The early morning air was sharp with tension.
The sky, once clear, now churned with a strange turbulence—clouds spinning in unnatural patterns, glowing faintly with spirit energy. It wasn't just weather; it was a warning.
Kaiqok stood on the temple's edge, eyes narrowed toward the horizon. His senses buzzed. Something had crossed over. Something old. And it wasn't hiding anymore.
Korra joined him a moment later, tying her hair into a tight ponytail. "You feel it too."
He nodded slowly. "Something big. Something... hunting."
Tenzin appeared behind them, his robes fluttering in the wind. "Three reports from the outer edges of the city. Spirit sightings—aggressive ones. Unusual behavior."
Korra crossed her arms. "Aggressive spirits again? I thought we fixed that last time."
"These aren't the same," Kaiqok said grimly. "These are moving in a pattern—closing in on something."
Tenzin looked between the two of them. "You mean someone."
"Me," Kaiqok confirmed.
There was silence. Then Korra said what everyone was thinking.
"Why?"
Kaiqok turned away from the cityscape. "Something followed me here from the in-between. When I made my wishes—when I was sent here—something must've latched onto my essence. Like a beacon."
Tenzin's face was pale. "Then we need to evacuate."
"No," Kaiqok said firmly. "We hunt them before they hunt us. We strike first."
Korra smirked. "Now that's more like it."
---
Later that day, in the forest outside Republic City, the team assembled.
Korra, Kaiqok, Asami, and Opal stood together in a clearing surrounded by ancient trees. The light filtering through the branches danced with tension. They were dressed for battle, each bearing weapons, supplies, and grit.
Asami looked over her modified gauntlets. "I can't believe I'm about to fistfight ghosts."
Opal flexed her glider-suit wings. "Spirits, not ghosts. And if they try anything, I'll blow them out of the sky."
Korra nodded to them, then looked to Kaiqok. "You ready to unleash the beast again?"
Kaiqok took a breath, summoning golden chakra into his limbs. "I don't think the wolf is enough this time."
Opal blinked. "You have... more than one?"
He gave her a sideways smile. "Wolf was just the beginning."
The group spread out as the air began to ripple. A heavy stillness fell over the woods. Birds stopped singing. The leaves stilled. Even the insects fell silent.
Then the first one appeared.
A great, horned spirit beast—its body black like smoke, and its eyes white-hot like lightning—descended into the clearing with a howl that split the air like glass.
Korra launched forward, fists blazing. "Let's go!"
---
The battle was chaos.
Korra dodged a spirit claw, redirecting the energy into the ground with a blast of fire and water. Asami charged in, electro-punching a smaller wraith with a crackling fist to the skull. Opal soared above, wind slicing through shadowy tendrils.
But the spirit horde kept coming.
Then Kaiqok stepped forward.
He called softly: "Tiger."
Golden chakra erupted around him again—his body transforming rapidly into a sleek, feline form. Muscles sharpened, his cloak flared into stripes, and his eyes burned with wild fury.
The Tiger Form was born.
He dashed forward—too fast to follow—slashing through spirits like paper. Each movement was elegant, violent, and precise. When he roared, the very forest trembled.
A massive spirit lunged for Opal. Tiger-Kaiqok leapt, catching it midair and flipping it into the dirt with a devastating spiral slam.
"Thanks!" Opal called breathlessly.
He nodded, his golden tail flicking behind him.
Korra spun through three opponents, then landed beside him. "Okay, I really like this form."
Tiger-Kaiqok growled in reply.
But it wasn't over.
The trees parted, and they appeared—seven figures cloaked in shredded robes of darkness and bone. Half-spirit, half-something older. Their eyes were empty voids, and their weapons shimmered with the same energy that leaked from the spirit portal.
The Wild Hunt had arrived.
Kaiqok reverted back to human form slowly, breathing heavy, and clenched his fists.
"They're not mindless," he said. "They're warriors."
Korra nodded grimly. "Then we fight like one."
The Hunt didn't wait. In a blink, the first warrior was on Asami, blades spinning like windmills. She ducked and countered with a shockwave from her gauntlet.
Kaiqok parried a glowing spear, blocking with a shield of hardened wind. Another hunter came from behind, only to be launched by Korra's bending combo—rock and fire merging into an explosive uppercut.
The battlefield was chaos. But the team held.
And then—Kaiqok felt it. A pulse. A voice. Inside his mind.
"You carry what should not exist. Give it up. Or be taken."
He snarled. "Come take it."
The sky above cracked like glass.
A larger figure began to descend—shadowy wings unfurling, claws like spears, its mouth a silent scream.
The Alpha Hunter.
Korra's eyes widened. "That thing's bigger than a sky bison!"
"Then I'll match it!" Kaiqok shouted, and threw his hands into a seal.
He shouted: "Dragon!"
The ground exploded as golden chakra burst upward—his body enlarging, lengthening, wings tearing from his back. Scales shimmered. Horns twisted skyward.
He had become a Golden Eastern Dragon, roaring with fury, lightning crackling in his mouth.
The Hunt paused.
And then… it charged.