Chapter 8—Dire Straits

The beast crawled towards them menacingly and they dared not to move. Beside's the fact that it looked menacing beyond belief, this beast was half-dead, its spine twisted grotesquely, its lower jaw missing, leaving behind a ragged, gaping maw that dripped blood and saliva. Its flesh was torn and it was still bleeding freshly but its eyes still burned with rage, filled with an unnatural fury.

It glared at them with nostrils flaring.

Then-

It snarled, taking a step forward. Echidna let out a slow, whistled breath.

"Well," she muttered, voice low. "We're fucked."

Chael's face darkened.

Of course.

His worst fears had come true

Predators and prey alike always sought shelter during a Black Storm, and not just from the storm itself, but from other monsters lurking in the dark.

And this one…

Chael didn't even want to imagine what could have had done this to a dire wolf.

Dire wolves were apex predators in the northern most part of Mirelia. They were fast, powerful, and built for the ice. Their instincts were sharper than steel and their hides were tougher than chainmail. Not to mention their bite which was strong enough to shatter bones.

And this one?

Its lower jaw was missing, its spine grotesquely twisted, its flesh barely clinging to its bones - and yet, it still moved.

It should have been dead but it wasn't. Chael slowly turned his body towards the beast from Echinda. It walked up to them slowly, its glowing, bloodied gaze locked onto them with pure, violent hunger. Chael slowly reached for his knife as he let out a heavy exhale

'Just my luck.'

Echidna, still bound against the cave wall, let out a sharp breath.

"What," she muttered, eyes sharp, "the hell is that?"

Chael's fingers tightened on his knife.

"A dire wolf," he said grimly. "And an unusually strong one."

Dire wolves were already a nightmare - but this thing wasn't normal. Its movements, unnatural resilience, and it's sheer size...

Chael had a gun-wrenching premonition that this thing was likely a Harbinger of the Veiled Realm, or even higher.

The Veiled Realm was the lowest rank of Harbingers - and that was bad enough. Because Chael was even lower than that. He was an Unveiled much like the vast majority of humans on the Primordial Sea.

Harbingers.

The chosen of the gods.

Or rather, what remained of them.

There were several billions of gods in the Timeless Era - far outnumbering the humans today and unknown reasons led to them being sealed or dying. It was agreed amongst historians that the same event which was led to the end of the Timeless Era had caused the Primordial Sea to become so empty with such little land mass.

When their age ended and the age of humans began, their remnants clung to mortals, marking them as Harbingers to inherit their prowess and become their incarnation.

No one could predict who would be chosen by a one of these gods or under what circumstances it happened, as gods, much like humans, had different criteria as to what they deemed worthy of their inheritance. And humans are too weak to handle the power of gods so they had to do so gradually, across nine great realms, each realm giving them more and more power and abilities until they were strong enough to fully inherit the extent of the prowess of the god who had chosen them. 

As far as Chael knew, there was not a single human through history who had reached the ninth realm and ascended to godhood.

Unfortunately it wasn't limited to just humans who would inherit a god's powers.

Chael steadily analysed the stalking beast's every movement, as it crouched and approached the duo like a starved beast seeing fresh food for the first time.

Unfortunately for Chael, He had no god's blessing and yet, he was about to fight something that had stepped into a realm beyond human limits.

The dire wolf moved first.

One second, it was standing still and the next, it lunged. It was a blur of blood and ice and moved much faster than it should in it's condition.

Chael barely had time to react.

His knife flashed up but it wasn't enough. Chael wanted to use Echinda's pistol but who knew what other abomination was sleeping at the end of the cave? The last thing he needed was to be trapped with not one but two beasts with a deathly Black Storm outside.

The beast's massive claw tore through the air, aiming straight for his throat.It's massive, clawed paw tore through the space where his head had been just moments ago, slicing clean through the stone wall behind him. Ice and rock exploded outward, sharp shards cutting against his skin.

Chael hit the ground hard, rolling away, barely managing to keep his breath steady. His broken arm screamed in agony, and every movement of his shattered fingers sent lightning bolts of pain racing through his nerves.

His knife felt pathetically small in his grip. The beast was simply too fast and too strong. He was sure now that this beast was a Harbinger of the Veiled Realm.

Even at his prime, this would have been a suicide mission.

But now? Now he was barely surviving.

The dire wolf snarled, its half-missing jaw twitching grotesquely, saliva and blood dripping from the ruined mess of flesh. Then it attacked again.

Chael threw himself backward, twisting just in time to avoid the deadly snap of its remaining fangs. But he wasn't fast enough-

The beast's shoulder slammed into him as it passed, sending him crashing into the stone wall.

Pain immediately exploded in his ribs.

He choked, his breath leaving him in a sharp, ragged gasp. His vision blurred for half a second, but he forced himself to move, to roll, to get back on his feet.

He barely had time to register the growling laughter from the other side of the cave.

"Y'know, I hate to say it, but you might have to untie me, Chief."

Echidna. She was still tied up and her face was warped in a sneer at his predicament.

Chael didn't look at her. His focus was completely on the abomination in front of him. If this beast was this powerful in such a ruined state, how strong would it have been before it got to this gory state?

The dire wolf lunged again.

Chael dodged barely dodged death butt this time, the claws grazed his side, cutting through his tunic, warm blood dripping instantly into the snow-dusted ground.

It was simply too powerful for him. If this was going to keep on going he'd definitely die.

Every movement was a struggle and his right arm was useless, his left was slow, and his body was already broken from his escape.

This was a death sentence, not a fight.

"So? Gonna stop being stubborn now, or are you just planning to let it eat you first?" Echinda voice came in from the other side.

Chael growled, pressing a hand to his bleeding side. His mind was screaming. Letting her loose was a risk. But if this kept but he'd die before it even mattered.

"Tch."

He kicked a boot toward the cave's corner, sending his knife which had fallen off his hand during the onslaught of the dire wolf sliding across the stone floor, right to her hands.

Echidna blinked, then grinned like a wolf.

"Well, well," she mused, gripping the knife between her fingers. "Guess you're not as stupid as I thought."

Chael didn't respond. Because he was already moving again-

The direwolf struck again. It was a blur of muscle and its ruined maw dripping blood. Its massive body moved faster than anything that size and state had the right to. The storm outside howled through the cave's entrance, a distant echo to the storm raging inside.

Chael barely moved in time. The beast's claws ripped through the air, missing his throat by inches. He threw himself back, his feet slipping slightly against the icy stone, breath coming in ragged, painful gasps. His ribs burned, his arms screamed, and his fingers throbbed.

He was going to die here.

Just then, a sharp whistle cut through the air.

Then—

A flash of silver appeared beside him.

Echidna.

She moved like lightning, fast and fluid, her knife flashing as she slashed deep across the beast's side, cutting through fur and flesh. The dire wolf snarled, spinning with unnatural speed, its glowing eyes locking onto her.