Tenebrous Wolf-Chapter 25: Nightmare

"Huh? What?"

When Klaus opened his eyes, those were the first words that escaped his lips in shock. He found himself in an unfamiliar world, a vast darkness that stretched endlessly around him. It was nothing like his Soul Stream. There was no crimson sun or sense of stability. Only an overwhelming stillness, thick with an unshakable feeling of danger.

Sensing the ominous atmosphere of this foreign realm, Klaus immediately rose to his feet and scanned his surroundings. But with no source of light, he saw nothing. Even so, a prickling sensation crawled down his spine.

Something was watching him.

I don't understand. Why am I here? I can't... will myself out?

A deep unease settled over him as he grasped the reality of his predicament. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't will himself out of the dark world with a mental command. Stranger still, he couldn't even feel the sensation of his own footsteps. There was no sound as he quickly turned, searching for something unseen yet undeniably present.

Trapped in a state of confusion and high alert, Klaus stood frozen, until a sudden flash of light flickered at the edge of his vision.

Moments before he could blink, a pair of gleaming white fangs lunged from the darkness and sliced through the air, threatening to crush his head with incredible biting force.

"!!"

Klaus didn't even have time to curse. He moved on instinct and rolled his body backward. That single, involuntary action saved his life, and more importantly, his head.

A sharp sting flared across his right cheek as the fangs narrowly missed, leaving behind a deep cut. Blood trickled down said cheek, but he barely registered the pain.

Despite the overwhelming reality of the situation, Klaus refused to believe this was anything more than an ultra-realistic dream. Any human would have acted this way; All logic pointed to it being nothing but a dream, so why should he think otherwise?

Whatever he believed this to be a dream or not, the creature in the darkness didn't give him time to process. Accompanied by another blinding flash, the fangs struck again.

Realization hit him an instant before impact. Klaus threw himself to the side and narrowly dodged as the monstrous fangs crashed down, sending tremors through the dark void.

If he had been a second slower, his chest would have been crushed.

He was just beginning to stand when the white fangs lunged from the side. This time, Klaus was ready. Instead of dodging outright, he moved with the attack and threw a fist forward.

A loud, metallic clang exploded in his ears, making his eyes widen in shock. It felt like he had punched something far harder than steel, yet strangely, it felt soft at the same time.

His hand trembled from the force of the blow, but at the very least, the unknown creature was sent stumbling backward.

That brief opening allowed Klaus to finally see his attacker.

Before him, the creature emerged from the endless darkness. There was no shadow, no distinct separation from its surroundings, it was one with the surrounding abyss. Only its crimson eyes burned vividly, filled with rage, hunger, and pure malice.

Appearance-wise, it took the form of a wolf. Klaus couldn't determine its exact size, but it was larger than any wolf he had ever seen and easily bigger than a fully grown gray wolf. The beast growled, baring its fangs as though announcing itself as the ruler of this world.

Damnit! W-What is going on? Why am I fighting a bloody wolf?

Panic dominated Klaus's mind.

Just moments ago, he had been sleeping peacefully in his bed and now he was fighting a monstrous wolf in complete darkness. Worse, it was definitely not the friendly kind.

Then again, was there even such a thing as a friendly wolf?

Shit!

That was all Klaus had time to think before the shadow wolf lunged again. It moved with unnatural speed, as though devouring the space between them. This was just an optical illusion caused by the creature's shadowy properties.

He reacted immediately, dodging to the side just in time to evade the razor-sharp claws. Despite being a newly awakened Ascendant, Klaus was confident in his agility and believed he could keep up, so long as he anticipated the creature's movements. Unfortunately, this thought was completely naive. The shadow wolf instantly adjusted as soon as it landed and reached him in an instant.

This time, its bone-crushing jaws snapped at the empty space where his head had been moments ago.

Barely given time to think, Klaus took advantage of the opening and delivered a powerful kick to the creature's side. His foot connected, sending the wolf staggering back while a faint cry of pain escaped its throat.

That momentary reprieve gave Klaus the chance to dart his eyes around, desperately searching for anything he could use as a weapon. Much to his misfortune, there was nothing except darkness. Even if he continued searching, he doubted he would find anything at all.

At this moment, only 'he' and 'it' occupied this limitless void.

In short, it also meant that escape was impossible and he had to kill the creature with nothing but his fists. But the possibility of doing so was not something he could count on.

Tch. Just great.

Not only was he fighting an absurd monster, but he was doing so blind. Who knew what else could be lurking in this abyss? And more importantly, how the hell was he supposed to kill something like this with his fists? He was barely dodging the creature's attacks as it was.

There were a few ways he could imagine doing it. He did have inhuman strength, after all, but the risk was immense

If he went through with it, there was a high chance he wouldn't walk away unscathed.

Or worse, he'd die.

In other words, without a weapon, attempting to kill this creature was utterly suicidal.

This content is taken from fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm.

Ah.... Would that work?

A crazy idea entered Klaus's head.

For a moment, he was shocked by his own brain and couldn't decide whether it was the product of desperation or pure madness. Either way, he simply didn't have time to entertain that thought.

The next second, the space he had occupied moments ago was devoured by a massive claw.

A thunderous tremor rippled through the void. Klaus barely managed to leap back in time, but even as he thought he had dodged successfully, a terrible pain exploded across his chest, which nearly made his knees buckle under his own weight.

Four long deep gashes appeared on his chest, and blood began to seep out as if his body was a broken fountain.

The sight of his own blood spilling so grotesquely sent his instincts into overdrive. Before he could even process the pain, before his mind could register what had happened, he suddenly felt pressure as a horrifying heavy weight crushed down on his arm.

