The sky was a deep, endless gray, the morning light barely piercing through the thick clouds. The three of them—Valerius, Lysara, and Aris—moved through the dense forest with urgency, their bodies still bearing the wounds of the battle they had barely survived. Behind them, the howls of distant lycans echoed through the trees, a reminder that their enemies were still hunting them.

  Lysara clutched the side of her cloak, feeling the exhaustion weighing on her, but she pushed forward. Every step forward was a step away from death.

  Aris, ever watchful, kept scanning the treetops and the thick underbrush, her hand resting on the hilt of her bde. "They’re still following," she muttered under her breath. "We need to find a pce to rest, but nowhere too open."

  Valerius, who had remained eerily silent since the battle, simply nodded, leading them further. Lysara could feel the weight of his presence—his mind was somewhere else, his eyes dark and unreadable.

  After hours of walking, they finally stumbled upon a small vilge, hidden between the cliffs and thick trees. Smoke rose from a few chimneys, and the scent of fresh bread and roasted meat filled the air. It looked untouched by war. Peaceful.

  Lysara let out a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding. "Finally... some rest."

  But Valerius didn’t seem at ease. His gaze swept across the vilge, scanning every face, every movement. "Stay close. Don’t trust what you see."

  They moved deeper into the vilge, attracting a few curious gnces from the townspeople. The vilgers looked simple—farmers, traders, and children running through the dirt paths.

  Then, Lysara saw him.

  A small boy, barely ten years old, sitting on the ground with tattered clothes, his hands clutching his stomach as he whimpered in pain. His eyes were dull, his body frail. He looked so weak… so helpless.

  Her heart clenched. She stepped forward before she even realized what she was doing.

  "Are you okay?" she asked, kneeling beside him.

  "Lysara," Valerius' voice was sharp behind her, but she ignored it.

  The boy looked up at her with teary eyes. "I... I'm hungry..." his voice was so small, so fragile. "Please help me..."

  She reached for him, her instincts telling her to act, to save him.

  Then—

  A violent, sickening crack.

  The child’s bones twisted, his small frame expanding in an unnatural, grotesque way. His eyes, once innocent, glowed a terrifying crimson. His mouth split open, revealing jagged fangs.

  An Abyssal Lycan.

  The child lunged at Lysara, cws extended—

  But before he could reach her, Valerius was already there.

  With a flicker of dark energy, he grabbed the boy-turned-monster mid-air and smmed him into the ground, cracking the earth beneath them. The impact sent shockwaves through the vilge, causing the nearby vilgers to scream and flee.

  Lysara stumbled back, her heart hammering in her chest.

  Valerius’ crimson eyes burned with fury. "Are you insane?" His voice was sharp, almost furious. "Why do you always let your emotions blind you?"

  Lysara opened her mouth to protest, but he cut her off, his face dark with anger. "You almost got yourself killed! Again! Do you think because something looks innocent, it is? This world doesn’t care about kindness, Lysara!"

  She flinched.

  The Abyssal Lycan child writhed on the ground, growling and snarling, but Valerius didn’t give him a chance to move. With one swift motion, he crushed the creature’s throat, ending its twisted existence in an instant.

  Silence.

  The weight of his words hung in the air between them. Lysara clenched her fists, biting her lip as guilt swirled inside her. She wasn’t stupid. She knew the risks. But… it was a child.

  She turned away, not wanting to meet his gaze.

  Valerius exhaled, his anger fading slightly as he ran a hand through his bloodied hair. He had spoken too harshly. He could see it in the way Lysara avoided his eyes.

  "...I didn’t mean to yell," he said, his voice quieter now. "But you have to stop being reckless."

  Lysara remained silent for a long moment before nodding, though the hurt in her eyes didn’t fade.

  Meanwhile, Aris, who had been watching the exchange, tightened her grip on her sword. She felt it before she saw it.

  Something was coming.

  And it was coming for her.

  The wind shifted.

  Aris felt it before she saw it—a presence far more powerful than the ordinary lycans. A calcuted hunter. A true predator.

  Then—

  A blur of silver fur lunged at her from the rooftops.

  Aris barely had time to react before the impact sent her crashing through a wooden cart, debris scattering everywhere. She coughed, blood trickling from her mouth as she rolled to her feet.

  A Lycan General stood before her.

  Unlike the ordinary ones, this one was massive—its body rippling with strength, its fur like sharpened steel. Its golden eyes locked onto Aris with an intelligence that made her blood run cold.

  "Finally," the lycan rumbled, its voice deep and guttural. "A worthy opponent."

  Aris didn’t move.

  She just… stared.

  Then, something in her shifted.

