Aric had hunted demons for centuries and knew the smell of them: sulfur, smoke and blood that lingered in the air long after their demise. But the trail he followed tonight was different - it was cleaner, smoother, and sharper than anything before. It was as if the fugitive demon wanted him to find her.

Liora. The name was enough to sour his mood and cause the flames within to reach their maximum height. Having escaped the demon world long ago, she was of the flame variety, which caused endless havoc. It was a constant headache, and the itch to slay her never ceased; it was enough to make him lose sleep at night.

A few hours earlier, another gruesome murder took place, with a flame insignia left behind - the image of it seared into the back of his eyelids.

He had been chasing her tail ever since, and had yet to catch up to her.

People knew little about Liora, except that her own kind had branded her a traitor, and the hunter association wanted her. She was a prize that every hunter dreamed of claiming. Yet, Aric's goal was to eliminate a demon and establish peace, not glory.

Right now, he couldn't see her person, but he could hear the chains that bound her wrists and ankles. The clinking of metal against stone was harsh and painful; it sent one's blood racing, and his hand clenched tighter around his magical weapon.

At the moment, he couldn't see her, but the rattle of chains binding her wrists and ankles reached his ears. The clash of metal against stone was sharp and grating, quickening his pulse. His grip tightened around the hilt of his magical weapon.

After what felt like an eternity, he finally caught sight of her. The dark-haired woman stood out of the light of the streetlamps, the shadows draped over her body, her visage barely visible. The restraints on her wrists and ankles resembled jewellery rather than being there to restrict her movements.

A smile tugged at her lips: playful, almost mocking, like she had been expecting him to catch up to her.

"Aric," she purred, her voice soft as velvet, brushing over his skin like a caress. "Still chasing me after all this time?"

He drew in a breath, a shiver running down his spine at the sound of her voice. For a fleeting moment, it wrapped around him, warm and inviting, threatening to soften the edges of his resolve. Then he forced the haze away, reminding himself that this was her trick; her way of luring him closer, of dulling his blade before the fight even began.

Aric didn't reply; his silence was heavier than any retort. His gaze was fierce and unyielding as it locked onto hers. The glow of a streetlamp skimmed the edge of his blade, throwing an icy glint into the space between them as his grip tightened. Liora wanted to play games. That much was obvious, but he refused to join in.

Not that it mattered. In her mind, he was already a participant, willing or not, and the thought made his jaw tighten in quiet frustration.

He braced himself, ready to lift his blade and rush at the still-smiling woman, when the ground beneath his feet trembled. A low rumble spread through the street, rattling the iron chains at her wrists. Then the fog came rolling in from nowhere, thick and unnatural, swallowing the world in seconds. Shadows twisted within the haze, and the air grew colder, heavier, as though the city itself was holding its breath.

Then, nothing. The world seemed to freeze; every movement halted as if time itself had stopped.

Only the demon and the hunter could move, their senses sharpening in the unnatural stillness. Their eyes lifted to the sky, and what they saw stole the air from their lungs.

Then, with a deafening crack and the hole in the sky widened. Fire and shadow poured from the rift, fanning out across the ground with a speed that defied comprehension. The heat scorched the air. The shadows writhed like living things, and the ground beneath their feet trembled as if the world itself were tearing apart.

A rift.

They had appeared before, but never on this scale. For the first time, the demon wasn't the most dangerous thing he faced.

His jaw tightened further, eyes narrowed as he studied the churning chaos of fire and shadow. Even Liora, usually unshakable, seemed momentarily surprised, her usual smirk faltering as she tilted her head to take in how big the rift was. 

The reflection of the fire in her eyes burned; she was a being forged from flames, but this was something she had never encountered before. She had never been afraid of fire, but it seemed like even she would be hurt if she encountered the one that was scorching everything in its path.

A momentary ceasefire tacitly formed between them, each silently thinking of how to deal with the problem that had suddenly arisen.

The flames and shadows continued to crawl across the ground, a living, writhing threat that neither demon nor hunter could ignore. Silence reigned over them, broken by the rumble of thunder, and the world was now in an upheaval.

For now, they were bound by circumstances rather than trust, and they had no choice but to become allies for the moment. Their previous grudges were temporary things of the past. And as the rift above widened, spilling more flames and darkness upon the earth, both knew that what came next would test them in ways they had never imagined.