Night wasn't quiet. It stalked him like an old enemy.
Kael left Eldershore without a single goodbye echoing behind him. The village that once gave him temporary belonging now slept peacefully, unaware that its quiet protector had stepped into a destiny soaked in blood and ice. The mask fragment pulsed like a heartbeat locked inside his mind. He didn't know which direction to take. He just felt pulled, like invisible hands guiding his steps.
The moon sharpened every shadow. Frost built on his wooden skin as he walked deeper into the world he'd never known. His spear shimmered faint gold, the only warmth he carried. Erik's last words haunted him louder than the wind:
"You're meant for more than this town."
But "more" demanded a price. One Kael paid in loneliness.
Hours passed. The grassy fields withered into barren tundra. A mountain range rose ahead, wrapped in snow thick enough to bury entire armies. The cold bit into him. For the first time, he wondered if gods made a mistake. A boy carved of wood trying to save a world that rejected him? It sounded like a joke cruel enough to entertain demons.
Then he saw them.
Dozens of wolves, silhouettes carved from the blizzard itself. Their eyes glowed like dying stars. They watched with a silence that felt calculated. Testing his fear. Sniffing for weakness.
Kael whispered to himself, "If you let fear lead, you die before the fight even starts."
He continued walking.
Snow crunched beneath his steps. Wolves moved with him, matching his pace like shadows stitched to each side of the trail. When he reached the first plateau, they attacked.
One wolf lunged for his throat. Kael spun his spear in a full circle faster than the wind could blink, the golden tip slicing through fur and flesh. Another came from the right. He twisted and slashed. Five more leapt.
Kael planted his spear in the ice, pivoted hard, and launched himself in a whirlwind. The spear became a blazing circle of death, slicing through the pack. Snow became red frost. Breath became storms of mist.
But for every wolf that fell, another joined the hunt.
Kael panted, frost forming on his chest. His shoulders ached. His palms split against the wood of his weapon. The cold tried to invade his lungs, but he refused it entry.
That's when the world rumbled.
Wolf corpses parted like curtains for a king.
He emerged.
A titan wolf, white fur glowing like moon-blessed armor, eyes burning a frozen blue that cracked the ground when they focused. Scars ran across its face like stories of wars older than humanity.
A monster wolf.
A ruler.
Kael steadied himself. "You're not here by accident."
The beast snarled, breath forming crystals in the air. Snow whipped around it like the blizzard obeyed its rage.
It lunged.
Kael rolled aside, but the swipe of its colossal claws still grazed him, sending splinters off his arm. He stabbed the spear toward its ribs. The wolf dodged, jaws snapping inches from his mask. Teeth made to break gods.
Kael slid across ice, catching himself at the last moment. If he ran, he'd die tired. If he fought, he'd just die slower.
But he wasn't here to die.
He charged first this time.
The wolf leapt, jaws ready to tear his head off. Kael ducked under, spinning the spear the same deadly 360° he used before. The golden tip slashed across the beast's face, cracks of light forming where the blade struck.
The wolf staggered, roaring so loud the mountain shook.
Kael felt power build inside the spear, almost like Erik's faith lived inside it.
With a desperate yell, he jumped, planting his feet on the beast's spine, running up its back before gravity remembered its job. He thrust the spear downward with every ounce of purpose he had left.
The blade pierced the wolf's skull.
Blue fire exploded through the cracks. The beast thrashed once, twice… then fell silent beneath him.
Kael stood on the corpse, chest heaving, breath fogging the night. He didn't smile. There was no joy in killing creatures defending their king.
He whispered, voice trembling, "If you were placed here to stop me… then destiny fears what I might become."
The other wolves scattered instantly, freed from the monster's manipulation. They vanished into the blizzard like ghosts released from chains.
Kael wiped blood and snow from his mask. His legs nearly collapsed from exhaustion, but he forced himself down the mountain.
By morning, he reached a new town covered in frost-white rooftops and narrow stone streets. Smoke rose from chimneys. Horses trotted through marketplaces. Children laughed. Life continued, unaware that death had stalked right up their mountain.
Kael stopped outside the first gate. He looked at the glowing gold spear in his hand.
Too suspicious. Too godlike. Too dangerous.
He pressed his palm to the weapon. A faint whisper of magic ran through him, and the spear shrank, its gold dissolving into the form of an ordinary wooden stick. A disguise. A secret not meant for eyes of regular humans.
He took a step into the town.
That's when someone collided with him.
A girl. Tears streaked down her cheeks. Her hands clung to his arm like she was drowning and he was the only thing keeping her alive.
"Please," she cried, voice rattling with fear. "Save my father… they're going to kill him."
Kael blinked, caught between confusion and instinct.
He didn't know her name. He didn't know her story.
But he knew that look.
Erik had worn it the night he begged Kael to protect Eldershore.
Kael tightened his fist around the disguised spear.
He didn't need gods to tell him what came next.
"I'll help you," he said, his voice steady, a promise born from every scar he carried.
The girl gasped in relief. Hope flickered in her eyes.
Kael felt something strange.
Something warm.
Like maybe… saving people could make him feel less alone.