Night had fallen over the forest.
The battle with the Blackhorn Flame Tiger was already behind them.
Aether, Lyra, and Nyx continued deeper into the Origin Zone while the faint crimson glow between the trees grew stronger.
Aether glanced at the system.
[Current Cultivation: Origin Awakening — Stage 2]
[Origin Points: 165/150]
[Breakthrough: Available]
[Stabilization: Required]
He closed the interface.
The extra Origin Points were useful, but he had no intention of forcing a breakthrough in an unfamiliar territory.
Stage 3 could wait.
For now, understanding this place mattered more.
The forest had become strangely quiet.
No birds.
No insects.
Even the wind seemed weaker.
Lyra slowed down.
"Something feels wrong."
Aether nodded.
"The Origin Energy is concentrated here."
He placed his hand against the bark of a nearby tree.
A faint red glow appeared beneath his fingers.
"This entire area is absorbing Origin Energy."
"Then we're deeper inside the Origin Zone."
"Probably the outer layer."
Aether looked toward the darkness ahead.
"But there's something farther in."
Nyx suddenly stopped.
Her golden eyes turned toward a narrow gap between two enormous trees.
Aether followed her gaze.
Behind the trees was a small slope covered in crimson leaves.
At its bottom sat a shallow cave.
A faint red glow leaked from inside.
Aether's Origin Analysis activated.
[Origin Signature Detected.]
[Multiple Life Signatures.]
[Classification: Beast.]
[Rank: Unknown.]
Aether's expression became serious.
"Unknown?"
Lyra immediately became cautious.
"Stronger than the system can analyze?"
"Not necessarily."
Aether studied the cave.
"It simply means I don't have enough information."
Nyx quietly walked inside.
Aether followed with Lyra close behind.
The cave was deeper than it looked.
After several meters, the narrow passage opened into a larger chamber.
Aether stopped.
Lyra nearly walked into him.
"What is it?"
Aether pointed ahead.
Several small creatures were curled together inside a nest.
They looked like wolves.
Their fur was dark red, and tiny black horns had begun growing from their foreheads.
Three were sleeping.
One was awake.
The smallest pup stared directly at Aether.
The system activated.
[Species: Crimson Fang Wolf]
[Rank: F]
[Potential: C]
[Condition: Healthy]
Aether looked around the chamber.
"Where's the mother?"
Lyra immediately understood.
"The wolf from earlier."
Aether nodded.
The injured Crimson Fang Wolf hadn't been fighting the tiger for territory alone.
It had been protecting this nest.
Its young.
A faint growl came from behind them.
Aether turned.
Nyx was sitting beside the smallest pup.
The little wolf had climbed onto her paw.
Nyx stared down at it.
She looked almost confused.
Lyra smiled.
"Looks like it likes her."
Nyx glanced at Aether.
Aether chuckled.
"You've got yourself a fan."
The pup curled around Nyx's paw.
Then Aether sensed movement outside.
His expression changed.
"Someone's coming."
Lyra stood immediately.
"Humans?"
Aether listened.
Footsteps echoed through the passage.
Several people.
"Eight."
Lyra looked toward the pups.
"The hunters?"
Aether nodded.
"They followed the mother."
The footsteps grew louder.
Then a man's voice echoed through the cave.
"Spread out."
Another voice answered.
"The Crimson Fang Wolf came this way."
Aether's gaze hardened.
"They're hunting her."
Lyra looked at the pups.
"And they'll kill the babies."
Aether didn't answer immediately.
He looked at the three sleeping pups.
Then toward the entrance.
His voice became cold.
"Not if I can stop them."
He quickly searched the chamber.
There was another passage behind the nest.
Fresh claw marks covered the ground.
"The mother uses this route."
Aether looked at Lyra.
"Take the pups through there."
Lyra carefully gathered the three sleeping wolves.
"What about you?"
"I'll handle the entrance."
Lyra hesitated.
"There are eight of them."
Aether picked up his damaged metal rod.
"Then they'll have to come through me first."
Nyx remained beside him.
The first hunter appeared.
He carried a spear.
The moment he saw Aether, he froze.
"You."
Aether recognized him.
He wasn't part of the group from the previous Origin Zone.
A completely different group.
The hunter raised his spear.
"Move."
Aether stood in front of the passage.
"No."
The man's expression darkened.
"We're hunting a Crimson Fang Wolf."
"I know."
"Then don't interfere."
Aether's gaze became colder.
"You came into a beast's territory, followed an injured mother to her nest, and now you want to kill her pups."
He raised his weapon.
"You're already interfering with something that isn't yours."
The hunter sneered.
