He started hearing the heavy thuds and frantic stomps—the unmistakable sounds of beasts rushing toward his location with terrifying speed and precision.
Still, he ran. He ran with everything he had left, clutching his wife tightly in his arms, ignoring her sharp cries of agony that pierced through the air every time his rough movement jolted her body. The pain she was passing through… he knew it was immense, but right now, survival was all that mattered. No matter the cost. No matter how much pain she endured. Their lives were on the line.
He gritted his teeth and pushed his legs harder, but then—
Growl!
His entire body froze. The deep, guttural growl vibrated through the air, and dread instantly spread across his face. He halted in his tracks, stiff as a statue, his ears straining to catch every sound.
From the chilling tone, he could tell—the beast that let out that sound was close. Too close. Probably no more than ten meters away.
And then, he saw it. Emerging from the thick veil of dust and ruin was the silhouette of a wolf, but not just any wolf. This monster was massive—towering at two meters in height. Its eyes gleamed with a deep, malevolent red glow, bright enough to pierce through the hazy air. The sheer bloodlust in that gaze made his skin crawl and his heart pound violently in his chest.
More growls echoed around him, low and threatening. He dared to glance around—and his breath hitched. Dozens upon dozens of those crimson eyes glared back at him from the shadows. A circle of death closing in.
His face darkened, his jaw clenched so tightly it ached. He knew what this meant.
Surrounded. No escape.
The sight before him was enough to shake even the most seasoned Souler. And he… he wasn't even at his peak. Far from it. His soul energy was depleted, his body battered and weak. He could barely stand, let alone fight.
"Silver Fang Wolf Pack..." he muttered under his breath, his voice trembling as his widened eyes darted from one beast to the next.
At a glance, he could tell. They resembled ordinary wolves, but they were taller, bulkier, their muscles packed with raw power. The smallest among them stood at roughly 125 to 145 centimeters, while their leader—the alpha—towered at a fearsome two meters tall.
But their size wasn't the worst part. It was their sheer number and strength that crushed his hope.
'Even in my best condition, fighting this pack alone would've drained me dry… and now? Now that I'm on the brink of collapse?' he thought, a cold shiver running down his spine.
'Is this really how I die? Is this where my family meets its end?!'
His fists clenched so hard that his nails dug into his own palms, drawing blood. His body was shaking—not from the physical strain, but from raw, unfiltered unwillingness. He refused to accept this fate.
'They're all 2-star beasts, and that big one... that's a 3-star for sure. Their alpha. There's no way... no way I can even scratch them like this.' His vision blurred as despair gnawed at his mind.
'What do I do!? What the hell do I do!?'
No matter how hard he racked his brain, every possible path led to death.
His rage spiked suddenly, and in a moment of furious desperation, he cursed the heavens themselves.
'I swear to the God of Souls, Deus Anima, our savior god—I swear, I will kill that child for bringing this cursed misfortune on me! On the day my child is to be born, I get betrayed—backstabbed by my own brother, exiled from my empire, the very dome I built with my own hands... All of this? On the same damn day? No way this is normal!'
His heart throbbed violently as hatred bubbled within him. He spat out that oath without realizing that these very words… would haunt him later.
And then—
His wife's screams of labor grew louder, sharper, yanking his attention back to her. Her body trembled violently, her face pale as she writhed in pain.
His eyes softened, panic replacing his fury.
"Please… please, just keep pushing, my dear. You'll give birth soon. Just a little longer," he whispered, trying to soothe her while his hand shakily rubbed her back.
But deep inside, terror gripped him.
'Fuck... I know nothing about childbirth! What do I do now?!'
But even in her suffering, his wife hadn't forgotten the real danger lurking.
"Focu... AARGH!" she tried to warn him, but the searing pain cut her voice short. Her body convulsed as her water broke, a gush of birth fluids spilling with a wet, sickening splash.
The man's eyes snapped wide open. Realization slammed into him like a bolt of lightning.
He quickly turned his head—just in time to see the beasts.
They had already leaped into the air, their fangs bared, ready to pounce and rip him apart. Their growls turned into roars as they prepared to crush him and his family in one fell swoop.
These weren't mindless creatures. Mutated beasts were cunning, and right now, they were furious. Their blood boiled at being ignored by prey. They craved the fear—the delicious fear and despair in their victim's eyes. And yet, this man dared to look away from them because of some insignificant woman's screams?
Even the alpha snarled in anger, its pride wounded. With a commanding, thunderous howl, it ordered its pack to attack.
Without hesitation, the wolves obeyed, lunging forward with killing intent blazing in their red eyes.
And in that moment—
Time stopped.
Everything froze.
The wolves, mid-air, their jaws wide open and claws extended, were suspended as though caught in an invisible net.
Even the air stilled. Dust particles hung motionless. The pack's alpha, too, was locked in place, its mouth twisted in a savage grin as it anticipated tearing its prey apart. That feral smugness was frozen along with its body.
But strangely, the man and his wife… they weren't affected.
His heart pounded even harder. He blinked rapidly, struggling to comprehend what just happened.
His survival instincts screamed at him—someone powerful was here. Someone strong enough to warp reality itself.
He exhaled shakily. 'A 5-star Souler… someone that strong must've arrived. But why here? And what kind of beast soul magic does he wield to pull off something like this…?'
His thoughts spun wildly as he turned, ready to scoop up his wife and bolt while this mysterious savior held the beasts at bay.
But then—he froze.
His eyes went wide as plates, his mouth fell open in pure shock.
Hovering in the air—about seventeen to twenty-five inches above his head—was his newborn son.
His son.
The child that had just been born… was floating.
Suspended in mid-air like some kind of divine being.
The baby boy's hair shimmered silver, glistening like molten metal under a holy light. His tiny eyes glowed pure white, radiating an aura that didn't belong to this world. Ethereal. Unreal. Godly.
Even though his small body was still slick with birth fluids, and his skin was red and raw from birth, none of that could hide the otherworldly force emanating from him.
The air around the boy rippled. Power—pure, terrifying, and ancient—oozed from his fragile form.
The muscular man's mind spiraled into chaos. A million thoughts screamed inside his skull.
'What... what the hell…? Am I dead? Is this an illusion? Am I trapped in the mind magic of a Souler with an illusion-type beast soul!?'
His legs weakened, and he stumbled back slightly, still keeping his wife in his arms, but unable to look away from the floating infant.
What he was witnessing now… defied every law, every rule, every scrap of logic he knew.
He had thought, even prayed, that a powerful 5-star Souler had come to their rescue.
But no—this power, this godlike force, it was coming from…
From this child. This little boy who had just entered the world moments ago.
His son.
And he didn't even realize it—but he'd been standing there, rooted in place, staring blankly at the silver-haired newborn for a long, long time…