ECHOBURN

The sky bled overhead, dripping crimson light across the cliffs.

Aoto didn't stop to look.

He climbed, fingers raw against stone, the cursed blade trailing behind him like a broken fang. His breathing was steady. His body ached, ribs bruised, ankle torn—but something else moved inside him now.

Something meaner.

He reached the edge of the den.

The wolves didn't hesitate.

One leapt from the shadows, fangs out, claws forward. Aoto dropped low, pivoted, and cut through its front legs mid-air. Blood spattered across the cave wall as the beast crashed to the ground, twitching.

Another lunged. Aoto didn't block. He stepped in, grabbed its snout, and snapped its neck against his knee.

The den exploded with movement—four, six, eight wolves, their silver fur rippling in the dark. He didn't count. He didn't flinch.

They came as a pack.He came as death.

Aoto spun, blade wide. It screamed in his hand, carving arcs of red through fur and flesh. A jaw clamped down on his shoulder—he let it bite, then drove the hilt backward into its skull until it cracked like pottery.

Another pounced from behind. Aoto twisted, caught its throat mid-leap, and plunged the blade upward into its belly, splitting it from groin to chest.

They bit, they bled, they screamed.

He kept moving.

The den reeked of iron now.

One of the younger wolves—the size of a large dog—tried to flee past him. Aoto stepped aside. Watched it run.

He didn't kill it.

Another circled him, snarling, pacing. Its fur was patchy, one eye missing. It leapt high.

Aoto didn't dodge. He raised his arm.

SLASH!!  the cub split in half .

The cave fell silent except for the sound of blood dripping onto rock.

Aoto stood in the center of the carnage.

Breathing heavy. Arms coated in red. The blade glowed like hot coals in the dark, pulsing with the echo of what it had just devoured.

His legs buckled, but he stayed standing. He looked around at the twitching remains, the scattered bodies.

Something growled.

Not behind him. Not above.

Below.

The cave shook as massive paws touched down at the entrance.

A shadow filled the tunnel. Slow. Heavy. Silent.

Then it stepped into view.

The Alpha.

Moonlight crawled over its fur—silver glowing like frost, white antlers etched with ancient scars. One of its eyes was closed, torn years ago. The other burned with a steady gold.

It looked at the corpses.Then at Aoto.

Not with rage.

With understanding.

A predator acknowledging another.

Aoto tightened his grip on the blade. The glow in it surged, but he didn't wait for the power. He didn't wait for a signal.

He smiled.Not because he felt confident.Because this time, he wasn't scared.

"Let's see what god tastes like."