"Don't lecture me."
Several more hunters entered the cave.
Eight in total.
Their leader stepped forward.
He was around twenty-five years old, with a scar across his cheek.
Aether's Origin Analysis activated.
[Species: Human]
[Origin Cultivation: Origin Awakening — Stage 3]
[Ability: Earth Manipulation]
[Physique: Stonebody Physique]
[Potential: C]
Aether calmly studied him.
Stage 3.
The exact realm he was approaching.
The leader noticed Aether's damaged metal rod.
"You aren't strong enough to stop all of us."
Aether gave a faint smile.
"You should worry less about whether I'm strong enough."
His grip tightened around the rod.
"And more about whether you're strong enough to leave this cave alive."
The leader's face changed.
"Kill him."
The cave erupted.
Stone spikes shot from the ground.
Aether moved instantly.
The first spike tore through the space where his chest had been.
He stepped around it and struck the nearest hunter across the throat with the metal rod.
The man collapsed.
Aether didn't look back.
Another hunter swung a blade.
Aether blocked with his rod, twisted the man's wrist, and drove an elbow into his chest.
The hunter staggered.
Aether caught his weapon and threw it aside.
A third attacker rushed from behind.
Nyx intercepted him.
Her claws tore across his armor and sent him crashing into the wall.
Lyra emerged from the passage for a moment.
"Almost there!"
Aether nodded.
"Take them farther away."
She disappeared with the pups.
The leader roared.
A wave of stone surged across the floor.
Aether jumped over it.
The attack smashed into the cave wall.
Aether landed directly in front of the leader.
The man's stone-covered fist came toward his face.
Aether caught the wrist.
For a moment, neither moved.
Then Aether twisted.
A sharp crack echoed through the cave.
The leader screamed.
Aether released him and struck his abdomen.
The man crashed against the wall.
He tried to stand.
Aether walked toward him.
"You were warned."
The leader spat blood.
"You think this changes anything?"
His remaining hand began gathering Earth Energy.
Aether saw the attack forming.
He didn't hesitate.
The metal rod struck the man's throat.
The Earth Energy dispersed.
The leader fell.
The cave became quiet.
The remaining hunters stared at Aether.
One of them dropped his weapon.
"Fall back!"
Another hunter turned toward the entrance.
Aether let them run.
He wasn't interested in slaughtering people who had already abandoned the fight.
Then—
a roar shook the entire cave.
Everyone froze.
The Crimson Fang Wolf stood at the entrance.
Her crimson fur was stained with blood.
Her injured leg trembled beneath her weight.
But her eyes burned with fury.
She had returned.
The hunters panicked.
"It's the wolf!"
The remaining hunters tried to escape.
The mother charged.
One hunter raised his weapon.
Crimson Fang activated.
Her fangs pierced through his defensive armor.
He fell instantly.
Another tried to run.
Aether stepped aside.
The wolf chased him out of the cave.
The others fled into the darkness.
Aether didn't pursue.
The threat was gone.
That was enough.
He looked toward the fallen hunters.
Then toward the Crimson Fang Wolf.
She wasn't fighting for revenge.
She had returned for her children.
Aether lowered his weapon.
"Go."
The wolf stared at him for several seconds.
Then she turned and rushed deeper into the cave.
Her three pups emerged from the passage.
They immediately surrounded her.
The mother lowered her head.
The pups climbed over her fur.
Nyx watched quietly.
Aether's expression softened.
He had seen countless people willing to kill for power.
This was different.
The wolf had nearly died protecting something weaker than herself.
That was enough for him.
The system suddenly appeared.
[Protective Behavior Detected.]
[Crimson Fang Wolf Bloodline Fluctuation Increasing.]
[Bloodline Evolution Possibility Strengthened.]
Aether's attention returned to the wolf.
Crimson markings began glowing across her body.
The wolf suddenly lifted her head.
She stared toward the deeper forest.
Aether felt it too.
A powerful Origin signature.
Far beyond the cave.
Something was calling to her bloodline.
Aether's eyes narrowed.
"That's not normal."
Lyra stepped beside him.
"What is it?"
"I don't know yet."
Aether looked toward the darkness.
"But whatever is out there..."
The Crimson Fang Wolf growled.
Something answered from deep within the forest.
The sound was low.
Ancient.
Powerful enough to make the ground tremble.
Aether tightened his grip on his weapon.
Nyx's golden eyes began glowing.
Lyra summoned faint sparks of lightning around her hand.
Aether looked toward the darkness.
"Looks like we've found the real secret of this Origin Zone."
And somewhere beyond the trees—
something opened its eyes.