Chapter 58 : The Ancient Predator Clash

Chapter 58: Chapter 58 : The Ancient Predator Clash

The frozen plateau lay beneath a sky that had almost disappeared behind layers of dark cloud.

Snow drifted across the ancient stones in thin, restless sheets, filling old cracks and carving pale lines around the black rocks that rose from the earth.

Beyond the plateau stood Moonveil Mountain, enormous and silent, its upper slopes disappearing into the storm while a faint blue radiance occasionally pulsed somewhere deep beneath its frozen foundation.

Ash moved carefully through the snow, his paws sinking into the soft surface before finding the harder ice underneath.

Aren followed several steps behind him, his silver coat almost disappearing against the pale landscape, while Moonfang moved farther to the side with its head lowered and ears constantly shifting.

Kael remained toward the rear, watching the surrounding ridges rather than the path ahead, as though he expected something far worse than the wounded creature to emerge from the storm.

They had followed the creature’s trail for hours.

The blood it had left behind was impossible to mistake. Dark stains had soaked into the snow at irregular intervals, sometimes disappearing beneath ice before appearing again several dozen steps farther ahead.

Whatever had wounded the ancient beast had done considerable damage, yet the creature had continued moving toward Moonveil without slowing for long.

Then the trail ended.

Ash stopped.

Ahead of them, the plateau opened into a broad frozen basin surrounded by ancient stone pillars.

Most had been broken by time, but several still stood, their surfaces covered with weathered carvings that resembled the symbols they had found beneath the northern mountains.

Snow had gathered around their bases, while a thin blue glow escaped from narrow cracks in the ground between them.

And standing beyond those pillars was the creature.

Ash had seen it before, but seeing it again from this distance made the scale of the beast even more difficult to comprehend.

Its four enormous legs were planted firmly against the frozen ground, each limb thick enough to resemble the trunk of an ancient tree.

Two smaller forelimbs rested near its chest, their long claws partially buried in the snow. Its pale armor-like scales were covered in scratches, dried blood, and fresh wounds, while the massive injury along its side had reopened during the journey.

Steam escaped slowly from its nostrils.

The creature’s head was lowered toward Moonveil.

It wasn’t looking at them.

Ash narrowed his eyes.

The beast was watching the mountain.

Kael noticed it as well. He raised one paw, silently ordering everyone to remain where they were.

"Don’t move any closer," Kael said quietly. "Whatever brought it here is still affecting it."

Aren’s ears tilted forward. "It isn’t watching us."

"No," Kael replied. His gaze remained fixed upon Moonveil. "That’s what worries me."

Ash studied the creature from behind the cover of an ancient stone pillar. The beast looked exhausted, but there was something else in its posture.

It wasn’t simply resting after escaping an attacker. Its muscles remained tense, and every few seconds its head shifted slightly as though it were listening to something beneath the mountain.

Then the ground pulsed.

A faint blue light travelled through the cracks beneath the snow.

The creature immediately raised its head.

For several heartbeats, everything remained still.

Then Ash felt the black relic beneath the fur around his neck grow warm.

His ears lowered.

The familiar sensation spread through his body, beginning as a faint pressure against his chest before becoming a deep vibration that seemed to travel through his bones. The relic had reacted before, but this time the response was stronger.

The creature turned.

Its eyes met Ash’s.

The world seemed to become strangely quiet.

Even the wind appeared to fade.

Ash felt the creature’s gaze move across him before settling on the relic beneath his fur. The enormous beast did not roar. It did not charge. Instead, it simply stared at him, its expression impossible to understand.

The relic pulsed once.

The creature froze.

A second pulse followed.

Its pupils contracted.

Ash took one cautious step forward.

Kael immediately growled his warning, but Ash barely heard him. Something about the creature’s reaction had changed. The beast had recognized something. He didn’t know what it was, but he could feel the connection through the relic.

Then the creature’s enormous head suddenly snapped toward him.

Ash barely had time to react.

The beast charged.

The impact of its first step shook the frozen basin.

Ash threw himself sideways as one massive limb crashed into the ground where he had been standing. Ice exploded outward, sending shards across the plateau. Aren lunged away while Moonfang sprang behind a stone pillar, and Kael shouted something that vanished beneath the thunderous roar of the creature.

Ash rolled across the snow and immediately pushed himself upright.

The creature turned faster than something of its size should have been able to.

