Chapter 43:The First Clash

Chapter 43: Chapter 43:The First Clash

Ash backed away instinctively.

Then the third Dreadborn moved toward him.

Aren stepped in front of it.

The Dreadborn stopped.

For a heartbeat, neither moved.

Then Aren attacked.

His claws struck the creature’s forearm.

The Dreadborn blocked the blow and immediately countered.

Aren twisted aside, but the creature’s claws still caught his shoulder.

Aren stumbled.

Ash reacted without thinking.

He lunged.

His claws struck the Dreadborn’s side.

The creature moved backward.

Ash landed in the snow and immediately turned.

The Dreadborn stared at the shallow marks Ash had left across its armor.

Then it looked at Ash.

There was no anger in its expression.

There was curiosity.

"Interesting."

The single word made Ash’s stomach tighten.

It was studying him.

Ash attacked again.

The Dreadborn blocked his first strike.

Ash changed direction and swung from the opposite side.

The creature avoided it.

Ash lowered his body and tried to strike beneath its guard.

This time, the Dreadborn stepped backward.

Aren attacked from the side.

The creature was forced to turn.

Ash saw the opening.

He moved.

His claws scraped across the creature’s chest armor.

A thin line appeared across the dark bone.

The Dreadborn looked down.

Then it smiled.

Ash understood.

It had allowed the attack.

The realization came too late.

The creature suddenly moved.

Its paw struck Ash across the chest.

Ash was thrown backward and crashed into the snow.

Pain shot through his ribs.

He struggled to breathe.

Aren immediately rushed between them.

The Dreadborn attacked.

Aren blocked.

The impact pushed him backward.

Ash forced himself to stand.

"Aren!"

Aren glanced at him.

Ash moved.

The two attacked together.

Ash came from the left.

Aren came from the right.

The Dreadborn blocked Ash’s claws, then turned toward Aren.

Ash used the opening to strike its shoulder.

The creature stepped away.

Aren attacked again.

The Dreadborn blocked.

Ash moved behind it.

For several seconds, neither side gained a decisive advantage.

The Dreadborn was faster than Ash.

But Ash and Aren were learning to move together.

Ash distracted.

Aren struck.

Aren forced the enemy to turn.

Ash attacked from another angle.

Their movements were imperfect, but there was an instinctive rhythm between them.

Rowan noticed it while fighting the second Dreadborn.

"Ash, stay with Aren!"

Ash heard him.

He didn’t need to be told twice.

The battle intensified.

One Blackfang hunter charged a Dreadborn and managed to force it backward.

Another hunter came from the opposite side.

The Dreadborn ducked beneath the attack and struck the hunter’s leg.

The hunter fell.

Rowan immediately intercepted the creature.

He drove it into a tree with enough force to shake snow from the branches.

For a moment, Rowan appeared to have the advantage.

Then the Dreadborn twisted free.

It landed several meters away.

Rowan charged again.

This time, the creature blocked his attack and redirected his momentum.

Rowan stumbled.

The Dreadborn could have struck him.

It didn’t.

Instead, it looked toward Ash.

Rowan noticed.

His eyes narrowed.

"You’re not here to fight us."

The Dreadborn looked at him.

"No."

Its answer was calm.

"We are here to learn."

Rowan’s expression hardened.

"Learn what?"

The creature looked directly at Ash.

"Whether the blood survived."

Ash felt a cold sensation move through him.

Before he could respond, the Dreadborn stepped forward.

Aren growled.

Ash raised his paw.

"Wait."

The Dreadborn stopped.

For the first time, Ash felt that the creature was actually listening to him.

"What do you want?"

The creature studied him.

"You are asking the wrong question."

Ash’s eyes narrowed.

"Then what should I ask?"

The Dreadborn smiled.

"Who you are."

Ash felt the relic beneath his fur suddenly become hot.

The red symbol pulsed.

The Dreadborn noticed.

Its expression changed for the first time.

Recognition.

It had seen the relic.

Ash instinctively covered it.

The creature took one step forward.

Aren immediately blocked its path.

The Dreadborn looked at Aren.

"You carry the scent of the old alliance."

Aren froze.

The Dreadborn continued.

"Your people knew the truth once."

Aren’s eyes widened.

"What truth?"

The creature’s expression became unreadable.

"You have forgotten."

Before Aren could respond, the Dreadborn suddenly turned away.

Rowan stepped forward.

"Don’t leave."

The creature looked back.

"You have already shown us enough."

Rowan’s claws tightened.

"You attacked my hunters."

"They will live."

Rowan stared at it.

"That was your choice?"

"Yes."

The Dreadborn glanced toward Ash.

"We were not sent to kill him."

Ash’s heart stopped for a moment.

Rowan immediately moved between them.

"Who sent you?"

The Dreadborn did not answer.

Instead, it raised one hand.

"Enough."

The other two Dreadborn immediately disengaged.

They moved backward into the trees.

Rowan shouted, "Don’t let them escape!"

The Blackfang hunters pursued.

But the forest had already changed.

The Dreadborn knew exactly where they were going.

They moved between the trees without hesitation, disappearing into the snowfall.

