Chapter 65 : The Hollowfang

Chapter 65: Chapter 65 : The Hollowfang

The first pair of eyes appeared between the trees.

They were pale.

Almost empty.

Ash stared at them without moving.

The creature remained hidden for several seconds before slowly stepping forward.

At first glance, it resembled a wolf.

That resemblance disappeared after the second step.

Its body was unnaturally narrow, almost stretched. Its legs were longer than those of any wolf Ash had seen, and its paws were strangely broad, ending in hooked claws. Pale gray fur covered most of its body, but patches of black ran along its spine and neck.

The most disturbing feature was beneath its skin.

Thin blue veins pulsed faintly across its shoulders and chest.

Aren’s fur rose along his back.

"That’s not a wolf."

Ash didn’t respond.

He was already using Ancient Energy Perception.

The creature’s body was filled with corrupted energy.

Not the ancient energy of the network.

Something altered.

Something damaged.

The creature stared directly at Ash.

Then the System appeared.

[Species Detected: Hollowfang.]

[Origin: Mutated.]

[Ancient Energy Contamination: 37%.]

[Behavior: Coordinated Hunting.]

Ash’s eyes narrowed.

The Hollowfang didn’t charge.

It simply watched him.

Its head tilted slightly.

Then it stepped sideways.

Aren followed the movement.

"It is circling us."

Ash nodded.

The Hollowfang’s nose moved through the air.

It was smelling them.

But after several seconds, its attention shifted.

It wasn’t interested in Aren.

Its eyes remained fixed on Ash.

More specifically, they kept returning to the relic hidden beneath his fur.

Ash slowly realized what that meant.

"It can sense it."

Aren’s ears lowered.

"The relic?"

"Ancient energy."

The Hollowfang took another step.

Ash lowered his body.

The creature stopped.

For several seconds, predator and predator stared at one another.

Then another pair of eyes appeared behind it.

Aren turned.

A second Hollowfang stepped from the trees.

Then another.

Then another.

Ash slowly looked around.

The forest was no longer empty.

Hollowfangs were emerging from every direction.

There were eight.

Then nine.

Ash counted eleven before another shadow moved farther behind the trees.

A pack.

Not a random group.

A coordinated hunting formation.

The Hollowfangs positioned themselves around Ash and Aren without making a sound.

Aren growled.

One of the creatures immediately responded with a low vibration in its throat.

The others adjusted their positions.

Ash noticed something.

They weren’t trying to surround both of them.

They were creating a path.

Every opening led toward Ash.

Aren noticed it too.

"They’re separating us."

Ash’s eyes narrowed.

"They want me."

The nearest Hollowfang suddenly moved.

Ash reacted before consciously thinking.

Predator’s Instinct warned him of the attack a fraction of a second before it came.

He twisted aside.

The creature’s claws passed through the space where his neck had been.

Ash struck with his shoulder.

The impact sent the Hollowfang sliding across the snow.

It recovered almost immediately.

Another attacked.

Ash ducked.

A third came from behind.

Aren intercepted it.

The Silver Lynx slammed into the Hollowfang’s side, knocking it against a tree.

The battle exploded across the clearing.

Ash moved constantly.

The Hollowfangs were fast, but their attacks followed patterns. Two would pressure him from the front while another attempted to cut off his retreat. When he moved left, one of them immediately shifted to intercept.

They were learning.

Every exchange made them better.

Ash blocked a claw with his foreleg and felt the impact travel through his bones.

The creature was stronger than it looked.

He twisted and struck its ribs.

The Hollowfang staggered.

Ash followed with another attack.

The creature retreated instead of counterattacking.

Ash immediately understood.

It was testing him.

"They’re studying us," he said.

Aren heard him while fighting another creature.

"They’re intelligent?"

"More than they should be."

One Hollowfang suddenly lunged.

Ash jumped backward.

The creature’s claws scraped across his chest.

Pain flashed through him.

He landed hard, rolled, and immediately regained his footing.

The wound wasn’t deep.

But the attack had drawn blood.

The Hollowfang stopped.

Its eyes fixed on the blood.

Then something strange happened.

The blue veins beneath its skin brightened.

Ash felt the ancient energy around him shift.

The Hollowfang inhaled.

It was absorbing something from the air.

Ash’s eyes widened.

"Don’t let them near the relic."

Aren knocked one away.

"Why?"

"They feed on energy."

Ash stepped backward.

One Hollowfang approached slowly.

Ash raised his paw.

The relic responded.

Blue energy gathered around him.

The Hollowfangs immediately reacted.

Several of them crouched.

Ash released the energy.

The blast struck the nearest Hollowfang and threw it backward.

For a moment, Ash thought he had gained the advantage.

Then the creature stood.

The blue veins across its body glowed brighter.

Ash stared.

The energy he had released was disappearing.

The Hollowfang was absorbing it.

His expression hardened.

"They’re eating it."

Aren’s eyes widened.

"What?"

"The energy."

Ash looked around at the pack.

"They can consume Ancient Energy."

That changed everything.

His strongest new weapon could become their food.

The Hollowfangs attacked again.

Ash stopped relying on the relic.

He fought physically.

His Ancient Predator Physique allowed him to absorb impacts that would have staggered him before. His movements were faster, his balance better, and his endurance far greater than it had been weeks earlier.

But the Hollowfangs had numbers.

One attacked from the front.

Another came low.

Ash jumped over it.

