In the heart of the forest, two werewolves engaged in a fierce battle. Their claws tore through flesh, and their enlarged wolf-like jaws bit mercilessly at one another.
Each strike, each move, was aimed at ending the other's life.
Adam could sense that Gold's attacks were meant for nothing less than his death.
Covered in wounds, Adam let out a furious roar and charged toward Gold once more. His mind, now devoid of strategy or calculations, was focused solely on one thing: defeating the man before him.
Gold was equally relentless, laughing maniacally as he charged at Adam. The two collided violently.
In the impact, Adam stumbled backward, his arms flailing as he tried to regain his balance, but eventually, he lost his footing and fell to the ground.
Moonlight filtered through the canopy, casting a pale glow across his face. The sight seemed to stir something deep within him, and under the influence of his bloodline's awakening, a distant memory surfaced.
His skin, nearly dissolved, lay sprawled in the mud. His legs and one arm were broken, leaving him with only one hand to drag himself forward.
Even though his body had been shattered and his strength exhausted, Adam continued to move. It was during that moment, as his will overcame the obstacles before him, that he first felt his bloodline awaken into its werewolf form.
Now, it felt as if the same event was unfolding again. Moonlight bathed him as it had before.
"Bless you, my child, may you be forever healthy," a voice whispered softly, filled with hope and tenderness. Then more words followed, words that seemed to pierce the soul.
"Never forget the mission, the mission of the family."
"Fight on, forever."
"Never cease!"
"Follow in the footsteps of me, Ralph Ronny Trindell."
"..."
...
The older the voice, the more distant it became, as though thousands of voices were speaking, sharing their ideals, their resolve. But it was not just speech—it was transformed into power, infusing every fiber of Adam's being.
In that moment, it was as though Adam's soul broke through boundaries, as if everything from time and space to the world itself twisted into nothingness. Only the soul traveled through it all.
At that instant, Adam seemed to possess a different perspective of reality. He felt as though he was drifting in the void, from which he could see himself lying in the forest, and the streets of his past life, the moving vehicles, the myriad of worlds.
Then, his soul began to fall back, descending into his body like a feather landing on a scale. That tiny weight seemed to awaken his physical form.
Adam gritted his teeth, rising to his feet. His blood-red eyes locked onto Gold, and an overwhelming pressure emanated from him, as though it could be physically felt by Gold.
From Gold's perceptive viewpoint, the atmosphere around Adam was indescribable—swirling like clouds, as if a formless force enveloped him.
Just as Gold's presence in the perceptual illusion could morph into a shadowy werewolf, Adam's presence in that moment exploded in a far more visible, tangible form. It was so potent that even without using a perceptual illusion, it directly interfered with others' perceptions.
"Is this his awakened power?" Gold felt the crushing weight of the atmosphere around Adam, but there was a hint of disappointment in his heart.
The ability wasn't bad, but it wasn't among the top-tier powers.
"Could it be the ancestors aren't strong enough?" Gold speculated. The classification of purebred werewolves was fascinating. As long as the werewolf was born of two purebred parents, they were considered purebred, capable of tracing back to direct ancestors during their bloodline awakening and receiving their blessings.
But some purebred werewolves had non-purebred parents, and their ancestral line would only trace back to their parents.
In a sense, the stronger the ancestors, the greater the power passed down through the generations, and the more formidable the abilities unlocked.
Before Gold could think further, his thoughts were interrupted by the ongoing battle.
With an overwhelming force, Adam vanished from sight and darted between the trees.
A shadow hurtled toward Gold. Gold turned and swiped with his claws, but the shadow shattered into fragments, leaves and branches scattering in all directions. Adam, however, reappeared right before Gold.
As Adam's claws swung toward him, Gold attempted to block, but his reaction was too slow. The claws brushed across Gold's chest, leaving deep gashes that exposed the bone beneath.
"My perception is suppressed by his aura. His speed and strength have increased greatly…" Gold grasped Adam's incoming fist, his body forced to retreat and stabilize itself against the ground under the immense pressure.
Before Gold could fully react, an overwhelming force surged through Adam, sending a shock straight into his soul. His battle strategy crumbled, and his perception seemed to snap shut in an instant.
By the time his perception expanded again, he saw Adam raise a fallen tree above his head, spinning it and smashing it down onto Gold with explosive force.
Gold's body flew through the air, leaving a long trail on the ground.
Adam released the tree, sending it flying to the side, and sprang forward, landing directly on top of Gold.
"Too naive, leaping right into it..." Gold's thoughts had barely formed when Adam's pressure exploded once more, as though physical and spiritual forces compressed all at once, sealing Gold's perception.
It was as if Adam descended from the heavens, and when the pressure finally eased, Adam, propelled by his momentum, clawed fiercely at Gold's body. Blood splattered, and Gold's innards were exposed.
One of Adam's claws tore out Gold's heart, holding it in his grasp.
With a wild howl, Adam squeezed the heart, shattering it under his immense strength. But instead of blood, black smoke poured out in torrents, swirling behind Adam.
Adam, perched on Gold's lifeless body, turned to look behind him. He saw yet another Gold emerge, the body beneath him dissolving into black smoke that quickly collapsed into a pile of dirt.
"Round two?" Gold tilted his head, grinning wickedly, his crimson eyes burning with intensity. Black smoke enveloped him like an aura, giving him the appearance of a demon emerging from the depths of hell.
"You didn't die, so why stop?" Adam stood, his indescribable aura flaring once more.
This time, the pressure was even stronger. Without the need for perceptual illusions, mere sight alone could see the surrounding phantasms swirling around Adam.
As he moved, the apparitions surged forward like a tidal wave, causing the leaves to rustle under the immense power.
In Gold's eyes, the illusions became more vivid, as if golden light descended upon the earth, angels, saints, and divine beasts emerging, overwhelming Gold's mind.
"No, you're a werewolf conjuring angelic illusions?" Gold's black smoke twisted, transforming into spears that pierced through the illusions, only to find that in the next moment, the visions vanished, and Adam was already standing before him.
Gold barely had time to react before he threw a punch at Adam.
Adam crouched low, and in the next instant, he soared into the air, catching Gold's punch with his palm. Using the momentum, he twisted, turning his palm into a knife that struck upward.
The knife sliced across Gold's neck, leaving a long trail of blood.
"Learning fast, are we?" Adam mocked as he executed the same knife strike that Gold had once used to strike his jaw.
Black smoke surged around Gold, enveloping the gaping wound on his neck and pulling him backward, while Adam continued to fall to the side.
Gold's gaze shifted to Adam's many injuries. Perhaps due to the intensity of the fight, some of the wounds reopened, blood flowing freely again.
"This time, I'll admit it—you won," Gold raised his hands. "I surrender!"
The black smoke coiled around Adam's body, healing his wounds, realigning his broken bones.
"I... won't... accept..." Adam attempted to resist, but his vision blurred, his body drained of energy. Eventually, he lost consciousness, slipping into a deep sleep.
His werewolf form quickly receded, returning to his human shape.
Gold reached out, lifting Adam's unconscious body onto his shoulder. With a deep sigh, he started walking toward the slums. Halfway there, he cracked a smile, only for his expression to twist into a grimace. His hand instinctively reached to his neck.
"That was a heavy hit."