Ghost Wolf

by Brandon Chen

  “What the hell are you talking about? We can beat those vampires!” Yuri shouted, his eyes flashing with frustration. “We can’t just leave Terias to die or become a blood-bag for the rest of his life. Think about what you’re saying. Isn’t that cruel?”

  “What’s even more cruel is if we mindlessly throw ourselves at Malyssa’s forces, only to become blood-bags ourselves,” Archerus retorted. “If Kura and her warriors couldn’t handle a small force of vampires, do you think we could defeat an entire encampment of them? We are few in number, and just because you and I are werewolves doesn’t mean that we’re invincible. Malyssa would slaughter us if we even came close to her vampire city.”

  “I can’t stand this,” Yuri gritted his teeth, closing his eyes. “Always feeling like I’m too weak to do anything!” His clammy hands crunched into tight fists at his side. “I thought that when I became a werewolf that things would change, that I would never fail again, like I did with my family and Asmund.”

  “Yuri, this isn’t your fault.”

  “You’re wrong, it all is!” Yuri yelled, tears now streaming freely down his cheeks. “If I was stronger, I could’ve stopped Faelen back in Horux. If I had power … I could’ve saved everyone in the glacier’s pass, I could’ve defeated the frost giant at the Lake of Eternity without wasting so much damned time!” He lowered his head, sobbing as he collapsed to his knees. “And I could’ve made it here … I don’t want to see anyone else die. I don’t want to feel like this anymore.”

  Archerus opened his mouth slightly, watching his distressed friend sympathetically. He didn’t want to feel this way either; it was excruciating. To lose so many people that he’d shared memories with in such a short period of time was an agonizing pain that no one deserved. Memories of his wife crept into his mind and he could feel his eyes beginning to water. He couldn’t blame Yuri for feeling like this. The boy was only nineteen, and he’d lost his family, his city, and most of his friends to the cruelty of the world.

  Yuri didn’t know who else to blame but himself. If he was strong enough, every conflict could’ve been avoidable. If he was perfect, he could’ve prevented everyone’s demise. But even when he trained relentlessly to become powerful, even when he cast away his own humanity and became a werewolf, his strength was still not enough to face the world. Powerlessness was his reality.

  Archerus bowed his head to Yuri, tears dripping from his eyes onto the bloody floor of the foyer. “I’m sorry.” That was all he could say.

  The Shadow Realm

  Wake up.

  Yuri opened his eyes, lying in the small bed of one of the deceased gnomes. It was the middle of the night. Everyone was asleep after grieving over Etaon’s massacre. After crying away his pain, Yuri had agreed to return to Reidan with Archerus, where they would create a new plan to deal with Faelen. He knew that he was too weak to do anything on his own. In the face of real opponents like Faelen, Junko, and Malyssa, he didn’t stand a chance.

  The boy looked across his empty room and watched as a shadow slithered across the room, morphing into a physical entity that floated before the shocked werewolf. This certainly wasn’t a dream, yet Yuri knew that it was Malyios, somehow manifesting before him. He swallowed, slowly rising from his bed, standing before the mist of darkness.

  Malyios took the same foggy form that he had in Yuri’s graveyard dream. The Titan’s glowing red eyes stared at the boy, who hid his fear behind an expressionless façade. “You cannot leave Lichholme without first completing the accord. However, you will be pleased to hear that, within Oblivion, you can make all your dreams become reality.”

  Now Yuri was listening. “What do you mean?”

  “Your quest does not end here, should you choose to journey into Oblivion and seek out its vault. Within there, you can acquire the power that you need to fell any opponent. Malyssa, Faelen, Junko … all of them would be forced to grovel at your feet. Never again would you have to feel powerless. Never again would you have to feel as you do now. Empty, so accustomed to the bitter taste of defeat that it has become a numbing sensation. Frustrated that every action you perform has little to no effect on the world around you. The fate of your loved ones always remains the same. I can see the despair in your eyes. You only know failure.”

  Yuri grinded his teeth but said nothing.

