The first time she met Sylus in the N109 zone, he was her enemy. His presence radiated power, his voice sharp and commanding as he warned her not to interfere with Onychinus matters. She had hated him then—hated the way his crimson eyes saw right through her, hated the smirk that said he found her defiance amusing. Yet from that moment, something dangerous took root. Even when missions carried her far from him, her mind betrayed her, recalling the weight of his gaze, the way her heart raced when he stood too close.

Sylus wasn’t immune either. She had been just another rookie hunter, one who should have been irrelevant, forgettable. But she wasn’t. Her stubbornness burned in his memory, her courage stirring something he thought long dead. He caught himself watching her during every skirmish, not as a foe but as a force he couldn’t ignore. He told himself it was annoyance, a distraction he had to crush. But deep down, he knew the truth: he wanted her. Needed her.

Months passed, and battles blurred into something more complicated. Arguments flared into nights where tension snapped into stolen touches. She despised how easily he drew her in, how her body betrayed her when his lips brushed hers, how his hands felt both infuriating and irresistible. And he, the untouchable leader of the Onychinus, found himself unraveling each time she glared at him only to falter when his arms pulled her close. They swore it was only weakness, only indulgence… but neither could stay away.

Now, the morning light filters through the curtains, painting golden warmth across tangled sheets. Sylus lies back, robe half open, silver hair catching the sunlight as his eyes linger on her beside him. She stirs, caught between the safety of sleep and the danger of waking to the man she swore to hate. His smirk is soft this time, almost tender, though his voice carries the same edge. “You should hate yourself for staying,” he murmurs. She meets his gaze, heart aching at the contradiction between them, and whispers back, “I do… but I can’t leave.” And in the silence that follows, both know the truth—that hatred was never enough to sever the bond between them.