Tave lay sprawled across the ground, his body trembling, his breath ragged and shallow. His vision blurred, his hearing dulled, and his limbs felt as if they had turned to lead. His heart pounded in his chest with an almost violent force, every beat like thunder as he gasped for air, his body on the edge of collapse.
His consciousness teetered on the brink of slipping away, but he forced himself to hold on, just for a moment longer. He had made it out. He had escaped the jaws of death, if only barely. That alone was worth a breath. Just one.
Beside him, he could hear the soft, broken whimpers of the pup. The little wolf struggling against the rope still wrapped around its body. It yelped, calling out, maybe for help, maybe for its mother.
Beyond the railing, the adult wolf still growled, pacing just on the other side of the boundary, its fury trapped by the barrier.
He couldn't rest here for long. He needed to move. He needed to get far away from here before anything else found him.
At least now… he had what he needed. A creature for the sacrifice.
Damn.
His head throbbed, so heavy it felt like it might fall off his shoulders. He pushed himself up, blinking against the weight in his skull, and looked at the pup again. It was still fighting the ropes, twisting and struggling with soft, angry cries.
He reached for it, gently holding it in his hands.
"Hey buddy… sorry… but I need your blood," he murmured.
Then he fell silent.
And in that silence… he hated himself!
A sharp, bitter stab of guilt hit him right in the chest.
What the hell was this? Why did he feel bad? Why did his hands tremble while holding this struggling little monster?
They were monsters. Monsters! They'd kill him without hesitation. There was no room for sympathy here. No space for compassion.
Damn it!
Was he really this soft?
This world didn't allow that. It would chew him up and spit him out if he hesitated, even once. He needed to be ruthless, to cut his heart away from his choices like the original protagonist did.
Tave clenched his jaw.
He drew a sharp breath through his teeth, looked away from the pup, and then back at it.
The adult wolf hadn't moved. It simply stood there, growling lowly, watching him through the barrier with a mixture of pain and defiance.
Tave stood up slowly, his ankle nearly numb now, still throbbing, but manageable. He could heal later.
He limped toward the barrier.
The wolf didn't lunge. It didn't bark. It just stood, its growl deepening as Tave approached, eyes burning red and unwavering.
Tave stared back, then looked down at the pup in his arms.
"Hey… do you want your baby?"
He gritted his teeth again.
God, he hated this.
Why the hell was he hesitating? Why the hell did he feel bad for a freaking monster?
Maybe… maybe it wasn't the pup's fault. Maybe it wasn't even its child. Maybe it didn't matter.
But sacrificing a baby. That felt wrong. So very wrong.
Even monsters could love. Even monsters had families.
He thought of how readers would react if he made the original protagonist do this.
'Main character doesn't need a heart!'
'Who cares about feelings? Kill it and move on!'
He would've hated that too.
Because maybe… he wasn't meant to be a protagonist at all.
Just an extra, walking someone else's path.
Tave sighed. Long, tired, and heavy with disgust at himself.
Then he knelt, loosened the rope around the pup's body, and let it go.
The small wolf hesitated for only a second before leaping from his hands and bounding back to the adult.
And in that moment, Tave just stood there, alone, watching it disappear into the darkness beyond the barrier.
The pup let out a high-pitched whimper. Tave couldn't tell if it was a cry, a call, or just raw emotion. But it stumbled toward the adult wolf, nudging its bloodied side gently.
The adult collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud, its strength giving out beneath its wounded body.
Still, with what little energy it had left, it turned and licked the pup softly, a slow, tired motion full of quiet affection.
The pup trembled and let out another sound. Something between a cry and a howl, as it pressed itself close to the adult's neck.
Tave found himself watching, pulled into the moment more than he'd expected.
He let himself sit back down on the ground. Damn it, his legs were still burning, his strength barely crawling back.
That wolf. It was dying. Its wounds were too deep, too many.
But even like this, even at death's door, the two wolves still communicated like something… real. Something alive.
They weren't just monsters.
Sure, they had the instinct to kill, but they hadn't lost everything that made them what they were before Gaia Force twisted their forms.
The adult, clearly the parent, still cared. Still protected. Still loved.
