The rain wouldn't stop.
It washed through the trees, soaking the earth, blurring the night into a wet dream of shadows and whispers.
But Serah could feel him.
Not Thorn.
The other one.
He was near.
Too near.
---
"Drayk," Serah whispered as she checked her rifle. "Something's wrong with this jungle. Even the animals are silent."
He nodded grimly. "That's how you know a real predator's out there."
Eliara stepped forward, loading two silver darts into her weapon. "I've hunted creatures like this before. But Subject 02... he's not just a predator."
She looked at Serah.
"He's a ghost. A ghost with Thorn's power, and none of his heart."
Serah's chest ached. "Then we'll find Thorn before he finds us."
---
Far away…
Thorn knelt near a pool of water, washing dried blood off his hands. His shirt was ripped open, back covered in healing scars.
And then, his reflection changed.
In the still water, his own face twisted—eyes turning gold.
Not his.
His brother's.
Thorn's hands clenched into fists.
"You're awake," he whispered.
He stood, spikes twitching along his spine. His eyes burned with fury—but also fear.
Not for himself.
For Serah.
---
In a forgotten valley beneath a shattered cliff, Subject 02 stood among bones—remnants of beasts that tried to stop him.
He dragged a clawed hand through the blood-stained dirt and sniffed the air.
"Her scent..." he murmured.
He plucked a strand of Serah's long, wet hair from a thorn bush, held it between his fingers, and smiled.
"So... soft."
He licked the strand.
"I wonder if you scream like mother did."
---
Back at the temporary camp, Serah's dreams were wild and tangled.
She was in a forest of thorns, running. Behind her, footsteps—heavy, fast, not human.
She turned a corner.
Thorn stood there. Shirtless. Bloody. Glowing.
"Run!" he yelled.
But she ran to him.
He caught her, arms wrapping around her.
Her lips parted to speak—
And then she woke up.
Heart racing. Breathing hard.
Someone was outside the tent.
Footsteps.
Not Drayk.
Not Eliara.
Heavier.
She reached for her gun, and as she pulled back the tent flap—
A hand shot in.
Clawed. Thorned. Not his.
She screamed.
Eliara rolled up, firing a dart—but the intruder moved like lightning, disappearing into the trees.
Drayk came running. "What happened?!"
Serah gasped. "It wasn't Thorn."
Eliara was already reloading. "Then he's close. Too close."
---
Meanwhile…
Thorn stood at the edge of a cliff, breathing heavily.
He looked up at the stars.
"Serah," he whispered, "Hold on. I'm coming."
He launched into the trees with inhuman speed, vanishing like a shadow.
---
But what no one knew was that Subject 02 wasn't hunting to kill.
Not yet.
He was hunting to play.
Because in his twisted mind, the game had just begun.