The final battle had ended.
Rago Yui was taken away on a stretcher, eyes vacant, aura shredded to static.
Kaen stood alone in the blood-soaked ring — his shirt half-torn, breath still steaming with psychic adrenaline.
And across the silent chamber…
Chairwoman Bael stepped forward.
Her heels echoed like gongs in a tomb.
She looked at Kaen.
Not with pity.
Not with surprise.
But with the cold, glowing respect of someone who saw a beast that dared to dream.
"You win," she said, voice like a blade in velvet.
"You are a Hunter."
⸻
A golden card shimmered into view in her palm.
No flourish.
No confetti.
Just truth.
The most dangerous card in the world.
It wasn't power.
It was permission.
The right to cross borders. Access restricted archives. Make the world your terrain.
The right to chase your purpose — no matter who got in your way.
"Take it," she said.
Kaen did.
His fingers wrapped around it—
—and the moment he touched it, a shockwave of aura burst from him.
⸻
WHOOM.
The arena lights flickered.
Every other candidate — Gon, Killua, Kurapika, even Hanzo — felt it.
Kaen's Nen surged into the air — not wildly, not recklessly.
But like a flame that knew where it wanted to go.
His aura wasn't reacting to the card.
The card was reacting to him.
It gleamed brighter in his palm.
A line of crimson text scrolled across the back:
"Type: Dream Hunter. Special Classification Approved."
Kurapika's eyes widened.
"That's not just a title…"
"That's an official recognition."
Killua nodded slowly.
"This guy's not following paths anymore."
"He's making them."
⸻
Outside the arena, the world changed.
Screens all over Zaban lit up with the announcement of this year's new Hunters.
Gon. Killua. Leorio. Kurapika.
And Kaen.
Image:
A lone figure holding the license with blood on his coat and stars in his eyes.
"The Dream Hunter."
People across the world paused.
Some gasped.
Some laughed.
Some—especially the Phantom Troupe—started to take interest.
And somewhere… in a cavern beneath a library that didn't exist on any map…
A woman with twelve eyes whispered:
"He's the one I saw in the Ouroboros Oracle."
"The one who'll unwrite fate."
⸻
That night, in the hotel that housed the new Hunters, Killua knocked on Kaen's door.
Kaen opened it, still awake. Still wired.
Killua tossed him a soda.
"You ever gonna rest?"
Kaen chuckled. "What is rest?"
Killua leaned against the doorframe.
"You know… you could've chosen anything. Beast Hunter. Treasure. Ruins."
"Why Dream Hunter?"
Kaen looked at the card again.
Its golden surface reflected not just his face — but the future.
And he said:
"Because I don't want to find wonders…"
"I want to make them."
Killua whistled low. "You're crazy."
Kaen grinned.
"I hope so."
⸻
Down the hall, Gon and Leorio argued over noodles.
Kurapika cleaned his chains, whispering names only he could hear.
And outside…
The stars spun.
A wind rose over Zaban City.
Carrying a single message through the world of Hunters:
"Someone new is here. Someone impossible."
⸻
But in the shadows of the world…
Not everyone celebrated.
On a jagged cliff far from the mainland, a voice whispered into a glowing stone tablet.
"He awakened too early."
"The Dream Walker's heir wasn't supposed to surface until Phase Six."
Another voice answered.
Older. Deeper.
Colder.
"Then we'll adjust the timeline."
"Send the Hushed Ones."
"Let's test this so-called Dream Hunter…"
"…and see if he bleeds like the rest."
⸻
To be continued in Chapter 19 – Flight to the Future: Kaen vs. The Hushed Ones