Chapter 57 — The Wolf's Awakening
The winds in Ashveil Gorge howled like dying beasts.
Dust rose in crimson clouds, drifting through the canyon's fractured cliffs. The air shimmered with a thick haze of heat and spirit energy — dense enough to make each breath feel heavy. The ground was dark, cracked, and littered with scorched bones half-buried in ash.
The trio stood at the gorge's entrance, the dying sun burning a deep orange behind them.
Alicia crouched, brushing her gloved fingers across the soil. "Residual energy traces — fresh," she murmured. "Multiple types. We're not alone."
Shin drew his sword, the metal catching faint glimmers of red light. "So… who's hungry?"
Vaibhav stepped forward, eyes narrowing as his aura stirred faintly.
They moved without a word.
The canyon's path sloped downward in winding turns. Each step echoed faintly through the chasm, swallowed by the hum of unseen life. Strange sigils glowed across the rock walls — remnants of old battles, flickering with dormant power.
It didn't take long before the first sound broke the stillness.
A rumble. Then a growl.
From the shadows ahead, creatures emerged — bodies plated in bone-like armor, claws coated with volcanic resin, eyes glowing crimson. Eleven in total, their movements coordinated, their killing intent tangible.
"Exalted-class," Alicia said quietly. "But stronger than the last group."
Shin exhaled, rolling his shoulders. "Then we'll make it quick."
The first beast lunged before he finished speaking. Shin disappeared, reappearing behind it with a flash of silver — his blade slicing through its spine.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
[+3 Exalted Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav (absorbed life force)
The rest followed instantly, bursting forward in coordinated waves.
Vaibhav charged through the middle, meeting two head-on. His fists crashed into their skulls like hammers, cracking armor and spraying shards of blackened bone.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
[+1 Exalted Power Points Gained]
[+2 Exalted Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav (absorbed both)
Alicia's barrier flared, deflecting the incoming tail strike from a third beast. Her other hand glowed faintly — light condensed into a narrow beam that tore through the creature's abdomen.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
[+1 Exalted Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
Another beast came crawling along the canyon wall, fangs dripping molten saliva. Shin dashed along the opposite wall, his blade carving a crescent arc through the air. The creature fell in two halves before it reached the ground.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
[+4 Exalted Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
The battlefield pulsed with energy. Every death sent a faint shimmer toward Vaibhav — invisible currents flowing into him like threads of fire.
Three more charged in from the rear. Alicia spun, palms raised — twin circles of radiant light forming before her. She released a blast that obliterated two instantly, leaving the third staggering. Shin finished it with a clean thrust through its skull.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
[+2 Exalted Power Points Gained]
[+3 Exalted Power Points Gained]
[+7 Exalted Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
When the last of the eleven beasts fell, the gorge fell silent — but not for long.
The air thickened again. Cracks spread across the canyon walls.
Alicia's expression hardened. "Mutated signatures — four."
From the fissures crawled monstrosities larger than the rest, horns branching from their skulls like scorched trees. Their bodies pulsed with veins of molten red, and every step made the ground tremble.
Vaibhav grinned faintly. "Good."
They came all at once.
Alicia's barriers flickered to deflect the first strike, while Shin moved like lightning between the beasts, cutting across weak joints and exposed cores. Vaibhav met the second creature head-on, driving both fists into its chest until its ribs shattered inward.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
[+6 Exalted Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
The second one lashed out, tail coated in molten energy. Alicia's aura flared as she absorbed the impact, the barrier cracking but holding. She retaliated instantly — a pulse of green light detonated against the beast's side.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
[+3 Exalted Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
Shin leapt off the canyon wall, landing atop the third. His sword plunged down into its neck, twisting once before he leapt clear.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
[+1 Exalted Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
The fourth roared and lunged at Vaibhav. He caught its arm mid-swing, forced it backward, then slammed his knee into its gut. Bones cracked; energy erupted outward in a crimson shockwave.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
[+4 Exalted Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
When the dust settled, the gorge reeked of burnt essence and ash.
"Fifteen down," Shin muttered. "Still breathing, Alicia?"
"Of Course," she replied evenly.
But before they could rest, a deeper rumble rolled through the gorge — far heavier, older. The air thickened with suffocating energy.
