B3 - Chapter 21: Heart of the Pack

The six-limbed reptilian monstrosity let out a roar that sounded like grinding stones and tearing metal, then it lunged at its opponent, the heat surrounding its black scales hissing against the frigid air. The towering mountain of jagged ice ahead swung a fist the size of a carriage to meet the assault. The two attacks collided once more, and the impact sent a shockwave through the cavern.

Nearby ice pillars cracked, and fine, diamond-like dust rained down as Seth watched from the invisibility of Illusionary Emptiness, heart hammering against his ribs. Both creatures were already covered in horrendous wounds. The reptile beast's left flank was a mess of shattered obsidian scales and steaming ichor despite the healing of the small otter-like creature nearby, while the giant golem had lost an entire shoulder to its opponent's bite.

Seth watched in awe as their spells crashed and tore against one another, relentless and unyielding. Neither creature gave ground; neither even seemed to consider retreat. They fought like apex predators locked in the same domain—both knowing that as long as the other lived, there would be no true dominion.

His eyes narrowed, seizing the occasion to cast Intermediate Identify on the two titans.

Seth had recognized the two creatures from the faded sketches in his father's encyclopedia, but seeing the names still made it even easier to recall information about them.

Two details surprised him.

The first was that the Obsidian Dread-Drake was meant to dwell near volcanic regions, not deep within an icebound cavern where frost ruled everything. Secondly, when he had last used Identify on a Gold-tier beast during his excursion with the Champions of Chaos, he hadn't been able to perceive even the Tier of the Golems—Professor Reat had to tell him that information as Orwen and the others had been fighting.

I probably can see it now because my control over aether has improved, Seth thought.

His gaze shifted, drawn to the small, flickering shape weaving through the air near the Obsidian Dread-Drake's head. Without missing a beat, he cast Intermediate Identify once more.

With a frown, Seth searched his memory, flipping through everything he had read, every annotated page from his father's encyclopedia—but found nothing. Still, the Gold Potential made Seth feel uneasy.

If he had encountered such a creature while Silver, it would have been the perfect addition to their team. But right now it only felt out of reach since he couldn't form another bond with Link until he broke through the next Tier.

Ahead, the Obsidian Dread-Drake roared once more as it launched another attack. The giant ice golem answered in kind: jagged spikes erupted from the ground, lancing upward and piercing through two of the drake's six legs, freezing blood and stone alike.

Well… I probably won't get the chance anyway, Seth thought.

The Luminous Otter let out a high-pitched chime and spun in the air. A fresh wave of mending light erupted from its paws, swirling in a glowing vortex around the Obsidian Dread-Drake. The lizard's shredded muscles began to knit together, and the cracked obsidian scales tried to fuse again before being broken once more by another blow.

Seth realized the truth of the struggle. The tiny, Iron, Priest-like creature was the only reason the Low-Gold drake was still standing against an opponent far stronger. The otter gave the drake a significant advantage, though Seth knew there was a limit to how much a small spirit could influence a clash of titans. The small healer was slowing, its pale blue light flickering and becoming weaker with every cast.

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'Should we try to kill the winner?' Nightmare asked through Link, standing invisible a few feet away.

'Are you mad?' Seth answered mentally before glancing in the direwolf's direction. 'One spell from it and we'd be dead.'

'Look at them,' the direwolf retorted. 'They are going to die from those injuries whether we step in or not. One final attack is all it would take to claim the glory of killing a Gold beast.'

'And that's why we should stay hidden.' Seth's gaze locked on the Glacial Mountain-Cracker Golem as it summoned a forest of jagged ice spears from the ceiling. 'We would be taking a massive risk for a result that is already decided. I don't think it would give us any attributes.'

'Fine,' Nightmare answered, though the tone dripped with bitter disappointment. 'But don't you dare walk away without harvesting their beaststones. I refuse to let those get taken by anyone else.'

The Obsidian Dread-Drake's tail carved through the air, shattering a towering pillar of ice into a storm of glittering shards as heat gathered deep within its maw. The temperature in the cavern spiked—then it unleashed its attack.

A torrent of molten breath erupted forward, and the searing stream crashed into the Glacial Mountain-Cracker Golem, melting through its jagged armor. Ice hissed and warped, layers collapsing into steaming runoff as the attack drilled in deeper.

But the golem did not retreat and stepped into the inferno instead.

