Kael's bare feet touched the surface of the water-like ground, but it didn't ripple — it hummed. The whole place thrummed with low, constant vibration, as if the air itself had a pulse. Above him, the sky shimmered with fractured color — silver and violet, like oil floating on water.
He'd seen death. He'd fought gods. But this? This was something else entirely.
Every sound carried an echo here — not the kind that bounced off walls, but the kind that came back distorted, as if his own thoughts were being played back in another voice.
"Where am I?" he muttered.
The echo replied, softly: "Where are you…"
Kael clenched his fists. The silver glow under his skin pulsed stronger, syncing with the rhythm of the world around him. Somewhere in the distance, faint silhouettes drifted — half-formed bodies, frozen mid-motion, like memories caught in a glitch.
He took a cautious step forward, and the ground shifted — rippling into new shapes. Streets appeared beneath his feet, forming from the mist. Lamp posts flickered on. The smell of wet asphalt and burnt metal filled the air.
It was Westpoint.
But not as he knew it.
This one was cleaner, quieter, eerily perfect — as if someone had taken his memories and built a simulation from them.
"Testing cognitive stability," a voice whispered behind him.
Kael spun — claws out, eyes flaring silver.
A man stood in the middle of the empty street. Black suit, crisp white shirt, hands tucked casually into his pockets. His smile was sharp — the kind that hid more than it showed.
"Easy there," the stranger said, tilting his head. "If I wanted to kill you, I'd have done it before you woke up."
Kael's gaze narrowed. "Who the hell are you?"
"Draven Vale," the man said simply. "Lucien's former partner… though I prefer to think of myself as his successor."
Kael's claws glinted. "Successor? You mean the bastard who thought turning wolves into lab rats wasn't enough?"
Draven chuckled, stepping closer. His eyes glowed faintly red — not the wild crimson of rage, but a cold, mathematical shade. "Lucien lacked vision. He wanted to control the Pulse. I want to become it."
Kael's muscles tensed. "You're insane."
"Maybe. But tell me, Alpha — are you any different? You merged with the Pulse too. You carry its light in your veins. Do you really think that makes you pure?"
Kael lunged forward, fist crashing through the air — but Draven blurred, vanishing in a shimmer of static. Kael's strike hit nothing but mist.
The man's voice drifted from somewhere behind him. "You can't kill what isn't truly here."
Kael turned, breathing hard. "You're not real."
"Neither are you," Draven whispered, and suddenly the entire world fractured — glass shards of reality splintering around them. Kael stumbled as memories bled through the air — Selene's voice, the scent of the moonlit rooftops, the roar of wolves.
Draven stepped through the cracks, half his face flickering with code. "This place isn't your prison, Kael. It's your test. The Pulse wants to see if you're worthy of carrying it."
Kael bared his teeth. "And what if I refuse?"
Draven smiled — a dark, knowing smile. "Then it'll consume you… and I'll be the one who walks free."
The ground split open beneath them. Kael fell through — tumbling into a sea of light.
---
Meanwhile — back in the real world.
Selene sat by the riverbank, moonlight shimmering on the surface. The night was quiet except for the occasional crackle of fire from the camp. Her reflection stared back at her, tired but unbroken.
She touched the pendant again. It was glowing — faint, rhythmic.
"Selene," Mira's voice called softly from behind her. "It's doing it again, isn't it?"
Selene nodded. "He's alive. Somewhere."
Mira crouched beside her. "Then we'll find him."
Selene smiled weakly. "You sound just like him."
The girl grinned. "Maybe that's what he'd want."
Selene's gaze drifted to the skyline. "He'd want us to survive."
But as she said it, the glow in the pendant flared — then pulsed twice, fast. Her heart skipped. It wasn't random anymore. It was a signal.
"Kael…" she whispered. "He's trying to reach us."
---
Inside the Pulse Realm — deeper.
Kael slammed into solid ground — or something like it. The world around him flickered again, this time darker. The sky bled crimson.
He groaned, pushing himself up. His claws left trails of silver in the air. The Pulse's energy was surging through him now, burning like wildfire.
Draven's voice echoed faintly. "You feel it too, don't you? The hunger. The power. It wants to merge."
Kael gritted his teeth, trying to shut it out. The Pulse whispered inside his mind — soft, seductive. "Join us… free yourself…"
He growled. "No."
Every memory of Selene flashed through his mind — her smile, her scent, her voice telling him don't give up.
And that was enough.
He roared, unleashing a shockwave of silver light that shattered the red sky. For a moment, everything froze — and then the world shifted again, forming a vast chamber filled with mirrors.
Each mirror showed a different version of him — a Kael who chose differently. A Kael who joined the Pulse.
One stepped out of the reflection, eyes glowing bright crimson. "You can't deny what you are," it hissed.
Kael stared it down, heart pounding. "I'm not your weapon."
The doppelgänger smiled. "No. You're our evolution."
They collided — silver and red, light and shadow clashing with thunderous force. Every blow tore the air apart, sparks of energy raining down. Kael's claws met his double's in a storm of light.
And as their power collided, a single voice cut through the chaos — faint, distant, but unmistakable.
"Kael… come back to me."
Selene's voice.
Kael's eyes widened. The silver in them flared bright.
He tore through his reflection with one last roar — energy exploding outward like a detonation of moonlight. The mirrors shattered, the world around him collapsing into darkness.
When the light cleared, he was kneeling again — alone, trembling, but free.
The Pulse whispered one last time, quieter now. "You are not done, Silver Fang."
Kael raised his head. "Neither are you."
And somewhere far above, in the world of flesh and sky, Selene's pendant blazed bright — its light reaching toward the stars.