Rise of the Ninth Pavilion

With the beast gone, the soldiers remained frozen in place. Though they had escaped certain death, the lingering fear still clung to them like a thick mist. They had survived—but only through luck and fate.

Questions weighed heavily on their minds. Why had the beast come looking for them? Was it because they had killed the bears? Had they overstepped some unspoken boundary? Were the bears meant to be guardians, stationed there for a reason? Or was there something even more terrifying at play?

Bogi and Oliver stood in silence, their thoughts racing, piecing together the fragments of what they had just witnessed. But before they could speak, a light cough broke the heavy atmosphere. Michael.

Bogi turned toward him, then glanced at the soldiers still gathered in uneasy formation. He took a slow breath before giving the order.

"Disperse. Get some rest. We'll talk about this tomorrow."

His voice was calm but firm, carrying the weight of responsibility. He hesitated for a moment, then gave a slight nod—a silent gesture of gratitude. He acknowledged their stance, their unwavering trust, their readiness to stand and die at his command.

"Thank you."

Then, his tone sharpened once more.

"Sub-captains, follow us to the command tent. Roki, Rashid—you two as well."

The tension followed them as they stepped inside the tent. The air was thick, the mood somber. Oliver exhaled sharply before breaking the silence.

"That was death for sure. If not for sheer luck, we were as good as gone."

Bogi nodded, his gaze distant, his expression unreadable. "Luck," he repeated, voice cold. "The thing is… we are stranded here. We know nothing. We don't understand this world, its rules, its powers. But today, we learned something—this valley is as good as nonexistent from the outside."

He glanced at Oliver, then at the others. "That creature couldn't locate us. It was only a few dozen meters away, yet we were invisible. That confirms it—whatever is protecting this place, it works. For now."

Oliver's fingers drummed against the wooden table, his jaw tight. "We also learned something else," he muttered. "We've caught the attention of something bigger. And now… we are in more danger than ever before."

Bogi exhaled slowly, his voice lowering. "The things we know—" he paused, shaking his head. "They are so few. And the things we don't know—they're growing larger by the moment."

Silence settled over them. It was suffocating. The weight of the unknown pressed down, thick and inescapable. They had thought their small victory would change things. And it had. But not in the way they had hoped. 

"Now the next question presents itself," Lazar's voice cut through the heavy silence in the tent. "What are we going to do next?"

The weight of his words settled over the group like a physical burden. The very air in the tent felt denser, pressing down on their shoulders. Bogi exhaled slowly, his expression unreadable. "That's a question that needs to be carefully thought through," he admitted. "We succeeded this time, but next time, we may not be so lucky."

He glanced around the room, locking eyes with each soldier in turn before continuing. "Regardless, in a few days, we will have to go back—for food, for water. There's no avoiding it."

He turned to Oliver, his gaze firm. "We lay low for now. We monitor the situation from here. We have the advantage of seeing beyond the valley without moving, thanks to our new abilities. We use that."

Oliver nodded, but his expression was dark. His voice, when he spoke, was so heavy it seemed to press onto the air itself. "How the hell did that thing track us?"

His sharp gaze shifted toward the scouts, searching for an answer. But before they could respond, a voice—calm, deliberate—broke the moment. "By this energy," Ogar said, his tone quiet but certain. The silent man rarely spoke, but when he did, his words carried weight. "Even before you got close to the valley… we could feel you from a distance. But only you."

His eyes locked onto Oliver. Lazar nodded, frowning. "Yeah… we could feel you, Oliver. It was like a beacon. Instinctively, we knew it was you." The realization settled in the tent, a new weight added to their growing list of concerns.

Bogi, deep in thought, finally asked, "How do you feel when you look at me?"

Rashid was the one who answered, his voice thoughtful. "Now that I've been upgraded… you feel different. More like a void in the world. Captain Oliver, though—he's still a beacon. I can see it clearly if I focus." Bogi nodded slowly, digesting the information. Then he turned to Oliver. "And you? How do you perceive me?"

Oliver furrowed his brow, focusing for a moment before responding. "I don't sense the void Rashid is talking about. But… your energy is harder to notice now that it has increased. It's less distinct, like it's blending into the background."

New discoveries, new mysteries. Every second brought more understanding, but also more questions. Bogi let out a quiet sigh before speaking again. "I think it's best if we rest. The night is upon us, and more than anything… we survived. That alone is worth something."

He turned back to Oliver. "You and I will take shifts keeping watch. What do you think?"

Oliver gave a firm nod. "Agreed. We need rest, and tomorrow morning, we'll gather everyone for a meeting. We need to hear from those who have been upgraded, as well as those who have not. We need to understand how this shift will change our perception of this world—and of each other."

Bogi met his gaze, their unspoken understanding firm. "We need everyone before anything else." And with that, the decision was made. Tomorrow, they would seek answers. Tonight, they would survive. 

