Gloom befell the outpost when they arrived at the gate. There were no joyous or raucous celebrations to be had when a hunter returned lying on their back.

  A furious Commander Winston was waiting with Shae when the lift brought them down, having been alerted beforehand by hunters on the watchtowers. He cast that anger aside upon seeing Obrick. The large man walked wordlessly over to the dead hunter and whispered a silent prayer while clutching onto a pendant, then ordered physicians to take him away, presumably to prepare for his cremation.

  "Before I get to you, Korin, I want to know what happened out there," Winston demanded of them.

  Jenna, Em, and Jonah were silent.

  "There were two miracks," Korin began. "One got Obrick from behind when we were distracted by another."

  "And the miracks?" the commander asked, studying the look on each sashed hunter.

  "Jenna killed one, and I killed the other," he answered as a matter of factly and revealed the four dexclaws in his satchel.

  From the look on Winston and Shae's faces, it wasn't the answer they were expecting.

  "The three of you will follow me to the command nest," Winston said to the hunters, then turned to Korin and only sighed before leaving with the trio in tow.

  "What about me?" Korin had lost his patience. "I've proved how capable I am! I deserve to be a hunter!"

  "Now isn't the time," Shae whispered, rubbing the back of his neck.

  "It's never the time. That's why I always have to be the one to bring it up. When will it be? How many more hunters have to go before you make me one?" he shouted.

  Commander Winston glanced over his shoulders and glared. They were the eyes of a predator, of a man who had killed many behemoths and seen many hunters killed. The look reminded Korin of the golgannnoth before he blinded it. That was why he didn't flinch, gazing into those eyes.

  The one who broke the stare came as a shock to everyone. Their commander faced forward and walked away with the others in tow. It seemed to Korin that today was going to be another rejection.

  "You ballsy ape!" Shae dragged him under her arm.

  "That hurts!" Korin cried, trying to slip away from her grasp and failing.

  Eventually, Shae released him and placed a hand on her hip. The Ennuit woman's demeanor softened.

  "How are you holding up, cub?" Shae asked.

  "How am I…?" Korin's shoulders slackened as he tried to come up with an answer. He pulled the kastreia crystal from his pocket to show Shae, whose eyes then softened up to him. "I should have taken this stupid thing when I saw it… I didn't, but Obrick did."

  She took the crystal from his palm and frowned. "It's okay. It was never your responsibility to, cub."

  In the comforts of his cabin, Korin told Shae everything down to the most minute detail. She listened carefully as any hunter would, but the best tracker in the outpost neither nodded nor blinked until he finished recounting.

  Show her a hundred different footprints, and she would match them all without error or hesitation. Hunters who had performed pursuits with Shae in the past always returned impressed and had learned something new from her. It was said that she once tracked down a flying behemoth back to its nest over a hundred kilometers away from only a shedded plume. No surprise from the prodigy, given that she had reached obsidian by the age of 25, and four years later was being considered to receive the ivory sash.

  Thanks to her, Korin was able to put up with not being a hunter for as long as he did. She always looked after him, providing hunting lessons, teaching him how to wield weapons and build traps, and brought books on all kinds of behemoths.

  "That's rough," Shae said at last, raising a cup that smelled of juice to her lips. "If you ask me, I think you did everything right with the hand that was dealt to you."

  "If that's true, then why is Obrick dead?" Korin buried his head into the pillow.

  Only now was he regretting the earlier outburst in front of everyone in the outpost. Demanding Winston to make him a hunter just after Obrick had died… It made him look like an opportunistic vulture.

  "Blaming yourself won't do any good. There's only so much to plan right and things could still go awry." Shae almost seemed to be trying to convince herself of that.

  The Ennuit huntress was something of an enigma to everyone. No one was sure why she joined the Hunter's Association other than the commander. The number of her people in the organization could be counted on a single hand. However, Korin did come up with a few ideas over the years having grown close to her. After all, she had the same distant and strained eyes that seemed to ache from loss.

  Someone knocked on the door.

  "Korin, I'm coming in." Jenna opened the door and was surprised to see Shae in here, too. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

  "Nope. Just cheering up a moping cook. I'll pass the baton off to you." Shae left the two of them alone.

  Jenna entered and took a seat where Shae was just sitting. Her eyes wandered around the room as if trying to glean what they were just talking about. Or maybe find an answer that would satisfy whatever burning questions were in her head.

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  "I see Shae still spends a lot of time with you. Many hunters would give anything to even join her in a pursuit."

  "The only person willing to give me hunting lessons just walked out that door. I— We owe our lives to Shae, because I wouldn't have been able to do what I did against the mirack if not for her. But that's not what you're here about. You're here to tell me Winston wants to see me next, right?" Korin sat up to face his childhood friend.

  "Yeah. He wants me to bring you to the command nest," Jenna said.

  No one kept the commander waiting. They left immediately.

  The Command Nest was a circular hut where high ranked hunters and scholars met to discuss urgent pursuits and missions. At the center of the room was a large table upon which a map of Karacos was laid out, and all over it were many small statues of notable behemoths that the commander kept track of. Valdwyn Outpost was but a small speck in an expansive sea of green.

  The leader of the outpost was leaning over that map when they walked in. He replaced a mirasaul statue with a cross marked in red some kilometers away from the outpost's coordinates. Korin came closer and saw that there were six similar marks across Karacos. Those red markers weren't to denote slain behemoths.

  "Obrick is the seventh death and the new year has only just started." Winston accidentally snapped the quill in two and splashed red ink onto the map.

