Echoes of Hollow

His body was large, making it difficult to pass through the trees at times. But his steps were extremely fast, giving him an advantage over those pursuing him.

Despite their inability to get closer, the howls continued, making it clear that no one had given up the chase. At the edge of a lake, he crossed the water in a single leap, and upon reaching the waterfall, his claws gripped the rocks and facilitated his ascent with just two quick jumps.

Over time, the shifting redness and the appearance of his pupils became more frequent, causing him to occasionally become disoriented. The images before him warped, sometimes reflecting nothing of the reality in front of his eyes. Trees turned into impassable walls, altering his path. Small puddles became vast oceans with no apparent end, making it impossible to move forward.

Then, while navigating along one of the walls that had appeared in the forest, he found a small hill below that would have been easily crossed with a single jump. However, with enormous claws aimed at him and fangs fully exposed, Kyros appeared beside him and lunged at him, driving his claws into his body and pushing him into the trees beside him.

Eudora fell as he instinctively opened his mouth upon being struck. However, as he rolled on the ground, his eyes, whose pupils flickered, remained focused on following her fall, but... she disappeared?

In a fit of rage, Lykos roared furiously as he sank his teeth into Kyros’s neck and leaped down the hill.

[The enemy has been poisoned by the venomous dagger.]

"I don’t understand why you’re doing this. What’s the difference in helping them or not, if their end will be the same?"

Standing at the edge of the hill with the small wolf pup in hand, Hye watched as the giant creatures tumbled down the slope while the other werewolves continued to close in and gather around him.

“Relying on incomplete information, without knowing that my invisibility is not exactly perfect, she still sent me here… This is abnormal, bordering on strangeness, I think. Maybe the effect of some feeling of guilt, since apparently she came to insult that woman before, even if in her mind, doubting her victim status? So much so that she apologized… I don’t know… I really don’t understand.”

The trembling claws of Eudora cut lightly and small on his belly. He grabbed the upper part of her neck and pulled her away, turning her towards him so he could look directly into her eyes.

"Well, I don’t know where you’re going, but it’s probably calmer than here. So just sit somewhere and wait a bit... oh, and if there’s an egg there, don’t touch it."

Many of the wolves beside him leaped down the hill, and after the pup in his hands vanished, Hye used each of them as stepping stones, jumping from one to the other until he reached the ground. They flailed in the air, trying to strike what had hit them. They could certainly feel it, but hitting it was as difficult as seeing it.

"Come on, Lykos, your daughter is gone, what other incentive do you need to do this? Should I go after your wife again?!"

The abominations stared at each other, though this might not be entirely true for Lykos. Shaking his head constantly as his saliva spread around, his eyes oscillated increasingly between rationality and the bloodthirsty control imposed by his instincts.

As his head shook again, Kyros leaped at him, trying to slice him with his claws. However, with a quick move, jumping slightly backward, Lykos dodged and, bringing down his paw, slashed one side of Kyros’s face.

Even roaring in pain, Kyros did not yield.

"Bring Arch..."

His vision blurred, and, like in a nightmare, the world spun beneath his feet. The ground was the sky, and the sky was the ground, with confusion taking over his mind. At this moment, even the trees were no longer truly trees; now they were... swords? Those pathetic, weak wolves, the useless ones always beneath him—how could they even dare to think of raising their claws against him?

As his wounds became almost impossible to heal, Kyros roared.

“He is definitely resilient, having lasted so long against something that took down giants, spiders, and a griffin in mere moments. But why this obsession with the loss of rationality? Do you know anything about it, since you mentioned that all of this is some kind of punishment?”

Sitting on a rock at a relatively safe distance, Hye watched the clash between the creatures. After all, he had done all he could; now it was just a matter of waiting to see if it would have any significant effect.

'Power or, in this case, evolution.' 'The ability to maintain his human form even during full moon nights—that’s what he seeks.'

"But what’s the connection between another werewolf’s rationality and his ability to maintain his human form during the full moon?"

'Ha! That’s why I said that, despite not liking that pathetic old man, his punishments should not be taken lightly. You see, the original sin that led to the creation of such a curse was the act of offering the flesh of one’s own kind as a sacrifice to the gods. It would be ironic, wouldn’t it? If the remedy for the symptoms was to consume one’s own kind, when, obviously, no one would even dare to consider doing so after receiving such a punishment.'

"I understand..., but what about his insistence on the loss of rationality? Is it also related to the initial curse? Something like returning to the form given by the gods initially?"

'Well, yes. Originally, it shouldn’t be possible to maintain control of one’s actions rationally during full moon nights, which would make breaking the curse impossible. Because, besides death, it is also necessary to have the awareness to do so. But as you saw firsthand with that woman restraining herself from killing you, this almost no longer applies to these people.

They have spent billions and perhaps trillions of years inside this Tower, from the perspective of your world, and obviously, they have managed to take advantage of it. It’s not perfect, of course, but still, anchored in their families, they are able to maintain control even during full moon nights. But as you can see, any small change in their routine can result in... this. The loss of control and the return to when the curse was at its peak, transforming into an inhuman beast. Unless you have exceptional control from birth, which is obviously the case with that woman named Arche and, to some extent, this man, Kyros, as well.'

Jumping, Hye dodged a tree hurled at him and returned to the top of the hill.

“I understand, the necessary requirements deviate from each other, making something theoretically impossible… And well, it seems it’s finally coming to an end… Huh…?”

His eyes bled, and his claws fell, coming loose from his fingers. Lacking the strength to even force his mouth to stay closed completely, even his fangs became useless. Kyros looked around, and there were so many, so many fangs pointed at him.

Rising, he remained as steady as possible and, after straining to emit a weak roar, gave his orders.

"Don’t stand still! Attack him...! Attack him now!"

The wolves looked at each other, waiting for someone to make the first move. But after several seconds passed without anyone moving, reality set in: his orders no longer had any effect.

With their fangs and claws bared, even those who remained atop the hill and hidden within the forest, as they wouldn’t fit with the others in the space they occupied, made sure to appear. With slow steps surrounding him, and with nothing to do or even the ability to do anything, Kyros saw the roles reverse. Now, the one who had always seen himself as the predator could not stop trembling like a mere and pathetic prey.

"No...! Don’t come closer! Stay away, leave! No, please, no!"

Everyone leaped onto his body, and even though there were thousands, each was assured of at least having a piece of his skin caught between their claws.

The screams did not end quickly, for his death was intentionally prolonged and painful.