A third struck from the side.

He twisted.

Its claws grazed his shoulder.

Aren rushed forward and drove the creature away.

Ash looked at him.

"Stay behind me."

Aren growled.

"I’m not letting you fight eleven creatures alone."

Another Hollowfang charged.

Aren met it head-on.

The two crashed into the snow.

Ash moved.

He targeted the creature’s contaminated energy.

Ancient Energy Perception revealed that the blue corruption was concentrated around the Hollowfang’s chest.

Ash drove his claws into the area.

The creature screamed.

Its body convulsed.

The corrupted energy destabilized.

Ash struck again.

The Hollowfang collapsed.

The others immediately stopped.

For the first time, their coordinated formation broke.

Ash stood over the fallen creature, breathing heavily.

One of the remaining Hollowfangs growled.

Ash met its eyes.

The creature seemed to understand.

Then it attacked.

Ash sidestepped.

The Hollowfang exposed its chest.

Ash struck.

The creature crashed into the snow and did not rise.

Silence returned.

The remaining Hollowfangs backed away.

Ash expected them to flee.

Instead, they stared at the dead member of their pack.

Then they looked at Ash.

Not with fear.

With recognition.

The largest Hollowfang stepped forward.

Its blue veins pulsed.

Ash prepared himself.

But the creature suddenly turned.

The entire pack retreated into the forest.

Within seconds, they were gone.

Aren breathed heavily.

"Why did they stop?"

Ash looked at the dead Hollowfang.

"Because they learned something."

Aren frowned.

"What?"

Ash looked toward the direction the pack had disappeared.

"That they can’t take me easily."

He looked down again.

The dead creature’s body still contained corrupted ancient energy.

The System appeared.

[Compatible Ancient Energy detected.]

[Ancient Devouring available.]

Ash froze.

He had used Ancient Devouring only once before.

The Ancient Predator had been vastly different from the Hollowfang.

That creature had carried millions of years of memory and power.

This was something else.

Aren noticed Ash’s hesitation.

"What is it?"

"The System says I can consume it."

Aren’s expression tightened.

"Are you sure?"

"No."

Ash stared at the carcass.

"But if I don’t understand these creatures, they may return."

Aren looked toward the forest.

"They will."

Ash closed his eyes.

He remembered the Ancient Predator.

He remembered the warning hidden inside the memory fragment.

He remembered the enormous eye beneath the earth.

Every creature he consumed brought him closer to something.

But he still didn’t know what.

Ash opened his eyes.

"Then I need to understand what they are."

He placed his paw against the Hollowfang.

Ancient Devouring activated.

The creature’s body began to dissolve.

A pale blue energy rose from the corpse.

Ash felt it enter him.

For several seconds, nothing happened.

Then pain struck.

Ash collapsed.

His body tightened.

The world disappeared.

He was standing somewhere else.

Snow surrounded him.

But this snow was darker.

The sky was covered by thick clouds.

Hollowfangs moved through the valley.

There were dozens of them.

They weren’t hunting.

They were following something.

Ash tried to move.

He couldn’t.

He wasn’t physically there.

He was seeing through the memory of the creature he had devoured.

The Hollowfang pack travelled through an ancient valley.

At the end of the valley stood a ruined structure.

Its walls were covered in the same symbol Ash had seen carved into the tree near the western forest.

The Hollowfangs stopped.

Ash looked upward.

Someone was standing on the ruins.

A figure.

Tall.

Wrapped in dark material.

The face was hidden.

The figure looked down at the pack.

One hand moved.

The Hollowfangs lowered themselves.

Ash felt something cold pass through the memory.

The creatures weren’t obeying through fear.

They were following a command.

The figure turned toward the distant mountains.

Then Ash saw something behind them.

An ancient seal.

Broken.

Energy poured from the damaged structure like smoke.

The figure watched it silently.

Ash tried to move closer.

The memory shattered.

He returned to his body.

Aren was beside him.

"Ash!"

Ash opened his eyes.

His breathing was heavy.

Snow surrounded him.

Aren stared anxiously.

"What happened?"

Ash slowly sat up.

For several moments, he couldn’t speak.

The memory was still fading through his mind.

Aren waited.

Finally, Ash said, "They weren’t alone."

Aren’s expression changed.

"What do you mean?"

Ash looked toward the western forest.

"Someone is guiding them."

He looked down at the remains of the Hollowfang.

The System appeared.

[Ancient Memory Fragment Acquired.]

Ash stared at the notification.

Another line appeared.

[External Controller Detected.]

His breathing slowed.

A final message appeared.

[Connection to Seven-Seal Network: Confirmed.]

Ash looked toward the distant western mountains.

The same symbol from the memory seemed almost visible in his mind.

The broken seal.

The corrupted energy.

The Hollowfangs.

And the hidden figure.

They were connected.

But Ash still didn’t know who was behind them.

Far beyond the forest, beyond the mountains where the Blackfangs had never travelled, a figure stood beside an ancient stone structure.

The ruins were half buried beneath snow.

The broken seal behind the figure gave off a faint, corrupted glow.

The figure slowly raised its head.

For the first time in many years, something had changed within the ancient network.

The Blackfang heir had noticed them.

The figure remained motionless for several seconds before turning toward the distant Frostfang valley.

Then, somewhere beneath the snow, the broken seal pulsed.

The figure’s eyes opened.

And the ancient world continued to wake.

To be continued...