Father's fur shimmered with an otherworldly light, the air around him twisting as if chaos itself had erupted from the Abyssal depths. Ray, low to the ground, poised like a coiled spring, was ready to unleash violence.
His head thrust forward, ears pinned back, amber eyes locked onto Father with a fierce intensity. His pupils dilated, reflecting the dim light with a baleful glow that promised swift and merciless retribution. Lips peeled back from sharp teeth, his snarl vibrated low in his throat—a visceral growl filled with dark intent. Yet, in his eyes, I saw a flicker of fear and reluctance.
I felt as if I was watching from above, detached, my soul hovering like a raven over the unfolding scene.
"I'm not going to say this again, Ray. Back away," Father warned, his voice unsettlingly calm. His eyes opened, revealing pure chaos—or perhaps, pure madness.
"Ruzgar, old friend, don't make me do this," Ray pleaded, his eyes desperate.
But even I feared that Father was lost, replaced by chaos incarnate.
Father moved with frightening speed, faster than I'd ever seen. His eyes, reflecting his frenzied state, glinted as he slashed with razor-sharp claws. Ray barely evaded, the attack passing within a hair's breadth.
Ray, wide-eyed, stared at Father. "How far does your deception go, Ruzgar? You pretended weakness even in dire times—for what?"
Father responded with a low snarl.
"No matter. Omega Ruzgar, prepare for your end." Ray's chestnut fur began to glow, his body expanding until he was three times Father's size.
"Come and receive a swift death, old friend," Ray's voice deepened. Father observed Ray's transformation with a short laugh that abruptly ceased.
"That form is for giants, dragons, or basilisks. You just gave me more weak points to exploit," Father said, a dangerous calm returning to his voice. Madness lingered in his eyes, waiting to be unleashed.
Father moved, a blur even to my raven-like perspective. Ray's enlarged body hurtled back, aimed straight for Alpha Barron, who remained calm and disinterested. Barron released a powerful echo, sending Ray crashing through the cave wall and down the mountainside, leaving only Father and Barron.
"Impressive, Ruzgar," Alpha Barron approached slowly. "You possess chaos essence? It doesn't matter. No Dire Wolf born in the past 12,000 years is stronger than me. I am prophesied to be the strongest, a guardian to a Deity. What about you?"
Father remained still, closing his eyes with a sigh. "I am prophesied to be a father," he said quietly.
Barron chuckled. "A father dares challenge—"
"A father and guardian to the Forgotten Son of the Source!" Father interrupted boldly. Both Barron and I were taken aback. The Source, the beginning and end of all things—how could I, a powerless creature, be the Forgotten Son? Was Father merely bluffing?
"At creation, there is chaos and order. I am chaos incarnate, an aspect of the Source. So, Alpha, do you dare challenge me?" Father's voice filled the room with a chaotic echo.
Barron stared at Father for a long moment before shaking his head. "I will get those Veilstones one day, trust me," he said quietly, retreating to his platform.
"Ruzgar and Sidgar, you are cast out of the pack. Leave my territory, or face Raan's wrath," Barron decreed with authority. Immediately, I felt the pack mindlink sever, and my pack mark faded. Father, moving towards me, picked me up and placed me on his back. He glanced at Barron one last time. "Until next time," he said, leaping through the hole Ray had made.
As we descended, my consciousness returned to my body. Before I could thank Father, a familiar yet distant voice called out, "Moirai, where are you?"
Everything vanished into darkness, the events fading like a dream.
All alone in the darkness, I opened my eyes and I was met with darkness everywhere I looked there was nothing but darkness but it wasn't the terrifying kind of darkness but rather It was peaceful. My mind began to wonder from the darkness to everything that had just happened, what did father mean when he said he is a father to the Forgotten son of the source? And he also said that he is chaos incarnate.
My mind was a turmoil and many questions flooded my brain that I believed no one would grant me the answers I desire. As I was still deep in contemplation I did notice the darkness around me fading, replaced by a vast expanse of a golden sea and right infront of me was an enormous being covered in veilstones and on the beings back were 12 wings, the being seemed to be slumbering and a pale emerald wisp seemed to be revolving around the being.
