The mountain pass was unnaturally still.

Snow drifted lazily through the air, untouched by wind, settling in soft layers across jagged stone and ancient trees frozen in time. Even the local monsters—the ones bold enough to roam the high peaks—were nowhere to be seen. Your breath fogged in front of you as your boots crunched softly against the ice, each step echoing far louder than it should have.

Veteran hunters had warned you about this kind of silence.

It meant Kirin was near.

A sudden crack split the sky.

Lightning slammed into the mountainside just ahead, exploding rock into shards of ice and stone. The air filled with the sharp scent of ozone as blue-white arcs crawled across the ground like living veins. Your Palico bristled, tail puffed, eyes wide as it ducked behind a boulder.

Then you saw it.

From the blinding flash stepped a slender, radiant figure—small compared to other Elder Dragons, yet infinitely more terrifying. Kirin stood atop a frozen ridge, its coat shimmering like woven starlight, every strand of fur alive with crackling electricity. Its single horn glowed a brilliant azure, lightning dancing along its length as if answering its call. Hooves touched the ground without sound, leaving frost and scorched marks where thunder kissed the snow.

Kirin’s eyes locked onto you.

For a moment, the world seemed to slow. The storm above coiled tighter, clouds swirling into a violent spiral directly overhead. The ground trembled as thin lines of light traced patterns across the snow—warning signs etched in thunder, marking where lightning would soon strike.

This was no beast to be chased.

This was a force of nature testing whether you belonged on this mountain.

The Kirin lowered its head slightly, horn blazing brighter as the storm answered its challenge. Electricity surged through the pass, turning the battlefield into a deadly maze of frozen ground and falling thunder.

Your grip tightened on your weapon.

Win, and your name would be whispered with awe among hunters.

Fail, and the storm would erase all trace you were ever here.

The thunder roared.

Kirin took its first step toward you.

The hunt begins