Chapter 11: The Hunter and the Hunted
The reflection in the mirror cracked as Ruby turned away. Her Titan form faded, leaving her standing once again in the shadow of a crumbling temple in the void. The shard in her hand hummed with power, but she couldn't afford to linger. Lyra was already a few steps ahead, scanning the surroundings with sharp eyes.
"We need to move," Ruby muttered, her voice still thick with the echoes of her Titan form.
Lyra nodded, her hand resting on the hilt of her plasma blade, the steady pulse of energy beneath the surface a reminder of the fight that was coming. She could feel it too—the weight of something more dangerous in the air.
Ruby glanced at the shard once more. Her fingers brushed against the jagged edges. It had shown her something. Or, rather, someone.
Her gaze hardened. There was no time to waste.
They moved deeper into Miraxis. The temple's labyrinthine corridors twisted like an endless snake, but Ruby knew its patterns now. Her Titan blood gave her a map. But the deeper they went, the colder it became.
There was a presence lurking in the distance.
"Do you feel that?" Ruby asked.
Lyra paused and cocked her head. "Yeah... there's something off. Someone's here."
Ruby gripped her weapon, eyes scanning the black void surrounding them. The darkness was thick, but it wasn't just the usual empty space. There was a subtle distortion in the air. A ripple—a faint hum of energy.
"Get ready," Ruby said quietly.
They moved forward cautiously, each step calculated.
Suddenly, a flash of movement in the corner of her vision caught her attention. A shadow darted across the stone walls, too quick to be human, too calculated to be random. Ruby's pulse quickened. Her instincts screamed.
Hunter.
"Stay sharp," Ruby whispered to Lyra, already shifting into a defensive stance.
They turned the corner.
There, standing in the middle of a large chamber, was a figure. A man cloaked in deep, midnight armor, his face obscured by a helmet. The faint outline of energy crackled around his form—an aura of kinetic power that hummed through the air like a distant storm. He was no ordinary bounty hunter.
Ruby's eyes narrowed.
"I knew I'd find you here, Titan," the figure spoke, his voice like gravel grinding against stone.
Ruby didn't flinch. Her hand tightened around her pulse gun. "How did you get here?"
"Does it matter?" the bounty hunter's helmeted face twisted into what could only be described as a grin. "You've been leaving a trail of destruction. It wasn't hard to track you down, Ruby."
The name sent a jolt through her. She knew him—or rather, she knew the reputation that came with it. Kade, one of the deadliest bounty hunters in the multiverse. His reputation was infamous—brutal, efficient, and willing to do whatever it took to claim his bounty.
"Here to collect?" Ruby asked, voice cold.
Kade's laugh was low, almost mocking. "You've been running from your past for too long. But here, in Miraxis, there's nowhere to hide."
Ruby's fingers twitched. Her Titan heritage pulsed under her skin, the familiar burn of power itching beneath the surface. Kade had no idea what he was dealing with.
But Ruby couldn't afford to let her guard down. Not here. Not now.
Lyra, standing at her side, took a cautious step back, keeping her distance. Her eyes were locked on Kade. She'd seen Ruby's transformation before, but something about the deadly calm around her made her feel uneasy. The battle ahead would be unlike any they had faced before.
"I'm not interested in your bounty," Ruby said, her voice firm. "If you think you can just waltz in here and take me down, you're mistaken."
Kade tilted his head, almost in amusement. "You've always been cocky, haven't you? Even when you were a little girl. But I'm not here for you, Ruby. I'm here for the Titan Shard." He pointed at the object in her hand. "It belongs to the Council, and they've offered a hefty price for it. You're the one standing in the way."
The words stung.
Ruby's grip on the shard tightened. The Council wanted it. Of course they did. The power it could unlock was beyond anything they could imagine, and in the wrong hands, it could reshape the multiverse itself. She couldn't let that happen.
"I'll never hand it over," she said with resolve.
Kade stepped forward, his boots echoing in the silence of the temple. "Then I suppose I'll just have to take it."
Without warning, Kade moved like lightning, his form blurring as he surged forward, a flicker of black energy trailing behind him. Ruby didn't hesitate. Her Titan instincts flared, and she met him head-on, her pulse gun raised and her movements fluid, precise.
The air around them crackled with energy as their weapons collided. The power from Kade's kinetic field pushed against Ruby's Titan strength, forcing her back a few steps. She planted her feet and retaliated, slashing forward with a burst of energy that made the ground beneath them tremble.
But Kade was fast, faster than she anticipated. He spun, his blade a flash of light as it sliced through the air, narrowly missing her side. Ruby gritted her teeth and thrust forward again, her fists glowing with raw power. But Kade danced around her blows, always a step ahead.
This is no ordinary bounty hunter, Ruby thought. This is a predator.
She could feel the pressure mounting. Kade wasn't just fighting for the bounty; he was fighting for something deeper. There was a personal vendetta behind his eyes, a history she hadn't yet uncovered.
Kade's laughter echoed through the chamber. "You're stronger than I thought, Titan. But this fight? It's mine."
He surged forward again, but this time Ruby was ready. With a roar, she unleashed a wave of pure Titan force, sending a shockwave through the temple that cracked the walls and sent debris tumbling.
But Kade wasn't gone. He used his energy manipulation to shield himself, forming a barrier that absorbed the brunt of the blast. Ruby's heart raced. He was still standing.
"You should've stayed hidden, Ruby," Kade said, his voice eerily calm as he advanced. "You don't understand what you've stumbled into. Miraxis is alive, and it doesn't take kindly to your kind."
Ruby's eyes widened. The temple—it was shifting. The air grew colder, the walls began to pulse with dark energy, as if Miraxis itself was awakening.
"What is happening?" Lyra asked, her voice tense.
"The temple is reacting," Ruby said. "It's not just a place of power—it's a trap."
Before they could react, the ground beneath them cracked open. A rift of pure voidlight split the floor, pulling at their legs. Ruby's heart raced. Miraxis had begun to consume them, just as it had consumed everyone else who dared enter its depths.
"You've made your choice, Titan," Kade said, his voice distant, as he stepped back from the rift. "But now you'll pay the price."
Ruby gritted her teeth. The battle was far from over, and if she was going to survive, she had to use everything—every ounce of her Titan strength. Every fragment of power that still lay hidden within her.
With a yell, she surged forward once more, the void around her swirling with energy, ready for the final confrontation.
But as she closed in on Kade, something else stirred in the temple—the first whispers of something older, darker, and far more dangerous than either of them could imagine.