The werewolf lunged, its fangs bared and glistening with saliva under the pale moonlight. Luka barely had time to think, let alone plan. His body moved on sheer instinct, throwing up his only arm in a pathetic attempt to shield himself. The creature's jaws clamped down on his shoulder with a sickening crunch, the sound of bone splintering reverberating through the night air.
Pain tore through him, sharp and all-consuming, like wildfire raging through his veins. He screamed, the sound raw and guttural, tearing its way out of his throat and echoing into the trees. His vision blurred, but he couldn't look away from the blood—his blood—pouring out of him in thick streams, soaking his shredded shirt and splattering the forest floor like some macabre painting.
The beast snarled, a deep, bone-chilling growl that made his chest tighten. It shook him like a ragdoll, its claws raking deep gashes into his torso as if testing how much punishment his body could take before giving out. Luka's vision blurred, darkness threatening to swallow him whole. A small, insidious voice whispered at the edges of his mind: Give in.
Maybe this was it. Maybe he had finally hit the end of the road.
But then, like a flash of lightning, they came to mind.
The sneers. The cruel laughter. The look in their eyes as they ripped his queen apart, as they destroyed her. Their joy carved into his soul. The memory hit him harder than the beast's bite ever could, igniting something deep within. A fire.
A rage that burned hotter than the pain tearing him apart.
"No," Luka hissed through gritted teeth, his voice trembling but defiant. His fingers curled into a fist, claws digging in as if anchoring himself to the world. "Not like this."
The beast was apparently not impressed with Luka's inner monologue, releasing him with a snarl and tossing him to the ground.
Luka hit the dirt hard, the impact rattling every broken bone in his body. He skidded across the ground like a sack of garbage, only stopping when his back slammed against a jagged rock.
For a moment, all he could do was lie there, gasping for air, his body screaming at him to just stay down. His head swam, his vision swimming with shadows and stars.
But then he saw it.
The core.
That damn glowing orb nestled in the werewolf's chest, pulsing like some grotesque heart. It mocked him with every beat, as if daring him to do something. Luka's gaze locked onto it, his mind sharpening in a way that felt unnatural—like the world had narrowed down to just him and that glowing stone.
He didn't have a weapon. He didn't have strength. Hell, he barely had blood left in his body.
But what he did have was a stubborn streak a mile wide.
The beast charged again, its hulking form barreling toward him like a freight train. Luka's body protested with every move, but he forced himself up, gritting his teeth against the pain. Timing it perfectly—well, as perfectly as a half-dead guy could—he launched himself forward, slamming his body into the creature's chest.
His head collided with the core.
It felt like hitting a boulder with his skull. Pain exploded behind his eyes, his nose crunching under the force of the impact. Blood poured down his face, warm and sticky, but he didn't care. He pulled back and slammed his head into it again, harder this time.
The core held strong, but a faint crack appeared on its surface. Luka saw it and felt a flicker of hope—or maybe insanity. Either way, it was enough to keep him going.
The werewolf, on the other hand, was not a fan of this development. It howled in fury, its claws tearing into Luka's back like a hot knife through butter. Luka could feel his skin splitting, the sharp agony of muscle ripping apart, but he clung to the beast with everything he had.
"You think… this is enough?" he growled, his voice a raspy snarl of defiance. "You're gonna have to try harder, buddy."
The beast, who took that as a challenge, did just that. Its jaws snapped at him, teeth gnashing inches from his face. Luka ducked instinctively, but the movement left him wide open.
The werewolf's fangs sank into the side of his head.
The pain was indescribable, a white-hot explosion that turned his vision into a kaleidoscope of agony. He could feel flesh tearing, hear the sickening squelch as the creature ripped his left eye clean out of its socket. Blood poured down his face in a torrent, blinding him, choking him, but somehow he didn't let go.
"This… isn't… over!" he roared, his voice trembling with fury and desperation.
Through the haze of pain and blood, Luka saw the crack in the core deepening, spiderwebbing out like veins of light. He knew he was close—so close—but his body was failing. His breaths came in shallow, ragged gasps, his muscles trembling with exhaustion.
But he couldn't stop. Not now. Not when he had come this far.
"This is for her!" he bellowed, his voice breaking as he pulled his head back one final time. With every ounce of strength he had left, every shred of anger and grief and sheer stubborn will, he slammed his forehead into the core.
The crack split wide.
The core shattered, shards of glowing crystal exploding outward in a burst of blinding light. Luka felt the shockwave ripple through him, the force of it sending him tumbling to the ground.
The werewolf froze, its massive body going stiff as its glowing eyes flickered and dimmed. With one last, pitiful snarl, it collapsed, lifeless, to the forest floor.
Luka hit the ground moments later, his body a battered, broken mess. Blood soaked every inch of him, pooling beneath him in sticky puddles. His face was a ruin—his nose shattered, one eye gone, his skin torn to ribbons—but somehow, impossibly, he was still breathing.
A faint chime echoed in his ears, cutting through the silence like a cruel joke.
[Congratulations. Level Cleared.]
Luka let out a laugh, though it sounded more like a dying wheeze. His whole body trembled, his chest heaving as he stared up at the stars through the haze of pain and exhaustion.
He had won.
But as his vision began to fade, darkness creeping in at the edges, one thought burned brighter than anything else:
This was just the beginning.