They broke camp at dawn, but dawn barely touched the swamp. The fog clung to the valley as if reluctant to surrender its latest secret—the bound commander lying still in the woven pit, its breath a slow pulse of dim lantern-glow. The men moved with careful economy around it, speaking in murmurs. Their victory felt enormous and fragile at once.
Ethan stood at the edge of the pit. The Panel was quiet, too quiet. Not silent—never silent—but contemplative, waiting. He could feel it tracking every detail: the commander's breathing, the fatigue in the men, the ambient residue of unnatural fog that still hovered in the soil. It felt like the world was suspended between exhale and inhale.
Reyes limped over, his arm strapped against his chest. "We heading back to Greybridge?"
"Yeah," Ethan said. "We need walls around this thing before nightfall. Mira's sending two more rangers to help with the escort."
Reyes nodded but didn't leave. He glanced toward the pit and grimaced. "Never seen anything like it. You're sure it won't wake up and… you know… peel someone?"
Ethan exhaled. "The tether's holding. For now."
"For now," Reyes echoed. "Real comforting."
But he left with a faint grin, which meant the fear hadn't hollowed him completely.
Harlan approached next, rubbing the back of his neck. "Don't like the look of that sky," he muttered. "Feels like weather waiting to break."
Ethan followed his gaze. The clouds sat heavy and unmoving, not storm clouds—just… present. Watching.
He didn't answer.
The truth was he felt the tension too, coiled deep in the ribs, somewhere under the sternum. Something was shifting. The commander's bind, the expansion of the pack, the way Greybridge had begun to evolve into something more organized… the Node itself felt stretched thin around him.
And then the Panel chimed.
A single clear tone—no urgency, no alarm. Just finality.
Mission Node: Teen Wolf (Phase I) — Complete.
Primary Threat Neutralized: Fog Commander (Bound).
Supplementary Threats: Dissipating.
Local Stability: Sustained.
Return sequence available.
Ethan's breath hitched. He looked at the commander, at its dimming glow. The bind was stable. The men were alive. Greybridge stood—barely, but stood. The node had reached its conclusion.
But leaving…
that part never got easier.
He didn't want them to see the shift begin, so he stepped back from the pit and toward the treeline. Harlan followed, confusion creeping into his expression.
"You good, kid?"
Ethan nodded once. "Things are about to change."
"How much?"
"A lot."
Before Harlan could ask more, the air around Ethan folded—not violently like the fog's tricks, but gently, like someone closing the pages of a book around him.
The Panel spoke again:
Return initializing.
Please remain still.
Ethan exhaled and let the world peel away.
Harlan reached out as if to grab him, but his fingers passed through dissolving silhouette. Ethan's last image of the swamp was the men standing around the pit, fear and awe twisting together on their faces.
Then the fog turned white.
Then the swamp turned to light.
And Ethan fell upward.
---
The Settlement Space — A Chamber of Quiet Judgment
He landed on the stone floor with a softness that felt rehearsed. The Settlement Space unfurled like an ancient hall waking from a long sleep—white stone, endless horizons, and the ever-present hum of neutral calm. The air here always smelled like nothing. Not clean, not empty—just absence.
Then the Panel appeared, not as a screen but as an unfolding structure: pillars of light, branching text, diagrams of actions, consequences, threat vectors. It moved like a living constellation.
And then: the Mission Summary.
It washed into existence as a sheet of gold-silver script.
---
MISSION COMPLETE
Node: Teen Wolf – Phase I: Greybridge Emergence
Completion: 100%
Primary Objective: Neutralize commander-level fog threat — Success
Secondary Objective: Establish operational settlement — Success
Tertiary Objective: Reduce civilian casualty projection — Success (S-Rank)
Talent Multiplier (10×) Applied
---
Award Distribution
Base Reward: 18,500 PP
Talent Bonus (10×): +185,000 PP
Total Earned: 203,500 PP
Ethan blinked.
He knew the numbers could get big, but seeing them all at once felt like pressure on the chest.
The stream continued.
---
System Rewards
• Tame Authority Expansion: "Beta Ascension" Tier 1 Finalized
• Command Network (Prototype) → Upgraded to "Persistent Link" (Tier 0.5)
• Greybridge Codex Tier 1 Stabilized (Permanent Feature)
• Fog Commander Essence (Bound Node Fragment) — stored
• Ability Upgrade Ticket ×1
• Node Adaptation: Predator Insight → Synchronization Enhanced
---
Stat Burst Rolls Initiated
(Talent ×10 applied)
A column of light slammed into Ethan's chest.
Then another.
Then three more.
His bones vibrated. His vision fractured. Every nerve burned with the strange purity of raw numerical improvement.
When it ended, he collapsed to one knee, panting.
The summary appeared in gentle blue:
+42 Strength
+55 Agility
+28 Vitality
+31 Willpower
+19 Perception
Total Stat Gain: +175
Ethan let out a low, shaky laugh. "Okay… that's absurd."
The Settlement Space, as always, gave no commentary.
---
A New Screen Appeared — Softer, But Heavier
The room dimmed.
A final reward unfolded, but this one didn't shine like the others.
Instead, it felt heavy.
Old.
Responsibility-shaped.
A book made of stone and fog hovered in front of him.
"Greybridge Chronicle Seed – Tier 0"
Unlocked due to Organizational Growth
Below it, small text etched itself into the air:
You have begun forming something larger than a camp.
This Chronicle will grow as you lead, bind, teach, and change others.
Growth may attract allies—or attention.
Ethan touched the book.
Heat traveled up his fingers. Not physical heat—more like the idea of heat. A flicker of future weight.
He swallowed.
"So this is… the beginning of an actual organization?"
"Affirmative."
"Something that'll follow me across nodes?"
"Affirmative."
"And get stronger with me?"
The pause was slight, but real.
"Affirmative."
Ethan leaned back on his heels.
This wasn't just taming, or building a camp, or capturing men in a forest. This was the beginning of a faction. A pack. A thing that would one day have teeth of its own.
He thought of Harlan shouting orders.
Reyes grinning despite the fear.
The Beta wolves moving in synchronized arcs.
The commander humming in its tether.
Mira's sharp eyes testing him.
Greybridge rising from swamp mud into a beacon.
A strange warmth pulled at the corners of his mouth.
"Alright," he whispered. "Let's make this real."
The Panel pulsed once: acknowledgment.
---
A Final Notification
The hall darkened to dusky grey.
A new message drifted forward:
Node Transition Available.
Next Mission: ANALYSIS PENDING.
Threat Curve: Higher than previous.
Recommendation: Review new abilities. Prepare faction logistics.
Ethan stood.
He felt taller—not in ego, but in weight, in trajectory, in what it meant to move through worlds with something following him.
He cracked his neck.
Rolled his shoulders.
And breathed.
"Okay," he said softly. "Show me what's next."
The Settlement Space sparked—small arcs of gold-blue lightning branching outward like veins.