Dreadwolf, Lord of Runes

Immediately, Kane grew alarmed. "Hold on, are you saying these Splicers of yours are turning me into a Dreadwolf!? What the fuck is that?!" He snarled, barely containing his anger. The idea of his body being changed into something that didn't sound human naturally unnerved him.

Mána seemed to be growing more impatient by the second, but she knew she wouldn't be able to duck his questions, regardless of their time crunch. So she groaned, and started explaining, "It's not 'a' Dreadwolf, but 'the' Dreadwolf. It is one of the eight asp—"

Suddenly, her explanation was interrupted by the shaking and rumbling of the crimson rock they stood on. Around them, the sea and sky, too, became exponentially more chaotic. Meanwhile, Kane started becoming dizzy. Not because of the movement, but from something that came from within him.

"W— What the hell is going on?!" he groaned as he grabbed his head. Even his Core Awakening stage couldn't prevent him from staggering a little due to the combination of shaking and dizziness.

Mána looked around with her lips pursed into a wry expression. "They're done. We're almost out of time…"

As soon as her words fell, she spread her arms and raised slightly into the air. Between her hands, a sphere of crimson red energy started forming. "That means it's time for my part," she frowned in concentration.

Yet, before she could get much further, Kane roared and suppressed the discomfort and dizziness flooding his mind. His arm shot forward, and his hand closed around Mána's neck again. "You're not doing anything to me!" he howled, furiously.

Despite being capable of blinking away, the crimson woman didn't.

Instead, she looked Kane in his eyes calmly. "It's already too late. What you're feeling is your blood and soul core trying to expel each other from your body, because they belong to different species now. Considering the power difference, your soul core will win, and your body will explode as a result. You'll likely kill the elves in the room with you, but you'll obviously die as well."

She continued holding the crimson sphere of energy above her head as she looked into Kane's eyes with only a sliver of her natural playfulness left. "It is my job to fix this… but I suppose I can give you a choice, considering how little you've had so far. You can choose to die, spiting all those who schemed against you, including me, or you can let me finish your transformation into Dreadwolf."

Kane frowned, his face morphing into a complicated expression. Obviously he didn't want to die. Both because he refused to just give up like that, and because Luna was still out there.

But the question was, could he trust this Mána? He didn't know what this Dreadwolf business was, but as long as he stayed alive and free, he didn't much care, either. 'So what if I won't be human anymore?' he thought, determination hardening his resolve. 'So long as I'm alive, free, and with Luna, what else matters?'

The main problem was that he simply didn't have enough time to truly think about this. Everything was moving so fast.

"What happens after?" Kane growled, his eyes swimming and his thoughts becoming distorted. He fought desperately to stay upright and look Mána in the eyes.

"I help you escape to another world. Together with your friend. From there, you can eventually return to Earth," the crimson woman promised, a little hoarse due to the hand that was still wrapped around her throat. "I need you to be Dreadwolf, and I needed the elves help for that, but I always intended to betray them. No way would I allow Dreadwolf to become a pet for some elven bitch."

Her usually mischievous eyes were filled with sincerity, conviction, and determination. Kane felt compelled to believe her. Still, he waited a little to see if she would break her word and force the choice on him after all.

But after a few more seconds of staring into each other's eyes, Kane felt like he would soon faint. He knew it was now or never.

So he nodded.

"F— Fine," he faltered slightly, while releasing her throat. "Do it."

The playful smirk reappeared on Mána's expression. "Good! You won't regret this!"

With the decision made, Mána's eyes sparkled with excitement. she rose up slightly in the air as the crimson sphere of energy between her hands grew larger.

Meanwhile, Kane was forced to sink to his knees, panting. His vision swam. His thoughts started to halt. He felt no pain because he was in his soul world, but he could feel the end approaching. And it terrified him.

Mere moments before he lost consciousness, Mána's sphere pulsed once, expanding across the surroundings. Every inch of the roiling sea and chaotic sky was shortly covered in a veil of crimson.

At the same time, relief started spreading through Kane's body. That dizzy feeling slowly ebbed away. But then, something else started filling its place. It was fear.

Despite the danger having passed, he still felt afraid. So very afraid. And it wasn't going away. It only got stronger. "What— What the hell is happening," he muttered, his eyes wide.

He couldn't remember ever feeling this way before. His memories from before the age of ten were spotty, and Father's games had quickly taught him to stay calm under any circumstances.

He panted and kneeled on the ground. His body shaking. Heart pounding. Terror filling his very being. It was a fear that had no particular origin. It was simply all-consuming.

In the air, Mána floated, a conflicted gaze fixated on Kane. 'Should I say something?' she wondered, a frown marring her beautiful face. But before she could decide either way, the situation turned, filling her with surprise. 'He already has it under control?' she thought, her eyes wide.

Kane balled his fists and punched he ground. In his eyes, terror made way for determination and grit. His discipline stamped down on the dread filling him. His ability to stay calm no matter what reared its head. "No!" he growled loudly. "I will not be ruled by fear!"

"I!"

"Am!"

"Fear!"

He howled these words into the surroundings. He didn't know why he did, but the moment he got a grip on his fear, they came bubbling up from inside.

His heart pounded. His eyes flickered with a terrifying red. An excited grin on his face.

Suddenly, like an explosion of power, a wave of eerie crimson spread out from his body.

Then, he fainted.

* * *

Meanwhile, in a world far away from Alfheim, a stalwart man with a square jaw and an intense gaze sat in an austere office. His short hair was black, and his eyes were brown. In front of him was a holographic screen filled with data that he appeared to be scanning through.

Suddenly, he frowned and looked up at the ceiling, before his eyes opened wide in surprise.

At the same time, an excited woman stormed into the room. Her hair was fiery red, and her eyes were an intense blue. She was tall, perhaps as tall as Kane, and wore a dangerous spear on her back. Her face gave one an impression of fierce power.

"Brother!" she exclaimed with a wide grin. "Did you feel that?!"

"I did," the man nodded slowly, only just recovering from his own surprise. "Dreadwolf has returned…"

"So what do we do?!" the woman continued in her excited tone.

"Nothing we can do," the man mumbled with a thoughtful frown and a complicated gaze. "We don't know where they are. And even if we did, we can't leave here. All we can do is hope for the best…"

However, the woman clearly wasn't ready to give up. The excitement left her face. "How can you say that!" she complained with a helpless expression. "We can ask the Goddess for help! I'm sure she'd want us to—"

"No!" the man growled, with a calm authority. "You are not to get involved in this, understood? Dreadwolf is—"

"Pah! Stories! Nothing more," the woman scoffed and waved her hand.

"Anyway," she continued with a taunting grin. "You can't stop me, so I'll let you know what I find out."

With a wave of her hand, she stormed out of the room again, off to see the Goddess, while her brother stayed behind with a complicated expression, unknowing thoughts filling his mind.