Arc 1, Chapter 5: Blood and Ash

  The wolves came out from the trees without a sound.

  They spread through the clearing in a wide arc. Each beast took a specific spot to close the circle. They sealed the escape routes before Ash could move. The woods went quiet. The birds stopped singing. Only the soft thud of paws on dead leaves and the steady drip of moisture from the branches remained.

  The direwolf stood in the center. Black smoke curled from its teeth in thick streams. The vapor coiled like a living thing before it vanished into the gloom. The beast watched him with a sharp, cold intelligence. It did not jump yet. It waited for the pack to do the work.

  Ash reached for the skinning knife at his belt. The leather grip felt slick with the forest's humidity. It was a tool for hunting, not a weapon for war. He pushed mana into the steel. Dark energy flowed from his hand into the metal. A dim red light covered the blade. The Seed of Life beat against his ribs, feeding the enchantment. The knife felt heavy and focused.

  The first wolf lunged for his legs.

  Ash twisted. His instincts moved before his mind could catch up. He drove the knife down in a hard arc. The blade sliced through the wolf with a strange lack of resistance. It felt like cutting through soft, rotting fruit. The wolf’s momentum carried its body past him. Black guts spilled over the undergrowth.

  A spray of black fluid hit his face. It was hot and thick. It smelled of sulfur and decay. The taste of copper and rot coated his lips.

  Two more wolves rushed from the right. He heard the rustle of leaves and the low rumble in their throats.

  "Dark Gate: Shield."

  A magic circle flared in front of his palm. Red sigils burned in the air. Dark mana hardened into a translucent barrier. He felt the energy drain from his chest as the shield took form.

  Both wolves hit the barrier at the same time. The impact vibrated through his shoulder and down into his core. The shield cracked like thin ice on a pond. It held for two seconds before it shattered into dark sparks.

  Those two seconds gave him the opening he needed. He lunged while the wolves were still dazed from the impact. The knife opened the throat of the first beast. He drove the point into the eye socket of the second. Both animals hit the dirt, churning the leaves into a black mud.

  Three wolves were dead. Nine remained.

  The survivors circled him. Their yellow eyes tracked his every twitch. They weren't running. They were learning his reach and his speed. The direwolf stayed in the center, assessing him.

  Ash gasped for air. The dampness burned in his lungs. His knife dripped with black blood that hissed against the red glow of the blade. The weapon was too short. His shield was too weak.

  "Dark Gate: Fire."

  Mana gathered in his palm. His eyes flared. The flame that appeared was a deep, impossible crimson. It cast no shadows. The air around his hand warped from the heat. He threw the fire at the nearest wolf.

  The crimson flame struck the beast. The wolf didn't scream. Its body simply collapsed into gray ash. The dust scattered on the wind and mixed with the rot on the forest floor.

  The remaining wolves backed away. The growls died in their throats. They looked at the pile of ash where their packmate had been.

  The direwolf pulled back its lips. Its gums were black. Its teeth were stained. A growl rattled from its chest, a sound that made Ash's teeth ache. The beast howled. The noise echoed off the trees. The fear in the smaller wolves vanished.

  They attacked all at once.

  Ash couldn't track them. Gray shapes blurred in the twilight. Teeth and claws came from every side. A wolf sank its teeth into his calf from behind.

  Pain flared up his leg. He screamed and spun. He drove the knife into the wolf's skull. It let go as its jaw went slack, but his boot was already filling with warm, red blood.

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  Another wolf jumped for his throat.

  "Dark Gate: Void Lances."

  Five circles appeared in the air. Dark mana formed into spears wrapped in red light. He launched them. Three missed and hit the trees. Two found their targets. One wolf was pinned to a trunk, thrashing until Ash ended it with a knife to the eye.

  Only four wolves and the leader remained.

  His leg throbbed. The bite felt cold, as if a fire was spreading through his muscle. Corruption mana was trying to force its way into his blood. He saw black veins spreading from the wound toward his knee.

  The Crimson Eyes flared.

  A red heat erupted across his skin. The corruption recoiled. He felt the darkness shrivel under the light. The black marks faded into a faint bruise.

  The wolves rushed him while he was distracted.

  "Dark Gate: Shield."

  The barrier was thin this time. Three wolves hit it and broke it in a single second. Ash rolled to the left. He stabbed the nearest wolf as it landed. It died gurgling.