Its massive arm pulled back, aether surging around the limb, then the creature slammed down. The fist of absolute-zero ice crashed into the drake's skull with catastrophic force.

The impact reverberated like a collapsing mountain.

Bone and scales shattered. The drake's head snapped into the frozen ground, its body convulsing once—then went still as the molten breath sputtered out.

For a heartbeat, the golem stood triumphant, looming over its fallen foe, its towering form radiating cold, unchallenged dominance. Then…

A fracture spread.

The light within its crystalline eyes flickered. A low, grinding groan echoed from deep within its core as the damage from the last attack revealed itself. A molten cavity smoldered through the golem's torso, where the searing breath of the drake had pierced its defenses and reached the heart of the frozen construct.

Steam began to pour from the wound, and the giant staggered.

Its limbs trembled, structure failing as cracks spiderwebbed through its body. Then, with the slow inevitability of a glacier collapsing… it dropped to one knee and fell forward, sending a final tremor through the cavern floor before shattering into thousands of ice shards.

Silence descended over the cavern.

Above the drake's ruined head, the Luminous Otter darted in frantic loops, its small form blazing with desperate light. Sharp, pleading chirps echoed through the cavern as it spun and released wave after wave of healing energy into the lifeless body below.

Nothing changed.

The wounds remained torn open. Blood continued to seep. No flesh knit back together; no breath returned.

The drake did not stir.

The dead could not be healed.

Still, the otter did not stop.

Seth pressed his lips into a thin line, something tight settling in his chest. Part of him winced at the sight of the creature's grief. And part of him couldn't help but think this would have been the perfect bond to join him.

Luck isn't on my side this time, Seth thought.

He remained in the shadows with Nightmare for several long minutes, unmoving, watching as the otter's glow began to flicker from obvious exhaustion—its body faltered long before its will seemed like it would.

After being certain that no other beast had been drawn by the battle and the promise of spoils, Seth let Illusionary Emptiness unravel. The distortion around him faded, and he stepped forward at last, his gaze moving to the fallen remains of the ice giant.

He pulled a hunting knife from his Endless Pouch and aimed it down into the largest mass of ice to where the beaststone should rest.

The blade never bit.

Steel screeched against the frozen surface and slid off, leaving only a shallow scratch across the glassy, aether-infused ice. Seth exhaled sharply and lowered the knife before putting it away.

Dark energy surged along his forearms, coiling into shape as the Dusk Scythes manifested along them.

This time, when he struck, the shadow-forged blades sank in.

Seth forced them to carve into the fractured section of the remains, where the drake's final attack had already weakened the structure. The scythes bit through layers of condensed ice and frozen aether, and he worked in silence, breath steady but strained as he hacked his way inward.

Long seconds passed before the resistance finally gave way, and the blades broke into a hollow pocket.

He let the Darkness spell dissipate, pried the cavity open, and reached inside to pull free a large, pulsating blue gem—the beaststone of staggering purity.

Seth drew back, wiping a mixture of frost and sweat from his brow, then his gaze drifted toward the other corpse.

The otter-spirit was still there.

It circled the drake's body in weakening arcs, its once brilliant glow now dim and unsteady. Each time it gathered enough aether, it released another fragile wave of healing light—only for the spell to fade uselessly against unmoving flesh.

Still, it tried. Again. And again.

Nightmare padded forward. The creature of light immediately sensed his approach; it abandoned the drake's head and stood between the corpse and the direwolf. The otter's small frame trembled as it hovered in the air, yet its eyes burned with a fierce light.

Nightmare let out a low, vibrating snarl. He jerked his head to the side, signaling for the creature to move aside. The otter didn't budge. Thick, dark smoke began to billow from the direwolf's maw as he lowered his head and nodded to the side again.

The meaning was clear: move, or die.

Colossus erupted from the teardrop necklace and scuttled forward to wedge his massive frame between the snarling direwolf and the flying Luminous Otter.

'Wait, Big Brother Nightmare,' the scorpion's voice vibrated through Link. 'He... uh, she just lost a friend. We cannot simply rip open the corpse in front of her.'

Obvious irritation flashed through Nightmare's crimson eyes. 'There is a Gold beaststone inside that giant lizard! It could even be a spell-shard!'

