One of the badge-wearing figures stepped forward first, his sword gleaming in the fading dusk light at the alley's mouth.
"Surrender quietly," he said, "and maybe we'll still leave enough of you to send back to your family."
Selene pushed Ethan behind her, her hand already gripping a small knife from beneath her coat. "I'm not part of this hunt," she said quickly. "Let me go. Just take him."
"Selene," Ethan whispered, unable to believe what he'd just heard.
"Quiet," Selene hissed back without turning. "I'm trying to save one of us."
The badge-wearing man who'd spoken let out a short laugh. "Too late. The order was clear—anyone standing beside him counts as an accomplice."
Ethan felt his chest pounding, and before he could think clearly, his body moved on its own. His feet shifted into a defensive stance he'd never learned, his hand rising into a half-clenched fist as though this body carried a fighting instinct that wasn't his at all.
[Warning: Fragment of Rightful Owner's Ability Detected Active. Name: Shadow Step. Effect: Reaction Speed Temporarily Increased.]
The first figure struck first, his sword slashing horizontally toward Ethan's neck. Ethan ducked fast, his movement far more precise than a body that had never been trained to fight should have been capable of, and the blade passed a few inches above his head, slicing through a line of laundry hung across the alley.
He drove his elbow into his attacker's stomach, a reflexive motion that felt foreign yet effective, sending the man staggering backward and coughing.
The other two figures lunged forward together, one of them hurling something at Selene—a thin metal net that wrapped around her arm before she could dodge.
"Damn it," Selene cursed, trying to break free, but the net only tightened further with every movement.
Ethan had no time to help her. The second attacker was already right in front of him, his short sword thrusting straight for Ethan's chest. Ethan spun his body aside, the movement once again feeling like something remembered by his muscles rather than consciously thought through, and his hand caught the attacker's wrist, slamming the man to the ground with a strength that surprised even him.
[Warning: Synchronization Temporarily Increased During Combat. 44 percent to 51 percent.]
That rising number felt strange, contradicting every previous warning that had always pointed toward decline. But Ethan had no time to dwell on it, because the third figure had already leapt in from the side, his hand glowing pale blue as it formed a sharp claw of energy.
Ethan tried to dodge, but this time his movement came a fraction too late, and the energy claw slashed across his left arm, leaving a long wound that immediately began bleeding.
The pain was real and sharp, and for a moment, it shattered Ethan's focus.
"Ethan!" Selene shouted, still struggling to free herself from the metal net wrapped around her.
The third figure advanced again, his energy claw raised for a second strike, but before it could land, something unexpected happened. Ethan's body moved faster than his own awareness, his hand catching the attacker's wrist just before the claw struck, and a small burst of golden energy exploded from his grip, hurling the attacker into a brick wall several yards away.
[New Ability Revealed: Light Retaliation. Source: Unknown.]
Ethan panted, staring at his own hand with a mixture of awe and dread. This wasn't something he'd learned, nor something he wanted. Every time this body moved on its own, it felt like he was losing a little more control over himself, bit by bit.
The two remaining attackers stepped back, exchanging wary glances, no longer looking as confident as before.
"He's not some ordinary novice," one of them said quietly to the other.
Ethan seized the moment of hesitation, dashing toward Selene, who was still trapped in the metal net. With his hand still pulsing with leftover golden energy, he touched the net. Golden light spread along the metal strands, burning them to ash within seconds.
"How did you do that?" Selene asked quickly as she rose, her eyes wide.
"I don't know," Ethan answered honestly, still catching his breath.
Before they could make their escape, the sound of slow, deliberate clapping echoed from the far end of the alley, from the direction opposite the two remaining attackers.
A man in a black robe stepped out of the shadows, his face partially hidden beneath a hood, but the smile visible beneath that shadow was clearly not a pleasant one.
"Fascinating," he said, his voice deep and calm, starkly different from the bounty hunters' earlier commotion. "I've been waiting quite a while to see Kael's ability fragment work firsthand on someone else's body."
Ethan froze at the mention of that name. "You know Kael?"
"I know him better than anyone," the black-robed man answered, stepping closer at a calm pace without the slightest hurry. "Because I'm the one who sent him to the ruins of Aldmere in the first place, and I'm the one who will decide what happens to you next, little vessel."
Behind him, more badge-wearing figures emerged from the darkness of the alley, surrounding Ethan and Selene from every direction and leaving no gap through which to escape.
[Critical Warning: Unknown Entity Detected. Level: Hidden. Threat: Very High.]