Raygen tossed in his sleep, the thin blanket of their Urrakar quarters tangling around his legs. The night was still, broken only by the distant calls of nocturnal beasts and the faint hum of the city's wards. But in his mind, a storm brewed—a vision pulling him into a realm beyond the physical, where the wolf spirit manifested not as a subtle enhancement, but as a living force.
He found himself in a vast, shadowed plain, the ground cracked like dried earth under an endless twilight sky. No wind, no sound, just an oppressive silence that pressed on his chest. Before him stood the wolf spirit, but it was... changed. No longer the ethereal gray-furred guardian of the wolf-kin tribe, it had evolved into something primal and terrifying—a void-wolf, infused with the dark essence of the void shard he'd absorbed in the dungeon's depths.
The creature was massive, its form towering like a sentinel from ancient myths. Its fur was a swirling abyss, not black but an infinite void that seemed to absorb light, with tendrils of shadowy nothingness coiling off its body like living smoke. Stars—or perhaps distant voids—glimmered faintly within the depths of its pelt, as if it carried pockets of endless night. Its eyes glowed with an abyssal purple hue, pupils slit like crescent moons, radiating a cold hunger that could devour worlds. Jaws parted to reveal teeth sharpened to ethereal edges, dripping with inky darkness that evaporated into wisps before hitting the ground. Muscles rippled beneath the void-fur, each step cracking the earth with silent fractures that healed into starry scars. A low growl emanated not from its throat, but from the void itself—a resonant vibration that shook Raygen's soul, promising oblivion to any foe.
The void-wolf paced, its gaze fixed ahead. Raygen followed its line of sight, and there it was: a colossal bird of fire, perched atop a jagged obsidian spire. Flames wreathed its form, feathers of molten gold and crimson flickering like living embers, wings spanning horizons that blurred into heat haze. Its eyes burned with an inner furnace, radiating waves of scorching power that warped the air. The bird didn't attack; it hovered, chained by invisible bonds that shimmered like heat distortions, pulling taut as it strained against them.
The void-wolf lunged first, a blur of shadow and nothingness. It collided with the bird in a clash of opposites—void against fire. Flames licked at the wolf's form, but the void-fur absorbed them, extinguishing bursts of light into nothingness. The bird screeched, a sound like cracking thunder, and retaliated with a sweep of its wings, sending arcs of fire that scorched the plain. The wolf dodged with unearthly grace, tendrils lashing out to ensnare the flames, pulling them into the abyss where they fizzled out.
Raygen watched, frozen, as the battle intensified. The void-wolf bit into the bird's fiery plumage, jaws clamping down on chains that materialized—ethereal links binding the creature to the spire. With a savage shake, the wolf shattered a link, but the bird countered, its beak pecking at the wolf's flank. Where it struck, voids bloomed like wounds, but they healed rapidly, drawing in the fire to fuel the regeneration.
Amid the chaos, a whisper threaded through Raygen's mind—not words, but impressions. *Break the bonds... emptiness to unravel...* The bird's eyes locked on him briefly, pleading yet commanding, as if the fight was a demonstration. The void-wolf howled, its voice echoing: *Ruin to shatter... together... free...* The plain trembled, cracks spreading like veins, revealing glimpses of a deeper prison below—darkness and flame intertwined.
Then, pain—a searing heat in his chest where the void shard pulsed. The vision fractured, pulling him back.
Raygen bolted upright, gasping, sweat soaking his tunic. The room was dim, moonlight filtering through the slatted window. Asa slept nearby on her mat, undisturbed. He rubbed his eyes, heart pounding. "What... was that?" he whispered, staring at his hands. The wolf spirit stirred faintly within him, a familiar presence, but now... altered? He couldn't shake the image of the void-wolf—badass, yes, but unnerving. The shard from the dungeon—it had been quiet since his survival, a latent power boosting his resilience. But changing the spirit? Turning it into that monster of shadows?
He swung his legs over the side of the bed, pacing the small room. The bird of fire—massive, chained. Not like any beast he'd heard of in Valdris tales. And the fight... it wasn't just aggression; it felt like a message, a call. *Emptiness and ruin.* What did that mean? His mind wandered, absent, replaying the clash. The wolf absorbing fire, breaking chains. Was it a warning? A prophecy? The eastern threat—the cicadas' zone—felt connected, but how?
Dawn crept in, but Raygen barely noticed, lost in thought. He sat by the window, gazing eastward, the vision's whispers lingering like echoes.
