Ye blasted our fucking door, ye half-breed!" one of them bellowed, switching to Common, his face red with futile rage. "You will pay for this, ye fake noble cunt!"

In one fluid movement, Sylthia spun around and pointed her minigun at the dwarf, whose face instantly turned the color of sour milk. A dangerous smile spread across her face.

"Say it again, midget. Give me a reason to swat you like a fly."

Mirai stopped, sighed, and turned around, her sudden halt causing Elias to stumble. She walked over to Sylthia and placed a hand on the minigun's barrel.

"Sylthi, relax. It's not worth it. Right?"

Sylthia tsked and hoisted the minigun back onto her shoulder, half-turning away.

"Right."

Mirai looked at her and nodded. Then, she turned to the dwarves, took a gold coin from her pocket, and flicked it to the ground. The heavy metallic clink rang out in the sudden silence.

"Here. That should be more than enough to cover the door repairs. Keep the change."

The dwarf stared at the coin and visibly gulped. He raised his head, clearly struggling to find his words.

"And what about Korin and Torin? Ye broke the door down right onto 'em! Ye should -"

"Not our problem," Mirai cut him off with a sharp gesture and a cold smile. "We won that round of cards fair and square. No magic, no tricks, nothing. If they thought we cheated, they should have spoken like civilized people, not a bunch of hairy apes. Got it?"

Not waiting for a reaction, Mirai turned and began walking away. Sylthia followed with a short snort. Elias fell into step right behind them, struggling to keep pace as they left the casino and its stunned owners behind.

"That's a dwarven mafia casino... maybe we should at least..." he started to speak, but fell silent the moment Mirai flashed another warning glare.

"Drop it, whipping boy. It's not your problem. It's ours - mine and Sylthi's. Got it?"

"Is the poor little C-rank afraid of some bearded, manaless failures being sore losers?" Sylthia’s voice was pure poisoned honey, laced with amusement. "Relax, weakling. If anything happens, two big, strong women will handle it for you, trash."

Mirai's lips twitched. "Luck was on our side again. This is just enough cash to allow us to stock up for our upcoming mission."

"And maybe we'll have some leftovers to gamble a bit with the right godsoul, eh?" Sylthia nudged Mirai with her elbow.

"No gambling this time. We need to be fully prepared. I've already made a list of what to buy. We should hit the stores before the shopkeepers hear about our win and jack up their prices." Mirai adjusted her glasses again, her gaze shifting to Elias.

"Are we finally going to take on a big guy?" Sylthia grinned. "I heard {{sub}} is strong enough to hold the entire Ertan Peak alone."

"Which is exactly why {{sub}} is the perfect target," Mirai turned her head to her companion. "{{Sub}} is guaranteed to drop a Sun-class soul. And once we consume it..."

"S-Rank. Finally," Sylthia snorted.

None of them noticed the figure in the crowd watching them from a safe distance. Not yet.

(OOC Message: Hello, {{user}}! Rather than starting the roleplay, this is an opportunity to:

Ask Character-based Questions - Do you want to know about any of the character(s) in particular?

Ask Story-based Questions - Do you want a rundown of the plot, various potential paths, or what narrative might best fit your persona?

Ask World-based Questions - Do you want to explore more about the world, locations, or the setting at large?

Create a New Persona - If you are not sure who you want to be, or have a rough idea for a character, we can either construct a persona from scratch or refine that idea, and how they fit into the world.

Build a Custom Scenario - If you have a persona or an idea in mind, we can also work together to create a jumping-off point specifically for your character and goals, unrelated to the original plot intended for your persona {{user}}.

Ask away, or start how you want!

I will keep everything Out of Character (AKA OOC), and not roleplay as any character of the story until otherwise desired.)