The forest clearing was heavy with tension. The air smelled of damp earth and the metallic tang of fresh blood.
The small white Spirit Fox was backed against a jagged rock. Its fur, usually pristine and snowy, was matted with dirt and blood. It wasn't growling anymore; it was trembling. Its large, terrified eyes darted from one human to another, looking for an escape that didn't exist.
"Stop playing with it, Jareth!"
The voice belonged to Garret. He stood with his arms crossed, leaning against a tree, looking bored. He was handsome in a sharp, dangerous way, but his eyes held a deep arrogance. He didn't even draw his weapon. To him, this hunt was beneath him—he was only here because Elara needed the core.
"I'm not playing, Brother Garret!" Jareth panted, wiping sweat from his forehead. He looked frustrated. "This little beast is fast. It bit Leo's leg!"
One of the lackeys, Leo, was sitting on the grass, clutching his bleeding calf and cursing softly. "Damn rat... I'll skin it alive."
Kaelen watched all this from the dense bushes, his breathing slow and rhythmic. He merged with the shadows.
He looked at the fox. In his past life as an Emperor, he had seen galaxies collapse. He shouldn't care about a small animal. But something about the fox's desperation resonated with him. It was weak, surrounded by predators, just like Kaelen was in the Silver-Iron Clan.
'It is fighting for its life,' Kaelen thought, his eyes cold. 'While they are fighting for sport.'
His gaze shifted to the Starlight Soul Grass growing quietly behind the fox. The purple flower swayed gently, oblivious to the violence around it.
"Just end it," Garret snapped, stepping forward. He was losing patience. "Elara is waiting. If we return late, my father will lecture me again about wasting time."
Garret's motivation wasn't cruelty; it was the pressure of expectations. He was the First Elder's son. He had to be perfect. He had to be efficient. This hunt was just a chore on his to-do list.
Jareth gritted his teeth. He wanted to impress Garret. He wanted to show he wasn't the trash who got tripped by a cripple earlier that morning.
"Die!" Jareth lunged, his sword flashing towards the fox's neck.
The fox let out a high-pitched, heartbreaking cry. It didn't run. Instead, it jumped forward, trying to bite Jareth's throat in a suicide attack.
"You dare!" Jareth panicked. He swung his sword wildly, missing the neck but slicing the fox's hind leg.
The fox collapsed, whimpering.
"Pathetic," Garret muttered. He walked over, pushing Jareth aside. "Move. You can't even kill a dying animal."
Garret raised his hand. A blue energy gathered in his palm. He was going to crush the fox's skull instantly.
At that exact moment, a rustle came from the bushes behind them.
It wasn't a loud noise. It was the sound of a twig snapping—deliberate and sharp.
"Who's there?" Garret spun around instantly, his eyes narrowing.
Silence.
"I heard something," Leo said, limping up, forgetting his pain. "Is it... a high-level beast?"
Fear flickered in Jareth's eyes. The Shadow Beast Forest was dangerous. If a Tier 2 beast appeared, they were all dead.
From the darkness of the trees, a figure slowly walked out. He didn't run, and he didn't hide. He walked with a calm, terrifying rhythm.
His clothes were torn. His face was smeared with the blood of the Iron-Hide Boar he had killed earlier. He dragged a rusty sword behind him, the metal scraping against the stones.
Scrape... Scrape... Scrape...
Jareth squinted in the dim light. Then, his jaw dropped.
"Kaelen?"
The confusion in the clearing was palpable. They expected a monster. They expected a rival clan member. They did not expect the family cripple.
Garret frowned, his guard lowering slightly, replaced by annoyance. "The cripple? What are you doing here? Did you come to beg for leftovers?"
Kaelen stopped five meters away. He didn't look at Garret. He didn't look at the fox. He looked directly at the Starlight Soul Grass.
"Leave the herb," Kaelen said. His voice was raspy, dry from thirst, but steady. "And I will let you leave with your limbs attached."
For a second, there was total silence. Even the wind seemed to stop.
Then, Leo burst out laughing. "Did you hear him? He said he'll let us leave! The trash has finally lost his mind!"
Jareth laughed too, but it was a nervous, forced laugh. He remembered the grip on his ankle that morning. It hadn't felt like the grip of a cripple.
Garret didn't laugh. He stared at Kaelen's eyes.
There was no fear in those eyes.
There was no hesitation.
There was only an ancient, deep abyss that made Garret's skin crawl.
"You think..." Garret's voice dropped, his instincts warning him that something was wrong. "You think you can threaten me?"
Kaelen tilted his head. "I am not threatening you. I am giving you a chance."