Hope ran full speed toward the base of the towering statue, his heart pounding violently against his ribs.
The creature was close behind him, its guttural snarls and heavy footfalls sending tremors through the cracked earth.
He didn't dare look back.
No point.
He already knew it was gaining on him.
"Just a little more..."
His sharp eyes scanned the massive stone figure ahead.
A stairway.
A narrow, winding path leading upward.
He didn't hesitate.
His legs burned as he took the steps two at a time, his breath coming in short, ragged gasps.
Behind him—
The fiend barreled forward, its enormous body crashing through debris as it pursued him with terrifying speed.
The statue trembled from the impact.
Stone cracked.
Dust rained down.
But Hope kept climbing.
Higher.
Faster.
Until—
He reached the top.
A wide, flat platform stretched before him, roughly eighty feet above the ground.
The wind howled around him, cold and sharp.
He turned—
And smirked.
"This should be high enough."
Now all he had to do was wait.
Sure enough—
The fiend wasn't far behind.
With a savage snarl, it launched itself up the steps, each heavy step shaking the statue beneath Hope's feet.
A second later—
It was there.
On the platform.
Facing him.
The glowing red eyes burned with primal rage, its breath coming out in furious huffs.
Hope moved.
The fiend moved with him.
Step by step, he led it closer to the edge.
Then—
He grinned.
"You stupid, deaf, angry fiend—why don't you come and get me?"
The taunt echoed across the night.
The fiend growled.
A deep, guttural sound, filled with fury.
Hope's muscles tensed.
Then, in a single fluid motion—
He activated his awakened ability.
Instantly—
The shadows peeled away.
The world became clearer, sharper.
He wondered why he hadn't activated it earlier, for the sake of the dead gods he was affiliated with darkness.
And for the first time—
Hope finally saw the creature in full detail.
It was huge.
Nearly eight feet tall at the shoulder, its body rippling with unnatural muscle.
Thick, blackened fur bristled along its spine, its claws long and curved like scythes.
Its face—
Hope blinked.
"A wolf?"
The name surfaced in his mind like a distant memory.
Something he had once read.
But no—
This thing was far worse than any wolf described in books.
Its mouth was lined with jagged fangs, its lower jaw split unnaturally wide, as if it had been broken and forced to remain that way.
A foul stench of decay rolled off its body.
Its eyes, glowing like molten embers, locked onto him.
Hope swallowed.
No more playing around.
The fiend lunged.
A blur of speed—
Jaws snapping—
Claws swiping—
Hope twisted his body, dodging just in time.
The fiend skidded, claws scraping against the stone, nearly losing its balance.
It teetered—
But at the last second, dug its claws into the platform, keeping itself from falling.
Hope clicked his tongue.
"Damn, it's fast."
His plan wasn't going to work unless he forced it closer to the edge.
He had to make it lose control.
And for that—
He needed one final push.