(A/n: sorry for late upload again lol, had stuff to do, anyways here ya go enjoy~)
(Third Person POV, Rimuru's internal monologue, Nova's thoughts woven in)
The grass was cold beneath her slime body. Rimuru stirred, groaning faintly, before slipping back into unconsciousness. Her magicule reserves were bone-dry. Totally spent.
Nova sat a few paces away, tails flicking lazily as the night wind shifted through the plains.
She's weaker than I expected. Naming that many wolves drained her too much.
<
So three days without her. Hm. That's enough time to set things in motion.
The wolves—no, Ranga's pack now—circled nervously, their eyes flicking between the collapsed slime and the silver fox who radiated quiet, suffocating authority. Not one dared disobey.
Nova's mismatched gaze fell on Ranga. The wolf immediately lowered himself, ears pinned.
"You will guard her," Nova commanded softly. "No harm touches her while she sleeps."
Ranga whimpered, tail sweeping the ground once. Obedience, absolute.
Satisfied, Nova rose and walked a short distance away, finding a small ridge overlooking the plains. From there, he could see the faint glow of torches in the far distance.
Goblin village. Right on time.
He narrowed his eyes.
Ciel.
<
'And Rimuru isn't awake to play hero yet. Which means… it falls to me.'
Nova's tails coiled like living silver flames, brushing against the dirt.
'But how much should I interfere?'
Ciel's voice was calm, unchanging.
<
'Fine. I'll thread the needle.'
He stood, letting his aura bleed faintly into the night. The wolves instantly stiffened, several whimpering as the weight pressed down on their instincts.
"Listen well," Nova said, voice low but carrying across the pack like a blade against glass. "From this night forward, you follow Rimuru. But you belong to me. Understand?"
Sixty-three throats lowered in a chorus of submission.
Nova's eyes glowed faintly. A predator's promise.
Good. That should hold.
---
(Rimuru POV – faint dream sequence)
Darkness. Warm.
"Where… am I?" Rimuru floated in the void, her slime form formless, thoughts drifting.
She remembered… wolves, teeth, blood, the rush of magicules when she named them. Then nothing.
Voices echoed faintly in the dark. Whispers. One soft, calculating. One calm, mechanical.
She shivered.
"Nova…?"
The shadows didn't answer.
Only silence.
(Nova POV)
Dawn bled slowly across the plains, light rolling over the ridges like spilled gold. Nova remained seated, his silver fur catching faint strands of morning sun. He hadn't moved for hours, yet not a single blade of grass around him dared stir unless he allowed it.
The wolves had settled uneasily through the night, though none dared turn their back on him. They'd grown restless as the hunger set in, their stomachs lowly growling, yet not one moved without his permission.
Nova's gaze slid over them, cold and measuring.
"Still obedient," he murmured.
<
'Good. Then I can test them.'
He rose, tails flowing behind him, each movement deliberate. The pack immediately stiffened. Ranga stepped forward, lowering his head, waiting for a command.
Nova's mismatched eyes glowed faintly as he spoke.
"Prove yourselves. Hunt."
The wolves didn't hesitate. They scattered across the plains, a storm of paws and snapping jaws, vanishing into the tall grass. Nova watched, silent, as they moved with surprising coordination. He hadn't needed to say more; instinct, sharpened by fear of him, had done the rest.
Ciel hummed in his mind.
<
'Of course it does. Rimuru inspires loyalty. I enforce it. Different tools. Same result—better outcome.'
His gaze drifted back toward the sleeping slime under the ridge. Rimuru shifted faintly in her slumber, but did not wake.
'You'll wake to a stronger pack than you left. I'll make sure of it.'
A flicker of something strange brushed Nova's thoughts. Not kindness. Not sentiment. More like… inevitability.
He shook it off.
By the time the wolves returned, blood dripping from their maws, they had brought down prey far larger than their numbers suggested possible. The carcass of a great horned deer lay at their feet. They dropped it before Nova as though he were the true alpha, their eyes downcast.
He crouched, brushing his hand along the beast's cooling hide.
"Acceptable," he said softly. "You will not starve."
The pack shifted uneasily. None dared move until Nova flicked his tails, granting them silent permission. Then the wolves tore into the meal, but even then they ate with restraint, never crossing into his shadow.
Ciel's voice slid through the air like calm water.
<
Nova's lips curved faintly.
'Perfect. Two chains. One obvious, one unseen.'
He rose again, eyes sliding toward the far horizon. Smoke curled faintly into the sky, distant but clear.
The Goblin Village.
'Canon dictates Rimuru meets them, gains loyalty through naming, builds the first cornerstone of her nation. But… she sleeps. That timeline doesn't exist anymore.'
<
Nova was silent for a long moment. The morning breeze rustled the grass around him, but his aura remained heavier than the air.
'If I delay, the wolves may strike the goblins first. That would undo everything. But if I intervene…'
His tails curled slowly.
'I'll need to make sure Rimuru still becomes the face of it. She's the one who builds the dream. I'm only the shadow that sharpens it.'
Ciel hummed faintly in acknowledgment.
<
Nova considered, then gave the faintest nod.
"Then so be it."
He turned, voice carrying across the wolves.
"We move."
They fell in line without hesitation, Ranga padding at the front beside him. Dust kicked up under their paws as the pack surged across the plains, guided by the silver shadow that was their true master.
As they approached the forest's edge, faint cries echoed through the trees—desperate, ragged screams carried by fear. Goblins, weak and struggling, already under attack.
Nova's ears flicked once.
'Too soon. The fang wolves weren't meant to attack yet.'
Ciel's voice sharpened.
<
Nova's mismatched gaze narrowed.
'Interesting. Not canon. A shift already.'
The cries grew louder, the smell of blood carried on the wind. Ranga growled low, hackles rising, ready to bolt forward.
Nova stopped him with a single glance.
"Wait."
The wolf froze instantly, every muscle straining but unwilling to disobey.
Nova stepped forward into the shadows of the forest, each pawstep silent, each motion deliberate. His tails rippled faintly, silver light bending the air.
Through the treeline, he saw them: goblins, frail and desperate, their crude weapons snapping against the massive forms of three dire bears. Blood already slicked the grass. The goblins' village behind them smoked faintly, half torn down.
Nova's gaze slid over the scene once, then again, before settling on the largest bear. Its eyes glowed faint red, unnatural.
'Not natural. Something's meddling.'
Ciel's tone was calm.
<
Nova's eyes gleamed like fractured moons.
'So the board has more pieces than expected. Good. I was getting bored.'
His tails rose, silver flames whispering through the air as the wolves gathered silently behind him, waiting for his command.
The goblins screamed again as the largest dire bear raised its paw for the killing blow—
—and Nova finally moved.
To be continued…
(A/n: cliffhanger! should Nova go all out here or test the wolves against the dire bears first? And i will like to add that I am thinking of regular updates daily give your thoughts on this)