Ash rained over Valdorne.
The skies above shimmered with residual energies as the last pulses of violet fire faded in the distance. The survivors—bloodied, bruised, and exhausted—stood in stunned silence around the portal that had just sealed shut behind Shin and Laverna. Then came the silence. A weight, as if the world itself held its breath.
The Hunters and citizens of Valdorne were still processing what they had just witnessed. Some fell to their knees in prayer, others in despair. The sky, though darkened by ash and storm clouds, showed a sliver of moonlight breaking through.
In the town square, Mira paced like a caged beast. Olga stood nearby, her golden hair no longer glowing but drenched in sweat, her breathing shallow. "That was too close," she muttered.
Guild Master Davis leaned against a broken wall, blood dripping from his gauntlet as he stared into the fading trail of energy left behind by the portal. "They're alive," he said, as if willing it to be true. "They have to be."
"Laginaple is gone..." Yuri whispered. The crowd around her had started murmuring, a thousand voices filled with dread, confusion, and grief.
"Not gone," Mira snapped, her eyes fierce. "Not while they're still fighting."
Mayor Edmund and his family moved among the wounded, distributing water and medicine. He barked orders to his aides, quickly turning Valdorne into a makeshift sanctuary.
"We need structure," he said. "Shelters. Patrols. A registry for the refugees. Keep them calm, and keep them safe."
The Fourth Talon worked tirelessly. Dalen carried a wounded girl into the chapel. Rynn and Lyssa helped reinforce barriers and tended to the town's broken infrastructure. Even Olga, despite her exhaustion, took point on the western gate's defenses. Mira organized the healers, her eyes burning with purpose.
Inside the Hunters Guild Hall, Valdorne branch, temporary cots lined the floor, filled with the wounded and shell-shocked. Yuri walked among them, helping where she could, her hands trembling. A group of young children clung to her mantle, silent and wide-eyed, seeking warmth in a world suddenly gone cold.
Guild Master Davis stood atop the Guild Hall's balcony, looking out over the battered town. He turned toward the sky. "Murasabe, if you're watching... your boy is doing more than you ever dreamed."
The stillness was broken when a Hunter burst into the Hall.
"Message from the Guild crystal satellite tower!" he shouted. "The capital's pulse... is gone. No response from any of the towers within Laginaple."
A stunned hush fell over the room.
Davis lowered his head. "Then we must prepare for war."
Mira stepped forward. "What's the plan? We can't just wait for them to return."
"We won't," Davis said. "But first, we survive. We protect what's left. We become the shield they'll need when they return."
Olga nodded. "Then let's get to work."
At the far horizon, the land of Laginaple could still be seen—barely. Crimson clouds cloaked its skies like infected wounds. Bizarre-looking trees had grown to heights matching that of the castle itself. Crystal towers, jagged and unnatural, pierced the land around the castle, even growing from its very walls.
Guild Master Davis, who had once called that land home, could feel the ache in his heart. The pain of betrayal.
That his best friend, his brother-in-law, had given in to power, consumed by his lust to retain the throne. And his sister, once innocent and kind, has now twisted into a woman drunk on status and sorcery.
All those years… and he realized, maybe they were never the people he thought they were. Maybe their masks had finally crumbled, exposing the truth of their hearts.
"We should've never brought the Hi Okami Clan into this," he muttered under his breath, regret sharp as the huge blade he carried.
Meanwhile—
Within the void between portals, Shin and Laverna drifted unconscious.
Darkness clung to them like a shroud. Then—
Shin's fingers twitched. His eyes shot open, the crimson of his fox-form gaze piercing the gloom. Beside him, Laverna stirred, coughing.
The world they found themselves in was unlike any realm they had known.
Skies the color of bruised flesh.
A horizon of ruin.
Burned trees stretched like skeletal fingers toward the sky, their charcoal branches groaning under the weight of ash. Floating stones—some the size of boulders, others like shattered bricks—hovered midair, suspended by unseen forces.
The very air shimmered with malignant energy, pulsating like a dying heartbeat. Here and there, jagged crystals protruded from the soil, glowing faintly with corrupted light, as though the land itself had bled and crystallized its suffering.
The ground was cracked with veins of lava-glow beneath the surface, and glowing insects darted through patches of thorny vines. In the distance, towering flowers with petals like razors gently swayed, their colors shifting from red to violet. Crooked beasts the size of deer with too many eyes peeked from behind rocks, sniffing the air cautiously.
Looming in the distance was the crumbling remains of what had once been a grand castle—its towers now fractured and leaning, its battlements collapsed into dust. Vines blackened by corruption slithered up the stone walls like veins on a dying limb.
The grandeur that once stood proud now lay in mournful ruin, a ghost of power long since devoured. Broken bridges stretched across chasms like ribs of a dead god.
Shin could feel it—the malice in the air. It was suffocating, almost tangible. A creeping dread settled in his bones. One wrong move, one misplaced step, and the Falzath would descend upon them like vultures to a corpse.
Laverna stirred beside him, clutching her arms. "Where... where are we? This place... It's wrong."
Shin narrowed his eyes, scanning the landscape. "I don't know," he admitted. "But something's pulling us."
Just ahead, an island-like structure hovered in the distance, cloaked in a crimson mist. As if carried by a current only the soul could feel, their bodies were drawn toward it.
Faster. Closer.
The pull intensified.
Then, the force around them snapped—they accelerated as if falling from the heavens.
"Hold on!" Shin shouted, wrapping his tail around both himself and Laverna.
The ground screamed as they crashed down, kicking up debris and smoke, carving a crater into the desolate terrain. A thunderous impact rolled across the dead forest, scattering wildlife that had long mutated from exposure to the Falzath's presence.
As the dust settled, Shin emerged, still cradling Laverna in his arms.
She refused to let go. "Nope. Not moving. I'm staying right here."
Shin sighed, dusting himself off. "Laverna, get off."
"Nope. Absolutely not. You're my emotional support fox."
"Laverna."
"Shhhh. The floor is lava and you're the only solid surface."
Despite the chaos, their exchange brought a flicker of levity, a momentary peace amidst madness.
Then—
A rustle. A low growl. The sound of leaves shifting unnaturally.
Their banter died.
Both Shin and Laverna turned their heads, eyes narrowing. The trees twisted, their trunks oozing with black sap. Something moved—slithering between the roots.
Something was watching them.
And it was not alone.