The morning sun filtered through the high canopy, casting golden shafts of light across the forest floor. Derick moved swiftly through the woods beyond Grelmire, the smell of blood and bark thick in the air. His clothes were torn, and his body ached from the hunt, but his eyes burned with a quiet purpose.
He was heading back—toward Grelmire.
Back to the Skysunder Palace.
Cael Dren would return today.
And Derick would not meet him as a broken boy.
He would meet him as a warrior.
As Derick crossed a ridge overlooking a low, fern-filled valley, a sharp cry pierced the stillness. It wasn't human—but it wasn't entirely beast either.
A fox darted into the clearing below him. Its fur shimmered a strange silver-red, almost ethereal, and its eyes burned with a flicker of intelligence. Blood matted its side, and its breathing was ragged.
Hot on its heels came a hulking wolf—twice the fox's size. Its fur was a coarse gray-black, its fangs elongated unnaturally, and its body radiated a violent aura.
Derick's heart sank.
"A Qi Awakening Realm beast…"
He knew the difference instantly. This creature wasn't like the Body Forging beasts he had hunted. Its Qi swirled visibly around its limbs, and its speed made the ground tremble.
The wolf leapt for the fox.
And Derick leapt into its path.
The wolf crashed into Derick mid-air, hurling him back against a tree trunk. Bark exploded around him. Pain lanced through his shoulder.
But he didn't fall.
He roared and dashed forward again, channeling every ounce of strength from his peak Body Forging Realm foundation. His movements blurred with momentum. His eyes locked onto the beast's throat.
They clashed again.
Claws ripped toward his ribs—Derick ducked, rolled, and slashed upward with his dagger. The blade cut shallow against the wolf's thick hide. Not deep enough.
The wolf spun and howled, a pulse of Qi bursting outward in a shockwave. Derick was thrown back, tumbling over rocks and branches.
Blood spilled from his lip.
But he stood.
And charged again.
He remembered Master Shen's teaching: "Don't meet power with power. Meet it with intent."
This time, he waited for the wolf's lunge, then stepped aside at the last second, dragging his dagger along the beast's exposed flank. It yelped in fury and pain, its hind legs trembling.
Derick panted, each breath cutting his lungs like glass. But he couldn't stop. Not now.
Not with the fox watching from the shadows.
Not with his life—his dream—on the line.
The wolf lunged again. Derick didn't dodge.
He stepped in—driving a sharpened bone spike he'd pulled from his belt upward into the beast's exposed jaw. The spike pierced through the roof of its mouth and into its skull.
The wolf staggered.
Then fell.
Dead.
Derick dropped to one knee, his arms shaking. Sweat poured from his brow.
Silence returned to the woods.
Then, gently, the fox stepped forward.
It limped, injured and wary, but its eyes—those strange, intelligent crimson eyes—locked with his.
"It's okay…" Derick whispered, offering his hand.
The fox sniffed it. Then, to his astonishment, it nuzzled his palm and curled up beside him, as if they had known each other in another life.
Derick leaned back against a tree, smiling faintly. "Guess we're both strays, huh?"
He reached for the wolf's corpse and extracted its spirit crystal, the first he'd ever taken from a Qi Awakening beast. It glowed faintly, rich with Qi, heavy in his palm.
He tucked it away.
Then looked at the fox.
"You coming with me?"
The fox didn't reply. It simply followed him as he stood and began walking again—never once falling behind.
Return to the Skysunder Clan
By midday, the city of Grelmire appeared once more in the distance. This time, Derick walked through the outer fields not as a frail boy, but as a cultivator. A hunter.
The guards at the outer gates eyed him and his strange fox companion, but didn't question him. He made his way once more to the massive black walls of the Skysunder Clan's territory.
And this time—the silver banners above the gate fluttered with new energy.
Cael Dren had returned.
The gates opened at his arrival, likely pre-arranged due to the letter of passage. The guards ushered him through without a word, though their eyes lingered on the fox at his heels.
The inside of the palace was awe-inspiring—towering halls lined with crystalline lights, demon and human cultivators moving with purpose, training grounds humming with Qi.
And then, in the central chamber, flanked by two elite guards, stood Cael Dren.
He wore a high-collared dark robe lined with threads of silver lightning. His presence alone made the air heavy. His eyes were not cruel like the other demons Derick had seen—but they were sharp, calculating, and ancient.
"You must be Derick," Cael said, his voice calm, deep.
Derick knelt out of respect. "Yes, Master Dren. I came as you requested."
The fox stayed close to Derick's leg, its red eyes fixed on the room.
Cael studied him for a long moment, his gaze narrowing.
"You carry pain… but also will. That is good."
He gestured for Derick to rise.
"I saw you in the woods. I watched you before you ever knew I existed. Tell me… what happened to your master?"
The mention of Master Shen made Derick's throat tighten. His knuckles went white.
"He died… protecting us. From demons."
Cael nodded slowly, something flickering in his eyes.
"You have stepped into a world where weakness means death. But also, where strength bends the sky."
He walked slowly around Derick, examining his aura.
"You've reached the peak of the Body Forging Realm already. Impressive. That realm should have taken another year, at your age."
"I don't know why… I feel different lately. My body—heals too fast. My energy flows easily."
Cael's eyes flashed subtly, but he didn't comment. He simply said, "Then you are meant to climb."
He stepped back, folding his arms.
"You and your companions. Where are they now?"
Derick's jaw tightened. "Taken. Captured. I don't know where."
Cael's voice dropped to a colder tone. "Then you'll need to rise quickly—if you hope to save them."
Derick bowed again. "I will do whatever it takes."
Cael turned, motioning to a side hallway. "Then follow me. The real training begins now. And as for your fox…"
He glanced once at the red-furred creature now sitting calmly beside Derick.
"…It is no ordinary beast."
Derick looked down.
"No. It isn't."