The Alphas Reincarnation Stats of a Wolf

The Threshold of Change

The corridor beyond the new doorway was narrow and suffocating, its walls pulsing faintly with a dull, reddish light. The runes etched into the stone shifted lazily, as though alive but uninterested in their presence. Each step they took felt heavier than the last, the weight of the Citadel pressing against their bodies like an invisible hand.

Kierra broke the silence first, her tone sharp and restless. "How much farther do you think we have to go?"

Zephyr didn't answer immediately. He was focused on the blade at his side, its faint energy still lingering from the battle. The weapon felt alive, not just a tool but something more—something aware. It whispered to him in the silence, faint and unintelligible.

"I don't think this place has a 'farther,'" Ryu muttered, his claws clicking against the walls as he brushed past them. "Feels like it's dragging us deeper into itself. Like it's alive."

Zephyr nodded. "It is."

Kierra turned to him sharply, her eyes narrowing. "What do you mean?"

"The Citadel," Zephyr said, his voice low, "isn't just a fortress. It's a being. Everything here—every trial, every shadow, every step we take—is part of it. We're walking through its body, maybe even its mind."

Ryu let out a soft growl. "Great. So we're trapped in something that wants to kill us."

"Not kill," Zephyr corrected. "Test."

Kierra's grip on her daggers tightened. "And if we fail the test?"

Zephyr didn't respond. He didn't have to. The answer was clear in the silence that followed.

The corridor opened suddenly into another chamber, smaller than the last but no less oppressive. At its center was a pedestal, atop which sat a single, gleaming orb of light. The room's atmosphere was different—warmer, almost inviting, but laced with an undercurrent of menace.

The moment they stepped inside, the door behind them sealed with a sound like grinding stone.

Ryu's claws flexed instinctively. "Here we go again."

Kierra was already scanning the room, her eyes sharp and calculating. "No shadows this time. That's… suspicious."

Zephyr stepped closer to the pedestal, his gaze fixed on the orb. The light it emitted wasn't steady; it pulsed faintly, as though alive. As he approached, he felt a strange pull, like gravity bending toward the object.

"Don't touch it," Kierra warned, her voice cutting through the silence.

"I'm not planning to," Zephyr replied, though his hand hovered closer to the hilt of the blade.

The moment he came within a few feet of the pedestal, the room reacted. The walls rippled, and the faint warmth vanished, replaced by a biting cold. The orb pulsed once, its light flaring, and the shadows returned—not as tendrils or creatures, but as a reflection.

Three figures emerged from the edges of the room, stepping into the light.

Zephyr froze.

They weren't monsters. They were people.

The first figure was a mirror of Ryu, his golden eyes alight with an unnatural fire. The second was Kierra, her daggers glinting as she moved with a predatory grace. The third was Zephyr himself, his shadowy double gripping an identical blade, its energy darker, more malevolent.

"What the hell—" Ryu started, but his doppelgänger was already moving.

The false Ryu charged with a speed that was almost impossible to follow, claws slashing toward the real one. Ryu barely managed to block, his muscles straining as the impact forced him back.

Kierra's double attacked with equal ferocity, her strikes aimed with terrifying precision. The real Kierra dodged and countered, her movements flawless but strained.

Zephyr's shadow stepped toward him, its gaze empty and cold. The blade it held radiated an energy that made the air hum with tension.

"What is this?" Zephyr muttered, his grip tightening on his own weapon.

The shadow didn't answer. It simply attacked.

The clash of their blades sent a shockwave through the room, the force of it driving Zephyr back a step. His double was fast—faster than him—and its strikes carried a weight that felt all too familiar.

"Zephyr!" Kierra shouted, her voice strained as she fended off her double's relentless attacks. "We can't hold these things off forever!"

"They're not things," Zephyr said through gritted teeth. He dodged a strike that would have cleaved him in two, countering with a quick slash that his double parried effortlessly. "They're us. Or what we could become."

The realization hit him like a hammer. The Citadel wasn't just testing their strength—it was testing their resolve, their very identities.

But understanding the trial didn't make it any easier to overcome.

Ryu let out a roar as his claws finally found purchase, tearing through his double's chest. But instead of falling, the shadow reformed, its wounds sealing instantly.

"They're not dying!" Ryu snarled. "What do we do?"

Zephyr's mind raced. The blade in his hand pulsed faintly, its energy resonating with the orb on the pedestal.

"The orb," he said suddenly. "It's the key. We have to use it."

"How?" Kierra snapped, her voice tight with frustration.

Zephyr didn't answer. He didn't have time. His double lunged at him again, its strikes faster, more relentless. He barely managed to block, the force of the attack driving him to one knee.

"Hold them off!" he shouted, forcing himself back to his feet. "Just for a little longer!"

Kierra and Ryu didn't argue. They fought harder, their movements desperate but coordinated.

Zephyr turned his focus to the orb. The blade pulsed again, its energy surging as he stepped closer. He reached out, his hand hovering over the glowing sphere.

The moment his fingers brushed the surface, a wave of energy erupted from the orb, flooding the room with blinding light.

The shadows screamed, their forms twisting and writhing as the light consumed them.

When the light faded, the room was silent once more.

Zephyr stood over the pedestal, the orb now dull and lifeless. His chest heaved with the effort of breathing, his body trembling from the strain.

Kierra and Ryu approached cautiously, their expressions wary but relieved.

"What… was that?" Ryu asked, his voice low.

"A reflection," Zephyr said, his gaze distant. "Of what we fear. Of what we might become."

Kierra's eyes narrowed. "And the orb?"

Zephyr looked down at the now-dormant sphere. "A reminder. That light can banish even the deepest shadows."

The walls rippled again, and another doorway appeared.

"Let's move," Zephyr said, his voice steady despite the exhaustion in his body.

The Citadel had tested them once more.

And it wasn't done yet.