Morning came with no warmth.
The gray sky remained unchanged, a dull expanse of endless clouds stretching over the wasteland. The air was cold, carrying the scent of damp stone and stagnant water from the river below.
Kael'thir stirred, his eyes snapping open the moment his body registered wakefulness. His claws flexed against the hard-packed earth beneath him, his tail shifting slightly as his instincts flared—
Danger? No.
He was alone.
His crimson eyes swept across the dead forest, the twisted roots and blackened branches casting long, jagged shadows across the ground. The river still flowed beneath the ravine, slow and steady, carrying with it the scent of prey.
Kael'thir's stomach tightened.
The hunger was still there.
It had never left.
And it would never leave until he fed.
He rose, shaking dust from his scales. His limbs were still small, but they felt stronger than before.
Not enough.
But better.
He turned his head slightly—
The fox was still here.
Curled in the shade of a fallen tree, her white fur barely visible against the ashen ground. Her golden eyes were already open, already watching.
She had not left.
Kael'thir did not understand why.
But it did not matter.
She was not prey.
And she was not stopping him from hunting.
So, for now—
He ignored her.
His mind was already elsewhere.
Prey had escaped him yesterday.
That would not happen again.
The river was silent.
No movement. No ripples. No scent of blood.
The creature from before was gone.
Kael'thir crouched low, his gaze sweeping across the water, his muscles tensed.
He could not afford another failure.
He needed to be faster.
Smarter.
His claws dug into the damp ground.
A predator that could not catch its prey was nothing.
A dragon that could not kill was worthless.
He exhaled slowly, forcing his body to still.
His senses expanded.
He listened.
Waited.
A breeze passed over the water, stirring the reeds at the edge of the bank. The wind carried something faint—a scent, distant, but real.
Kael'thir turned his head sharply.
It was not from the river.
It was upstream.
His tail flicked, his mind sharpening.
There was something there.
Something alive.
And it had mana.
Kael'thir moved.
The scent grew stronger as he followed the river's edge, his steps light, careful, silent.
The fox trailed behind him.
Not beside him.
Not ahead.
Always just far enough to be there.
Kael'thir ignored her.
His focus was prey.
The scent was close now, tangled in the damp air. The wind shifted, and then—
Movement.
A low, shuffling noise just ahead. The faint crunch of something stepping across loose rock.
Kael'thir froze.
His pupils thinned into slits.
There.
A creature crouched at the water's edge, its hunched form partially hidden behind the skeletal remains of a dead tree.
It was bigger than the shadowbeast.
Thicker. Heavier.
Its fur was dark and mottled, patches of exposed skin revealing sickly gray flesh.
Its scent was foul, tinged with decay, but beneath the rot—
Mana.
Weak, but real.
Kael'thir's breath slowed.
He could take this one.
He would take this one.
His instincts sharpened.
Strike fast.
Go for the neck.
Do not let it flee.
He lunged.
The moment his claws scraped against the creature's flesh, it screamed.
A deep, ragged sound, more pain than fury, more instinct than thought.
Kael'thir tore into its side, feeling skin split beneath his talons.
It lashed out.
A heavy limb, thick with muscle, slammed into his ribs.
Pain exploded through him.
Kael'thir's vision blurred as he was thrown back, his body tumbling across the rocky bank.
He came to a skidding halt, dirt and dust rising in a thick cloud around him.
Too slow.
Kael'thir's mind burned with rage as he staggered to his feet. His chest ached where the creature had struck him, but the pain did not matter.
Pain was irrelevant.
Weakness was temporary.
And a dragon did not stop.
The creature was trying to escape.
Kael'thir would not allow it.
He surged forward again, his claws ripping across its hind leg, dragging deep furrows through flesh.
The beast staggered, its body twisting as it swung wildly in panic—
And Kael'thir went low.
He darted beneath the strike, his fangs snapping—
And tore its throat open.
Silence.
The creature collapsed.
Its blood pooled in the dirt, dark and thick, mana still lingering in the flesh.
Kael'thir stood over the body, his chest heaving, his claws coated in warm red.
The pain in his ribs still throbbed, but his instincts drowned it out.
He had won.
Again.
His crimson eyes flickered with something cold, something sharp.
That was all that mattered.
He lowered his head—
And began to devour.
The mana flooded him.
More than before.
Stronger than before.
His core pulsed, twisting, stretching—
The pain returned, deep in his bones, curling in his spine, searing through his limbs.
Kael'thir snarled, his fangs clenching as he endured the fire ripping through his veins.
More.
More.
More.
He absorbed every last trace, letting it sink into his body, reshape him, strengthen him.
His tail twitched, his wings ached.
Something had changed.
Not much.
But enough.
Enough for him to know.
He was growing.
His claws flexed against the dirt, his heartbeat slow and steady.
He had taken another step forward.
But it was still not enough.
Not even close.
The fox was watching him again.
She had not moved from her spot, had not made a sound.
She had seen everything.
She had watched him hunt.
She had watched him kill.
She had watched him tear apart his prey and devour its essence without hesitation.