  Korin lowered his head and prepared himself to be scolded. "I'm sorry for leaving the outpost, Commander. I thought—"

  "You have nothing to be sorry about," he interjected. "Jonah confessed everything. He never requested from me to let you join them. As punishment, I have taken away his hunt leader privileges and given it to Jenna instead."

  Jonah did? That was a surprise. Korin expected the hot head to spin something up to divert blame. Too bad it took Obrick's death to knock him down a few pegs.

  Winston paced to the back of the room and stared up at the maroon flag embroidered with a gryphon on its hind legs.

  "If I'm not here to get an earful, then why am I here?" Korin asked, and the answer he received was in the form of a neatly folded, pristine copper sash placed in front of him. He could scarcely believe it was real until he picked up the cloth.

  "From today onwards, you're a hunter. You will perform pursuits with an existing party or form your own. Although I don't recommend going solo, it is entirely up to you. All of the Hunter's Association resources, Thane's workshop, the Bone Works, and research huts are available to you henceforth." The commander gave the usual talk that every new hunter must listen to, but Korin was brimming with too much excitement to stay still.

  As soon as Winston finished, Korin spun around to Jenna to share in the good news. "Jenna, look! How do you think I should wear it? God, it feels nice to the touch. We can finally hunt—"

  Unfortunately, Jenna looked to be in anything but a celebratory mood. The awkward silence between them grew thick with uncertainty.

  "Go on and tell him, Jenna. This is your cross to bear," Commander Winston urged.

  Korin searched his friend's eyes for answers. "Tell me what?"

  Jenna squeezed her wrist and took a deep breath. "The reason why Commander Winston turned you down from becoming a hunter all this time… is because of me. I begged him not to."

  As though nailed by a cheapshot, Korin staggered back and braced both hands on the table to steady himself. All this time? He was held back all because of Jenna?

  "Why?" was all Korin could utter in that moment.

  "Because I didn't want you getting hurt. The memories of that night at Toza are always with me. I don't know what I would do if something were to happen to you! When we were facing the mirack and it fell on you, my heart just dropped. I feel so terrible because… I look at Obrick and think… thank the goddess it wasn't you," Jenna tearfully confessed.

  It wasn't that Korin didn't understand. They shared the trauma and loss of their families. Both treated those experiences differently. However, understanding and accepting were two different things. Korin understood why Jenna did it, but he wasn't willing to accept such a reason.

  The truth dug up pain that should have long healed.

  "This isn't adding up." Korin turned to Commander Winston in a rage. "Why would you go along with it?"

  "Because you haven't let go of One-Eyed Gol. Making you a hunter almost assuredly means you will go after him. Going after him guarantees a short life. Jenna knew this, and I agreed with her to keep you from the sash— until now," Winston said.

  "I don't get it. What changed? Does anyone want to give me a clearer explanation? Because I deserve that much!" he screamed, causing some of the hunters passing by outside to look in.

  "Because seeing you protect us, doing better than us four hunters could ever be, made me realize that I was wrong to keep this from you. Please know that I only wanted to protect you…" Jenna reached out to him, but Korin slapped her hand away.

  It surprised both of them.

  Korin gripped the sash, wrinkling the fabric before he even had the chance to wear it.

  "Are we done? May I leave now?" he asked the commander.

  "You may." Winston nodded.

  Korin paused at the exit, hearing the golgannoth's roar echo in his mind again.

  "You're right, Commander Winston. I've always planned to hunt One-Eyed Gol with or without the sash. And I won't be satisfied until one of us draws our last breath," he swore to them before leaving.

  As night fell, Korin found himself in a secluded area behind Thane's workshop which overlooked the hunting pits below. Normally used by hunters to face off against captured behemoths for training, the association was using the area to prepare a pyre for Obrick. His body and sash would be burned there, so that his spirit may watch over hunters that come after him.

  "Congratulations on receiving your sash," Em said, joining him by the railing but keeping her back faced to the hunting pits.

  "Thanks." Korin flashed a weak smile. "How'd you find me? I was sure this was my own secret spot."

  "I saw you stampede out of the Command Nest fiercer than a bullowag," she reluctantly revealed.

  He gazed upon the sash in his hand, unsure if the sacrifice was worth it. "Wish I received it during better circumstances. So, I'm told Jenna's your hunt leader now. You'll be in safer hands with her in charge."

  "I asked to be let go from the group. After Obrick died, I think I need some space from them." Em pressed her hands together tightly, then began to make subtle side glances that couldn't be anymore obvious. "Which means I'm a solo hunter now, unless… you're looking for a huntmate?"

  That sincere desire to join him was like the morning streak of sunlight peeking through the thick jungle canopy. After Obrick's death and Jenna's revelation, Korin had desperately needed something to hang onto. Em became that thread for him at that moment.

  "In that case, I look forward to hunting with you." Korin grinned, extending a hand to her.

  "I won't let you down!" Em clasped his hand and beamed brighter than the sun.

  They parted ways after that. Em couldn't bring herself to attend the funeral, so Korin went in her stead. Aside from the outpost leadership and a handful of hunters, Jenna was the only one from the original party that came to see Obrick off.

  Neither of them could meet each other's eyes, and that was fine by Korin. His were fixed on Obrick's burning sash, slowly blackening and crumpling into ashes. He vowed to those flames, to the hunter that was now gone, even if one day his own sash and body were to be placed on that pyre, that One-Eyed Gol would be hunted by his own hands.