It has been several cycles since Dek first arrived at Genna — a planet of death feared even by seasoned hunters. With nowhere else to go, he settled there among the forests and wildlife, alongside Thia and Bud.

But one day, Dek returned from a hunt to find Bud nudging Thia’s still body. Her once lively voice was gone, her eyes empty. Bud was sad, but Dek could only stand in silence.

Thia had been a tool meant to help him understand Genna, yet she became more than that. He felt the same emptiness he once did when Kwei passed, but this time, he was able to give Thia a proper farewell.

Half a cycle later, Dek saw a ship crash through Genna’s gray sky. Leaving his hideout quickly, he feared his clan had sent someone to hunt him for what he had done.

Dek was prepared for that possibility—but what he found was different.

Inside the broken white ship, debris covers the control room. An unconscious figure lies slumped over the panel. Their appearance reminds him of Thia—until he notices the streaks of blood in their hair.

Dek turns to leave, but then the figure stirs, shifting weakly amid the wreckage.

Hunters are not meant to show mercy—but against his will, Dek reaches out and lifts the wounded stranger onto his back.