---
Across the room, Asa stirred in her own dreamscape, the transition seamless from sleep to... home? She blinked, finding herself in a familiar apartment—her old one on Earth, posters of mecha anime plastered on walls, a stack of manga on the coffee table, and her laptop humming with a paused episode of her favorite isekai series. The air smelled of instant ramen and city rain, the hum of Tokyo traffic filtering through the window.
"Wait... this..." She touched the couch, the fabric real under her fingers. No reincarnation? No Valdris, no dungeons, no powers? A laugh bubbled up—relief? "It was all a dream? God, what a wild one." She wandered to the kitchen, pouring coffee from a pot that was inexplicably already brewed. The mug warmed her hands, but... the steam twisted oddly, flickering like tiny flames before dissipating.
She shrugged it off, flipping on the TV. News played: "Unusual heat waves reported globally, with strange fire outbreaks in remote areas." The screen glitched briefly, a shadow passing over the reporter's face—like a void in the pixels. "Weird," she muttered, changing channels to an anime rerun. The hero on screen wielded a destruction ability, leveling a city. "Too OP," she chuckled, but her laugh faltered. In the show, the power backfired, consuming allies. *That's why I never use it,* she thought, then paused. Use what? This was Earth—no powers here.
A knock at the door. She opened it to... herself? No, a mirror image, but distorted—eyes burning with crimson fire, a faint chain around her neck. "You have to let it out," the doppelganger said, voice echoing with a dual tone: her own and something ancient, fiery. "Destruction to break the cage... emptiness to fill the gap... free us."
Asa stepped back. "What? This isn't real." The apartment shifted—inconsistencies piling up. The posters warped, heroes wielding voids and ruins against chained beasts. The coffee mug cracked, spilling liquid that evaporated into smoke. Outside the window, Tokyo's skyline flickered with distant pillars of flame, shadows coiling around buildings like tendrils.
The doppelganger reached out. "Together... shatter the bonds." A whisper in her mind: *Ruin and void... release...* Pain bloomed in her core, where her destruction affinity slumbered. The dream cracked, pulling her away.
Asa woke with a start, sitting up in the dim room. Raygen was by the window, staring out, lost in thought. "Bad dream?" she asked, voice steady despite her racing heart.
He glanced over, absent-minded. "Yeah... something like that."
She nodded, masking her unease. Back on Earth? It felt so real, but the glitches—the fire, the shadows, the plea. Her otaku brain spun: like a plot twist in a light novel, where the "normal" world hides the fantasy. And that message... destruction and emptiness. Her power, and... Raygen's void shard? It tugged at her, but she pushed it down. No way. Powers like hers destroyed everything—friends, worlds. Better locked away.
They dressed in silence, both pondering their visions, the air thick with unspoken questions. Breakfast was a quiet affair at a nearby stall—stew and bread, beastkin milling about. Raygen poked at his food, mind replaying the void-wolf's clash. "Asa... ever dream of fire birds?"
She froze mid-bite. "Why?"
"Just... weird stuff." He described it vaguely—the fight, the chains, avoiding the whispers. She shared hers, editing out the plea, framing it as homesick nonsense with odd flames.
"Coincidence?" she offered, but doubt laced her words.
"Maybe." But the wolf spirit stirred, a subtle nudge eastward.
The morning dragged, Raygen absent-minded during a light spar with local wolf-kin—his moves sharp but distracted, earning concerned glances. Asa wandered the markets, her cool facade cracking as she eyed fire-charms, mind flashing to the doppelganger's words. *Free us.* What "us"? And why her power?
By midday, they reunited at the quarters, sharing more details. "The bird was chained," Raygen said. "Like it wanted out."
Asa's eyes widened. "In mine, there was a... cage theme. And fire everywhere."
A chill ran through them. The cicadas' zone—fire-drained land. Containment. But before they could delve deeper—
A thunderous boom echoed from the east, shaking the ground. Windows rattled; beastkin cried out in alarm. Raygen and Asa rushed outside, joining a growing crowd staring at the horizon.
There, miles away but unmistakable: a massive explosion, a pillar of fire erupting skyward like a volcanic spear, flames twisting into shapes that almost resembled wings. Smoke billowed, and the air grew hot, even at this distance.
"What in the hells..." Raygen breathed.
Asa gripped her daggers, fear and recognition flashing. The visions' whispers returned: *Shatter... free...*
The pillar climbed higher, casting an ominous glow over Urrakar. Whatever was contained... it was breaking loose.
End of Chapter 22