Disclaimer: Vision of Escaflowne and its characters and likeliness is copyrighted to its respective company(ies). But the characters I created and this story is copyrighted to me.
Rating: PG-13
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FATES' JUDGEMENT
By Cosmos (ml_eclipse@hotmail.com)
Chapter 4: The Hunt has Begun
The sun had long slipped beneath the horizon while a sliver of the moon now hung high in the sky, but a mysteriously faint light could be visible somewhere along the distant in the direction of a deserted shoreline. As well, a low chanting could be heard diffusing into the chilly night air. The hypnotic sound travelled through the still atmosphere like a snake weaving stealthily in a jungle of skyscrapers and urban homes. Slowly spreading throughout the region, the repetitive rhythm of chants and soft drumming lulled the people of this city into a deep and dreamless slumber.
The mysterious sounds soon reached his ears as he sat resting on a wooden bench alone in the dark park. Immediately, the peculiarity of the tone and rhythm caught his attention. Van glanced around the area in an attempt to determine the direction from which the sound was coming from, but the nature of the noise made this task extremely difficult. With every passing second, Van found it harder to remain conscious. His vision began to blur as his eyelids grew heavier and his body ached to rest. Shaking his head in bewilderment, Van drew upon his strength to remain awake. At first he was completely baffled by the strange way his body was behaving. He didn't think he was that tired. Frowning, Van quickly realized that the sound he was hearing was not at all what he had thought. This monotonous repetition of drums and chanting was actually a strong spell for sleep. However, the amount of energy put into such an enchantment at this great of a scale meant that the enchanter must be very well-trained and extremely powerful. Even one of Etherian blood, like he, found it hard to defy the dark power. Only with the greatest concentration and strength was Van able to remain conscious.
Struggling to his feet, Van called upon his wings to form and lift him higher into the sky. At the greater elevation, Van was able to see a ring of faint orange-yellow light hovering close to the ground a good distance away. Leaving his coat behind on the bench, Van flew toward the mysterious light.
The enchantment was strong. Van sensed he was losing more and more of his consciousness to this dark power. His wings felt extremely heavy and the mere weight of his body became a great burden. Floundering about the night sky like an injured bird, Van struggled to remain awake and in the air. He must quickly find the source of this power before he, too, succumbed to its dark hold; what lay waiting beyond the unconscious mind was something he would rather not find out.
It was strange, though. He couldn't understand why a sorcerer would cast such a powerful spell when a much simpler one would have worked equally well. The mortals were not strong enough to oppose even the least powerful enchantment, so why waste such precious amounts of energy?
Could it be, Van suddenly thought, that the intention was not aimed at the mortals at all but at another greater power? His eyes widened with the idea that perhaps the real target of this enchantment was really Infinity herself! That's it! he thought, Only a spell this powerful could have any effect on Infinity. But the question remained: what was the purpose for casting this particular spell?
Van soon realized he was nearing the source of this power when he was able to make out the faint silhouettes of tall, cloaked figures standing around a great bonfire bursting with phenomenal blue flames. He decided to climb higher into the sky, using its great face to hide his form. However, he should have known that a great sorcerer's vision lay not in his eyes but in the strength of his mind. As soon as Van spotted them, he had also given away his position. The current rhythm of chants and drumbeats immediately changed to a more heightened pulse resounding greater urgency of the new situation.
Van immediately noticed the sudden change despite the subtleness of the transition. Knowing that his presence was detected, Van climbed even higher into the sky to avoid any possible attacks but, most importantly, to hide his wings. He must never permit any mortal to know of his true bloodline as an Etherian. Not only would that jeopardize his secret mission but it would put his very life at risk by making him an even brighter target. Despite their great powers, Van knew the sorcerers could never discover his hidden strength unless he willed it to be known.
Unexpectedly, Van realized that the sounds have completely stopped and the great blue flames were now mere embers, remnants of a once great fire. Frowning with concern, Van drifted over to a distant treetop and swooped into its protective foliage. Once his wings dissipated into the thin night air, Van swung down from the lowest branch in one fluid motion and landed silently on a soft carpet of green below. He casually made his way toward a visible pile of glowing red embers left behind by the sorcerers. He did not bother to hide in the shadows at this point because he knew these men were long gone from the area. Using their great powers, they vanished into the flames, which hid a gateway leading to any location of their choosing.
