Echoes of Hollow

With the continued rise of the full moon, his sense of smell grew more intense, enabling the beast to envision what happened at a location based solely on the odors present there. It wasn’t just the physical scents, like sweat, but also those generated by emotions, primarily fear and anger.

Stepping forward, hatred, frustration, and rage filled his nostrils all at once, creating a clear image before his eyes. The red tears streaming down her face, the claws slicing through her hands, and especially the voices and glances directed at her—all played out like a live show right in front of him.

The actions continued, but with the meager drops of blood almost disappearing from the ground and his eyes, his rage reached a new peak. With an even more terrifying roar, the beast became almost blind to its surroundings. The red door and the scene in front of it were all that existed in its perception.

Another step brought it to the first step. However, its eyes widened, and due to the intensification of its senses, the creature jumped back quickly. The doors were slashed, and despite acting as quickly as it could, five small cuts slowly expanded on its chest before healing almost immediately.

"HaHa! You’re different from the others, Lykos, that’s for sure..."

The monstrous voice echoed, causing even the one who had lost his sanity to tremble. In a world where only monsters prevail, who would be worthy of absolute rule if not the greatest of abominations?

"Those eyes... yes, it’s only interesting if those eyes are staring at me."

As the remaining pieces of the red door opened during its passage, the moonlight illuminated its constantly expanding muscles. Its claws retracted to their normal size, and as it smeared blood from its fingers on one part of the door, Kyros smiled.

"Come on, come on, Lykos! I hope you have enough blood to complete my next entry, if not..."

Its claws grew, and white fur spread rapidly over its body. With the red glow in its eyes intensifying, its metamorphosis reached a monstrous stage, and a deafening roar spread beyond the limits imposed by the rock wall surrounding the city.

"Your daughter will make a great addition, don’t you think?!"

The beast leaped, reaching him immediately. However, despite so many blows and hits with its claws, only scratches were left on its large, fur-covered body.

With a single motion of his hand, Kyros struck the creature easily, sending it crashing through several houses and into the wall.

As it detached its limbs from the hole created in the rock after the collision, its instincts constantly warned that no visible chances of victory remained. While its broken bones reformed, the idea of fleeing seemed the most viable option, but...

"Is that all, Lykos...? Pathetic!"

Walking calmly through the debris towards him, Kyros smiled as his tail began to form.

"Arche was definitely much better than this! She was quite... resilient during our time together."

Its bones cracked, completing the reconstruction immediately. Along with a slight expansion of its legs, the fur on its body thickened, and its spine rose, becoming visible on its back. As saliva dripped from its fangs, the beast, with its pupils slowly fading, ran.

"That’s it! This is much better!"

After a roar from the beast, at the very instant the ground where its steps were made was destroyed and the marks of the path became evident, with shattered ankles, Kyros fell to his knees on the ground, smiling.

"Keep it up, Lykos! They don’t understand, and that’s why they remain so pathetic and weak!"

Its bones rejoined and the torn flesh reformed instantly, while its tail extended in a curved shape.

"What’s the point of clinging to rationality when bestiality is your only true self? Come on, don’t be like them and accept who you are!"

The strange humanoid form no longer existed. With the restructuring of its bones, the growth of even more fur, and the moon reaching its peak in the sky, Kyros rose again as a creature—a white wolf over five meters tall.

Moving its claws upward, a strong wind was generated, creating four paths that crossed the entire city. Leaping to the side, the beast managed to escape but not without leaving one hand behind.

A roar echoed, and as if given an absolute command, the beast could no longer move a single muscle. But with its transformations completed, the wolves emerged from their homes and approached slowly.

"It seems that this still wasn’t enough for you, Lykos, so..."

The beast shuddered as Kyros turned and looked at the small, solitary wolf in the right corner of the crowd.

"Bring that pup to me!"

With the others closing in, the small wolf trembled. Looking at the scene, its pupils returned momentarily, making Lykos see nothing but Eudora at that moment. The red in his eyes expanded, leaving no other color in his surroundings. With the rapid formation of his tail, his body underwent a complete metamorphosis, ignoring all previous injuries, as he instinctively ran toward his daughter.

"Damn, is rationality so important to you?! But, well, I must admit... this is interesting..."

The black wolf with red eyes emerged, roaring and causing all others, except Kyros, to freeze. Looking into its eyes, the others recoiled, and turning, it grabbed the pup with its mouth and leaped over the wall into the forest.

"What are you waiting for?! Quickly, go after him now!"