Erik's right hand glowed goldenly, a crest portraying a dog, previously finger-size, growing as large as his backhand, spreading the runic symbols up to his wrist.
Another crest picturing a raven appeared on his left hand when Old Bone landed on his shoulder, establishing a bond.
He ignored her, focusing on the four golden threads flying off the dog crest and wrapping around Rex's body, bringing back to life his almost faded wyrd, strengthening it as his physique underwent a change.
The totem beast's legs thickened, almost doubling volume, his teeth sharpened and maw enlarged. Rex's injuries stopped bleeding but did not close, his breathing returned with an appeasing sigh, stronger each time.
'The greater one's fate, the harder one is to kill,' an unfamiliar feminine voice resounded in his head. 'Thanks to you reaching rank 3, Rex just developed two new abilities and a tougher physique.'
True, Erik remembered Rex boasting about [Hibernation] at rank 2 and [Self Healing] at rank 3, both combined could put the dog in a comatose state during emergencies, slowing down his body biological mechanism while increasing his regeneration speed.
Relieved that his best friend had a shot at life, Erik turned to his side, "Old Bone?"
'I acknowledge you as my contractor, Erik Basara,' she replied in his head. 'Took you long enough to awaken your Divine Seed, kid.'
Whatever that was, he cared little about questions that could be answered at a later date, for now, he craved blood.
Moreover, his Enlightenment had caught the direwolf's attention whose eyes shifted between him and Sieg, confused about who was the greater threat.
At the sight of the creature, Erik's bosom sizzled with fury, sparks traveling through his life circuits jolted his body awake, his wrath came alive but, tempered this time, he remained in perfect control, feeling the changes his body had undergone.
Erik felt lighter, stronger, more durable, and capable of greater physical prowesses than before. His new core roared with power, and the storm raged in its cage, seeking to be unleashed on his foe.
Awakened from its slumber, another energy fused with his wyrd, something primal and wild but also warm like a sunlight kiss, gentle as a summer breeze. Tiny threads of blue electricity sparked out of his wounds' hands.
His mind on the fight, he did not question their origin and welcomed the feeling.
"Then lend me your power, Old Bone" Erik gave one last look at the sleeping Rex and turned to the direwolf. Strength steered in his muscles, breaking the physical limiters.
—Bloodline ability: Primal Wrath—
No berserk state, no mindless fury, his mind was clear and sharp.
'With pleasure, kid,' the raven's dark eyes glowed, electricity vibrating within.
The direwolf was badly injured, Sieg had given his all to kill the beast; blade wounds covered its ashen fur, some shallows a few deep but none as enticing as the wound leading to its heart where the arrow tip was still lodged, though the shaft was gone, shattered during the fight.
"We'll do this the Wolf way." Erik wanted to end this fight fast, his internal and external injuries wouldn't allow for a prolonged battle.
'Understood.' Old Bone flew off.
The direwolf focused his entire attention on the new rising menace, judging its previous prey as too injured to pose any serious threat.
Haggard, Sieg could barely stand on his feet. He had lost an arm that now rested in the direwolf's stomach. His axe was nowhere to be found. His complexion was pale because of the blood loss and yet he smiled at the Void's face and the opening.
He knew he hadn't the strength nor the wyrd left to kill it and choose to create an opportunity. The hunter dashed on his good leg, reached forward, and tightened his hold on the direwolf's tail.
Angered at the insult, the creature turned to Sieg's firm resolve and a suicidal smile.
"Hahaha! Death!"
Erik positioned himself in Wolf Stance, and focused as much wyrd as possible in his cultivation arts.
—Martial Art: Augmented Enhanced Strength!—
—Martial Art: Augmented Enhanced Speed!—
—Martial Art: Augmented Durability!—
The ground cracked under his feet's pressure as he launched himself forward. The direwolf took notice of him, but was too busy biting off Sieg's remaining arm who bit the beast's tail in return, while laughing like a madman.
From Old Bone's beaks poured out blue lightning, unable to escape Sieg's madness, the beast took the attack head-on along with the dying hunter.
Its fur bristled, the signals connecting its brain to its muscles grew thinner, disrupted by the raven's electricity, leading to temporary paralysis.
'Quick! I can't hold it for long!' The raven sent telepathically.
Erik sped up. Crooked hand, he formed a semi-wolf claw light by blue sparks exiting his life circuit through injuries.
Reaching striking range, he aimed under the direwolf's shoulder, and put all his strength into his legs and arms. Old Bone deactivated her ability at the last moment to avoid injuring her contractor, matching the timing with his attack.
—Wolf Style: Piercing Fang!—
BAM!
His hand speared through the wound. Erik's speed and increased strength penetrated the damaged fur, muscles and ribcage. The already weakened arrow tip unexpectedly shattered under his strength as he kept digging further inside, reaching the heart.