  “You wonder if it is simply destiny that has forced you to suffer for the remainder of your days. Perhaps you blame the gods for your misfortune.” Malyios’s ominously rumbling voice echoed in Yuri’s head. “But if you claim the Sacred Treasures within the Oblivion Vault, you can change this haunting destiny.”

  Yuri kept quiet.

  “Your friend, Terias, is still alive within Malyssa’s camp. Will you let another friend perish?” Malyios said. “Trapped with him is an engineer, a survivor from Etaon.”

  Yuri’s gaze went up and met Malyios’s, staring at the Titan with disbelief. One of the engineers was still alive? That must be the other survivor that Kura referred to. If he somehow infiltrated the Oblivion Vault, he could use the Sacred Treasures to free Terias and the engineer. Hopefully, the engineer could then invent something that would efficiently deliver the Phoenix Heart agent. Malyios was right. The quest wasn’t over yet.

  “There’s an incantation, isn’t there?” Yuri said, remembering the conversation between Faelen and Zylon that Malyios had shown him. Unfortunately, he hadn’t heard the actual incantation. “One that must be spoken in order to open the Oblivion Vault.”

  “You’re right, and that’s why I’ve used an enormous amount of my magic to become a physical entity to get your attention tonight. There is a female werewolf that has found the Oblivion Portal. She will be entering it tonight, and you can follow her if you leave now. She knows the incantation for the Oblivion Vault.”

  Tanya.

  Yuri’s eyes widened at the information that Malyios was giving him, his hands quivering at his side. This was his only chance to make things right. He could still finish the quest that they’d all started. If he could acquire the power he needed to save Terias and the Etaon engineer, then everyone that perished on this perilous journey wouldn’t have died for nothing.

  “Perhaps you’ll get the chance to bring back your father as well.”

  Yuri rushed past Malyios and out of the room. He didn’t know if the Titan was just tossing bait at him, but he knew that he needed to go into the Oblivion Portal. The chance that Malyios could be telling the truth was enough to push Yuri to sneak out of Etaon. He moved as stealthily as possible, for even the slightest of abrupt sounds would awaken Archerus.

  The location of the Oblivion Portal was freshly burned into his mind; he knew exactly where it was. Once he was out of range of Archerus’s senses, he broke into a mad sprint in his werewolf form. The frigid cold nipped at his cheeks and chilled his claws as he dashed across the snowy plains of Lichholme with all haste. He ignored all forms of discomfort, his mind focused on only one task — reaching the Oblivion Portal.

  An hour passed, and Yuri knew that he was getting close. The snowstorm had worsened, becoming a roaring blizzard. Ice sliced at his fur and Yuri squinted, wading through the thick snow against the blistering wind. It became extremely difficult to see through the layer of whipping precipitation, but soon he could spot a lone, towering rock that lay in the center of the blustering tempest. The Oblivion Portal would be there.

  The werewolf grunted as he fought against the relentless winds, his black fur coated in snow. He shivered as he reached the giant rock, noticing fresh footprints leading to a cavern in the mountainous boulder. Heading through the opening, Yuri reverted to his human form. He shook some of the snow from his boots, hearing echoing footsteps coming from deep within the cavern.

  Yuri crept into the grotto, making sure to minimize the amount of noise he made. Those footsteps must’ve belonged to Tanya. He’d made it just in time. Now, he just needed to follow her into the Oblivion Vault without being noticed. A loud whirring sound suddenly filled
the cavern, and a brilliant flash of purple light temporarily blinded Yuri. And just like that, every trace of Tanya vanished completely.

  Yuri sniffed the air, trying to catch her scent, but his eyebrows furled when he realized that she was no longer in the cave. He broke into a sprint, rushing deeper into the stone cave. The ceiling was lower than most caverns, and rocky stalagmites towered around him. As the werewolf progressed deeper into the grotto, the setting became more disturbing.

  Hanging from the ceiling were bloody slabs of meat that were so mutilated and disfigured that Yuri couldn’t even tell what race these corpses had been. They were fresh, meaning that someone had hung them up here within the past week.

  Dozens of wooden cages, clearly built to hold hounds, were placed against the walls of the cave. Within these prisons were the skeletons of human children, their ancient bones completely bare, as if all their flesh had been stripped off.