Van stood watching the dying ember with grave eyes. The power he witnessed this night brought unwanted fear into his heart. If a mere sleeping spell could be this powerful, then he dread to imagine what greater powers were hidden beneath those dark cloaks.
He was so focused on the night's event that he did not notice the darkness had long past. Now, the comforting yellow face of dawn slowly appeared over the horizon. Its warm radiant heat comforted his cold body but in his eyes—whose gaze remained on the lifeless cinders—swirled emotions darkened by the gravity of the moment. His lips parted to utter one odious name to the new dawn, "The Hunter."
The mid-morning sun later found Van dressed in mortal school uniform with brown pants and a white shirt. Around his neck hung a dark maroon coloured tie with its long tail flapping senselessly in the cool sea breeze. His solemn gaze lay thoughtfully on the distant horizon as he stood upon the same terrace he had sensed Infinity two days before. This rocky ledge has become a place of sanctuary for him. Positioned a good distance from the busy streets, it hid him from the darting glances of passing pedestrians giving him the chance to think undisturbed.
The instant he knew that the girl—in whom Infinity resided—went to this mortal scholar building, Van immediately planned the next step toward fulfilling his mission. By the end of yesterday, Van was officially enrolled under a false address and history but in all the illegitimate documentations, his name was real.
Now he stood in the midst of a calm morning sea—not to think or to plan—but simply to rest his tired soul. He knew this journey was far from being over; in fact, it really has just begun. Since last night's indirect encounter with The Hunter, Van realized that they were very close to discovering Infinity. That he could not allow to happen. His mother had chosen him to guard Infinity until the end of the trial and that was what he was determined to do at all costs.
His gaze shifted to the sun. Judging by its position in the beautiful clear sky, Van guessed it to be close to seven in the morning. He decided to head toward the building now to be his school. Just as he was about to step onto the street a girl brushed by him. His eyes flickered from the ground to the person only to catch a fleeting smile and hear a cry of apology before she disappeared into a sea of bodies. He was quick to notice, however, her uniform that indicated she was from his school. A slight frown appeared on his face when he felt a strange foreboding feeling suddenly jolt through his body. That girl, he thought. She was the very same person who…Damn! I couldn't catch her face. I should have been paying more attention. Frustrated with himself for having missed such an opportunity, Van sulked the rest of the way to school.
With hands in his pocket, Van stood silently staring at the multitudes of curious gazes from the students sitting before him. To the side, he could hear the teacher's frilly voice introduce him to his classmates.
"I am pleased to introduce to you all a new transfer student," she was saying. "This is Van Fanel. He just moved into our area a few days ago. Now he will be joining us for the rest of the year."
While his teacher spoke, Van felt in his pocket for the smooth face of Alantia hoping that it would signal Infinity's presence in this room, but the gems surface felt cold and lifeless. She is not here, he thought with great disappointment. Realizing his teacher was now talking to him, Van returned his attention to the situation at hand only to catch the last remnants of a sentence.
"—seat behind Arent Lillius," his teacher was saying.
His gaze followed the direction her extended palm was pointing at to see an empty seat by the windows behind a light ash-grey coloured hair boy much bigger than he was. With a slight nod, Van strolled down an isle of curious glances before taking his seat at the very back. Before he could be comfortably seated, however, the same grey hair boy turned around to snicker, "You sure have a weird name. Fanel, where the hell did your parents get the idea for that name?"
"Where you got yours," Van replied icily.
"What?" his neighbour puffed up with anger. "Why you arrogant—."
"Hey," another boy in a row to Van's right protested, "leave him alone, will you Arent? If you haven't been listening, his name is Van; Fanel is his last name, idiot."
"Stay out of this track star!"
Ignoring Arent's comment, the boy spoke to Van, "Don't listen to him. He's always looking for trouble."
"He should be more careful then," Van said in a cool tone, "because he just might find it one day." The boy looked at him with slight confusion.
"All right everyone," his teacher interrupted them, "open your calculus books. We will start the third chapter today."
Their conversation quickly came to a halt as everyone turned their attention to the intimidating text lying on the desks in front of them. As the day drew on, Van came to realize the great degree of knowledge the mortals have gained through the millennia. Although what he encountered was only the tip of a great iceberg, it was enough to indicate that the mortals could almost rival Etherians. However, through all the facts and figures, Van could see that the mortals failed to comprehend the deeper meaning of their world as a living breathing essence with a soul and a life. Van could see clearly that mortal eruditions were merely calculations, theories, and facts explaining the mechanical nature of the world with very little of it attempting to explain the greater philosophical questions, which held the real knowledge about life's existence. Perhaps this side of knowledge was still beyond mortal understanding—thus beyond their explanation—or else they were merely denying the part of reality which they could not explain.