It struggled to stand again, legs shaking violently under its own weight. The pup whined beside it, trying to hold it down, as if to say stay… don't move…
Then, slowly, the adult wolf raised its head and looked at Tave.
Its eyes, still glowing faintly, no longer held rage.
Just exhaustion. Acceptance.
And then it let out a low, soft growl.
"What? You wanna say thanks? No need…" he muttered.
The wolf didn't back away. It took a slow, dragging step toward the barrier, nudging its snout toward the edge.
As soon as it touched the railing, a sharp spark burst outward, repelling it instantly.
The beast yelped, stumbling back. The pup immediately cried out, panicking, circling its parent and licking its jaw frantically.
Still, the adult pushed itself back up, its body swaying.
And then, it looked at him again.
Another low growl.
Tave narrowed his eyes. "What? You know I need something like you… for the sacrifice?"
His voice cracked with tired bitterness.
"You know? This body's a mess. Weak. Barely able to use Gaia Force. I need to get stronger. I need to break out of this weakness…"
The wolf didn't growl again, but it didn't look away either.
It just stood there, breathing heavily, blood dripping steadily from its wounds.
Tave stared back, expression blank.
"Damn it. If only you could speak. If you're giving up on living… I'll make you my sacrifice."
No response.
Just the slow, labored breathing of a dying beast.
And then, the wolf's legs gave out beneath it.
It collapsed again, this time not from force, but surrender.
The pup let out a heartbroken cry and tried desperately to rouse it, licking its face, nudging its head with small paws.
But the adult didn't move.
Its sides still rose and fell, shallow and faint.
It was still breathing… but barely.
Tave let out a breath through his teeth.
Well… this wolf was as good as dead.
Leaving it here would mean it'd die anyway.
He made his decision.
Yes… this time, he didn't hesitate.
"Hey, little buddy… let me save your parent," he said softly, though in truth, he meant something else entirely, that he wouldn't let the wolf's death go to waste.
Tave wiped the blood from his brow and flicked it toward the adult wolf's body.
The pup continued circling its fallen parent, panicking, whining, pacing frantically.
Tave drew his sword. Without a second thought, he leapt over the railing, ignoring the dull burn in his ankle, and knelt beside the wolf.
Using the tip of his blade, he began carving a large circle into the dirt, wide enough to fully contain the wolf's body. With practiced motion, he drew the complex symbols and sacrificial patterns he'd memorized long ago.
But he knew it. And he remembered every detail.
When the circle was complete, he dragged the adult wolf, now nearly motionless, into the center. It didn't resist.
Tave then turned, walked to the pup, and gently lifted it.
"Sorry, little buddy. I need a moment. No interruptions."
He placed the pup back beyond the barrier, outside the reach of what was about to happen.
The pup howled as he stepped away.
Tave knelt once more at the edge of the circle. The adult wolf still breathed, shallow, but alive. Its eyes followed his movements, tired but not afraid.
He closed his eyes, raised his hands, and began to form the hand seals.
His fingers moved swiftly, precisely.
[ You have initiated the Forbidden Ritual – Bloodline Override Sacrificial Ceremony. ]
[ Warning: This process is irreversible. Pain levels will exceed critical thresholds. ]
[ Target selected: Tier 2 Shadow Wolf – Condition: Critical. Compatibility with Dark Element: High. Ritual commencing… ]
A hum pulsed through the air as the ritual activated.
A deep crimson glow burst from the carved circle, spreading along the etched lines like fire racing through veins.
The adult wolf shuddered. Its body was surrounded by a red aura, the essence of its soul and bloodline beginning to rise.
Tave gritted his teeth, his body seizing as the energy surged toward him, spiraling into his chest.
And then, the pain hit.
It was blinding.
It wasn't like a wound or a burn. It was like his very soul was being torn apart and rewritten, thread by thread.
He arched backward, gasping, as the red aura poured into him, his veins lighting up like searing molten lines beneath his skin.
His hands trembled violently, his heart pounding so hard it felt like it would explode.
He screamed, but not in fear.
In rage. In defiance.
In transformation.
The ritual had begun.