Yet, her golden eyes remained calm.
She did not flinch.
She did not fear.
She only watched.
Kael'thir lifted his head, blood dripping from his fangs.
He met her gaze.
She did not look away.
The ravine was silent, save for the slow, rhythmic sound of the river.
Kael'thir flicked his tail, his muscles still burning with raw energy.
He turned away.
The fox did not speak.
Did not follow immediately.
She just watched.
And then, as he began to walk—
She moved again.
Not beside him.
Not behind him.
Just there.
Always there.
Kael'thir did not stop her.
He was beginning to understand something.
She was not his enemy.
Not his prey.
Not yet.
But she was something.
Something that he could not yet name.
Something waiting.
And Kael'thir had never been more curious to find out why.
The taste of mana still lingered in Kael'thir's mouth.
It burned in his veins, coiling in his fragile but growing core, pressing against his limbs with the promise of strength.
But it was not enough.
Not yet.
His tail flicked, his body low as he moved along the riverbank. His steps were careful, measured, controlled—a hunter that had no interest in wasting energy.
The fox followed.
Always silent. Always watching.
She did not walk beside him. She did not lag behind.
She was simply there.
Kael'thir's instincts whispered that this was not normal.
He had killed in front of her. Devoured his prey like a true predator.
She had not fled.
She had not challenged him.
She had not spoken.
She had only watched.
He did not understand her.
And that bothered him.
But understanding could wait.
His claws flexed.
He still had more important things to do.
Like finding his next kill.
The river wound through the ravine, cutting through barren land and dead trees.
But it was not empty.
Kael'thir's nostrils flared.
The air carried the faintest trace of blood.
Old. Distant. But there.
His tail flicked once as he lowered himself further, his body slipping into a hunting stance.
Something had died ahead.
Or was dying.
That meant there might be something still alive nearby.
Something he could take.
He moved faster.
The scent grew stronger.
Richer.
More potent.
Then—
A low, wet sound.
A shuffling, ragged breath.
Kael'thir froze.
His crimson eyes narrowed.
A creature lay ahead, its body half-submerged in the shallows of the river.
It was larger than anything he had faced before.
A beast of thick muscle and scarred hide, its fur matted with blood, both fresh and old.
Wounded.
Weak.
Dying.
But still alive.
Kael'thir's pupils shrank to slits.
It had mana.
More than his previous kills.
Stronger.
He needed it.
The creature's head lifted.
Its breath rattled in its chest, its dull yellow eyes barely focusing on him.
Kael'thir could see the deep gashes along its side, the dark blood staining the rocks beneath it.
It had already fought something.
And it had lost.
That meant it was his to finish.
His instincts sharpened.
Kill it quickly.
Do not give it time to recover.
His tail lashed once.
Then he moved.
The moment he lunged, the beast reacted.
Not with desperation.
Not with panic.
But with fury.
Its maw snapped toward him, fangs bared, claws raking through the dirt.
Kael'thir twisted midair, his wings flaring slightly to shift his movement.
The creature's claws tore through empty space.
Kael'thir landed just behind its injured side—
And struck.
His fangs sank into its flesh, his claws ripping deep into its wounded body.
The beast howled, twisting violently.
Its weight slammed into him, throwing him backward.
Kael'thir hit the ground hard, his ribs flaring with pain.
But he was already moving again.
He pushed forward before the beast could recover, his claws tearing into its throat.
Its scream choked into a wet, gurgling sound.
A second later—
It collapsed.
Its blood pooled beneath it, dark and thick with mana.
Kael'thir stood over his kill, his body trembling from exertion, from hunger, from the raw instinct of victory.
He lowered his head—
And devoured.
The mana hit him like fire.
Hot. Overwhelming. Burning through his veins.
His body shuddered, his claws sinking into the dirt as the energy coiled into his core, stretching it, forcing it to expand.
His limbs ached.
His wings twitched.
His muscles burned.
It hurt.
But pain was growth.
Pain was proof.
Proof that he was getting stronger.
That he was becoming what he was meant to be.
His heart pounded.
His breath slowed.
Then—
He felt it.
A shift.
Subtle, but real.
His mana had changed.
Deepened.
Strengthened.
He had grown.
Not by much.
Not enough.
But he was no longer the same as before.
Kael'thir exhaled slowly, the last traces of his meal settling into his core.
He lifted his head.
And he knew.
This was only the beginning.
The fox had watched everything.
She had seen him kill.
She had seen him consume.
She had seen him change.
And yet—
She still did not flinch.
She only tilted her head.
As if she had been waiting for this.
Kael'thir met her golden eyes.
For the first time, something in his instincts shifted.
A flicker of recognition.
Not understanding.
Not yet.
But something close.
Something waiting.
Something that had always been watching.
Kael'thir exhaled once.
And this time—
He did not turn away first.
The fox's grin widened.
Then, without a sound—
She moved forward.
Not beside him.
Not behind him.
With him.
Kael'thir flicked his tail once, his gaze returning to the horizon.
The world was still too small.
Still too weak.
But he was not.
Not anymore.
And soon—
It would know.