Colossus didn't budge. He stayed perfectly still, his black multifaceted eyes darting toward the otter made of blue light. 'What about her grief? We can't just ignore that!'

Nightmare let out a derisive scoff, dark smoke curling from within his jaws. 'Why should we care about the emotions of our enemy? That stone probably contains enough energy for you to gain a dozen attributes. It is the law of the wild.'

'She doesn't look like an enemy to me,' Colossus retorted, gesturing with a smaller claw toward the creature huddling behind him. 'She only wants to protect her fallen companion. And I don't want the strength of a stone taken that way.'

Nightmare's growl grew louder and more annoyed as he turned his head and spoke directly to Seth's mind. 'Reason with him. I am losing my patience with this misplaced sentimentality.'

Seth looked at the tiny otter, then at the earnest, pitiful expression on Colossus's face. The scorpion had developed a strange empathy for the creature protecting her friend.

Seth let out a slow exhale.

Normally, there would have been no hesitation. Those kinds of actions could come back to bite him in the ass. Mercy wasn't something that was rewarded. Not in the long run.

So why didn't he feel it now?

Why wasn't that familiar drive there—that cold hunger urging him to take what could be taken, secure every advantage, harden himself one choice at a time?

Because the thing wasn't a threat? That didn't fit either.

He had done worse. Crossed darker lines when it had mattered. Only days ago, he had accepted chaining cubs for a decade for the sake of his friends, kill a whole village of possible sentient beings to get stronger. So why did this feel different?

His gaze drifted back to Colossus.

Link had always been messy. It carried instincts, emotions, fragments of feeling that weren't truly his. Nightmare's violence. Colossus's stubborn will to protect.

Was this mercy Seth's... or the scorpion's?

And whoever it belonged to, why should he allow it?

Most of the time, circumstance made the choice easy. Do what needed to be done to survive and keep moving.

But right now, the otter could barely stay afloat. It wasn't a threat. Not now. Or ever, realistically. With no immediate danger pressed against his throat, he couldn't hide behind necessity.

Yet again he—they—had killed for less than that. For beaststones, or even something trivial like testing spells. So why now?

As Seth's eyes lingered on the giant scorpion, he searched for an answer that made any sense. But nothing came up. Maybe there wasn't one. Maybe it was really just some misplaced and irrational empathy from Colossus in the end.

Seth finally turned to Nightmare. 'I don't think the stone is worth making him feel like a monster,' he said quietly. 'At least not today.'

Nightmare's ears twitched, irritation rippling through Link. 'When, then? When that naivete gets him or one of us killed?'

Seth didn't answer, and the direwolf's gaze slid back to the otter. 'You could bind it with a contract,' he added. 'And force it to come with us. It might be possible even if you have two bonds, since those aren't through contracts.'

Seth frowned.

'Also, you might not be able to use Link on it right now, but it might be possible once you're Silver,' Nightmare continued. 'A healer would be great for us. Especially for Small Bite. And he already likes that damn thing.'

Seth's attention returned to the Colossus and the small creature of light. The otter had finally stopped glaring at Nightmare and was now locked in a silent stare with the giant scorpion.

Colossus simply stood there… meeting its gaze. There was no hostility or threat. Just understanding of two living beings that breathed to protect and heal.

Seth felt something pull at his face. A Gold-potential Priest-like beast. In any circumstance, this would be the opportunity of a lifetime—and yet forcing it to stay with them with a contract felt even more wrong than killing it in front of Colossus.

"What's the point of becoming stronger if we stop being there for one another?" Seth asked aloud.

Nightmare growled under his breath but didn't answer.

Seth watched Colossus as the scorpion began to slowly circle the otter to examine it. "You're right, he's naïve. He doesn't weigh everything like we do. But maybe that's not a weakness."

Silence stretched between them, and Nightmare's tail flicked against the frozen ground. Then the direwolf huffed, turning his head away.

"Fine," he muttered aloud. "We leave it for now, but we'll come back later. If that thing is gone, we take the stone. I'm not letting a Gold-Tier feast go to waste just because you and Small Bite got sentimental."

Seth nodded. "Fair enough."

He spun toward the tunnel behind, then glanced over his shoulder.

"Let's get going, Colossus. We have to check on Elena and rest. We've been here long enough."

The scorpion hesitated for a second, but then turned to follow—though he looked back one last time at the small otter of light that stayed behind with the remains of the two titans.