When Beasts Dream of Freedom

The new path was cruel in its simplicity.

A narrow corridor stretched on for what felt like miles. The floor was polished so smooth it nearly mirrored them, their warped reflections wavering just underfoot. The walls were close — not confining, exactly, but intimate in a way that felt invasive, like hands brushing too close to your throat.

They walked in tight formation. Hollowfang kept just ahead of Raen, its hackles half-raised, muscles twitching every so often as though it was shaking off phantom touches. Despair Maw drifted behind, jaws open slightly, scenting the air with cautious clicks of its tongue. Ember Vow walked at Raen's side, her hand never quite leaving his arm, fingers tracing small, anxious shapes over the leather.

No illusions reached for them. No monstrous claws burst through the stone. It was almost peaceful.

And that terrified Raen more than any of the Abyss's previous games.

Halfway down the corridor, it began.

It was subtle at first. A slight thickening in the air, a faint vibration that buzzed across Raen's skin. Memoryweaver stirred inside him, threads uncoiling in wary spirals.

Then he heard it.

Hollowfang's voice — not a snarl, not a bark, but a quiet, confused whine that somehow echoed from everywhere at once. Despair Maw's deep rumble followed, rolling through the corridor like thunder muffled by snow.

Ember stiffened. Her eyes darted around. "It's showing them something."

Raen swore under his breath. He reached out, resting a hand on Hollowfang's broad shoulder. The beast flinched, muscles jumping under his touch, but didn't pull away. Its head swung toward him, eyes wide, pupils tiny slits in pools of molten amber.

"What do you see?" Raen asked, voice low, steady.

Hollowfang made a tiny noise — a half-growl, half-wail — then pressed its head against his chest. Raen held it there, fingers buried in the rough fur that still carried faint scars from the Warden's claws.

Despair Maw let out another low, pained sound. Its vast body hunched tighter, coils looping over themselves, as if trying to shield something fragile inside.

Then the walls came alive.

Images crawled across them — soft, fleeting, ghostly. They showed wide open fields under pale sunlight, rivers that glowed with faint bioluminescence, forests thick with ancient trees. Beasts like Hollowfang loped through the grass, jaws open in silent, joyous howls. Shapes like Despair Maw slid through clear water, their scales catching the light in brilliant ripples.

Freedom. A life without leashes, without blood-soaked corridors. Without Raen.

Ember's breath caught. Her hand found Raen's again, gripping tight. "It's offering them release."

"They're not bound that way," Raen muttered. His voice was steady, but something cold twisted under his ribs. "Not by chains. Not even by my will."

"No," Ember agreed. "But even beasts dream. Even loyalty can ache."

The corridor pulsed. The images grew sharper. Now they showed Hollowfang sprawled in a sunlit clearing, belly up, pups tumbling over its legs. They showed Despair Maw half-submerged in a vast lake, tiny creatures darting around it without fear. Both beasts looked… peaceful. Content in a way Raen had never seen them.

And he realized with a sick lurch that the Abyss wasn't lying. This wasn't a torment born of false memory or clever illusions. It was simply pulling honest longing to the surface — longings Hollowfang and Despair Maw barely understood themselves.

[System Notice: Bond Strain Detected]

[Emotional Disjunction Risk: Moderate]

[Adaptive Test: Autonomy Versus Pack Instinct]

Hollowfang pulled back. Its eyes locked on Raen's. Confusion warred with sorrow there, and something else — a tiny spark of hunger. Not for food. For that simple, unburdened existence the corridor promised.

Despair Maw's vast eye swiveled toward Raen. A ripple ran through its coils. Then it let out a low, questioning whuff, mouth opening just enough to show rows of careful teeth.

"They're asking," Ember breathed. Her voice was almost a whisper. "If it's worth staying."

Raen swallowed hard. Memoryweaver rose inside him, ready to blaze out, to crush this corridor with sheer refusal. But he paused. Held it back.

Because the Abyss, cruel as it was, had laid bare something true. These beasts were with him by choice, yes — but choice was still a burden. Staying meant more battles. More scars. Maybe deaths that could've been avoided if they'd simply chosen differently.

So he did the only thing that felt honest.

He sank to one knee. Held out his hands, palms open.

"If you want that — if either of you want to chase that sun, that river, those empty fields — I won't hold you," he said. His voice cracked, but he forced the words through. "You're free. Always have been. Always will be."

Silence wrapped around them. The corridor seemed to pause, as if the Abyss itself was holding its breath.

Hollowfang stepped forward first. It pressed its massive head into Raen's hands, teeth bared in a grin that wasn't threatening — just wild, raw, alive. It let out a huff that ruffled his hair. Then it leaned harder, almost knocking him over, before finally settling beside him with a sigh that sounded suspiciously like relief.

Despair Maw coiled closer. Its great head lowered until one luminous eye was level with Raen's face. It blinked — slow, deliberate. Then it opened its jaws and gently nudged his shoulder with a mouthful of blunt teeth. Not a bite. A promise.

Ember let out a shaky laugh, tears glimmering at the edges of her eyes. "You really would've let them go."

"I'd rather they be happy out there," Raen rasped, "than bleed here for me if their hearts weren't in it."

[System Notice: Adaptive Trial Complete]

[Bond Parameters Reinforced: Loyalty Now Inviolable by External Influence]

[New Effect: Pack Will — Allies Gain Resistance to Emotional Manipulation]

The corridor shivered. The images on the walls wavered, then faded entirely. The stone lost its mirror sheen, becoming rough again under Raen's boots. The air cleared, losing that faint, sweet tang of false promise.

Hollowfang licked the side of his face — rough, quick, a bit embarrassed. Despair Maw let out a long, low laugh that rumbled through the floor. Ember's hand found his, warm and steady.

"You didn't just pass that test," she whispered. "You shattered it."

Raen exhaled slowly, then rose. Memoryweaver settled in his chest again, quiet but stronger for it. "The Abyss keeps trying to twist what we have. Keeps thinking there's a lever it can pull."

"And every time," Ember said with a small, proud smile, "we prove there isn't."

Together they walked on, deeper into the waiting dark.

This time, the Abyss didn't try to stop them. Didn't even whisper. It felt… thoughtful. Almost wary.

Raen almost pitied it. Because for all its ancient hunger and clever cruelty, it still didn't understand the simplest truth:

What chose to stay of its own free will could never be broken.Not by illusions. Not by crowns.Not even by the Abyss itself.