Kael'thir stood amidst the carnage.
The air was thick with the scent of blood and stone, the bodies of the stoneclaw raptors lying broken at his feet.
Their mana had been devoured.
Their bodies left behind.
And now, Kael'thir was different.
The change was subtle, yet absolute.
His muscles no longer trembled with weakness. His balance had sharpened, his movements faster, smoother, more precise.
His wings twitched against his back—still useless, but heavier now.
His core had deepened, stretching under the weight of raw mana, expanding his limits.
It was not enough.
But it was more.
Kael'thir exhaled slowly, crimson eyes flickering as he turned toward the white shadow still lingering in the corner of his vision.
The fox was there.
She had not moved.
She had not spoken.
She had simply watched him tear through the raptors, watched him kill and consume, watched him grow stronger.
And she had done nothing.
Not to interfere.
Not to challenge him.
She had simply… been there.
Like she always was.
Kael'thir's tail flicked.
He still did not understand her.
But he had stopped questioning her presence.
She had followed him this far.
And she would keep following.
Until she didn't.
The canyon stretched ahead, carved from time and wind, its jagged walls standing silent and ancient against the dull sky.
The land was different now.
More untouched, more preserved than the ruins behind him.
And Kael'thir could feel it.
The air here was thicker.
The mana richer.
The creatures here stronger.
Good.
He needed more.
The shadowbeasts had been weak.
The raptors had been better.
But still not enough.
Kael'thir's tail curled behind him as he prowled forward, his claws silent against the stone.
His body craved a real challenge.
Something that could push him further.
Something that could truly test his strength.
His nostrils flared.
He would find it.
The first sign of something new came with the shift in the wind.
Kael'thir stopped, his body tensing as a faint scent drifted toward him—
Not blood.
Not death.
Something strange.
Something… alive.
His pupils thinned to slits.
It was different from anything he had encountered before.
Not a beast.
Not a scavenger.
Something stronger.
Something aware.
Kael'thir moved toward it.
The canyon narrowed, its towering stone walls pressing closer together, forming a natural passage that led deeper into the land beyond.
Kael'thir slowed, his movements careful, controlled.
He was being watched.
He could feel it.
Something had already noticed him.
The scent was stronger now.
Richer.
And then—
A presence.
Kael'thir's instincts flared.
Above.
He moved just in time.
A shadow fell from the cliffside, lunging toward him in a blur of movement—
Kael'thir rolled sharply, dust and rock scattering beneath his claws.
The creature landed where he had just been, stone cracking beneath its weight.
Kael'thir spun, ready to strike—
And froze.
It was not a beast.
It was not prey.
It was something different.
Something he had never seen before.
It stood on two legs.
Broad shoulders. Long, powerful limbs.
A massive creature, taller than Kael'thir even with his growing body, its entire form covered in dark, plated armor-like scales.
Its face was half-hidden by a bone mask, sharp tusks curling from its jaw, its glowing red eyes locked onto him with an intelligence Kael'thir had never encountered before.
Not instinct.
Not hunger.
Something else.
Something aware.
This was not a mindless predator.
This was a warrior.
And it was testing him.
Kael'thir's tail lashed, his claws flexing, his body coiling.
Good.
A challenge.
Finally.
He would tear it apart.
The creature charged.
Kael'thir met it head-on.
Claws clashed against armored flesh.
Teeth snapped against bone.
The force of the impact sent Kael'thir skidding backward, his talons scraping deep grooves into the stone.
The creature was stronger than anything he had fought before.
Faster.
Heavier.
But Kael'thir was smaller.
More agile.
And he had killed more than it had.
He twisted to the side, his body moving fluidly, his tail whipping around in a counterattack.
His tail struck the creature's side—
But it did not crack.
Kael'thir's eyes narrowed.
It was heavily armored.
Tougher than anything he had faced before.
Good.
That meant it had more mana.
And he was going to take it.
The fight was a blur of motion and instinct.
Kael'thir dodged and struck, his claws aiming for the creature's throat, eyes, joints—
But it adapted.
It was learning him.
Kael'thir's chest heaved, his breath slow and steady even as pain flared in his limbs, bruises forming where the creature's strikes had landed.
But he was learning too.
This was not just a fight of strength.
This was a hunt.
And Kael'thir was the better predator.
His next strike was different.
Smarter.
Instead of clashing head-on—
He feinted.
He let the creature think he was lunging for its throat again—
Then he dropped low.
And ripped into its leg instead.
Teeth sank into flesh.
Not armor.
Soft. Weak. Vulnerable.
The creature roared in pain.
Kael'thir wrenched his jaws, tearing muscle from bone.
It staggered.
That was all he needed.
His claws slashed upward.
The creature's throat opened.
Blood poured onto the stone.
A heartbeat later—
It collapsed.
Kael'thir stood over the fallen warrior, his body aching, trembling, but still standing.
Still alive.
And now—
Stronger.
He lowered his head.
And devoured.
The mana hit him like a storm.
He had never consumed something like this before.
This was not a beast.
This was something more.
Something closer to what he was meant to be.
The energy coiled, surged, stretched his core to its limits—
And then beyond.
Pain tore through his wings.
Through his limbs.
Through his very bones.
He was changing.
Breaking.
Growing.
Kael'thir clenched his fangs, his tail curling as the mana reshaped him.
Not enough.
Still not enough.
But soon.
Very soon.
He would no longer be grounded.
And when that moment came—
The world would know what it had birthed.