A loud thunderous sound marked the end of another school day. Van grabbed his books and began heading toward the door. Just as he stepped into the hall, a great force slammed into him causing his books to fly haphazardly onto the floor. He remained standing, relatively unaffected by the impact, but the other person lay brawling on the hard floor. Glancing down, he immediately recognized the same apologetic smile he glimpsed briefly this morning, but there was something else accompanying the smile that he failed to notice earlier; a pair of mysterious emerald-green eyes gazed intently at him from below with shock clearly visible in them.
"I-I am so sorry," she was saying as she folded her legs beneath her and began to reach for her large blue duffle bag lying beside his feet. "I didn't mean to run into you like that. It was my fault."
"Apparently," he replied nonchalantly as he bent down to recover his books. From the corner of his eyes, he noticed her startling gaze on him. His silent and cold nature struck her as being quite uncivil but the strange look in his eyes intrigued her. After picking up his books, Van stood up and began to walk away in the opposite direction. In all the disarray, he has completely forgotten Alantia, which remained hidden in the depths of his pockets.
"Well," the young girl mumbled to herself irritably, "the least you can do is say something civil. The nerve of that guy…!"
"Hey Hitomi!" the boy who defended Van against Arent cried as he came rushing out of the classroom. "Are you okay?" He held out his hand toward her, offering to help her up.
Hitomi accepted his offer. "I'm fine Amano, thank you," she replied in a distant voice. With his hand supporting her, Hitomi clambered to her feet. All the while, her bewildered gaze remained on the strange boy slowly strolling away from them.
Amano noticed the look on Hitomi's face; however, he made no comments about it. Instead, he asked again, "Are you sure you are all right?"
"Yes, Amano," she replied, this time turning her attention to him, "I'm fine but I won't remain so if I don't get to the track in time. Yukari will make sushi out of me if I am late for practice again. I'll see you later, Amano." With that, she sprinted down the hall leaving Amano to watch her retreating back.
Further down the hall, something white caught her attention. Looking toward a corner to her left, Hitomi noticed a piece of paper lying on the floor. Decreasing to a slow jog, she went over to look. The writing indicated that it was someone's homework. She picked it up and shoved it into her bag. I'll bring it to the lost-and-found later, she thought. Then she made a mad dash toward the tracks.
Amano encountered Van again at a bench near the gate entrance in the schoolyard. Van was sitting alone at one of the wooden picnic tables dotting the large area. His book was open but his attention seemed to be resting on a large group of girls chatting by the gate. Strolling up to Van, Amano said humorously, "Got an interest in the ladies already, I see."
Amano's voice had an immediate effect. Van snapped his attention to the taller man approaching him. Van remained silent but his gaze was far from being friendly. Ignoring the cold glare he received for his comment, Amano continued in the same amused voice, "Hey, I'm going to see the girls' track meet right now. Do you want to join me?"
Van hesitated. He was about to turn down the offer but quickly realized the significance of Amano's invitation. A girls' track meet, huh? Van thought, That can be just the place I may end up finding Infinity. Van replied in a flat tone, "Sure, why not?"
Along the way, Amano said "I don't think I had the chance to introduce myself back in the classroom. My name is Amano Susumu." He stopped and took a courteous bow before continuing, "It's nice to meet you. For a while, I was afraid I'd have to end up sitting alone in the back this entire school year. Having your company would be a great relief." He bowed again.
Van looked at him queerly. "Have you lost something?"
At first Amano simply looked at Van with surprised eyes, but then he said in a friendly voice, "Oh, I see. You must be from out of the country then. Well, here, we greet each other by bowing. Like this." He started bobbing up and down.
With a slightly raised eyebrow, Van watched him with amusement. Strange mortal ritual, he thought.
"So," Amano said as he stopped his demonstration, "how do the people from your country greet each other?"
Van hesitated for a moment but decided it wouldn't hurt to show this mortal the right way to greet another person. "There are two ways my people—," he abruptly stopped in mid-sentence. My people? The words raced through his mind. You have been banished from ever returning to Etheria remember Van? Every memory connected to me will soon be completely erased from all their minds. I will simply be nothing more than a wandering shadow, which no one can remember.