The shadow wolf had clamped its fangs down on his forearm he instinctively used to block his neck.

Klaus barely stifled a scream as white-hot agony threatened to rip through his entire body.

There was no time to recover.

If he tried to free his right hand, he would only worsen his injury. Worse, the creature might clamp down harder, refusing to let go until he lost all strength, giving it the perfect chance to go for his throat. That would be game over, permanently.

A chilling thought crossed his mind.

What happens if I die in this unknown world?

As his eyes opened wide and his body trembled, Klaus abandoned all his remaining sense of rationality and gave way to madness. So instead of struggling to free his arm, Klaus opened his mouth wide and bit down on the wolf's nose with all the force his jaws could muster.

The moment his teeth sank into the shadow wolf's nose, the beast's body jerked violently. A monstrous snarl ripped through the darkness as it recoiled in shock and rage. Its grip on his forearm loosened, just slightly, but it was all the young awakened needed.

He didn't hesitate.

Ignoring the white-hot agony coursing through his arm, he twisted his body and ripped his arm free. The wolf's fangs tore through flesh, leaving behind deep, bloody wounds, but Klaus barely registered the pain. His mind was in a haze, fueled by raw survival instinct.

As soon as the shadow wolf and let out a deep gutteral growl as blood gushed out from its nose, Klaus, without hesitation, pounced on it and captured the creature's jaws with both hands, his bleeding hand included.

He had no weapons except his hands and used them to forcefully open the shadow wolf's mighty jaws that could swallow a grown man's head.

His intent went beyond merely opening the creature's jaws.

The shadow wolf seemed to sense the danger and began to resist at once, but Klaus didn't let go.

Both Klaus and the shadow wolf seemed to be at a stalemate. The young man couldn't let go of the creature's jaws or else he would be killed while the creature tried its hardest to free itself.

Every muscle in the boy's arms screamed as he fought against the beast's incredible strength and tightened his grip despite the stinging pain in his right arm. The wolf thrashed violently and swung its claws at his whole body, leaving behind deep cuts, causing blood to flow and weaken its supposed prey. But Klaus held on and dug his fingers into the beast's maw with the sheer tenacity and desperation of a man on the brink of death.

Perhaps frustrated and enraged, an insane light ignited in the creature's eyes.

The shadow wolf let out a snarl before lunging forward, snapping its jaws with a force capable of shattering bones. Klaus gritted his teeth, feeling the scorching heat of the wolf's breath wash over his face.

Obviously, the creature was trying to overpower his attempt and devour his face at the same time.

Do you think I'll let you eat my head, you damn stupid mutt? Know your fucking place!

With that thought, a tremendous fire ignited in Klaus's eyes. It was a burning light that signified his desire for dominance.

At that moment, he summoned every last ounce of strength he could muster, fueled by adrenaline. Then, with one final push, he twisted its jaws open—wider, wider—until a sickening pop echoed through the void.

A deafening howl tore through the abyssal sea.

The shadow wolf staggered back with its shattered jaw and swayed uncontrollably. In its last moments, the crimson fire in its eye seemed to fade like a melted candle that had served its purpose.

Then finally, the mighty beast fell onto the ground, its body unmoving and its eyes lifeless.

Klaus collapsed to his knees, panting, and his vision seemed to be swimming from blood loss. His chest rose and fell rapidly, and his entire body trembled from exhaustion.

He had done it.

He had defeated the almighty monstrosity.

As Klaus moaned and drew in a raspy, painful breath, the wolf's body convulsed as its shadowy form distorted. Dark mist poured from its wounds, writhing like living tendrils before slithering toward him. His instincts screamed at him to move, but his body was simply too sluggish and drained to obey his command. So he could only powerlessly let the dark mist coil around his legs, then it crawled up his body like freezing fire before entering and settling deep inside his body.

It was certainly an eerie sensation and the fact he was too powerless to stop it made the experience more horrifying, but it seemed harmless to his body. Even so, he didn't like the notion of something foreign entering his body.

Disregarding his feelings, the mist continued to sink deeper into his body. His wounds burned, but surprisingly, the pain wasn't unbearable. If anything, his body felt... stronger.

His gaze snapped back to the shadow wolf, which had collapsed onto the unseen ground, its body flickering like a dying flame. Its crimson eyes locked onto his, not with rage, but something else.

It was a gaze that spelled its understanding and acceptance of its demise.

The mist thickened, and Klaus suddenly realized he was absorbing the creature's essence.

A flood of sensations overwhelmed him at once. Strength, hunger, power, starvation, carving. Memories that weren't his flashed before his eyes were that of chasing prey under a crimson moon, the primal thrill of the hunt, the unbreakable will of a beast that ruled the dark.

Then, silence.

The shadow wolf's body crumbled into pure darkness, which surged into Klaus like a raging tide. His muscles tensed, his heartbeat pounded in his ears, and for a second, he felt as though he was drowning in the dark sea.

Then, he suddenly heard a voice that was neither beast or man, whisper into his mind:

Then, the darkness settled.

Klaus exhaled shakily, his body feeling... different. Stronger. Sharper. As though something fundamental within him had changed. He clenched his fists, staring into the endless void.

And then, for the first time since arriving in this unknown world—

A voice echoed from the depths.

[You have inherited the Will of a Fallen Sovereign.]

[You have slain the shredding of the Nyx Annihilation Wolf.]

[You have acquired an Echo: Wrathful King.]

[... Your strength grows stronger.]