6. | Hunting Palismen

But he didn't run. Something stopped him. The red fox wasn't attacking him—it was looking at him. Not with fear, but with… pity. It was a look that felt raw and real, unlike the cold, distant gaze of his uncle.

He didn't run away. Instead, he snapped his staff, using its energy to create a diversion—a blinding flash of light—and forced the fox into a nearby, safe hiding spot, whispering, "Run."

The morning fog over the Boiling Isles was thick and acidic, but not thick enough to hide the sharp, agonizing glare from the Emperor’s Coven scouts patrolling the Glandus market. Hunter—the Golden Guard, the youngest prodigy, and the most exhausted person on the Isles—adjusted his mask, trying to ignore the constant, icy pressure in his chest. Today was not a day for training; it was a day for "harvesting." 6. Hunting Palismen

He saw the fox's tiny heart beating rapidly against its wooden chest. The pressure in his own chest intensified, not from fear, but from a sudden, terrifying realization. He was destroying something innocent. "Hunter!" Luz shouted, "The scouts are coming!"

Hunter looked down at the tiny creature in his hand, then back at Luz, who was now holding a terrified bird palisman of her own. For a moment, they weren't enemies. They were just two people, both trying to survive in a place that didn't care about them. "This is… wrong," Hunter whispered, barely audible. But he didn't run

Hunter spun, drawing his staff. The battle was chaotic. Luz was quick, creating ice walls and fire pits, forcing Hunter to use his teleportation. He was faster, stronger, and better trained, but she was creative.

Belos needed palismen. The scouts were ordered to snatch them from the unsuspecting witches of the market. Not with fear, but with… pity

"It got away," Hunter told them, his voice shakier than he cared to admit.