Lycaon97

A girl, barely an adult, runs away from home after discovering her families forbidden secret. Running away she becomes an adventurer. Obsessed with having a normal life she lives day to day; however, an ancient darkness lurks in the shadows threatening all she knows. Will she preserve her easy life, or will she give it up for the greater good? 
As the chapters are incredibly short, I will look to update multiple chapters each day. However, a lot of the time work takes it out of me and will only update one chapter on those days. So, on those days I will use the author's note to let y'all know, if you don't see that note then you can expect more to come out.

The cover is done by a friend of mine called obsidianfoxx who can be found at the following links
https://www.tumblr.com/blog/artistobsidian
 https://www.deviantart.com/voidprinceobsidian

A Hero's Growth

Nina, her resolve hardening despite the tremor in her hands, turns away from the shadowed chasm. The luminous orb, now dimming to a faint pulse, seems to sigh with her decision. She steps towards the ethereal path revealed earlier. The air shifts, the very ground seeming to yield beneath her feet as she walks. The path, once a faint shimmer, solidifies into a narrow, winding trail, its surface a strange, almost silken texture that feel cool beneath her feet. The air grows colder, the scent of decay mixing with the unfamiliar musk of the Shadowfen. The silence, broken only by her own footfalls and the erratic beating of her heart, presses down on her, a heavy weight of anticipation and dread.

The trail leads her deeper, towards the heart, into a labyrinthine cavern system. Crystals, pulsating with an inner light, line the walls, their glow casting long, dancing shadows that writhe and twist like living things. The air grows thick with the smell of ozone and something else... something ancient and subtly sickening. She walks for what feels like hours, the passage twisting and turning, until she emerges into a vast, subterranean chamber.

In the center of the chamber lies Ronan, slumped against a jagged rock face, his body still, but his chest rising and falling in a slow, shallow rhythm. Around him, the air shimmers with a faint, sickly green energy - the blight. He doesn't seem to notice her approach.

A low growl rumbles from the shadows on the other side of Ronan. A hulking, shadowy creature emerges, its form indistinct, its eyes glowing with malevolent green light. It towers on the other side of Ronan. Its form is vaguely wolf-like but distorted, elongated, with sinewy limbs ending in sharp claws. It snarls, a sound that echoes through the cavern, and the green energy around Ronan intensifies. The creature seems to be feeding off him, sustaining the blight that courses through his veins. Nina's heart hammers in her chest. The choice she made, while seemingly simple, has led her to a desperate struggle, a fight not only for Ronan's life, but perhaps for her own. The creature lunges.

Chapter 4, Burden: Part 21