As the soldiers dispersed, Bogi and Oliver reached an unspoken agreement. Without exchanging a word, Bogi turned and made his way toward the pass.

When he arrived, he found Nikolai and Luke standing guard at the entrance, their weapons gripped firmly, their posture rigid despite the exhaustion creeping into their bones.

Bogi's voice was calm but carried the weight of command. "Enough. Go and rest. I will take over." His tone left no room for argument, but beneath the authority, there was respect. He had not forgotten how they had all stood ready to die just a short while ago.

Nikolai and Luke exchanged a brief glance before nodding in silent understanding. They said nothing, but deep down, they were grateful. Not because they wished to abandon their post, but because they were unsure if they could even tell if something was wrong.

The valley had hidden them before, shielding them from the overwhelming presence of Var'Zun—but what if that changed? Would they be able to notice if the concealment faded? Would the shift be subtle, or would it vanish in an instant, leaving them exposed without warning?

That uncertainty gnawed at them more than any approaching enemy. They trusted their weapons, their training—but could they trust themselves to sense something beyond their understanding? And so, without another word, they turned and left, disappearing into the camp's dimly lit pathways.

Bogi lowered himself into a lotus position, a posture that, with every passing second, felt more and more natural to him. His breathing steadied, and his senses expanded, stretching to their maximum range. He would see anything that moved beyond the valley. If something came, he would be ready to defend the pass with his life.

Meanwhile, as the twin suns dipped below the horizon… Var'Zun arrived at the Hollow Peaks.

Without slowing, he swooped directly into the vast cavern where Ascanis, the Night Sovereign, resided. The chamber was carved deep into the mountain, its towering walls adorned with jagged shadows cast by faint, flickering embers.

Var'Zun landed with a heavy thud, folding his massive wings. Without hesitation, he fell to the ground, prostrating himself before the black panther seated upon the great stone throne.

"My Sovereign!" Var'Zun's voice carried urgency and submission. "I have failed the task assigned to me!" Ascanis did not open his eyes. He did not acknowledge Var'Zun's presence—not yet.

Var'Zun continued, his voice tight with frustration. "I could not find the humans who hunted the bear and its brethren at the border." He hesitated for a moment, choosing his next words carefully. "However, I noticed something… strange."

Now, Ascanis' golden eyes opened, just slightly. A flicker of mild interest—no more. Encouraged, Var'Zun pressed on. "These humans are not from the great sects." That much had become clear. They had taken the bones of the evolved bear with them. No warrior of a great sect would have bothered with such spoils—they had better materials at their disposal.

And more importantly… "They left an energy trail in the air, Sovereign. Either they did not know how to hide it… or they did not care to." His talons clenched against the cold stone. "But then, as I followed their trail for several kilometers… they disappeared into thin air."

Ascanis was silent for a long moment. Then, his cold voice slithered through the chamber like a blade of ice. "And what do you suggest, Var'Zun?"

Var'Zun's wings twitched slightly, but he kept his head low. "Sovereign… now that the other Sovereigns have left, you should not waste your attention on such minor details. Please, allow me to assign a subordinate to watch over that region. I will send a beast on the verge of its sixth pillar—one close to gaining sentience. If the humans appear again, it will deal with them."

Ascanis did not react. For a moment, the silence itself became suffocating. Then, his tail flicked lazily against the stone, and his golden eyes narrowed. "You do that." A pause. Then, his voice turned razor-sharp. "But if you fail again… it will be your last."

Var'Zun tensed but did not dare speak. Instead, he bowed his head lower, muttering "Understood, my Sovereign." Ascanis closed his eyes once more, already dismissing him.

Relief flooded Var'Zun's chest, though he did not let it show. He immediately took flight, his wings beating with renewed urgency as he shot out of the cavern. His next move had already been decided.

At the foot of the Hollow Peaks… Var'Zun descended swiftly, his golden eyes locking onto his target—the Wolf Lord. A towering, demonic beast, its body rippled with dense muscle, its dark fur streaked with faint silver markings. Unlike lesser creatures, it did not snarl or challenge his presence.

Instead, the Wolf Lord prostrated itself upon the ground the moment it sensed Var'Zun's arrival. It knew its place. Var'Zun wasted no time. With a single powerful motion, his talons seized the beast, lifting it off the ground. The Wolf Lord did not resist—it was intelligent enough to know that defiance meant death.

And so, without another word, Var'Zun soared through the sky, carrying his chosen replacement toward the bears' former territory. It did not take long. When he arrived at the now-desolate region, he dropped the Wolf Lord onto the ground, its massive paws sinking into the bloodstained earth.

Then, his voice rang out, final and absolute.

"You are guarding this area now."

The Wolf Lord lowered its head in submission. It understood the command. It would not fail. Without another glance, Var'Zun turned and vanished into the sky, leaving only the beast behind. The hunters had become the hunted. And if the humans returned… they would not leave alive.