Ash followed for several seconds before stopping.

Something lay on the ground.

A small piece of black bone armor.

He picked it up.

The moment his paw touched it, the relic around his neck erupted with blue and red light.

Ash staggered.

A sharp pulse traveled through his body.

His vision disappeared.

For an instant, the forest was gone.

He stood somewhere else.

Somewhere ancient.

Snow covered a massive battlefield.

Blackfang wolves stood beside Silver Lynxes.

Ice Bears formed a defensive line behind them.

Great Eagles circled above.

Across the frozen plain stood the Dreadborn.

But they were not the only creatures there.

Something enormous stood behind them.

Its shape was hidden by darkness.

Ash tried to look closer.

He could not.

The ancient battlefield suddenly shook.

A terrible sound echoed across the snow.

Then the vision broke.

Ash returned to the forest.

He dropped the fragment.

Aren immediately grabbed his shoulder.

"Ash!"

Ash breathed heavily.

"I saw something."

Rowan approached.

"What?"

Ash looked toward the place where the Dreadborn had disappeared.

"The ancient war."

Mira had told him about it.

But this had been different.

He had seen it.

He had felt the fear.

The cold.

The desperation.

And something else.

Something standing behind the Dreadborn.

Ash could not explain what it was.

The system appeared before his eyes.

Dreadborn Material Detected.

A second message followed.

Ancient Resonance Detected.

Ash stared at the words.

Then another appeared.

Historical Memory Fragment Unlocked.

Warning: Data Incomplete.

The vision vanished.

Ash remained silent.

Rowan noticed the change in his expression.

"We’re going back."

Nobody argued.

The group returned to the settlement before sunset.

One hunter had suffered a deep wound across his shoulder, while another had a fractured claw. Fortunately, neither injury was life-threatening.

Mira treated them immediately.

When she finished, she turned toward Rowan.

"What happened?"

Rowan’s jaw tightened.

"They could have killed us."

Mira looked at the wounded hunters.

"But they didn’t."

"No."

Rowan looked toward Ash.

"They were testing him."

Mira’s expression changed.

Ash lowered his head.

"They fought us because they wanted to know what I could do."

Mira closed her eyes for a moment.

"That is worse than an attack."

Ash looked at her.

"Why?"

"Because an enemy that wants you dead only needs an opportunity."

Mira’s voice became quiet.

"But an enemy that wants to understand you will keep coming back until they know everything."

Ash touched the relic.

The red eye remained visible.

He thought about the Dreadborn.

Their patience.

Their coordination.

The way they had avoided killing the hunters.

The way they had allowed him to strike.

Everything had been deliberate.

The fight had never truly been a battle.

It had been an examination.

That night, the settlement finally became quiet.

Ash could not sleep.

He waited until the guards changed shifts before quietly leaving his den.

Aren was waiting outside.

"You knew."

Ash looked at him.

"I knew you would come."

They walked together toward the western edge of the settlement.

The snow reflected the faint moonlight.

Neither spoke for several minutes.

Then they found it.

Another symbol had been carved into a stone.

The black claw surrounded the red eye.

But beneath it were unfamiliar markings.

Ash stared at them.

They were not written in the Blackfang language.

They were not Silver Lynx markings.

Yet somehow, he understood them.

The first line appeared in his mind.

You are not ready.

Ash’s breathing became slow.

Then a second line seemed to reveal itself beneath it.

But you will be.

Aren stared at the markings.

"What does it say?"

Ash hesitated.

"They know I can read it."

Aren looked toward the forest.

Something moved between the trees.

Both of them turned.

For a moment, Ash saw two crimson eyes in the darkness.

Then they disappeared.

Aren lowered his body instinctively.

Ash remained still.

The forest became silent again.

Nothing approached.

Nothing attacked.

Whoever had been watching them had already left.

Ash looked down at the relic.

The red eye pulsed once.

Then the system appeared.

New Objective: Survive the Dreadborn’s Trials.

Ash stared at the words.

Aren looked at him.

"What does it mean?"

Ash slowly closed his paw around the relic.

"I don’t think they are trying to kill me."

Aren’s expression became uneasy.

"Then what do they want?"

Ash looked toward the western mountains.

"I think they want me alive."

The words remained between them.

Neither wolf spoke afterward.

Far beyond the valley, hidden beneath the mountains, a Dreadborn stood on a high ridge and watched the distant settlement.

The creature touched the damaged piece of armor where Ash had scratched it.

A faint smile appeared.

"He learns quickly."

Another Dreadborn stood behind him.

"Should we take him?"

The first creature shook its head.

"Not yet."

"Why?"

The crimson eyes remained fixed on the distant settlement.

"Because he still believes he is being hunted."

The creature turned away from the valley.

"He has not yet understood that the trial has already begun."

Snow swept across the ridge.

The figures disappeared into the darkness.

And beneath Moonveil, far below the frozen earth, the ancient seal pulsed once.

The Guardian remained silent.

But somewhere beyond the mountains, something older than the Blackfang Pack was waiting for Ash to become strong enough to face the truth.

The hunt had begun.

But Ash was not the hunter.

He was the marked prey.

To be continued...