"Hey, is something wrong?" Amano asked with concern by Van's silence.
"Huh?" Van snapped out of his reverie, "No, it is nothing. Anyway, I was saying: where I come from there are two ways to greet each other. One is reserved for the royal family and the other salutation is for common usage."
Amano asked, "Your country has a monarchy? That is interesting. So, how do you salute your King?"
"My fa—," Van immediately stopped. Instead, he replied, "The King had passed away a long time ago. Right now, Queen Varie guards the country."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Amano said sympathetically.
"It is—," Van suddenly stopped. Amano noticed something in the distance was strongly holding Van's attention. Following the other man's gaze, Amano spotted two girls chatting in the distance. One girl, with short sandy-coloured hair in a pair of running shorts and a white T-shirt, was doing some stretching exercises with her back turned to them. Her redheaded friend, however, immediately spotted the young men approaching them. She waved furiously with a bright smile upon her lips.
"Amano!" she called out. "Hey! How are you?"
Upon hearing her friend's voice calling out the familiar name, Hitomi immediately stopped to look around. Upon seeing the shoulder-length brown hair young man quickly approaching them, she smiled cheerfully, but her smile quickly vanished when she noticed the person accompanying him. Once again, a strange feeling rose inside of her. Suddenly an image flashed quickly through her mind of a pair of massive shadows trailing behind this stranger's silhouette. It seemed almost like a pair of…
"Hi Yukari. Hey Hitomi, I hope you had made it to the meet on time." Amano's voice pierced into her mind causing the image to dissipate like the ripples on a clear lake surface.
"Yeah," she said slowly, "I did, just barely."
"Well, I'd like to introduce you two to a new friend and classmate of mine," Amano said. "This is Van Fanel." Turning to Van, he said, "Van, this is Yukari Uchida and Hitomi Kanzaki."
"Hi," Yukari said cheerfully.
Hitomi bowed politely while saying, "Nice to meet you, Van."
He only gave a slight nod in response before turning away. Hitomi frowned at his arrogance. The least he could do is reply.
They soon heard the coach said, "All right, everyone onto the track. We will start now."
"Good luck, Hitomi," her friends said.
"Thanks," she replied before her attention turned to Van. He remained silent with his attention focused on the girls heading toward the tracks. Strange guy, she thought. She soon left them to head toward the starting line. All the while, she felt his dark gaze burning her back. Ignoring the nervous feeling running through her heart, Hitomi focused her mind on the race at hand. This practice would determine the final group of girls that would represent the school in the coming city championship race. She was determined to be one of the racers in that group, and one of the best.
He watched the group of girls lining up at the starting line with serious eyes. In his hand, Alantia burned brightly signalling that Infinity was here. His eyes analyzed every girl standing in this field, from the racers to Hitomi's friend. However, he had already narrowed the field down to two possible candidates, Yukari or Hitomi. When he first approached the racetrack, Van noticed Alantia immediately became activated, but as soon as he approached Amano's two friends Alantia began to burn even brighter with power. Considering this dramatic change, Van knew Infinity must reside in one of the two girls. But which one?
Van glanced over to observe Yukari. He noticed she was in deep conversation with Amano. Could she be the one? he questioned. Or is it her friend? He looked over to the short hair girl poised to jump out of the starting line at the slightest signal. Her face revealed the level of her focus but her eyes showed the degree of her determination.
Suddenly, a loud bang rang through the air and the girls burst out into a mad one hundred meter dash. Van kept his eyes on her through the whole duration of the race. He noticed Hitomi quickly surpassing the other racers to gain the lead. Her legs were pumping hard under her as she pushed herself to run faster. Her lead quickly lengthened. About a quarter way remained to the finish line, he could see fatigue setting in. Perspiration drifted down her face soaking her shirt and dampening her hair, but the strong determination and intense focus remained in her eyes, undeterred by the agonizing pain she must have felt in her hardworking legs.
Within minutes, the race was over. Van could hear Amano and Yukari cheering madly for their friend as she dashed through the finish line alone, leaving the other racers a good distance behind. A small smile rose on Van's lips. Quite a determined girl. While he watched Yukari give Hitomi a victory hug, his faint smile vanished and a sombre look fell over his face as he thought, While they are together I cannot determine the possessor of Infinity. Quietly, he turned to leave. It doesn't matter. A better opportunity will lend itself soon enough. In their excitement, his departure went unnoticed.
