Vale opened the metallic door to his room, then stopped.
Something was missing.
He turned back and spotted his phone resting on the surface of the wooden desk. With a quiet sigh, he picked it up. Instead of slipping it into the pockets of his leather armor, he kept it in his hand, intending to check it while walking.
For the second time, Vale opened the door and stepped out into the corridor.
His thoughts churned violently beneath the calm surface he forced himself to maintain. He was good at controlling his emotions, he had learned to be, but thinking about Tericon still made his blood boil. With every step, his expression darkened, irritation and anger sharpening his features. The fact that a man like that had ruled unchallenged for so long gnawed at him.
After several tense minutes, Vale exhaled slowly and glanced down at his phone, hoping to distract himself.
He opened his messages and immediately noticed that Korin and Nym had added him to a group chat. There were already several messages waiting, mostly pictures of Tachyon and other animals Korin had encountered, along with a few concerned messages from Nym asking what had happened to him.
Vale chuckled softly and began typing.
He told them everything.
The weapons. The strange smith named Ali. Meeting Callum, Hydra, and Yuki. The test. Callum's trial. He did not spare details when describing their power, how overwhelming it felt, how small it made him feel by comparison.
The response was immediate.
"You met Hydra?!"
Both Korin and Nym sent the message at nearly the same time.
Vale explained the encounter, describing Hydra's presence and the sheer weight of his energy. He kept his eyes on the screen as he walked, already anticipating their reactions.
A moment later, Korin replied.
"Then the rumors about him are true…"
Not long after, Nym sent another message.
"Do you think I could take him in a fight?"
Vale blinked, then laughed quietly to himself.
"Sure," he replied.
A few seconds later, Korin sent a picture.
It showed Korin and Nym standing side by side, clearly together, but behind them, visible in the background, was something far more concerning. A jagged rift tore through the air behind them, a fracture. A low-ranking one, from what Vale knew, but still dangerous. Reality itself looked torn, like fabric ripped apart.
Vale stopped walking.
"What are you guys doing?" he typed quickly.
Korin answered almost immediately.
"This is our afternoon assignment. We're observing its subjugation."
Vale frowned and glanced through the window beside him.
"Afternoon?" he typed back. "Isn't it night for you too?"
"No," Korin replied. "Sector Zero and the academy are basically on opposite sides of the Earth."
Vale sighed.
"I guess that means we won't be able to talk much," he replied.
He lifted his gaze and looked around. The Chimera enclosure stretched endlessly in every direction, its walls so vast he couldn't see where they ended. Mountains rose within it, their silhouettes faint but unmistakable even in the darkness. For some reason, that brought him comfort.
A soft smile crossed his face.
Korin sent another message.
"Our subjugation's starting. I'll talk to you later. We need to stay alert in case things go wrong."
Then another message followed.
"Later."
Vale typed back, "Bye," and slipped his phone into his pocket as he resumed walking.
vale stepped through a large door stepping outside to continue his walk.
The cold air filled his lungs as he took a deep breath. It wasn't warm, but it was clean, fresh in a way only true open space could be. He walked among the trees, snow crunching faintly beneath his boots. He wasn't worried about getting lost, his phone had GPS, and even if that failed, Chrome was with him.
As he walked deeper into the forest, a faint sound reached his ears.
Water.
"A river?" Vale murmured.
He followed the sound and soon found a small stream winding through the frozen ground. Kneeling beside it, he dipped his metallic hand into the water. He could feel it, the cold, the current, confirmation once again that the strange relic truly functioned as his arm.
Vale stared at the dark metal for a moment, lost in thought.
Then,
Crack.
His head snapped up.
The sound came from the forest behind him.
"Did a deer step on a branch?" he whispered.
He stood slowly and turned toward the sound, narrowing his eyes as he stared into the darkness between the trees. The forest was nearly pitch black, shapes blurring together into a single mass of shadow.
But the more he focused, the more he noticed something wrong.
One patch of darkness was deeper than the rest.
Denser.
As if it was watching.
Vale's breath caught.
From within that darkness, two eyes opened, beautiful, almost luminous blue, glowing softly as they stared directly back at him.
Vale stumbled back as the creature stepped forward, his breath catching in his throat. The glowing blue eyes grew clearer with every step the animal took, and recognition struck him like a jolt.
He had seen those eyes before.