Its enormous body swung around.

Ash ran.

A claw tore through the ground behind him.

The frozen earth split open, throwing snow and broken stone into the air. Ash accelerated down the slope, weaving between ancient pillars while the creature followed with terrifying determination.

He could hear its breathing behind him.

Heavy.

Deep.

Angry.

But there was something strange about the attack.

It wasn’t simply charging blindly.

Every time Ash changed direction, the creature adjusted.

It was studying him.

Ash jumped over a broken ridge of ice and landed hard on the other side. Before he could regain his footing, the creature struck the stone pillar beside him.

The pillar shattered.

Ash was thrown sideways by the force of the impact and slammed against the snow.

Pain shot through his shoulder.

He forced himself up.

The creature was already turning toward him.

Aren attacked from the side.

The Silver Lynx darted beneath one of the creature’s enormous limbs and slashed across the exposed joint before immediately retreating. The attack barely penetrated the thick scales, but it forced the beast to shift its attention.

Moonfang joined the assault.

The dark silver predator moved like a shadow across the snow, striking at the creature’s rear leg before disappearing behind another stone formation.

The beast roared.

The sound rolled across the mountain like thunder.

Snow fell from the distant cliffs.

Ash felt the vibration inside his chest.

The creature swung its smaller forelimb toward Aren.

Aren barely escaped.

Kael shouted, "Don’t attack its center! Keep moving!"

Ash understood.

Kael wasn’t trying to defeat it.

He was trying to make it waste energy.

Ash lowered his body and watched.

The creature’s breathing had changed.

Its wounded side moved more heavily than the other.

Every time it turned toward the left, there was a slight delay.

Ash noticed it again when Moonfang attacked from behind.

The creature rotated.

Its injured side dragged for less than a second.

But that was enough.

Ash’s instincts sharpened.

The System flickered across his vision.

[Target Behavior Analysis Initiated.]

[Combat Pattern Identified.]

[Movement Limitation Detected.]

[Cause: Ancient-Class Injury.]

Ash stared at the creature.

It wasn’t invincible.

It was wounded.

And the wound was affecting its movement.

The creature charged again.

Ash waited until the last moment before jumping sideways.

The enormous beast passed him.

Ash struck the injured side with his claws as he moved past, not expecting to penetrate the armor but testing the reaction.

The creature stumbled.

Only slightly.

But Ash saw it.

He landed and turned immediately.

The creature swung around, furious.

Ash didn’t retreat.

He watched its shoulders.

Its hips.

Its feet.

Its eyes.

The creature attacked.

Ash dodged.

Again.

And again.

Each movement became clearer.

The enormous body required more time to change direction. Its injured side weakened its balance, and whenever the blue energy beneath Moonveil pulsed, the creature instinctively looked toward the mountain.

Ash’s breathing slowed.

He finally understood.

The creature wasn’t fighting because it wanted to kill them.

It was fighting because they were standing between it and Moonveil.

"You’re trying to get there," Ash whispered beneath his breath.

The creature’s eyes fixed upon him.

Ash looked toward the mountain.

Then back at the beast.

"What are you running from?"

The answer came from beneath their feet.

The mountain pulsed again.

This time the blue light was stronger.

The creature flinched.

Ash saw fear.

Not anger.

Not hatred.

Fear.

The realization sent a cold sensation through him that had nothing to do with the weather.

The creature suddenly roared and charged with renewed strength.

Ash’s instincts screamed at him to move.

He did.

But this time, the creature was faster.

Its massive limb swept across the ground.

Ash jumped.

The creature’s second movement caught him in midair.

The world spun.

Ash crashed through a frozen stone formation and landed hard on the other side.

For several seconds, he couldn’t breathe.

Snow settled over his fur.

His vision blurred.

Then the System appeared.

[Warning.]

[Target has entered survival state.]

[Ancient Entity Energy detected.]

[Physical parameters temporarily exceeding previous observations.]

Ash slowly lifted his head.

The creature stood on the other side of the shattered stone.

Its pale scales had begun to glow faintly beneath the blood.

The wounds along its body seemed to pulse with a dim, ancient light.

Kael stared at it in disbelief.

"Move away from it!" he shouted.

Ash tried to stand.

His legs trembled.

The creature lowered its head.

Then it charged again.

Ash realized that whatever restraint the beast had shown earlier was gone.

The real battle had just begun.

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To be continued...