Ren, Jin, and Mae walked side by side through the grand halls of the Shikari Guild Headquarters, each step carrying them closer to their official induction.

  The air felt heavier here, as if the very walls bore witness to things that could not be spoken aloud.

  At the heart of the guild stood a massive obsidian door, its surface carved with ancient symbols that seemed to shift when not directly observed. The moment the three of them crossed the threshold, the torches along the chamber walls flickered to life, casting long shadows against the high, domed ceiling.

  And there, standing upon a raised dais, was him.

  The Guildmaster.

  A towering figure in layered black robes, the edges embroidered with golden thread depicting a hundred grasping hands, reaching toward something unseen. His face was obscured by a featureless iron mask, but his sheer presence was enough to suffocate lesser men.

  Even Ren—who had spent months hardening himself—felt his body tensed on instinct.

  Jin, for once, didn’t have a quip.

  Mae stood rigid, eyes locked forward.

  The Guildmaster’s voice, when it finally came, was cold, unyielding, and absolute.

  "You stand before me not as children, but as hunters. Yet even now, you do not grasp the true weight of what you seek to become.”

  His gaze burned through them, even from behind the mask.

  “The Guild was not built to police the weak, nor to slay beasts for coin. We exist for one reason alone.”

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  The torches dimmed.

  The walls shuddered.

  And then Ren felt it—something vast and unknowable, pressing against the edges of reality.

  “To uncover the Unknown.”

  Ren’s breath hitched.

  Jin swallowed hard.

  Mae’s hands clenched at her sides.

  The Guildmaster raised a hand, and from the darkness behind him, a hundred unblinking eyes opened, staring down at them from the void itself.

  "The Mandate binds you to this world, but beyond it… beyond the veil of what mortals understand… lie forces older than gods, older than history.”

  The air grew thin.

  The room seemed to stretch endlessly.

  Ren felt something coiling around the edges of his soul, unseen but unmistakable.

  “We, the Shikari, are the first and last line between humanity and the horrors lurking in the dark. The beasts, the yokai, even the Mandate itself—these are but fragments of a grander design, pieces of a puzzle that, once solved, will reveal truths that should never be known.”

  The Guildmaster lowered his hand, and in an instant, the pressure vanished.

  The room was still again.

  And yet, Ren knew—he had just glimpsed something beyond comprehension.

  The Guildmaster’s voice echoed, reverberating through their bones.

  “You are no longer merely hunters. You are seekers of the abyss.”

  A long, ornate dagger was presented to them, its blade carved with words in an unknown language, shifting as though the metal itself was alive.

  "Kneel."

  Ren did.

  So did Jin.

  So did Mae.

  The Guildmaster raised the dagger, and in one swift motion, he cut across his palm, letting his blood fall onto the stone below.

  "Repeat after me."

  And so, they spoke the words that would bind them forever.

  "We are the flame in the abyss."

  "We are the seekers of the unseen."

  "We take no oaths to kings, to gods, or to fate—our fealty belongs only to humanity."

  As they spoke, the blood on the floor ignited, burning without consuming, casting eerie shadows against the walls.

  "And should the abyss consume us—"

  The flames rose higher, licking at their skin without burning.

  "—Then let us be the last ones it ever takes."

  And with those final words, the fire died out.

  Ren exhaled slowly, his heart pounding.

  They were Shikari now.

  But more than that…

  They had just stepped into a far greater war than they ever imagined.