  Yuri’s heart pounded as he forced himself to journey further into this madhouse, no longer able to contain his fear. Sweat formed on his brow and he felt his stomach twisting and contorting as he encountered more atrocities. He felt sick, but his determination pushed him onward.

  He finally reached a ring of dead men and women sprawled on the ground. In the center of them was a glowing circle that had been carved into the stone floor of the cave by some arcane substance. Within that circle was a star, forged by the same purple smearing. It was the same marking that he’d seen in his first dream with Malyios, burned into the floorboards of his home. This is the Oblivion Portal.

  Yuri stepped into the center of the ring and the markings responded to his touch. They flashed a violet glow that reflected off the cavern walls, filling the area with vibrant light. A mechanical whirring sound started, the same one that he’d heard moments before Tanya vanished. Several seconds later, he felt something grasp his ankle. It was hard and had a tight grip.

  Yuri glanced down to find that the circle beneath him had now become a swirling maelstrom of darkness. A skeletal hand had reached through the void and grabbed him, pulling him down with profound force.

  The terrified boy felt his body sinking like quicksand through the darkness, sending a chilling sensation rushing through his body. His skin felt like needles were pricking every inch of his flesh as he descended through the portal. Panic gripped him as he lost feeling in every body part that was swallowed by the mysterious void. He gasped as the darkness crept up his neck, preparing to engulf his head, and within moments he lost consciousness.

  Opening his eyes, Yuri found himself lying on hard volcanic rock. He stared up at the night sky, which twinkled with red stars. A purple moon shone through the sea of darkness, casting its ominous light across the forsaken world. A searing pain erupted in his head, and suddenly the exact location of the Oblivion Vault engraved itself into his mind. He leaned back, gasping. Welcome to my realm. Malyios’s voice echoed through his mind.

  Yuri sluggishly pushed himself to his feet, shaking the pain out of his head. He knew that he could turn around and leave; his accord with Malyios had technically been fulfilled. But he needed the power of the Sacred Treasures. He heard a heavy bang, and turned to find that he was at the top of a hill of volcanic rock. In the near distance, he saw a female werewolf battling a monster of massive proportion. The werewolf was certainly Tanya. Yuri recognized her Bount cloak, flapping in the air as she danced about, smashing her chain whip’s blades against her opponent.

  The monstrosity that Tanya battled was a colossal golem, made from ebony volcanic rock that clumped together to create this creature. Lava burned in the elemental’s glowing eyes and churned within its toothless mouth. Its fingerless hands were gigantic boulders of molten rock, which coruscated with heat.

  Tanya’s blades glanced off the golem’s impenetrable skin. Nevertheless, the warrior continued to battle the monster fiercely. The elemental was certainly slow, and it seemed easy for Tanya to avoid its strikes. But if it managed to hit Tanya, she would die instantly. Yuri found himself charging forth, knowing that he couldn’t let her die. After all, Tanya was his key to the Oblivion Vault.

  Morphing into his werewolf form, he scampered onto the scorched earth. Ashes drifted in the hot air, and Yuri grunted as he tackled the golem’s foot with his full force. Sharp pain jolted through his shoulder, but he managed to take out of one the creature’s legs, causing it to lose its footing. The elemental groaned as it lost its balance and fell backward, a wave of dust sweeping out and swallowing Yuri and Tanya in a giant cloud.

  Within seconds, Yuri had grabbed Tanya by her forearm and was dragging her away. “We need to run!” he insisted, meeting the Bount’s bewildered gaze. “Look, we can save our introductions for later. We can’t fight a monster like that, not with weapons like these.”

  “I’ve never come across a creature that I couldn’t defeat,” Tanya insisted, eager to turn around and continue dueling the molten abomination.

  “In Terrador,” Yuri said. “But this is Oblivion, and things are not the same. Now let’s go.” He tugged on Tanya’s arm again, leading her away from the elemental. This time she didn’t resist.

  The two werewolves dashed across a plain of desolate earth, charred by flames. The dirt was black and the trees were all dead, the majority of them having burned to the ground. Around them were live volcanoes that spewed lava which drooled down the mountains towards the obliterated valley that Yuri and Tanya ventured through.