The sorrowful light of a setting sun illuminated his doleful features as he sat alone on a wooden bench. In a nearby tree, hidden within an entanglement of green foliage and stiff branches, hung the school uniform he wore this morning. His drawers were now the branches of a tree and his home has become a simple bench in a lonely park. What a dramatic change fate has dealt him. He was now the prince as well as the pauper. No…he was no longer a prince was he? As soon as Etheria forgets him, he would be nothing. No one. A shadow to wonder endlessly upon a foreign land with no name, no past, and no future much like a restless spirit that could never find its peaceful sleep.
As Van sat contemplating on his cursed fate, another soul was searching for him. In her hands held the piece of paper she found earlier during school.
"Darn it," she was saying, "if I had remembered about this paper I would have given it to him when I met him."
"Well, you could have saved us both the trouble if you had listened to me earlier and simply dropped it off at the lost-and-found in school," her friend spoke up beside her.
"I know," Hitomi sighed, "but he will need it tonight, Yukari. If I had just handed this into the lost-in-found he wouldn't have his homework before tomorrow and…," she looked at the printing, "it is due tomorrow." Giving a tired sigh, Hitomi drudged on. "Oh, well, if it were me, I would appreciate having someone return my homework should they find it." Looking at a small piece of paper upon which scribbled an address, she said, "The secretary has written here that his address is 4235 Roland Place." Her eyes flickered from street sign to street sign, from house to house but she was still far from the address she was looking for. Suddenly she stopped. In front of her stood a large gate with thick black iron bars, but it was the sign on a concrete column to her right that surprised her. The sign read: "4235 Roland Place?" Hitomi gasped. "But that can't be right…this is…this is Oceanside Park." Looking down at the piece of paper again, she carefully analyzed the writing. "I must have read it wrong. Let's see, the secretary has here…4…2…3…5…Roland Place…" her voice trailed off into silence as she stood looking through the gate with confusion.
"There must have been some mistake," Yukari whispered in equal confusion.
"Maybe his house is on the other side," Hitomi said. She decided to follow the dirt path through the park, accompanied by her friend.
The sun has sunken midway below the horizon before Hitomi finally spotted him. At first he was nothing more than a silhouette hunched over on a wooden bench with the angry face of a setting sun etching out his featureless form in blurry, wavy lines like a dark reflection upon the disturbed surface of a lake. As she came closer, Hitomi noticed the figure to be a young man about her age with black hair that fell beautifully over his eyes hiding them from her view. Due to the sunlight emitted directly in the background, his face remained obscured in shadows. It was not until she was a few meters from him did she finally recognize the sad, solemn features that made his handsome face so distinct. Sitting forlornly on the bench watching the distant horizon as the sun set, she saw such anguish in his eyes as if he was watching his very own death in that darkening horizon.
"He seems so…," but she could not find the words to describe the scene she saw before her eyes or the feelings that rose in her heart. Was it pity? Sympathy? Sorrow? Perhaps it was all or none of those emotions. But Hitomi knew that she had never before seen such a sad and hopeless expression as the one she now saw on his face.
"Well," Yukari said, "are you just going to stand there staring at him or are you going to give him back his paper?"
"I," Hitomi suddenly felt nervous, "I don't know. Maybe you were right; we should have dropped it off at the lost-and-found."
"Oh, no!" her friend said, "I will not go all the way back to school having searched all around town for him. Come on Hitomi, just give him the paper so we can go home." Yukari gave her friend a gentle shove. "I'll wait here for you." Quickly, Yukari whipped out a novel from her bag and engrossed herself in its enchanting tale while she waited for her friend.
"All right, Yukari," Hitomi commented lightly as she strolled away, "but I won't take that long."
As she approached the solitary figure, Hitomi hesitantly asked, "Van?"
Her voice startled him. Impulsively, he whipped out his sword and pointed its deadly tip directly at her throat. Hitomi stood completely still with fear-filled eyes falling silently on his. For a brief moment that seemed like an eternity filled with anxiety and fear, the two stood facing each other; their motionless forms carved dark silhouettes into the red face of the dying sun.
Gasping in surprise as he soon recognized the pale face before him, Van immediately loosened his grip on the sword and allowed the blade to drift to the ground between them—yet he did not re-sheath the blade.
"What are you doing here?" he asked suspiciously.