Alicia's eyes widened slightly. "This isn't over."
The ground cracked beneath their feet. From the depths of the canyon, seven new beasts emerged — their auras monumental. Scales gleamed like metal, eyes glowed molten gold.
"Mythic-class," Shin said grimly. "And those three—"
"Mutated," Vaibhav finished.
The first Mythic lunged. Vaibhav moved faster. His fist met its skull mid-swing, sending the creature crashing into the opposite cliff.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
[+4 Mythic Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
Alicia turned sharply, erecting barriers against the claws of two others. Her aura sparked violently as the pressure mounted. Then she released it — the shockwave tearing through their torsos.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
[+2 Mythic Power Points Gained]
[+2 Mythic Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
Shin dashed through the chaos, his sword blazing with aura as he clashed with a mutated Mythic beast — a colossal creature with molten horns and shadow-like wings. He cut through its arm, ducked under its tail, then drove his blade into the creature's heart.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
[+1 Mythic Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
Alicia fired a burst of radiant energy into another mutated beast's chest, the impact shaking the ground.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
[+2 Mutated Mythic Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
The last two came together — one normal, one mutated. Vaibhav met them both. His aura erupted like a crimson storm, shockwaves splitting the earth. He broke through one with a single punch and slammed the other into the ground so hard the canyon walls cracked.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
[+6 Mutated Mythic Power Points Gained]
[+4 Mutated Mythic Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
Then — silence.
The gorge was littered with corpses. The air shimmered faintly from residual energy, and the trio stood among the ruin, blood and ash clinging to their clothes.
Shin exhaled. "Twenty-two beasts… and we're still standing."
Alicia wiped a trace of blood from her lip. "Yep."
Vaibhav turned slowly, voice calm but firm.
"Get the shards."
They moved without hesitation — quiet, focused, deliberate.
Alicia knelt beside the first fallen Exalted beast. The armor along its chest was cracked, revealing faint glimmers beneath. Her dagger slid through with practiced precision, peeling the shell apart to reveal a shard glowing faint blue, its light soft and rhythmic — pulsing once every heartbeat.
She wiped it clean with her sleeve, then pressed it into her palm. The glow sank into her skin, leaving faint azure traces along her wrist.
> [+3 Exalted Power Points Gained] — 1st shard
Shin worked beside another corpse. His sword carved open the ribcage in a clean motion, revealing another blue shard flickering weakly under the blood.
"Still beautiful," he muttered, watching it pulse before absorbing it. The blue light spiraled around his arm before vanishing.
> [+1 Exalted Power Points Gained] — 1st shard
They continued, shifting from corpse to corpse. The glow of each blue shard illuminated their faces in cold light — faint, steady, alive.
Alicia reached into the next beast's chest, retrieving a slightly brighter shard — the color of crystalized frost. It dissolved as soon as it touched her palm.
> [+4 Exalted Power Points Gained] — 2nd shard
Shin's next shard shimmered a deeper cerulean, the veins inside it swirling like trapped mist. He absorbed it silently.
> [+3 Exalted Power Points Gained] — 2nd shard
The air glowed faintly blue for a moment as they continued — the soft hum of ordinary essence filling the gorge like ghostlight.
When Alicia reached the third and fourth bodies, she found two more blue shards, faintly fractured but still potent. Both melted into her palm with twin flashes of light.
> [+6 Exalted Power Points Gained] — 3rd shard
[+5 Exalted Power Points Gained] — 4th shard
Shin, meanwhile, crouched over another corpse — but this time, the glow that greeted him wasn't blue.
It was red.
A faint crimson pulse radiated from the cracked ribcage — the color of heated metal, alive and dangerous. He exhaled slowly, reaching in. The shard's energy buzzed faintly against his skin before he absorbed it.
> [+6 Mutated Exalted Power Points Gained] — 6th shard
Alicia's eyes caught another of the same hue from a nearby carcass — a red shard, its light sharper, flickering like a heartbeat. She held it between her fingers for a moment before letting it dissolve into her.
> [+4 Mutated Exalted Power Points Gained] — 7th shard
They moved on, working wordlessly until every Exalted and Mutated corpse was cleared. The gorge dimmed — only faint traces of blue and red luminescence flickering across the dust.