Taken aback by the sight ,but I also felt a deep familiarity with the 12 winged being, before I could explain what's happening the dormant Veilstones on the being shimmered and I felt drawn to it, starting to walk towards the being that's when I noticed that my paws were also shimmering with Veilstones, looking at my reflection in the golden sea, I could see the Veilstones Father had told me about glowing, what did it mean? I did not know but currently I had the feeling I always had when I gazed at the stars, I could feel the being wailing out to-me? Confused I continued approaching the being with no sense of caution, and when I was right infront of it the being the Veilstones shimmered brightly and then I heard the voice again.
"Moirai, I can't find you." The fleeting voice passed by my ear , and everything everything went dark....again.
"I have seen, and now I shall go to alert the elders," F'ARLIM spoke with his eyes closed. "But when I return, we shall harvest them all. Trust in me, Bulahim." The café owner, who was now unconscious, could not answer him, but F'ARLIM still gazed up at him with a proud expression.
Turning to face the small door, his expression changed, revealing a cruel twist to his normal self. "Josh Belling, you still roam about in search of your destiny? Is that child what you have been looking for? Oh well, it does not matter, because soon I will put an end to all of your little organization that has been gatekeeping people like me from acquiring the Truth. I'm coming, and I'm coming for you all."
With that sentence, the same inscriptions from before covered the door in a crucifix manner and surged with red light, filling the room, then he was gone. The only person left in the kitchen was the unconscious café owner. A storm was brewing in Sif'ur, and no one else knew what was coming to this lovely city.
A few days had passed since Sara and Voren had crossed paths, and they had been meeting up at the cathedral every day since their initial meeting. But right now, they were walking leisurely around Sif'ur.
"So, you mean to tell me that you are not a Konqueror?" Sara questioned Voren as they walked. "But how, and how come you possess so much Arcanum?"
Voren chuckled at Sara's question, pointing to the park. "Let's go over there, and I will try explaining it to the best of my ability." Sara nodded, and they quietly walked to the park, sitting on one of the unoccupied benches. Voren began to explain:
"I am what we call in the West a body cultivator. I had trained my body to the peak of what a mortal can do, but that was not enough. Growing up, I used to love a folk song about certain strong men called the Iron Borne. The song spoke about what these Iron Borne men could do, and I also wanted to achieve that. But after countless seasons of relentless training, I discovered that it is not possible for a human body to acquire vast strength that surpasses peak human ability. So, I began searching for other ways to acquire strength, and that's when I met, or rather was found by, an old man who claimed to be a champion of the Deity Revi.
"The old man said he would take me in as a successor only after I bested him in combat. Being young and hot-headed, I immediately agreed, and sadly, the old man beat me without much effort. But surprisingly, he still took me in and trained me and educated me for twenty seasons full. And during those twenty seasons, the old man would rarely demonstrate his godly prowess, making me train even harder in hopes of attaining that strength.
"The night just before we could cross over to the new year, the old man took me to the Forgotten Mountain of Tah, and there, on top of the mountain, was an altar. The old man first prayed, and then he started performing a ritual. He drew blood from his hand and poured it on me, then he started enchanting. And from there on, I blacked out. I can't tell you what happened, but all I know is I woke up different. My whole physiology was altered, and the old man was nowhere to be seen. That's the story of how I was made into an undying bastard."
Sara's eyes stared at Voren in amazement. She had more questions but withheld herself from asking more and decided to sit in silence. Voren remained quiet for a while before sighing. "Ahh, that's better. You know, you are person number ten thousand four hundred and eighty-six that I have told this story to, but you are the first one to not look at me like I'm a madman. Thank you, Sara."
Voren stood up and gave a slight bow. Sara blushed, not knowing how to react, and simply nodded.
"Right now that we have that out of the way, let us delve into serious matters. Sara, I believe your city has been slow-turned into a cauldron that purifies the essence of children, and I have already determined the location of where it happens." Voren reported, as if he was talking about a casual topic. Sara's eyes widened, especially at the part where he mentioned children's essence.
Her father had also suspected the same issue, but he had no proof of his suspicions or a lead. But now, Voren also suspected the same, and he said he had a lead on the case. She knew to take the man before her very seriously, so she straightened up and asked in a calm voice, "Where isit?"
Voren remained quiet for a bit, and it was starting to worry Sara because she thought the location might be somewhere she knew or was attached to, and her fears were correct. "The quaint café you love so much," Voren said, his eyes serious.