Calamity Awakens

Waking up the next morning cuddled up to the pup in my sleeping bag, I felt surprisingly warm…and for once, rested. The wolf snored gently beside me, his fur still slightly crusted with snow around the ears.

I stretched carefully, trying not to disturb him too much, and pulled up my system interface.

"Damn. Less time than I thought."

The moment of peace cracked. Adrenaline surged through my limbs as I started running down the checklist again in my mind. I still had no shelter. No permanent safe zone. No team. No plan for what the Calamity might even be. I guess ill choose in the staging area, I don't know how much real time 'ill have there so it'll be better to get there a little early. That might be the army talking though, unable to shake the habit.

I glanced at the wolf still snoozing in my sleeping bag and muttered, "Looks like you're drafted, buddy."

I crawled out of the sleeping bag, groaning slightly as cold air bit at my face and body. The wolf stirred beside me, stretching and yawning like this was just another peaceful morning. He didn't make getting out any easier either, scrambling out with me and nearly knocking me into the snow shelter. I got dressed and got outside through another hole i formed in the wall. The wolf helping dig made it much faster to get out.

Once outside, I turned to him and studied him for the first time in earnest. Not as a creature, not even as an ally. As a potential companion. His fur was a light grey mixed with a white. Even as a young wolf he was above my waist on all 4's. His snout got darker the further down it went. The wolf sat down and studied me as I studied him.

"Inspect."

A flicker in my vision.

This time, it showed the tier, and I gained a few more levels in Inspect. It was nice to finally see more information on the Frost Wolves.

"Well, you seemed like you slept well, since you snored on me all night," I said, giving the pup a light shove.

He blinked slowly and licked his nose, clearly unbothered.

"I'm gonna try something, okay? A skill. I don't think it'll hurt, but it'll bring us closer together. That cool with you?"

The wolf's tongue lolled out as he plopped down and looked at me expectantly.

I reached up, gently resting my hand on his head. "Brand."

A system message flared to life in front of me:

I blinked. The forest around me had gone still—completely still. The falling snow hung frozen in midair, the pup unmoving like a statue. Even the air felt locked in place.

"…Is time paused right now?"

That was...handy. If this Brand was permanent, I didn't want something dumb burned into every creature I'd ever tame.

My mind flicked back to symbols I'd once used in my old life—military patches, logos, family crests. None of them felt like me anymore. That was the past. I needed something new.

I thought of Vero's symbol—the lotus flower enclosed in a Celtic knot. Symbols of rebirth. Of cycles. Of enduring through endings.

Rebirth... calamity... guidance. Was that my purpose?

That didn't feel right. That was Vero's purpose. He was the one pushing to build the universe, to defend it from outsiders, to thread fate into shape. Me? I'd died, been reborn, and trekked through mountains buried in snow. I'd watched a battle that shook the forest between beasts that didn't know fear, and made my first real connection here with a wolf pup barely standing. All that in just a couple of days.

I didn't have time to figure out who I was—but I knew who I wasn't.

This mark—this Brand—was going to follow me forever. People would see it and know it came from me. Not Vero, not the Calamity, not some divine script forced into my skin. Mine.

I didn't like having responsibility thrown at me. But most people didn't. That didn't mean I'd turn away from it. Everything had a price, and if I was going to pay it, I wanted to choose why.

That's what it came down to.

Freedom.
The freedom to walk where I chose.
The freedom to bring Calamity to tyrants or shelter to the hunted.
The freedom to screw up and still keep going. The freedom to be my own person for once.

I worked for Vero…maybe even gladly…but he wasn't directing me. He'd given me the path, But I was the one walking it.

As I thought, my mind kept circling back to the image of the axe. Not just as a weapon—but as a line. A single axe, embedded at the crest of a mountain at dawn. The blade marking the divide between what was and what could be. The past behind me. The future mine to shape. A symbol of change. Of consequences. Of choice.

That would be my Brand.

Let the gods have their lotuses and thrones. Mine would be an axe etched against the rising light—a mark for those who carve their own path. But also a warning, All things end, even the Gods. Ware the rising Calamity.

My mark. My burden. My choice.
And the world would remember it.

