The Wolf's growl echoed like an ancient thunder, reverberating through the dark cavern. The sound was more than a warning; it was a promise of death. The creature charged with impossible speed for its colossal size, a living shadow sliding across the icy ground. The strangest part? Despite its overwhelming fury, the Wolf didn't destroy the surroundings. It was as if, even corrupted, it still respected the sanctuary it once vowed to protect.
Its massive jaws opened, teeth sharp as blades ready to tear through the very fabric of reality. The Sorcerer, ever the jester, had his laughter cut short by the sheer brutality of the moment. His floating books, orbiting him like erratic satellites, spun out of control, their pages flipping at an impossible speed. The rustling crescendoed into a sonic explosion, forcing the Wolf to hesitate… for just a moment.
But the Sorcerer knew better than to underestimate the beast.
The Wolf's unnaturally long tail lashed from an impossible angle—a living, deadly whip, striking with the precision of an apex predator. The Sorcerer, without missing a beat, threw his magical cauldron into the path of the blow. The impact was monstrous. The Sorcerer and the cauldron were hurled like ragdolls against a distant wall.
He staggered to his feet, adjusting his mask while the cauldron bubbled irritably beside him, as if complaining.
— "At least we're still in one piece…" he muttered, wiping off what looked like blood but was really just another grotesque expression of his mask. The cauldron continued to bubble angrily.
— "Oh, shut up. I know you hate being used as a shield, but I promise—I'll feed you the core of this beast. If we survive, of course."
Before he could say more, the Wolf lunged again. Its jaws wide open, gleaming fangs ready to swallow the Sorcerer whole. The lunatic dodged by a hair's breadth, spinning through the air with almost artistic grace.
— "Unless we get eaten first!" he shouted, grinning from ear to ear—or at least, that's what his mask suggested.
Without losing momentum, the Sorcerer made a finger gun gesture with his hand.
— "BANG."
As ridiculous as it looked, the shot had an effect. An invisible wave of energy collided with the Wolf, ruffling its black fur with the impact. But the damage was superficial, almost insignificant. The Wolf barely acknowledged the hit before swinging its massive paw in retaliation.
The Sorcerer leapt back, dodging gracefully—only to be caught off guard by the murderous tail once again. The cauldron, still grumbling, instinctively flew to shield him, taking the full force of the blow. Both were slammed to the ground, the ice inexplicably remaining intact.
The Sorcerer laughed, coughing out a puff of nothingness, just another distorted mask expression.
— "Oh, how funny. You're a joke, little wolf!"
With a snap of his fingers, the Sorcerer's cloak unfurled like a grotesque flower, revealing ten thin, pale arms—each making a finger gun gesture.
— "BANG!" he yelled, unleashing a barrage of chaotic attacks.
The effects were as unpredictable as he was:
Three shots were completely ineffective, passing right through the Wolf as if they'd never been fired.
Three others hit squarely, distorting the creature's physical structure. The Wolf staggered, its body forced into impossible angles.
One blast caused a blinding flash, lighting up the cavern intensely. The shadows within writhed as if alive, then lunged at the Sorcerer, furious.
Two shots missed entirely, striking the cavern walls and leaving strange symbols etched into the ice: one resembled the Sorcerer's twisted grin, the other depicted the Wolf devouring the lunatic.
The final shot was the most bizarre. The Sorcerer pointed directly at his own head and pulled the trigger.
The impact snapped his head backward with a sickening crack. His mask shattered into fragments on the floor.
Silence.
The advancing shadows froze, as if witnessing something their nature couldn't comprehend. A second later… they simply vanished. Not dissipated—vanished, leaving an absence of light, shadow, or anything at all. A void where nothing existed except the cold floor, stubbornly clinging to reality.
The Wolf hesitated.
A creature born of chaos, now trapped in a space that shouldn't exist. The discomfort was palpable—a primal unease that penetrated even its corrupted mind. The only comfort was the ice beneath its paws, the last fragment of reality that felt familiar.
Then, the shattered mask fragments began to move.
They floated slowly, spinning in the air, and reassembled—not into a mask, but into a potion. The Sorcerer, now whole again, stood up casually, grabbed the potion, and threw it at the Wolf.
The potion exploded into a dense mist, enveloping the creature. The Wolf roared, trying to shake it off, but the mist seeped into its very being, infiltrating every fiber of its existence. The effect was immediate. The Wolf lost what little rationality it had left. Pure instinct took over—a burning, insatiable hunger consuming it from within.
Blinded by rage, the Wolf attacked again. Its tail slammed down in a killing blow, but the Sorcerer dodged with offensive elegance, laughing wildly as he spun through the air.
— "You've already lost, creature… you just don't know it yet! Hahahahah!"
The Wolf howled—a sound that brought an arctic chill crashing through the cavern. The air froze around them, ice spreading like a tidal wave of white death. The Wolf tried to devour the cold itself, desperate to satisfy the endless hunger burning inside.
The Sorcerer raised his hands again, fingers poised like pistols.
— "BANG, BANG, BANG!"