He seized the despicable beast's life within his fingers and squeezed it to a pulp with [Crushing Maw].
The direwolf roared in pain and stumbled.
Erik backed off, avoiding a desperate claw strike. He lifted both arms, ready to fight. The beast teetered his way, trembling, its rage apparent then… stopped moving all a sudden.
Its ten golden threads dimmed, fading along with its life.
Not trusting his eyes, Erik kick its maw, toppling the corpse to the ground before pressing its head under his feet and roaring.
"RAH!!!" The accumulated frustrations left him, replaced by relief as his thunderous voice gloriously echoed throughout the church, announcing the beast's defeat.
Sieg's weak voice joined the victory cry until he coughed blood and stumbled.
Erik caught him mid-fall then gently settled him on the cold ground with all the honor his sacrifice was due. Ragged breathing, one eye gouged out, intestines exposed, two missing arms, the man was the very picture of a walking corpse.
That's why he hadn't hesitated to sacrifice himself to create an opening and a shot at victory, much to his satisfaction, none of the others had opposed his choice and instead respected it and went through with their actions.
"Congratulations on your…, Enlightenment, kid," Sieg coughed the blood that was flooding his lungs.
"Thanks." Erik got closer, the hunter's voice a shadow of what it used to be.
Sieg gazed at the direwolf's corpse worried it would rise again. "It's dead, right?"
Erik nodded, "I've crushed its heart, can't be deader than that," he said, grabbing the dying man's shoulder to signal he was there with him in his final moments.
In the spiritual realm, he could see Sieg's golden threads burning, turning to ash and fade. Burning one's own wyrd temporarily boosted one's capabilities, but it came at the cost of one's life.
Everybody could do it, it wasn't a secret technique, it was a suicidal one; even the Crazy Alchemist, a cultivator who was famous for her concoctions, nor the Divine Doctor, the self-proclaimed—and later recognized as—the best healer in Ulreon, could not save him.
"You've fought like a true drengr," he said, trying to ease the dying man's fear.
Sieg grinned, resulting in him coughing more blood. "It was a fight worthy of a saga."
"I'll make sure people hear of it," Erik said. "As soon as I return to Tiger Gorge, I'll hire a skald to write and tell of our battle in mead halls. How Sieg the hunter, despite his grave injuries, drew an arrow of light and, armed with his axe, fought like a true Berserker till the end."
"Ah, yes," the man chuckled, "I can already picture the title the skald would bestow upon me: Sieg the Armless, haha," Sieg whizzed, taking shallow breaths every three or four words. "Kid, I know we aren't close but—"
Understanding what he was about to say, Erik replied. "Ask and I shall do my best to grant your dying request."
"My pendant, take it." Slowly, Erik's bloodied free hand ripped a pendant off Sieg's neck; it looked like a particularly long claw attached to threaded roots. "Please, give this to my daughter…, Brina, in Lei. You'll recognize her easily. She has her mother's long blonde hair, shining like the sun, green eyes, and is one year older than you but just as tough, no boy her age in the village can match her in a fight," he smiled fondly, thinking of his daughter. "Tell Brina I'm sorry I broke my promise, I love her with all my heart but it had to be done. It had to be done."
"I swear on my wyrd, I'll deliver them in person, your words and pendant," Erik promised, a tinge of sadness in his voice.
Though he hadn't known the man for long, they'd fought together, and that was enough for Erik to consider him a brother in arms.
"Thank you… Erik, thank you. If you hadn't been there, if you hadn't rekindled my flame, I would have died an ergi, I know it now. May you grow strong, Erik Basa—," Sieg's wyrd faded along with his voice.
Norse cultivators believed that the way they lived mattered as much as the way they died. They must maintain their honor at all times to avoid coming back as a ghost to suffer for all eternity, that was one of their main reason for dying a drengr's death.
A gloomy silence filled the church.
Fetching Sieg's bow and ax, Erik placed both on the hunter's torso in a ceremonial manner. "A life of struggle you've lived, a golden fame you've gained, an eternity of rest you've earned," he prayed, giving him the honor he deserved. "Farewell, and thank you Sieg Olvir, last son of Styrbjorn, strongest hunter of Lei."
Closing Sieg's eyes, Erik gave the dead hunter a minute of respectful silence.
***
Lore Extract:
"To intervene or not, truthfully, I hesitated. A rank 4 beast is hardly a fair opponent for the brat, which reasons enough for me to stick my nose in this matter. But as I left my hiding place outside the ruined town, ghosts barred my path, not that it mattered, they only slowed me down. I couldn't touch them, nor could they touch me with their pathetic speed. However, when I've reached the church, I stayed my hand, feeling the need to act had passed. Instead, I contained my laughter and eagerness, this boy…, I simply cannot fathom his potential."
—Caliber Wolf.