The very same one he had just killed. Its body unscathed. Towering, massive, still. Watching him.
Emotionless.
Motionless.
No growling. No snarling.
Just... staring.
Rave froze.
His breath caught in his throat. His hand instinctively reached for a weapon that wasn't there.
He wanted to run—but his legs wouldn't move.
The beast took a step forward.
Rave's heart thumped.
But it didn't attack.
It simply stood before him. Head slightly tilted. Like it was observing. Curious.
His fingers clenched. What is this? Some afterlife? A curse? Am I dead?
Then—
BZZZT.
The bracelet on Rave's wrist buzzed sharply. A cold, mechanical voice echoed in his mind as a translucent panel appeared before his eyes, glowing faintly in the darkness of the realm.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE — SYNCHRONIZATION COMPLETE]
Name: Rave
Class: ???
Titles:
Lost Son of Crimson City
Bearer of the Cursed Heart
Curse Signature:
"Everyone He Loves Will Die"
Status: Dormant
Affinity:
Light (Primary)
???
Unique trait unlocked:
"He Who Walks Between" — Your soul has stepped into the realm of the cursed and survived. Entities will begin to notice.
The screen faded.
The darkness remained.
But Rave understood now—this was no ordinary realm. This was part of the curse. Part of him.
He looked back at the wolf.
And for the first time, he realized:
It wasn't glaring at him with hate.
It was... acknowledging him.
The creature lowered its head—just slightly. Then, it began to dissolve into flickering wisps of black light, each strand fading into the void.
Rave stood still.
***
The wolf's body—if it could still be called that—shimmered like stardust made from ink.
But it didn't vanish completely.
Instead, the dark strands coalesced into a concentrated wisp. A faint, soul-like essence hovered in front of Rave, pulsing slowly, like a heartbeat.
He stared at it, eyes narrowed in confusion.
"What… are you?"
The essence didn't speak. It simply floated closer—then paused.
Rave took a cautious step back, but before he could react further, the soul surged forward, phasing through his chest.
His body jerked.
A cold shock raced through his core like liquid lightning.
His eyes widened—then rolled back as the world spun.
Then—
CLANG.
CRACK.
Deep within him, where even thought didn't reach, he felt something.
As if he had descended into the abyss of his own soul.
There, in the heart of a swirling black void, sat a massive core—his core.
Not glowing. Not warm.
But sealed.
Thousands of ethereal chains bound it—some rusted, some glowing red, others pulsing like they were alive. Old, ancient magic. Unmoving. Dead weight. Choking whatever was buried beneath.
Then—
Two of those chains snapped.
A deep metallic shriek echoed through the void, like old locks twisting open for the first time in centuries.
Rave's body arched as a sharp breath tore from his lungs.
The essence of the wolf sank deeper into the dark orb at his center—willingly.
And then… silence.
But not the kind that came before.
This one buzzed.
Hummed.
Something had shifted.
Something had begun.
[Core Seal Integrity: 99.8%]
Two seals broken. 998 remaining.
Warning: Inner Power Source Partially Unlocked.
Host adaptation rate… stabilizing.
Rave fell to his knees again—this time not from pain.
From weight.
As if the soul of the beast had become a foundation inside him. Something ancient… primal… but bound.
He clutched his chest.
His heartbeat was louder now.
Slower.
But stronger.
The pitch-black realm around him started to crumble like ash in the wind, peeling away, revealing flickers of reality bleeding back in.
The forest.
The smell of burnt wood.
The taste of blood on his tongue.
He was waking up.
Back in Wil's body.
---