The wolf lowered its body, peparing to pounce.
Meanwhile, Damon inhaled deeply.
His muscles tensed. His Aether flowed through his veins.
"If I run, it’ll catch me."
He took a step forward.
"If I wait, more might arrive."
Another step.
Damon exhaled.
"Then I’ll kill you first."
And he charged.
The wolf exploded forward.
Both sides moved at the same time.
The distance vanished instantly.
The wolf’s claws tore through the air.
Damon twisted his body, and the claws missed his chest by inches.
The force behind them still ripped through his sleeve.
But Damon retaliated immediately.
His knife stabbed toward the wolf’s neck.
CLANG!
His eyes widened as the blade bounced away.
The hardened fur and hidden Aether reinforcement completely blocked the attack.
The wolf’s tail whipped around.
Damon crossed his arms.
BAM!
The impact launched him several meters backward.
He crashed into the ground and rolled.
Pain exploded through his forearms.
"Damn."
The wolf didn’t give him time.
It lunged again.
Faster.
More vicious.
Damon reinforced his legs and barely dodged.
Claws scraped across his shoulder.
Blood sprayed.
The pain burned immediately.
Yet Damon kept moving.
He couldn’t stop.
Couldn’t hesitate.
Couldn’t breathe wrong.
Every second felt like walking on a knife’s edge.
Cedric’s training saved him repeatedly.
His footwork.
His reflexes.
His Aether control.
Without them he would have died in the first exchange.
The wolf circled him.
Patient.
Calculating.
Waiting.
Damon was breathing heavily now.
The difference in power was obvious.
His attacks barely worked. But the wolf’s attacks could kill him instantly.
Yet he refused to back down.
"Come on then."
The wolf growled.
Damon grinned despite the blood running down his arm.
"What?"
"You think I’m easy prey?"
The beast lunged again.
Damon met it head on.
Their clash became a blur.
Dodge.
Block.
Roll.
Counter.
Retreat.
Again and again.
His injuries piled up.
Cuts.
Bruises.
Torn muscles.
Every exchange pushed him closer to his limit.
Eventually the wolf caught him as it’s claws slashed across his ribs.
Blood burst out.
Damon stumbled. His vision shook.
The wolf sensed weakness immediately.
Its killing intent intensified.
Meanwhile, the spark seed was trembling.
Pulse.
Pulse.
Pulse.
Faster.
More frantic.
It watched Damon get hurt again.
And again.
And again.
Something inside it seemed to break.
A brilliant flash erupted.
CRACKLE!
Lightning exploded from the spark seed.
A bolt shot directly into the wolf.
BOOM!
The beast yelped.
Its body stiffened as smoke rose from its fur and the smell of burning hair filled the air.
Everything froze.
The wolf froze.
Damon froze.
Even the spark seed looked shocked.
"...You can do that?"
The little seed flickered weakly.
As if saying... I don’t know.
The wolf recovered almost immediately.
Then its eyes locked onto the spark seed.
Pure rage.
The thing that hurt it.
The thing that dared attack it.
The wolf abandoned Damon completely.
It shot toward the spark seed.
Fast.
Too fast.
The spark seed had exhausted most of its strength.
It couldn’t escape.
Damon saw it.
And moved without thinking.
"No!"
He threw himself between them.
The wolf’s claws struck.
RIP!
A deep gash tore across his body.
Blood sprayed through the air.
Pain exploded through him.
The impact sent him crashing across the ground.
The spark seed trembled violently.
Its lightning flickered out of control.
Damon could barely breathe.
Yet even then... He smiled.
Because the spark seed was safe.
The wolf slowly turned toward him.
Its eyes had become even colder.
Even more murderous.
Blood dripped from Damon’s body.
His knife felt heavier.
His vision blurred.
Yet he still forced himself back onto his feet.
One step.
Then another.
The spark seed floated behind him.
Weak.
Shaking.
Refusing to leave.
Damon wiped blood from the corner of his mouth.
Then he laughed.
A tired laugh.
A crazy laugh.
The kind people made when they had nothing left but stubbornness.
"Looks like..."
He tightened his grip on the knife.
"...we’re both fighting for our lives now."
The wolf lowered its body.
While the spark seed gathered its remaining lightning as if something different was happening to it now.
Even with blood running down Damon’s body and the pain screaming from every muscle, he smiled.
The little spark seed had reacted.
It had truly reacted.
As he struggled to stay standing, his thoughts drifted back to the moment he threw himself in front of the wolf.
At the time, he hadn’t really thought much about it.
He just moved.
The spark seed had protected him.
So he protected it.
Simple.
But now that he thought about it, perhaps that moment had been the final push it needed.
An emotional push.
A reason to evolve.
A reason to break through whatever invisible wall had trapped it for so long.
Damon laughed weakly.
"That’s honestly a stupid gamble."
His voice sounded hoarse.
"Good thing it worked."
Otherwise he would have died for nothing.
Still, he didn’t regret it.
Not even a little.
The spark seed had become his first real companion in this world.
The first thing that chose him when nobody else did.
If he had to make the same choice again, he probably would.
That realization made him laugh even harder.
"Yeah... maybe I’m the stupid one."
The wind howled around him.
Ahead of him, the Razor Mane Wolf lowered itself for another attack.
Damon tightened his grip on the knife.
His body was already reaching its limit.
His Aether was almost exhausted.
His injuries were getting worse.
He knew it.
The wolf knew it too.
The beast’s eyes narrowed. It was ready to finish things.
Damon slowly exhaled.
"So this is where—"
CRACKKKLE!!
A deafening explosion of lightning erupted behind him.
The sound was so loud that Damon froze.
Even the wolf froze.
The pressure that followed swept through the area like a tidal wave.
The hairs on Damon’s body stood upright.
The wind itself seemed to pause.
The wolf immediately took several steps backward.
Fear appeared in its eyes.
Real fear.
Damon slowly turned around.
And forgot how to breathe.
A fox stood behind him.
A/N:
Finally, we’ve gotten to the game changer moment of my story, please leave Comments and Reviews to show engagements.
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