The wolf pulsed with a soft blue light from within, the world unfreezing as time resumed its flow.

Snow began to fall again, silent and slow.

An image shimmered into view on the wolf's face—an intricate mark burned into fur and soul. A double-bladed axe stood tall against rising mountains, a radiant star shining behind its haft. Beneath it, in glowing red script, read the words: All Things End.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

As the mark completed, something tore free from deep within me—a shard of my soul offered freely, permanently. My knees nearly buckled from the strain. I gritted my teeth, refusing to collapse.

The mark glowed brilliant and proud in the pale morning light, not just a bond—but a promise.

As soon as the Brand was complete, I passed out.

There was no warning—just a sharp painful ache from within, and then nothing.

Wolf POV

The two-legs fell.
Not like prey. Not like the cowards who ran from snowstorms—like the two-legs below the mountains.
He just… dropped.

The light had burned so bright it hurt. But it wasn't fire.
It had felt… heavy. Sad.
Like the silence right after a howl.

The mark on his face—it glowed. Still faint, but there.
The axe. The mountains. The words and image that pulsed, even though he couldn't read them or see them but he could feel them. What they meant.

The pup stepped forward and sniffed.
Alive. Breathing. Cold, but not dying.

He circled Harold once, tail twitching. Nudged him. Sniffed again.
Still breathing.

A little flicker of something warm lit behind his eyes.

He thought of Mama.
Of the way she had laid still.
Of how the wind and howl didn't answer anymore.

His chest hurt.

He growled at the feeling. Nipped the snowbank. Bit at nothing.
Then flopped down beside the two-legs with a snort.

This one was strange. He didn't smell like a hunter.
Didn't act like a killer.

But he'd fought. He'd survived.
He'd talked like the pack talked—sometimes dumb, but kind.

The pup laid his head down on Harold's leg.

"Nap time again, I guess."

And without sleeping in that warm bag with the two-legs…
he still felt warm.

If the two-legs woke up and didn't scratch behind his ears again,
he'd steal the rations first.
Then that warm leather.

Harold.

Harold groaned as he stirred awake.
"I am so tired of passing out," he muttered, sitting up and rubbing his head.

Beside him, the wolf pup lay sprawled out again, snoring without a care in the world.

"Come on, you. Get up," Harold said, reaching over and rubbing the pup's belly through his thick fur.

The wolf scrambled awake with a surprised whine.

Harold chuckled and scratched behind his ears. The pup leaned into the touch, eyes closing in contentment.

"What are we gonna name you?" Harold said aloud, studying him.

The wolf tilted his head at the sound of his voice.

"I've got no idea if you understand me," Harold continued, "but I'm gonna throw out some names. You let me know if anything clicks."

"How about… Fenrir?"

No reaction.

"Alright… Havoc? Since that's exactly what you've caused since we met."

Still nothing.

"Okay then." Harold thought for a second. Names from Earth came to mind—specifically, ones from the far north.

"What about Halvor? We'll call you Hal for short. 'Vor' means guardian in a language far, far from here. Seems right to me. That's what you were trying to be—for your mom."

The wolf knocked into him gently with his head, then turned around and huffed.

Harold smiled.

"That's it, then. Hal. Your name's Hal."

I used to Inspect him again hoping for more information but it just popped up with the same information. There was no way after bonding him I didn't have access to more information. That wouldn't make sense.

What about under my status.

"Status"

I expanded the section under Brands and saw Halvor listed.

Then clicked on expand.

Looking over Halvor's stats, I had no idea how I ever won against him. I got so damn lucky. That pounce of his was predictable—otherwise, I'd have been wolf food. If he gains that much per level… then what about me? I've got a Divine class. Surely I scale just as hard.

"Youre a strong little Wolf aren't you" Harold said in a baby voice.

Hal snapped forward and nipped him on the fingers. Dammit! Okay, okay—I'm done, jeez," I said, laughing and rubbing my hand. "Let's look at your skills."

Looking over his skills Harold looked at Hal and raised an eyebrow. "Feisty little bugger arent you." Hal went to nip him again but Harold dodged just in time smirking.