  One wolf remained. It backed away with its ears flat. The direwolf growled a command, but the smaller wolf turned to run.

  The leader’s jaws snapped shut on the subordinate’s neck. A wet crack followed as the bones broke. The direwolf dropped the body and stepped forward.

  They were alone in the clearing. The direwolf was twice the size of the others. Corruption leaked from its eyes like black tears. It oozed from patches of missing fur. The creature's muscles rippled like wet leather.

  It began to circle. Ash turned with it. His wounded leg screamed with every step. His mana was almost gone. He had one shot left.

  The direwolf charged. It moved with a precision that comes from a thousand kills. It aimed for his throat. Ash raised his hands. He pulled every scrap of mana from the Seed of Life. He drew from the air and the earth.

  "Dark Gate: Fire."

  The flame in his palms grew into a large sphere. The heat distorted the clearing. The direwolf was two strides away. Ash released the wave.

  A tsunami of crimson fire filled the space. The direwolf twisted in mid-air. The flames caught its side. Fur ignited and flesh scorched. The beast howled and hit the ground rolling. It put out the fire in the mud and stood back up.

  Half of its body was blackened. One eye had boiled in its socket. Corruption leaked from the burns to try and fix the damage.

  The beast was alive. It looked at Ash with its remaining yellow eye. The hunger was gone. It was replaced by fear.

  The direwolf backed away. It tucked its tail and turned. It crashed through the brush and vanished into the darkness.

  Ash stood swaying. He didn't understand. The beast had won. He was empty. He had no mana left to fight.

  He stayed on his knees. The clearing smelled of burnt rot. He looked at his shaking hands. He had survived.

  A new sensation hit him. It was a sharp warning that bypassed his thoughts. His skin crawled. He looked up.

  Eight legs moved with articulated precision. Each one was as thick as his torso. They were covered in stiff bristles that gleamed with slime. The body was the size of a wagon. The black shell reflected the light in nauseating patterns. Eight eyes watched him.

  The spider descended the cliff face. It moved like gravity meant nothing. It was a mass of corruption. Rotting fluid dripped from mandibles as long as his arm. The ground hissed where the venom touched the stone.

  Ash tried to stand. His legs failed him.

  The spider dropped. It shot a web from its abdomen. The oily cables wrapped around his arms and pinned them to his sides. The webbing was warm and sticky. It tightened like a living thing. Ash fell sideways and hit the mud.

  The spider landed next to him. The impact shook the dirt. Its mandibles opened. He saw his own trapped face reflected in its eyes.

  A shadow passed overhead.

  Steel flashed. A single arc of metal sang through the air.

  The spider's head fell away from its body. Black fluid erupted from the neck. The legs spasmed and dug into the earth before going still.

  A figure in black armor stood over the carcass. The metal was a matte black that reflected no light. The warrior held a greatsword stained with black ichor. They looked down at Ash. There were no eye slits in the helmet.

  The warrior sheathed the sword and knelt. They used a knife to cut the webbing with quick, efficient strokes.

  "Who are you?" Ash rasped.

  The figure did not answer. They stepped back after the last strand fell away. Ash pushed himself up.

  A heavy sound echoed through the woods. The ground trembled. Branches snapped. Something large was coming.

  The armored figure gripped their sword.

  A nine-foot orc burst into the clearing. Its skin was a gray-green, layered with muscle like stone plates. Corruption leaked from its mouth and eyes. It wore scraps of mismatched armor stained with old blood. It carried a massive iron war axe carved with jagged symbols.

  The orc looked at Ash. It recognized him. It let out a roar that made the small stones on the ground rattle.

  It charged. The orc didn't swing. it threw the heavy axe like a disk.

  Ash lunged. He tackled the armored knight toward the bushes. He felt the wind of the blade as it whistled past his ear. The axe buried itself in a tree with a loud thud.

  The orc didn't slow down. Its massive shoulder hit Ash in the chest.

  The impact felt like a falling tower. Ash heard his ribs groan as he was launched backward. He hit an ancient oak and slumped into the roots. His vision blurred into smears of gray. The knight lay still in the undergrowth.

  Ash tried to breathe. He saw the orc stomping toward the tree. The beast gripped the handle and wrenched its axe free from the wood. It turned back to him. The heavy blade gleamed. Ash was pinned against the roots, watching the shadow of the axe grow long.