Then they turned toward the fallen Mythic beasts.
These shards were massive — like molten gemstones buried in flesh.
Alicia crouched, slicing through the first Mythic's armor. A blue shard, pure and brilliant, pulsed beneath the dark tissue. She lifted it carefully, pressed it into her palm, and let the essence merge with her body.
> [+4 Mythic Power Points Gained] — 1st shard
Shin's first Mythic shard glowed the same — a deep sapphire hue, cool and steady. He absorbed it in silence, watching the faint blue ripples fade across his arm.
> [+4 Mythic Power Points Gained] — 1st shard
The second Mythic's shard was clearer still — a pale blue crystal, humming faintly with restrained energy. Alicia absorbed it slowly, feeling its cold light flow through her veins.
> [+3 Mythic Power Points Gained] — 2nd shard
Finally, the mutated Mythics — their bodies still radiating heat.
The shards here were unlike the rest — blood-red, molten at the core, their glow sharp and alive.
Alicia extracted one, its crimson light reflecting across her eyes. The shard's heat pulsed faintly against her palm before it melted into her skin, sending a ripple of power through her aura.
> [+3 Mutated Mythic Power Points Gained] — 4th shard
Shin's turn came next — a red shard darker than the rest, its veins blackened like charred veins of fire. He pressed it to his chest, absorbing it as the glow sank deep into his body.
> [+6 Mutated Mythic Power Points Gained] — 3rd shard
When the final shard melted away, the gorge went silent again.
Vaibhav stood still, eyes half-glowing from residual absorption. The crimson mist rising from the corpses began to twist — drawn toward him like smoke to a flame.
The air behind him rippled.
Viggy stepped out.
The Unbound Wolf emerged from Vaibhav's sea of consciousness, larger than ever before. Its fur shimmered silver-black, its eyes gleaming like molten stars. It padded across the battlefield in silence, every step echoing through the still gorge.
Alicia and Shin stepped back instinctively, feeling the sheer pressure radiating from it.
Vaibhav didn't flinch. "Eat."
The wolf obeyed.
It tore into the corpses one by one — not just consuming flesh, but pulling at the lingering essence that filled the air. Red and gold energy bled from the beasts, drawn into the wolf's maw as trails of light. Each swallow made its aura heavier, darker.
The wind picked up, swirling around them.
The wolf's fur began to change — silver deepening into shadow, black streaks spreading across its limbs. Its eyes burned brighter, red light searing the air. A deep growl rumbled from its throat, shaking the ground beneath their feet.
Then came the howl.
It wasn't a sound — it was an eruption. A resonant wave of power that tore through the gorge, shattering loose rocks and scattering dust for miles. The sky dimmed; clouds twisted inward as though pulled by an unseen force.
The wolf's body glowed — crimson veins pulsing like rivers of energy across its frame.
> Unbound Wolf: Battle Mode — Activated
Rank: Mythic-Class
The transformation ended in silence.
The air was still. The wolf stood tall, breathing slow and deep. Its aura now burned like a storm restrained within flesh — violent, yet controlled.
Then, slowly, it turned its gaze toward Vaibhav.
The two locked eyes — man and beast. No words. No movement. But a mutual understanding — connection — passed between them.
Then Viggy bowed its head. Once.
A moment later, its body began to blur, dissolving into black mist before fading completely into Vaibhav's sea of consciousness.
The crimson glow around him faded too, leaving only the quiet hum of residual essence.
Alicia finally spoke. "It evolved."
Shin whistled low. "No kidding. That thing could level a mountain now."
Vaibhav didn't answer immediately. His gaze lingered on the horizon, where the gorge opened into a vast, ash-colored plain bathed in dying sunlight. "Then we'll need it. The next hunt won't be this easy."
Alicia's voice softened. "This one wasn't easy either."
Shin stretched, rolling his shoulders. "Still… feels like we've crossed something."
Vaibhav looked toward him — faint smile, rare and real. "We have."
They stood for a moment longer, letting the ash settle, the faint wind sweeping through the canyon and carrying away the scent of blood.