The Hunter Monarch

Dawn in the outer district was not a gentle affair. There was no golden sunlight cresting over a horizon, only a slow, grudging shift from the deep purple of the neon-drenched night to the oppressive grey of the smog-filtered morning. Lin Yu was awake long before the change, his internal clock set by years of anxiety and the need to be on time, lest he give anyone an excuse to replace him.

He ate a small, bland brick of nutrient paste from his food synthesizer, washing it down with filtered water. It was fuel, nothing more. After a final check of his empty pack, ensuring the straps were secure and the various pouches and hooks were in order, he set out.

The city was already stirring. Armored transport trucks rumbled down the main thoroughfares, and the early-shift Hunters were congregating in the plaza, their breath misting in the cool morning air. Lin Yu moved through the growing crowds like a ghost, his gaze fixed on the Eastern Gate, a massive archway of carved stone and glowing runes that served as the marshaling point for the D-Rank Door.

Su Wan was already there, leaning against the archway and sipping a cup of hot tea. She was a study in relaxed readiness, her leather armor seeming like a second skin. She smiled as he approached, a small, genuine gesture that warmed him more than the nutrient paste ever could.

"You're early," she noted.

"You're earlier," he countered, a hint of their easy banter returning.

"Leader's prerogative. I like to see my team arrive." She nodded towards two other figures who were checking their gear nearby. "That's Chen and Li Mei. They're good people. You won't have any trouble from them."

Chen was a burly man with a kind face, his heavy plate armor marking him as the party's Paladin and Tank. Li Mei was a slender woman with sharp, intelligent eyes, a quiver of specialized arrows on her back identifying her as a Ranger, likely the party's trap-disarmer and scout. They both gave Lin Yu a polite, professional nod, devoid of the usual contempt he received. It was a refreshing change.

A fifth member arrived a few minutes later, a young, nervous-looking kid who couldn't have been much older than Lin Yu's physical age of seventeen. He was introduced as Tao, the party's Healer. His eyes widened slightly when he saw Lin Yu, a flicker of recognition and perhaps pity crossing his face. The story of the city's most famous Zero was, apparently, required reading for rookie Hunters.

"Alright, team," Su Wan said, her voice becoming crisp and authoritative. "Listen up. We're heading into a D-Rank Door. Standard procedure. We don't know what Layer we'll get, so stay alert. Check your gear one last time."

As the others did a final pat-down of their equipment, the young healer, Tao, edged closer to Su Wan.

"Um, Captain Su?" he asked, his voice hesitant. "I've only ever done E-Rank runs before. I've heard that in D-Rank Doors, the transit can… separate people?"

Su Wan gave him a reassuring look. "It can. That's why we do this." She looked around, ensuring everyone was ready, then her gaze settled on Lin Yu. "Everyone, link up."

This was the part Lin Yu both cherished and dreaded. It was a simple, practical procedure, a core mechanic of surviving the Doors, yet for him, it was laden with a profound, unspoken significance.

Chen, the Paladin, placed a heavy gauntlet on Su Wan's shoulder. Li Mei, the Ranger, rested her hand on Chen's arm. Tao, the healer, nervously took Li Mei's hand. It created an unbroken chain of physical contact, a small, tangible link between the party members.

"The chaotic energy of a Door's transit pulls from countless dimensional realities," Su Wan explained for Tao's benefit, her voice a calm lecture against the backdrop of the bustling plaza. "Without an anchor, it sends each person to a random, corresponding location within that Layer's danger level. You could end up meters apart, or kilometers. Holding hands, maintaining physical contact, is the only surefire way to trick the System into registering the party as a single entity. It ensures we all arrive at the same spot, at the same time."

Her explanation finished, she turned to Lin Yu. Her part of the chain was still open. She extended her hand to him, her palm facing up. It was a simple gesture, an invitation to complete the circuit.

He looked at her hand. It was scarred and calloused from years of wielding a sword, yet it was also steady and strong. It was the hand that had bought him a meal when he was hungry, the hand that had shielded him from the scorn of others.

He placed his hand in hers.

Her fingers closed around his, her grip firm and confident. His hand was swallowed in hers, a stark contrast of his slender, un-calloused skin against her rough, battle-hardened grip. A strange energy seemed to flow from her touch—not magic, but a simple, grounding warmth that chased away the morning chill and the lingering dread in his stomach. It was a feeling of safety, of belonging, of being, for a brief moment, an equal and essential part of the chain.

"Ready?" Su Wan asked, her eyes scanning the faces of her team. She received a chorus of determined nods. "Alright. Let's move out."

With Su Wan in the lead, the linked party of five walked towards the shimmering, glass-like surface of the D-Rank Door. To outsiders, they were a standard party: a Warrior, a Paladin, a Ranger, a Healer… and their Pack Mule, tethered to them out of necessity. But to Lin Yu, in that moment, it felt like something more.

As they stepped across the threshold, the world dissolved.

The transit was a brief, violent assault on the senses. It was a feeling of being torn apart and reassembled simultaneously, a nauseating plunge through a vortex of fractured light and screaming sound. But through the disorienting chaos, one sensation remained constant and true: the firm, unwavering grip of Su Wan's hand holding his. It was his anchor in the storm, the one piece of solid reality in a universe of madness. And it was the only thing that made the terrifying passage bearable.