Sagax stepped forward, already moving toward the fallen deer.Kelvin followed close behind, his eyes still on the animal. Up close, the size of it made the shot even more impressive.Sagax crouched and checked the wound before giving a small nod. “Clean.”Kelvin let out a quiet breath. “I saw.”Sagax glanced at him briefly. “You’ll do it next.”Kelvin raised an eyebrow. “You sure about that?”“Only one way to find out.”They worked together to secure the deer, moving with practiced efficiency. Once finished, Sagax stood and looked deeper into the trees.“We’re not done yet.”Kelvin adjusted his grip on the bow. “Good.”They moved on.Time passed as they tracked through the forest, the sun climbing higher above them. The air grew warmer, but the shade of the trees kept it bearable.This time, Sagax slowed and stepped aside slightly.“Your turn,” he said quietly.Kelvin’s focus sharpened.Ahead, something moved through the undergrowth. Smaller. Faster.Kelvin took a breath and raised hi

Darkness. There was nothing else.No sound. No feeling. No sense of time.Kelvin did not know how long he had been there.He could not move. He could not breathe. He could not even feel his own body.At first, there was nothing.Then something returned. A thought.…what happened?Silence answered him.Then came the fragments.A flash.His father standing in front of him.Another.Steel clashing against claws.Then... Blood.His father falling.Kelvin felt something stir inside him.Another image forced its way through.His mother.Her body collapsing.And then... That face.Pale. Perfect. Smiling.Red eyes staring straight at him.Kelvin’s thoughts trembled.I… died.The realization settled slowly, heavily.But something was wrong. The darkness around him shifted.It was no longer empty. At first, it was faint.Then it grew.A presence. Far above him, or perhaps everywhere at once, something burned.Yellow. Not soft. Not warm.It burned like a distant star, vast and endless, impossible

Kelvin stayed awake for the rest of the night.The fire beside him had long since burned down to glowing embers, leaving only faint orange light flickering across the forest floor. Beyond that small circle of light, darkness stretched endlessly between the trees.And somewhere inside it, the direwolf waited. Kelvin could feel it.At first he thought it was fear making him imagine things, but after hours of listening, he realized he was right. Every few minutes, he caught something.Movement. Heavy paws against dirt.Branches shifting. Breathing.The beast was circling him. His fingers tightened around the sword resting in his hands.“…What do you want from me?” he muttered quietly.The forest gave no answer.A cold wind passed through the trees, brushing against his silver hair. Kelvin slowly stood, keeping his breathing steady as his eyes scanned the darkness ahead.He hated this feeling. Not knowing where the next attack would come from. Not being able to see the thing hunting him.

The soft warmth of the fire had long faded by the time Kelvin opened his eyes again.For a moment, he simply stared upward at the thick forest canopy above him while the cold morning air brushed against his face.Then everything returned.The direwolf. The fight. The cubs.Kelvin groaned softly and pushed himself upright against the tree.“Hah…”His body still hurt, but not as badly as it should have. That alone felt wrong.The wounds across his shoulder and side had already partially healed overnight. The pain remained, but compared to yesterday, the difference was impossible to ignore.Kelvin lowered his gaze toward his arm silently.“What… am I becoming?”No answer came.Only the quiet sounds of the forest.Birds.Wind moving through leaves.Distant movement far away.Too distant.Kelvin frowned slightly.Even now, he could hear things far beyond what should have been possible.His senses still felt strange. Unnatural.At times it almost felt overwhelming, like his body was constan

Morning sunlight spilled softly across the northern roads as Kelvin and Diana continued their journey toward Eldhaven.The forest behind them had finally begun to thin. What once felt like endless wilderness slowly gave way to signs of life. Dirt roads widened beneath the horses’ hooves. Wooden fences stretched across open fields. Small farms appeared in the distance alongside patches of crops swaying gently beneath the cold breeze.Kelvin looked around quietly as they rode.People. Not just travelers. Actual communities. Small villages appeared every few hours along the roadside, each carrying the silver-and-blue banners of Eldhaven above wooden gates or market posts.Compared to Ashvale, everything felt larger.Busier. More connected.Kelvin watched a group of farmers loading supplies onto a wagon while children ran nearby laughing without worry. The sight felt strangely distant to him.Normal.Part of him still expected screams and fire whenever he saw too many people gathered toge