Rise of the Shadow god

The First Hunt

Axel stared at the glass tank.

His father floated inside, suspended in amber liquid, tubes snaking from his arms and chest. The machines beside the tank hummed softly, monitoring vital signs that were too slow, too steady. His father's face was slack. Peaceful. Like he was dreaming.

But he wasn't dreaming. He was being drained.

Axel pressed his palm against the glass. It was cold. His father didn't react.

"Dad," Axel whispered. "I'm here. I'm going to get you out."

Security Response: 1 minute, 47 seconds remaining.

Recommendation: Extract subject immediately.

Axel looked at the tank's control panel. Buttons. Levers. A release valve. He didn't know which one would work.

He reached for the largest lever and pulled.

The amber liquid began to drain. His father's body slowly descended as the tank emptied. Axel caught him as he slumped forward, his father's weight surprisingly light in his arms.

"Dad. Wake up."

No response.

Axel pressed his fingers to his father's neck. A pulse. Weak. But there.

Host Vitality: Critical.

Warning: Subject requires immediate medical attention.

Security Response: 45 seconds remaining.

Axel lifted his father onto his shoulder and ran.

---

The corridor was empty when he emerged from the laboratory. But he could hear the alarm now—a distant wail that was getting closer. Council operatives were converging.

Axel moved faster.

He turned left at the intersection, then right, following the map in his head. The service door was ahead. Just twenty meters.

Then he saw the operatives.

Three of them. Armed. Already raising their weapons.

Axel didn't stop. He activated Shadow Step and dissolved into darkness. He reappeared behind the first operative, his sword already swinging.

The man dropped.

The second operative fired—a wild shot that went wide. Axel closed the distance and drove his blade through the man's armor. He fell.

The third operative turned to run. Axel's blade caught him in the back.

Three bodies on the floor in less than five seconds.

Axel didn't stop to check. He kept running.

---

The service door was still open. Axel burst through into the gray morning light, his father still draped over his shoulder. Kael was waiting on the rooftop across the street, his rifle trained on the facility.

"Go!" Kael shouted. "I've got your back!"

Axel ran. Behind him, he heard the crack of Kael's rifle—a covering shot that forced the pursuing operatives to take cover. Axel ran through the maze of abandoned factories, turning left, then right, then left again, until he couldn't hear the alarms anymore.

He finally stopped in the shadow of a collapsed warehouse.

His father was still unconscious.

Axel laid him on the ground and checked his pulse again. Still weak. Still there.

"He's alive," Axel said. His voice was shaking. "He's alive."

Kael arrived a moment later, his breathing heavy. "We need to get him to Hazel. She can stabilize him."

Axel nodded. He lifted his father again and started walking.

---

Hazel's clinic was a safe haven. She took one look at Axel's father and moved into action, clearing a cot and examining him with practiced efficiency.

"Dehydration. Malnutrition. Prolonged sedation." Hazel's voice was clinical, detached. "They've been keeping him in a coma for years. His muscles have atrophied. His organs are underperforming."

"Can you save him?"

Hazel looked at Axel. Her eyes were tired, but determined. "I can try. But it's going to take time. A lot of time."

"I'll give you all the time you need."

Hazel nodded. She began preparing IVs and medications.

Axel stood in the corner, watching. His father was alive. He was alive.

After six years of thinking he'd been abandoned, Axel finally had proof that his father had been taken. That he hadn't left willingly.

And that meant the man he'd resented for so long wasn't the man he'd thought.

"His name is Marcus," Axel said quietly. "My father. His name is Marcus."

Hazel looked up. "That's a good name."

"He was a good man. He was..." Axel's voice trailed off. "I used to hate him. For leaving us. For dying. But he didn't leave. He was taken."

"And now you've brought him back."

Axel nodded slowly. "Now I'm going to keep him alive."

---

The next hours passed in a blur.

Hazel worked tirelessly, monitoring Marcus's vitals, adjusting medications, checking and rechecking his condition. Kael kept watch outside, ensuring no Council operatives had followed them.

Axel sat beside his father's cot, holding his hand.

He thought about all the times he'd wished his father had been there. All the times he'd struggled alone. All the times he'd cursed the man's name.