  “We’ve gone far enough!” Tanya called out. “We don’t even know where we’re going. The land extends endlessly.”

  “We’re heading to the Oblivion Vault, no?” Yuri said, glancing over his shoulder. Now the Bount was even more confused. She tilted her head to the side, demanding an explanation. “Like you, I’m from Terrador.”

  “I figured as much. What is your name and business in Oblivion?”

  “I’m Yuri—”

  “Never heard of you.”

  Yuri narrowed his eyes, already slightly annoyed with Tanya’s attitude. But he cast away his irritation and smiled wearily. “That’s fine. Like you, I’m here to enter the Oblivion Vault. I heard that you know the incantation to get inside.”

  Tanya’s eyebrows went up with surprise. “How do you—”

  “Let’s save the explanations,” Yuri said, holding up his hand. A wave of satisfaction swept over him as Tanya’s face contorted into an aggravated scowl. She was not used to being interrupted. “Someone told me where the Oblivion Vault is, just as someone told you the incantation to get in. Do the details really matter? The point is that we can help each other. There are more than enough Sacred Treasures in there to arm a myriad of warriors. I’m sure you can share some of the loot with me.”

  Tanya pursed her lips, hesitating in deep thought. Then she nodded in understanding. She had no intention of wandering this forsaken land for eternity. She wanted to reach the vault as soon as possible. The realm of Oblivion was supposedly massive, even larger than the entirety of Terrador. “My main interest is a particular potion.”

  “Fine, it’s yours. I’ll lead you there so long as you can get us in,” Yuri said, gazing off into the distance. The location that Malyios had inscribed into his mind was pointing him in this direction. Far away, there was a gigantic volcano … was that where the Oblivion Vault was? He supposed that he would find out once he reached it.

  “My name is Tanya, by the way,” the Bount said.

  Yuri pretended it was the first time he’d heard her name. He smiled at her politely. “Stay close. We don’t know much about this forsaken land. We need to tread carefully.”

  The two werewolves sprinted across the wasteland for several hours, eventually stumbling across a desolate field. The few trees there had rotted trunks with limp branches. Decayed leaves were scattered amongst the ocean of lifeless grass. Countless gravestones were embedded in the earth, with the names of the deceased inscribed in the moss-covered rocks.

  Yuri froze at the sight of this dismal field. It was
like the graveyard that he’d seen in his dream with Malyios. This was where he’d seen his father and Beo. In the distance, he saw a small child holding a lantern, its tiny light shining through the world of darkness. The little boy was shirtless and wore torn shorts. He stood motionless, with his back facing Tanya and Yuri.

  Tanya slung out her chain whip, gripping the weapon in her hands. She trudged towards the mysterious stranger, unfazed by the menacing ambiance that lingered in the air. “Turn around and show yourself,” she demanded of the child.

  The stranger glanced over his shoulder, meeting Tanya’s gaze. Yuri’s eyes went wide, his body tensing up. “H-Han?” he choked out.

  Han’s expression was apathetic. He gazed at his brother as if unsurprised by Yuri’s appearance in Oblivion. “Why would you willingly come to the realm of the dead, Yuri?” The boy’s eyes were black, like two voids of darkness. “The two of you are still alive.”

  “What’s happened to you?” Yuri whispered, staring at his brother’s inhuman eyes. While this stranger before him certainly looked and sounded like Han, he did not act like him. There was something more mature about this boy, as if he were a hopeless old man trapped within the body of a child.

  Han turned to fully face his brother, dangling the lantern at his side. “Millennia within this forsaken realm has molded my mind to this hardened form,” he said. “Forced to heal every wound, no matter how terrible. Forced to exist eternally without aging. Forced to purposelessly suffer at the hands of the cruel, demonic overlords that dominate this hideous land. I am cursed, brother.

  “Every minute in Terrador is a year in Oblivion. While merely a month may have passed for you, I’ve been trapped in this dark world for over forty thousand years. What has happened to me? I’ve been eternally cursed to confinement within Oblivion.”