CHAPTER 183: Wolves from All Realms Form a New Pack
CHAPTER 183: Wolves from All Realms Form a New Pack
A gash in the fabric of heaven, the black star blazed in the dusk sky. Wolves raised their heads, roaring across the united worlds, not in victory or anguish, but in a primal, instinctual need for something fresh.
Silent, grim-faced, and bruised, Selene, Rowan, and Kael came out of the Vault of Elys. As if the weight of the Duskfang's waking were being felt by the earth itself, the ground shook around the Eclipse Citadel.
The ancient orders of Eclipse and Celestial wolves, as well as the old pack, were destroyed. Instead, a power no one could identify brought together guardians and rogues, survivors and wanderers.
They arrived not because they were summoned, but because they had an innate sense that they needed to adapt to the changing reality.
The wolves gathered in the Great Clearing, a cradle that was once a battleground.
They belonged to every bloodline: rogues who had previously known no allegiance except to themselves; black Eclipse wolves whose shadows danced at their feet; silver-furred Celestials with stars in their eyes; and wildborn packs that had lived beyond the ancient boundaries of authority.
The wind whipped Selene's hair into a silver halo as she stood in front of them.
"We are no longer divided," she yelled, her voice spreading over the clearing. "No longer Celestial or Eclipse or Wild."
She saw the new era flashing in their eyes as she gazed at them all.
"We are one pack now."
A murmur, unsure at first, echoed across the audience. It would take time to forget old rivalries and hurt.
Rowan moved forward, his voice firm. "When it delivers destruction, the Duskfang won't tell the difference between Celestial and Eclipse. We will disintegrate if we remain apart.
"And if we stand together," Kael said with a ferocious smile, "we make damn sure this new darkness regrets ever waking up."
There was a thick quiet.
A lone wolf, an ancient Eclipse alpha, then crouched down and placed his forehead to the ground.
"I pledge," was all he said.
Then came a Celestial with silver fur.
"I pledge."
Wolves from each lineage came up one by one, dropping their heads and swearing allegiance to the concept of oneness itself, not to a kingdom or bloodline.
The New Pack was created as a result.
Ancient rites were vanished, including ornate ceremonies and holy pledges spoken in archaic languages.
Instead, Rowan punctured the palms of the three founders Kael, Selene, and himself with a dagger of darkness and starlight.
Their blood, which was scarlet, black, and silver, sank into the ground.
A solitary flower with white petals and black veins that glowed dimly beneath the dark star emerged from where it touched.
"The Bloodbloom," one of the elders said. "A sign."
Selene lightly caressed the petals. "We will grow something new from the wreckage."
At that moment, the newly formed pack let out a howl that reverberated across the combined worlds, rousing even those who were too far away or too afraid to approach.
A new hope was created, delicate and unyielding.
But there were difficulties in unity.
Quickly, old resentment sprang to the surface. Eclipse scouts and celestial hunters fought over territory. Wildborn wolves snarled at the thought of rank and refused to submit to any authority.
For days and nights, Rowan, Selene, and Kael mediated conflicts, broke up fights, and calmed egos.
One night, after breaking up another fight, Kael complained, "We're not a pack yet," while tending to a damaged rib. "We're a time bomb."
Selene grinned tiredly. "It takes time to teach wolves who've only ever fought each other how to fight together."
Sitting next to her, Rowan was honing his sword. "We don't have much time."
He was correct.
After escaping, the Duskfang had vanished, but its taint had already started to spread over the territory.
Strange monsters started to emerge in the furthest reaches of the worlds. Wolves-like twisted creatures that moved like shattered marionettes. The veins of the Duskfang's sword gleamed the same sickening crimson as their eyes.
They struck without notice. without justification.
And each time they were killed, the land was poisoned by the black muck that melted off their corpses.
They were dubbed the Hollowborn by Selene.
And these were only the start.
The new Pack organized their defense in a strategy council under the old World Tree, which was now divided but recovering.
They drew maps. Patrols were set up. Territories were split based on survival requirements rather than traditional clan boundaries.
"We need more than warriors," Selene said resolutely. "We need spies, builders, and healers. Families are more important than simply combatants.
Rowan concurred. "A pack is more than simply a weapon. It serves as a shield.
Kael gave a grunt. "Not yet. Having the sword is helpful on certain days.
Tensions were building until Selene took a risk.
They wouldn't only defend.
They would pursue the actual Duskfang.
If at all possible, destroy it.
or perish trying.
Selene stood in front of the Pack on the eve of their first formal hunt.
Wearing armor made of shadow and starlight, she was a lighthouse in the encroaching darkness.
"We stand today as more than survivors," she said. "We stand as creators of a new age."
As if to warn, the dark star pulsed once.
"And though darkness rises," she said, brandishing her sword, "we rise higher."
The earth seemed to throb with the sound of the wolves' howling.
The song wasn't one of hopelessness.
It was a defiant song.
Of optimism.
of firsts.
Selene had an odd pulling sensation in her chest as they were ready to walk out.
A caution.
As she turned, she saw a person standing at the Clearing's edge.
A female.
Not a chick, please.
A creature.
Her eyes were an unbelievable combination of scarlet and gold, and her hair was silver shot with black. She had something wrapped in fabric in her little hands.
Selene stepped forward warily. "Who are you?"
Sad and knowing beyond her years, the youngster grinned.
"I am the first," was all she said. "And the last."
She opened the fabric.
A little, shattered fragment of the Moonstone Blade lay there, still throbbing dimly with light.
The heart stopped in Selene.
"I thought it was sealed!" Kael snarled and walked over with Rowan.
"It was," responded the girl. However, nothing is ever really laid to rest. Not light. Not gloomy.
Rowan's eyes narrowed. "Why bring this to us?"
The child's expression became gloomy.
"Because," she said, "the Duskfang is not alone."
Suddenly the temperature dropped in the clearing. The earth was covered in sweeping, jagged shadows as the black star erupted.
And something started to come down from the sky from the clouds, through the air itself.
No blade.
Not a beast.
But plummeting toward the ground was a crown of twisted black iron that was leaking crimson light.
The girl's odd face was streaked with tears as she glanced up.
The words "It’s begun," she said.
"The Coronation of the Hollow King."