Ren stepped forward, broken dagger hanging at his side.
The beast's massive body trembled. Its claws scraped against the stone beneath it—not with violence now, but in the same helpless way a wounded animal reaches for something it will never touch. Torn fur clung to blood-slick flesh, and beneath it, calcified ridges pushed through, fused into the body as if the wolf had begun to petrify from the inside out.
Eva stood behind him, fingers twisting together as Ren drew closer.
When Ren reached the beast's head, he stopped and took it in.
Its muzzle twitched weakly. Cracked yellow teeth showed through lips pulled back in something caught between a snarl and a sob. Veins bulged dark beneath stretched skin, pulsing unevenly.
And its eyes—
Its eyes were leaking.
Thick black liquid spilled from them in slow, continuous streams. Not blood. It wept darkness. The substance hissed as it struck the floor, steaming as it pooled and crept into the cracks of the stone beneath the beast. Each shallow breath it took pushed out a wave of heated air that crawled across Ren's skin, damp and heavy, carrying the stench of iron and scorched flesh.
Ren knelt beside its massive face.
"Why do I care…" He whispered.
He remembered the armored corpse—the broken corpse that mutilated him.
He remembered the villagers. Their screams. Their hollow gaze. The way his blade sank into them again and again—and how pity had followed behind his every strike. And now this…
Another horrifying beast. Something that had crawled out from the wound in this world.
And still—his chest ached for it.
"What the hell is wrong with me?" He muttered. "Who walks toward something like this? I should be running. I should be dragging her out of here, pretending this place never existed. But no. Instead…" His voice faltered. "...I'm sorry for you?"
Ren placed a hand on its front leg, matted fur slick with blood. It was warm under his palm.
Eva remained at a distance, as Ren made contact with the beast.
Was it trust in Ren's intuition? Or fear of what was to come?
Then, Ren climbed onto the beast's back, its broad form sagged under his weight.
There Ren saw it, embedded shallow between the wolves shoulder blades—a core.
It was partially exposed where flesh had ripped apart, veins like dark roots feeding into it.
Each pulse radiated to Ren, each slower than the last.
'This is insane…' Ren thought.
He raised what little of the dagger he had left, but hesitation began to take over. Ren watched the core, almost a heart, pulse beneath him. He could feel its life force through his own arms.
"Forgive me…" Ren murmured, as he drove the dagger down.
Weak flesh tore, and the core cracked open.
A violent surge of heat exploded outward, ripping the breath from Ren's lungs. The chamber filled with blistering air, like the opening of a furnace. The core shattered beneath the strike, rupturing in a burst of glowing fractures and dark blood that steamed as it spilled outward.
And then—
Stillness as the heat vanished. The wolf's body slackened beneath him, weight collapsing inward as if it had finally let go. Its chest stilled, and its limbs went limp. It was gone now.
Truly gone.
Ren pulled the dagger free—what remained of it—and the blade clinked against the stone.
He let it slip from his hand.
Then, Ren climbed down from the corpse.
Eva stood where she had before. When Ren reached her, he turned back to the dead beast.
Both remained silent as they took in the sight.
The black fluid coming from its eyes had stopped pouring. Yet, the stains remained. Permanent, like a scar now etched into the stone.
"I think it wanted to die," Ren spoke, his voice hoarse.
Eva nodded in agreement. "I believe so..."
Ren's gaze drifted back to the creature…then to the shattered remains embedded between its shoulders. "I wonder if that was its heart," Ren said in a quiet tone.
Eva turned to face him and whispered, "Or its soul…"
Ren sank down onto the stone, legs aching, and rubbed a hand over his face, trying to rid the sting behind his eyes.
"Are…you okay, Ren?" Eva asked, stepping closer.
"Yeah," He said. "…I'm fine."
The lie sat between them.
Ren hunched over, one hand resting on his knee, the other hanging limp at his side.
Eva knelt beside him, drawing her arms around her knees, resting her chin there as she examined his demeanor. "You don't have to hide it," She said. "I can see it…"
He didn't respond, gaze set to the floor.
"It hurts," She continued. "When you suffer."
'It hurts?' Ren thought, glancing up at her.
"I don't know why…" She said, fingers twisting in her dress, "But when you're mad…Or afraid…Or just tired…I feel it. Like it's mine too."
Ren exhaled through his nose. "I'm sorry," He said. "I didn't know you felt that way."
Eva shook her head. "It isn't your fault."
She stayed in place, steady and calm, looking up at the towering tree as she spoke again.
"I've always felt things that weren't mine. Even when I was alone, there were whispers—pain, sadness, desperation. I didn't want to be near them…Because I could feel all of it."
"Them all?" Ren asked. "The corpses?"
"I don't know how. Or why. But the closer I got, the louder it became. Their grief. Their confusion." She hugged her knees tighter. "That's why I stayed to the edge. It was too much."
Ren listened intently to her words.
"But with you…" Her voice softened, almost lost in the hush of the chamber. "It feels…different. It hurts more—but not in the same way. It's deeper."
"I don't understand," Ren said. "How can you stay close to that? To me?"
"I think it's because your pain isn't empty," She met his gaze. "There's meaning in it."
"But…it hurts you?" He whispered. "I...I don't want to hurt you."
"You don't," She replied. "You feel. And that makes you alive. It's a good thing."
Her fingers brushed his forearm—a small, grounding touch.
"Just…if something's on your mind," She said, "talk to me."
"I will," Ren murmured, offering a warm smile.
"And I will too," Eva said, smiling right back at him.
Then—
POUNCE
Their connection was cut short, as the corpse in front of them began to rise.