Chapter 222: The Oracle Beneath Saintfall

The Werefangs had not been hunting the students. Not entirely.

Their aggression had not been driven by hunger, territorial instinct, or some primitive desire to slaughter intruders- not entirely so. They had been protecting something- something buried deep beneath the Saintfall Expanse.

Something that had existed long before the modern nations, before awakened rankings, before academies, and perhaps even before humanity had developed the language to describe abilities.

Deep beneath the ruins of the battlefield, the surviving Werefangs retreated.

They did not look back at their fallen king. They did not mourn him. Instead, they ran deeper and farther into the forest, until they reached a place no ordinary human would have noticed.

A massive stone arch stood between two cliffs, almost completely covered by roots and moss. One by one, the Werefangs passed through it.

Beyond the arch lay a cavern, and within it something was waiting.

At its center stood an enormous black stone. It was roughly shaped like a human woman, though time had eroded much of its features. Chains of ancient silver wrapped around its body, and runes covered its surface, yet the strangest thing was its face.

Two eyes had been carved into the stone, and they were closed.

The Werefangs lowered themselves immediately. Even the strongest among them pressed their foreheads against the ground. A low growl escaped one of the younger creatures.

It was afraid of the thing before them.

The ancient stone suddenly trembled, and one of the carved eyes opened. A golden light filled the cavern. The Werefangs froze.

Then a voice emerged from inside their minds.

"The King is dead."

Silence. The creatures lowered their heads further.

"His blood has returned to the earth."

The golden eye dimmed.

"Yet the covenant remains."

A pulse of energy spread through the cavern. Every Werefang suddenly felt something awaken inside its body. The weakest among them gained a flicker of intelligence. The stronger ones gained language, memory, reason, and strategy.

The Werefangs had always possessed instincts, but this was different. This was thought. The Oracle had granted it to them, as it had done for generations.

***

The Saintfall Oracle...

Long before the Saintfall Expanse became a monitored hunting ground, the region had been known by another name.

The Land of the First Howl.

Ancient records described a civilization that once existed there. They were not human or beastkin, but something between the two. The land itself wasn’t originally from Earth.

The records were fragmented, contradictory, and largely dismissed by modern historians.

According to the oldest surviving texts, the civilization had discovered an ancient entity beneath the earth. They called it many names.

The Sleeping Seer, the Golden-Eyed Mother, the Voice Beneath the World, but the name that survived into modern records was much simpler: The Saintfall Oracle.

Nobody knew what species the Oracle belonged to. Some believed it had once been human; others believed it was a god. Some scholars theorized that it was an artificial intelligence created by an ancient civilization.

Others believed it was something far older. The truth was considerably stranger. The Oracle did not give power. It gave understanding.

The Werefangs were originally little more than highly aggressive magical beasts. They possessed strength, instincts, and pack behavior, but they lacked true intelligence.

The Oracle changed that.

It established a strange covenant with them. The stronger the Werefang, the greater the intelligence it could receive. A weak Werefang might possess the intelligence of an ordinary animal.

A C-Rank Werefang could understand simple commands. A B-Rank could speak. An A-Rank could reason, strategize, understand human behavior, and develop sophisticated tactics.

And the King... The King had been something else entirely.

The Werefang King possessed enough strength to receive an intelligence approaching that of a human genius.

That was why the Werefangs had followed him. That was why they had protected the Oracle. And that was why the King had fought Graham until death.

The covenant wasn’t simply loyalty. It was survival. If the Oracle were destroyed, the Werefangs would gradually lose the intelligence it had given them.

They would become beasts once again. The Oracle was their teacher, their library, their civilization, their inheritance, and perhaps most importantly, their future.

For centuries, the Werefangs had guarded the cavern.

When humans eventually discovered the region, they never found the Oracle. The Werefangs drove them away. When stronger monsters appeared, the Werefangs fought them. When hunters entered the forest, they were hunted in return.

And when the modern government eventually established the Saintfall Expanse as a controlled hunting region, the Oracle remained hidden.

Nobody knew it existed. Nobody except the Werefangs.

Until now.

The Oracle’s golden eye slowly closed, and the cavern became silent again. The surviving Werefangs remained on their knees. Then the Oracle spoke one final time.

"The children of mankind have entered Saintfall."

Several Werefangs raised their heads.

"They seek strength."

The stone trembled.

"They do not yet understand what they have found."

"Protect the covenant."

The golden light vanished, and the Oracle returned to its slumber. Above it, the tournament continued.

***

West Town Saints Academy...

Several kilometers away, a completely different group moved through the forest. They had no idea what had just happened beneath their feet.

West Town Saints Academy had been moving through Saintfall Expanse for several hours. Kelvina walked at the front, her hands behind her head, and she looked almost bored.

"This place is disappointing."

Marcus glanced at her.

"We’ve already fought twelve monsters."

"Exactly."

"You wanted more?"

"I expected stronger ones."

Perry walked beside them, his dark-orange hair flickering faintly.

"You’re impossible."

Kelvina shrugged.

"I know."

Ezra was not with them. He had separated from the group earlier to investigate another section of the Expanse. That left Kelvina, Perry, Marcus, Serena, Darius, and Mira traveling together.

Serena checked the information on her wrist device.

"We’ve been moving north for almost forty minutes."

Marcus frowned.

"Why?"

"Because the monster activity is increasing."

Kelvina’s eyes brightened.

"Finally."

Mira sighed.

"That’s not necessarily a good thing."

"Everything is a good thing if it gives me something to punch."

Perry glanced toward the trees.

"That’s a terrible philosophy."

"It works."

They continued walking.

None of them noticed the subtle changes around them. The trees were becoming older. The roots were thicker. The terrain gradually became more uneven. Even the air felt different.

Serena suddenly stopped.

"Wait."

Everyone looked at her.

"What?"

She stared at her device.

"The environmental readings just changed."

Marcus approached.

"How?"

"Mana density." She frowned. "It’s increasing."

Perry’s flames flickered.

"By how much?"

"Thirty percent."

Kelvina smiled.

"Now we’re talking."

Mira looked around nervously.

"There’s something else."

"What?"

She pointed toward the ground- footprints, large ones, but they weren’t fresh. They were heading in one direction: north.

Marcus studied them.

"Do you think a pack is retreating?"

Serena nodded.

"Probably."

Kelvina immediately started walking. Marcus grabbed her shoulder.

"Where are you going?"

"Following them."

"Why?"

She smiled.

"Because monsters don’t retreat without a reason."

Perry sighed.

"I knew you’d say that."

Kelvina continued forward, and the others reluctantly followed. They didn’t know it yet. They weren’t following the Werefangs. They were following the trail leading directly toward the hidden cavern. Toward the ancient covenant, toward the sleeping Oracle, and deep beneath their feet, one golden eye slowly opened.