Without taking notice of the passage of time, Fenrir continued to meditate in isolation. The shroud of devouring energy continued to grow around her, now reaching beyond the 2km mark as it slowly ate away at the surroundings with impunity.
At this point, everything else that had comprised Fenrir's being seemed to have faded away. Her only anchor was the image of her Master's smiling face, something she would never relinquish, even at her lowest point.
Using the memory of her Master like a Captain navigating through a storm with a compass, Fenrir slowly regained some clarity of mind. There was a lingering and insatiable hunger welling up from inside her but, just as she had kept it bay in the past, Fenrir repressed the urge as she began to pull in the surrounding shroud, absorbing it into her body.
As she retracted her aura, Fenrir felt like her existence itself was inflating like a balloon. Her senses were able to extend outward far beyond her previous limits and, by the time her shroud had been completely retracted, a strange runic pattern had appeared on her back. It took on the form of a wolf with its head tilted toward the sky, its mouth open to form a gruesome maw that could devour everything.
No longer seeing the need to hide her features, Fenrir no longer maintained the transformation that made her appear to be human. Rather, as a result of her previous feral state, her previously silky hair now formed a wild and spikey style as her claws extended from her paws, no longer restrained.
The only thing Fenrir bothered to do was dress herself as, no matter the circumstance, she would not allow just anyone to see her naked figure. Then, with her eyes glowing a fierce scarlet, Fenrir flew up through the massive chasm her isolation had formed...
---
Having never given up on his search, the Enforcer of the Searing Sword Palace, alongside a group of his own disciples, had made camp near the abyss that had formed in the wilderness. This was the last direction anyone had seen Fenrir flee and, after checking all the surrounding settlements, they had determined that the abyss nearby had been formed during her escape.
The only thing that prevented the Enforcer from entering the abyss was the fact that a void of sorts had appeared that made manifesting Qi externally impossible. He would be forced to climb down as, without being able to project Qi, it was impossible to maintain flight. Since this was not something he looked forward to, he settled by securing the area and having his disciples periodically probe the interior to investigate.
Much to the Enforcer's surprise, the abyss progressively widened the further you went down but, at specific intervals, massive caverns that opened to veritable treasure troves of resources could be found. This had been a tremendous boon for the Searing Sword Palace as, by descending around a thousand kilometers, an endless expanse of crystals, precious medicinal herbs, and exceeding rare Demonic Beasts could be found.
The Enforcer had no idea what purpose the abyss was supposed to serve but, as it had essentially become a second Spiritual Land for the Searing Sword Palace, they were in the process of building a branch to protect the area. He had even been elevated to the position of Grand Elder, granting him the right to govern the Spiritual Land in exchange for providing resources back to the Main Branch.
All-in-all, things were going exceptionally well for the Enforcer-turned-Grand-Elder so, while he was determined to one day capture Fenrir, it wasn't the most pressing matter for him to deal with. If she never appeared, he didn't particularly mind as, with the abyss that had been formed in her wake, the Searing Sword Palace would become even stronger...
(Fenrir's Commentary: 'Master, give me strength...')