The moment my awakening began, a howl tore through the air.
It wasn't just sound, it was power.
Everyone in the hall including my parents, the elders, even those with high-level patterns, collapsed instantly.
Then everything went black.
I was pulled into a vast space filled with drifting suns, moons, and worlds as if I were flying through the multiverse itself. Stars blurred past until my body suddenly stopped.
And then there was this immense pressure.
It crushed me from every direction. I couldn't move, couldn't even blink. My blood froze, my heart forgot to beat, and my soul … trembled.
I knew instinctively that if I so much as tried to move a drop of blood, I'd die.
Then, just as suddenly, the pressure vanished. The silence that followed was shattered by another deep, echoing howl that rippled through the galaxies.
When it faded, a shape emerged before me like a towering, wolf-like figure wrapped in silver light and shadow.
I couldn't tell whether it was a friend or predator.
The being's voice thundered across the cosmos:
"Hoh! You endured my howl? Is it because your soul is foreign?"
My mind spun. Foreign soul … it knows about me and who is he?!
Before I could speak, the creature continued, voice like rolling thunder.
"I am the great Eirnwolf, before whom even the gods must bow."
Eirnwolf? The name itself vibrated through my bones. He had answered the question I hadn't even spoken aloud.
"Does your family bear the blessing of the Devourer Wolf?" he asked.
Somehow, I managed to nod. Then curiosity, this stupid, reckless curiosity took over.
"Do you … know the Devourer Wolf? Are they your enemy?"
The instant the words left my lips, the universe screamed.
Bloodlust flooded the space; the pressure returned, ten times worse. My bones cracked, my skin bled from every pore.
"You dare compare me to that puny Devourer Wolf!" Eirnwolf roared. "They are pawns I use to conquer worlds, they are just mere tools to seize control of planets!"
I could only gasp for air. "I-I'm sorry … I didn't mean to — "
The pain eased as quickly as it had come.
"Do not fear," Eirnwolf rumbled, voice now calm. "I am not here to harm you, but to choose you. You shall become my descendant. I will grant you the power to dominate all, but when the time comes, you must perform a task, no matter the cost."
I wanted to refuse … but I couldn't. The offer, the power, was irresistible.
If someone who calls the Devourer Wolf a pawn wishes to bless me … how strong could I become?
As I accepted, a searing pull tore through my body, it was the forging of a pact.
Later, I would learn from Eirnwolf himself that his howl was said to echo only when a world's end meets its rebirth.
Which could mean only one thing that Helven was standing on the edge of a disaster so great it might either save or destroy everything.