Only hours ago.
The darkness peeled away to reveal the full form of the beast, a large black wolf, its fur swallowing what little moonlight reached the forest floor. It was the same wolf that had watched him through the glass as he and the others had run toward Callum's test.
Vale stared at it, confusion flooding his thoughts.
It didn't bare its teeth.
Didn't growl.
Didn't tense to strike.
If anything, it looked… curious.
Slowly, Vale lowered his stance, careful not to make any sudden movements. He deliberately avoided looking directly into its eyes, every instinct screaming at him not to challenge the predator.
The wolf ignored that instinct entirely.
Its gaze never left him.
Step by step, it closed the distance. Vale's heart pounded louder with each silent footfall until the wolf stood directly in front of him, towering over his crouched form.
Vale squeezed his eyes shut.
'Please don't make me fight.'
His silent plea was answered, not with teeth or claws, but with warmth.
A rough tongue brushed against his cheek.
Vale froze.
Then the wolf shifted closer, slipping beneath his arm and settling beside him. Its heavy head rested comfortably in his lap, its breathing slow and steady, as if it had always belonged there.
Vale let out a long, shaky breath.
"…You scared the hell out of me," he muttered.
He hesitated, then reached out and gently petted the wolf's fur. It was thick, warm, and real beneath his fingers.
And then realization hit him like ice in his veins.
"If you're here…" Vale whispered.
His gaze darted around the forest, fear coiling tightly in his chest.
"…then this is Chimera's enclosure."
The words barely left his lips before panic surged.
'I need to get out, now. If Chimera finds me, I'm dead.'
Vale scrambled to his feet, his heart racing as he pulled his phone from his pocket and activated the GPS.
Nothing.
"No, no, come on," he hissed.
The screen flickered uselessly. No signal.
Vale cursed under his breath and tapped his metallic arm sharply.
"Chrome, now would be a really good time to wake up."
No response.
The arm was dead weight.
"Great," Vale muttered.
Panic crept deeper as he broke into a run, branches tearing at his armor as he pushed through the forest. His breath came fast and shallow, thoughts spiraling as the enclosure began to feel less like a habitat and more like a grave.
Then his foot caught on something, a root, maybe.
He barely had time to react before the ground vanished beneath him.
Vale tumbled down a short ravine, hitting the bottom hard. He groaned, coughing as he pushed himself upright, brushing dirt and snow from his leather armor.
His side screamed in protest.
Before he could gather his thoughts, a sound reached him, soft, desperate chirping.
Vale turned.
Behind him, nestled among broken branches and leaves, were three tiny birds. Barely more than hatchlings. Their feathers were sparse, their bodies trembling as they cried out endlessly.
Abandoned.
Vale crouched beside them, wincing as pain shot through his ribs.
"Did your parents leave you?" he asked quietly.
The birds chirped in response, weak but persistent.
Vale let out a humorless chuckle.
"Yeah… I don't know mine either."
He rolled onto his back, staring up at the moon, the only source of light piercing the canopy above.
"…Or if I even have any."
Minutes passed in silence.
Then Vale sat up.
He carefully gathered the small birds into one hand.
"You know what?" he said softly. "I'll take you with me. Might give you a better chance."
The birds chirped louder. One pecked his hand.
"Ow," Vale muttered, managing a faint smile.
He cradled them gently, his free hand pressing against his aching side as he started down the ravine.
That was when he saw them again.
Deep blue eyes glowed from the darkness ahead.
Vale swallowed.
'Please be the same one,' he thought grimly. 'Otherwise, I'm dead.'
Strangely, the thought didn't terrify him as much as it should have.
He looked down at the birds in his hand, sorrow softening his expression.
"Don't worry," he whispered. "I'll protect you."
He lifted his gaze.
The wolf stepped into view, stopping roughly ten meters away. It showed no aggression, only curiosity. Its head tilted slightly, studying him.
Vale mirrored the motion unconsciously, then slowly bowed his head.
The wolf turned.
It glanced back at him, then looked forward, clearly indicating a path before beginning to walk.
"…Does it want me to follow it?" Vale murmured.
Doubt gnawed at him. He glanced down at the birds, then froze.
They were gone.
Vale exhaled slowly.
'What do I have to lose?'
He straightened and followed the black wolf deeper into the ravine, trusting the only guide he had left.