The howls of the Sentinel Wolves shook the entire forest.
Their gleaming fangs reflected the pale moonlight, claws tearing into the black earth.
They encircled Ryo.
A dozen pairs of crimson eyes, all fixed on him.
Rage. Vengeance. They knew. They had seen one of their own fall.
Ryo staggered back a step. His breath caught in his throat.
His hands still trembled from the blast he had never meant to unleash.
His legs threatened to collapse beneath him.
"…They're too many… I… I'll die here."
The first wolf leapt, followed by two others.
A wall of claws and fangs.
Then, the voice rose.
Not commanding. Not cruel. But soft, like a whisper in the storm.
Gabriel (whispering):
"You reject what you are… yet it is your only shield.
Speak a word, and the earth itself will bend.
Use Isolation of the Earth… and nothing shall reach you."
Ryo's eyes widened in shock.
Isolation… of the Earth?
Fear, doubt, rage—all tangled inside his mind.
But as the fangs closed in on his throat, a single word escaped his lips.
Almost involuntarily.
Ryo:
"…Isolation of the Earth."
And the world broke.
A dark circle unfurled beneath his feet, spreading like an unseen tide.
The ground trembled. The wind vanished.
Suddenly, everything grew heavy.
Crushingly heavy.
The Sentinel Wolves collapsed onto the soil, unable to move.
Their claws tore at the ground, but their muscles refused to obey.
Their howls strangled into silence.
Ryo stood frozen, gasping, as he saw the impossible:
threads of shadow, faint yet undeniable, linking the beasts to his hand.
A strange warmth surged within him.
A flood of knowledge.
Of power.
The cry of a wolf faded, replaced by a silent voice in his mind:
> Skill acquired: Night Vision.
Skill acquired: Rending Fangs.
Skill acquired: Pack Instinct.
Ryo staggered back, breathless.
He understood.
This power… it didn't just crush.
It stole. It absorbed.
The silence returned, heavy and unreal.
The pack lay defeated, broken.
Only Ryo's ragged breathing echoed through the night.
He lifted his gaze to the sky, a new gleam in his eyes.
A mixture of fear… and icy resolve.
Ryo (thought):
"…If this is my burden… then I no longer have the right to run."
And for the first time, he stepped forward.
Not to flee… but to cast his own Judgment.