Once upon a time, I was a mighty Alpha Wolf. Strong, proud, top of the food chain.
Now? I was on the verge of becoming a blood-soaked pancake in some weird spiritual trial, hunted by a creature that felt like it crawled straight out of my nightmares.
And I mean real nightmares.
I had finally gotten a look at this freak after dodging his attacks for what felt like an eternity. And when I saw him—
I puked. I literally puked.
This thing… it had the body of a wolf, sure. But that's where all similarities ended.
Its skin was pitch black, like endless void kind of black.
Tentacles slithered out of every part of its body—dozens of them—and each one was holding a dagger.
And its face?
Oh god…
No eyes. No nose. Just… teeth.
Human-like teeth. All over its head.
You ever look at something so wrong, your brain feels like it's glitching? Yeah. That.
Back to the present:
It was standing right in front of me again, growling, that sound that i heard till now was just this horrible sound of its teeth grinding echoing through the cave.
Then it struck again. A tentacle slashed at me.
But this time—I dodged.
For the first time, I dodged.
"Let's gooooo!" I yelled in my head.
But then I thought, How the fuck am I supposed to kill this guy?
Just as I was about to go on the offensive, the damn thing disappeared again.
Another sound came from behind me.
Nope.
Not this time.
I'd learned the pattern now. I dodged again—clean.
He was getting faster, though. Each strike was quicker, more unpredictable.
But I was finally catching on.
I was ready.
He lunged at me.
I was prepared.
I lunged back, charging at him with everything I had.
But mid-air—stab—a dagger-tentacle got me in the stomach.
Still, I didn't care.
I kept going.
With a snarl, I bit down on him. Hard.
My jaws sank into his tentacled flesh.
And then… he stopped.
Just stood there. Like a statue.
Frozen.
"What the fuck?" I said, spitting blood and monster goo. "Why aren't you attacking anymore? Huh? Did the cat get your tongue, you hentai tentacle freak?"
I was just rambling now—adrenaline running wild—when suddenly, a voice echoed in my mind.
Deep. Calm. Powerful.
A voice that sounded older than the cave itself.
"Ho ho ho… Young wolf, you've got guts… you know that?"
"What the—who the hell is this?! Why are you in my head?! Are you my cheat code for this reincarnated world or what?"
"What are you even talking about? No, young wolf. I am the Wolf Spirit of this place. The guardian of the trial you are undergoing."
"Trial? Guardian? Man, what in the furry anime plot twist is going on here?"
"You are the contestant. This was a trial to prove your worth—to see if you have what it takes to become a true Alpha."
"Before you started, I was going to explain the rules. But your mind was… a little too chaotic. A bit, uh… unhinged. So I just observed instead."
"Wait wait wait—so let me get this straight. You're the spirit guardian of this frozen hellhole, there were supposed to be rules, but you didn't tell me shit?"
"Correct."
"WHY THE FUCK NOT?!"
"Because despite your colorful vocabulary and tendency to panic… you actually did well. You figured things out on your own. You adapted. You learned. You hunted. And when you finally bit that creature—you passed."
"…So that thing I bit. I don't have to kill it?"
"No. It cannot be killed. It was never real. Just an illusion designed to test your instincts, your courage, your mind, and your spirit."
"Wait… so I've been bleeding for nothing?! That thing stabbed my ass! I'm mentally scarred!"
"The wounds you suffered are real—but temporary. They will heal. What mattered was how you reacted to fear and chaos. You passed the test."
"So… I passed?"
"Yes."
"…So what now?"
"Now, I explain everything—properly this time."