  Her veins burned. Her breathing turned ragged. The sensation was familiar—something primal cwing at the edges of her mind.

  Not now.

  But it was too te.

  A sharp pain erupted from within her, and suddenly, her body convulsed. Her fingers dug into the dirt, nails lengthening into obsidian cws. Her breath hitched, her muscles tensing unnaturally.

  Her irises darkened—swallowed whole by an abyssal bck.

  The Lycan General’s smirk faltered. "What…?"

  Then, she snapped.

  A pulse of dark energy exploded from Aris, warping the very air around her. Her bones twisted, her form shifting—her once-human frame stretching into something monstrous. Midnight-bck fur covered her body, her fangs lengthened, and her cws became obsidian bdes.

  An Abyssal Lycan.

  The Lycan General took a step back, growling lowly. "Impossible. You’re—"

  Aris moved.

  Before he could finish speaking, she was already in front of him.

  A single strike—cws tearing through the air—sent the Lycan General flying. He crashed into a stone wall, shattering it on impact. Dust and rubble rained down.

  Aris exhaled heavily, her breath coming out in thick, white mist. Her mind was slipping. Her instincts screamed for blood.

  The Lycan General groaned, shaking off the debris, his eyes now glowing with fury. "You— You’re a damn Abyssal Lycan?!" He spat blood and growled, his muscles tensing. "No wonder you survived this long!"

  Aris didn’t answer.

  She didn’t need to.

  Because right now—

  She wasn’t just Aris.

  She was something else entirely.

  And she was going to tear him apart.

  Valerius watched the battle unfold, his crimson eyes sharp and calcuting.

  Aris and the Lycan General cshed with a force that shook the vilge. Their movements were a blur of speed and raw strength—cws sshing, fangs bared, bodies crashing through whatever stood in their way.

  She was winning.

  But barely.

  Abyssal Lycans were stronger than General Lycans, but only by a fraction. Aris had the advantage of intelligence, fighting with strategy instead of just brute force. The General, however, was relentless—a predator driven purely by instinct and raw aggression.

  Every time Aris gained ground, he would adapt, pushing her back.

  Val’s fingers twitched toward his sword.

  He could end this with one strike.

  But just as he was about to step forward—

  Thwip!

  An arrow whistled through the air.

  Then another.

  And another.

  From the rooftops, vilgers emerged, their bows drawn tight. A group of warriors—perhaps former soldiers or hunters—had taken position, unleashing a rain of arrows toward the General Lycan.

  Val’s eyes narrowed.

  The arrows hit their mark—but they barely did anything.

  The Lycan General growled as the projectiles struck his fur, bouncing off his thick hide like twigs snapping against stone. His golden eyes flickered toward the vilgers, lips curling into a snarl.

  "Foolish humans." He ripped one of the arrows from his shoulder, snapping it effortlessly between his fingers. "Do you think these pathetic sticks can—"

  CRACK!

  Aris’s cwed fist smmed into his jaw, cutting his words short. The General staggered back, shaking his head in pain.

  Val inhaled deeply, frustration flickering in his chest.

  He could kill the Lycan General —but with all the vilgers watching, it was too dangerous to reveal his power.

  No.

  This was Aris’s fight.

  He had to let her finish it.

  The Lycan General wiped blood from his mouth, gring at Aris. "You… You shouldn’t exist."

  Aris exhaled, her breath still thick with mist, her abyssal bck eyes locked onto him.

  "Then disappear."

  She vanished.

  For a moment, the Lycan General lost sight of her.

  Then—

  A blur.

  Aris appeared behind him in an instant, her cws sshing downward. The General twisted, reacting just fast enough to block—but that was what she wanted.

  She fainted left—then struck right.

  Her cw tore through his ribs, dark blood spraying into the air. The General howled, stumbling as the wound burned into his flesh.

  He tried to counter, but she was already gone.

  Another hit—this time to his back.

  Another—straight to his knee.

  The General fell to one knee, panting heavily, his strength draining fast.

  "You…" He coughed up blood. "You fight… like a human."

  Aris bared her fangs. "That’s why I won."

  With one final strike, she sshed across his throat.

  The General choked, his body stiffening. His golden eyes flickered—then dimmed.

  Then, with one st breath—

  He colpsed.

  Dead.

  The battlefield fell silent.

  The vilgers, still holding their bows, stared—some in awe, some in horror. They had just witnessed something beyond human comprehension.

  Valerius crossed his arms, letting out a quiet sigh. It was over.

  Aris, still in her Abyssal Lycan form, stood over the body of her fallen enemy, her breath ragged. The fight had taken a toll on her, but she had emerged victorious.

  She had won.

  But at what cost?