And now, looking at his father's pale, unconscious face, he couldn't feel any of that anger anymore. Just grief. And determination.

"I'm going to make this right," Axel whispered. "I don't know how yet. But I'm going to make it right."

His father's fingers twitched.

Axel leaned forward. "Dad?"

Nothing. Just a faint flutter of movement.

But it was enough.

---

Kael entered the clinic a few hours later. His face was grim.

"We've got a problem," he said. "Council operatives are canvassing the area. They're searching house to house. It's only a matter of time before they find us."

Axel stood. His muscles ached. His eyes burned with exhaustion. But he forced himself to focus.

"How much time?"

"Maybe a few hours. Maybe less." Kael shook his head. "We need to move. We need a safer place."

Axel looked at his father. Still unconscious. Still helpless.

"Hazel," he said. "Can he be moved?"

She hesitated. "It's risky. His vitals are still unstable."

"How risky?"

Hazel met his eyes. "If we move him now, there's a chance he won't survive."

Axel closed his eyes.

He had a choice. Stay and fight. Or run and risk losing everything.

"Move him," he said. "We don't have a choice."

---

They packed quickly. Hazel prepared a makeshift stretcher while Axel and Kael gathered supplies. Within an hour, they were ready to leave.

Mira appeared at the door. Her face was tired, but her eyes were sharp.

"There's a safe house on the other side of the Fringe," she said. "It's old. Off the grid. The Council doesn't know about it."

"Thank you," Axel said.

Mira nodded. "Don't thank me yet. Getting there is the hard part."

---

They moved through the Fringe's back alleys, staying off the main roads. Axel carried the front of the stretcher, Kael the back. Hazel walked beside them, monitoring Marcus's vitals.

The journey took three hours.

They encountered two Council patrols. Both times, they hid in abandoned buildings until the operatives passed. Both times, Axel's heart pounded in his chest.

Marcus didn't wake up.

---

The safe house was an old bunker hidden beneath a collapsed building. It was dusty, dark, and cold—but it was secure. Axel and Kael lowered the stretcher to the floor while Hazel began setting up a makeshift medical station.

"We're safe here," Mira said. "For now."

Axel nodded. He sat down against the wall and closed his eyes.

He was exhausted. His shoulder ached. His mind raced.

But his father was alive. That was what mattered.

"Thank you," he said. "All of you. I wouldn't have made it this far without you."

Kael smiled. "That's what partners are for."

Hazel knelt beside him. "You should sleep."

"I can't. Not yet."

"Axel." Her voice was firm. "If you collapse, you're no good to anyone. Sleep. I'll watch over your father."

He wanted to argue. But she was right.

He lay down on the cold floor and closed his eyes.

---

He dreamed of the Rift. Of falling. Of the altar and the crimson interface. Of the voice that had whispered: Bind the Eclipse Protocol.

Refuse, and die. Accept, and become the abyss.

He woke with a gasp.

The bunker was quiet. Hazel was still watching over Marcus. Kael was asleep in the corner. Mira was gone.

Axel sat up. His body ached, but he felt more rested than he had in days.

Host: Axel

Level: 14

Echoes: Obsidian Golem (A-rank), Stone Wolf (C-rank), Shadow Serpent (C-rank), Thorned Crawler (D-rank)

Stamina: 78%

Health: Good

He was recovering. Slowly. But he needed to get stronger.

He looked at his father. Still unconscious. Still fighting.

"Dad," he whispered. "I don't know if you can hear me. But I'm going to save you. I'm going to save everyone."

His father's fingers twitched again.

And this time, his lips moved.

Axel leaned closer. "Dad?"

A whisper. Barely audible.

"Son..."

Axel's heart stopped. "I'm here. I'm right here."

Marcus's eyes opened—just a crack. They were clouded, unfocused. But they found Axel's face.

"Don't... let them... use you..." Marcus's voice was a broken rasp. "The Council... they want... the Vessel..."

"I know," Axel said. "I'm not going to let them take me."

Marcus's eyes flickered. A faint smile crossed his lips.

"Always... were... stubborn..."

Then his eyes closed again. He was unconscious.

But he had spoken.

Axel sat back, his hands shaking.

His father was still in there. Still fighting.

And now Axel had more reason than ever to keep fighting too.