"I've come looking for you."
"Why?" asked he through narrowed eyes.
"Well," she stammered, her eyes still on the glistening blade between them, "I…I found this." She stuck her hand out with the paper flapping gently in the evening breeze. "Your homework. You dropped it in the hall on your way out this morning. It is due tomorrow so I thought you might want it."
He glanced down at the paper in her hand. This is why she came searching for me? he thought. Simply to return a worthless piece of paper?
"Well, here," she motioned for him to take the paper, "take it. I must head home now."
He looked back at her, analysing the sincere expression in her deep green eyes. Re-sheathing his sword, Van reached out and took the paper from her. As his hand neared hers, a sudden explosion of images in her mind sent her reeling back in surprise: A cry of pain resounded in her ears, a rain of blood from the sky soaked all the land, tears of sorrow tore at her heart. She closed her eyes in a frantic attempt to shut all these horrid visions from her mind but to no avail as they kept surging faster and more forceful into her head. As she thought she would soon lose herself in all this, something soft and gentle brushed by her hands snapping her out of the dark visions and thus saving her from complete oblivion. Opening her eyes slowly, she saw the dark silhouette of a massive pair of wings spread protectively before her. Unexpectedly, a soft voice whispered close to her ears words she could not understand, "The end will lead to infinity but Infinity will signal the end…"
"Hey," a strong voice called out to her from outside the visions, "are you all right?"
She suddenly felt strong hands grabbed her arms, "Hitomi! What is wrong?!"
Abruptly, the solemn face of that strange boy broke through the images and woke her from the depth of the nightmare.
"Wha—?" she mumbled, staring blankly into his eyes.
"Are you all right?" he asked again apparently concerned.
"Ye-yes," she replied in a voice still at lost by the passing event, "I'm fine now. What just happened?"
"I don't know," he responded in a hidden tone with his gaze still on her face. "You seemed to have fazed out a moment there, as if your mind was not here."
"I see," she said, raising a hand to her forehead. "I guess I'm more tired than I had initially thought. All that running must took a lot out of me today." She glanced up at the trees dotting the nearby hill and noticed Yukari was dozing off at its base, oblivious to the event that had just unfolded mere seconds ago. "I better head home to rest. I will see you tomorrow at school, Van. Goodbye."
As she turned to leave, she heard him call out, "Wait." Turning around slowly, Hitomi found him staring at a beautiful stone shining brilliantly with rosy light. She stood silently waiting for an explanation of why he called her back but he gave her none.
"Could it be possible?" she heard him whisper to the stone. "Could this simple mortal be the key to all this?" She saw him glanced up at her with an undeterminable expression on his face. "All the fates of both worlds rest in…in her hands?"
"What are you talking about, Van?" Hitomi asked bewilderingly. "Look, Yukari is waiting for me. I have to go." She rushed off. The look he was giving her was very unnerving. What the world was he rambling off about? Strange boy, she thought.
"Yukari?" Van suddenly glanced toward the trees where Hitomi was heading and noticed the slumbering form resting there. Damnit! I should have guessed her friend might accompany her.
"Argh!" Van yelled out his frustration as soon as the girls were out of sight, slamming his fist on the back of the wooden bench in aggravation, "Yukari might have been the influence causing Alantia to react and not Hitomi."
As the sun sank below the horizon, Van looked over at the deserted shoreline, remembering his first encounter with The Hunter. "The opportunity better lend itself soon or it might be too late."
Just then, Van felt an unexpected chill run up his spine. Nature around him suddenly became completely still and silent. Something was wrong; something was very wrong. Jumping to his feet with his hand on the hilt of his sword, Van glanced about him with ears alert to the faintest sounds, and senses honed in to the slightest changes. He could feel it; there was definitely something in the atmosphere that was not there before. A strange vibration of power that could barely be detected was all around him.
"The Hunter," Van growled. "They are searching again." But there is something different in their powers this time, Van thought as feelings of dread draped over his frantic heart, "It can't be. They couldn't have possibly—"
A cry for help suddenly exploded into his mind. The unseen power shook his entire being, forcing him to taking a step back in shock. Growling with rage, his hand on the hilt tightened forcefully as he ran swiftly in the direction he could sense the power was radiating most strongly.
As he ran, he let out the words he had so long feared, "They have found her! The Hunter has found Infinity!"
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Next: Chapter 5: "Cursed Souls"
Cosmos 2004