The giant wolf tore through the debris of the rocks and wall, snarling as it came upon me. I backed up against the wall of the cave, my only escape blocked. In its jaw were small chunks of meat, its teeth stained a rusty brown with my blood. My back was scratched, and my leg was throbbing in pain. It snarled again, showing off its teeth. I shivered but was quick to control myself. I needed a plan. Gu swirled violently in my Eclipse Heart, waiting to be called upon. My brain worked overdrive to come up with ways to kill this thing or escape.

This cave had led me to a tunnel to an even larger cave which in turn had connected to the one I was currently in. However, the path to the connecting cave was blocked. Unless... I quickly rummaged through the debris and squeezed through a big stone the wolf hopefully couldn't fit through. There was a small crevice, big enough for me to crawl through. I heard the wolf growl as it lunged at me.

I felt the wolf bite my foot and the bones crunch. I let out a yelp of pain and used my other foot to kick it on the head. It fell back, and I crawled to the side, rolling away as pain kept throbbing through my body. The wolf came upon the place I'd just been, and the rocks shook. Dust and tiny pebbles fell from the ceiling. Dodging anything that might prove to be lethal, I had no time to think or ponder my situation over as the wolf came barreling towards me, teeth gnashing.

It came at me and I barely rolled out of the way, its breath on my neck, hot and humid. My heart raced, and I could see the intent in its eyes, to kill, and devour. My heart calmed, and my brain worked overtime as I tried to think of a solution. I feinted to left before diving right, and thankfully I had a small moment of victory before it was crushed by a slash of pain and my vision growing dark. My left arm hung limply, useless. Blood flowed freely, and the pain was almost unbearable.

The wolf had lunged at me, its jaw coming to clamp down on my head. I'd barely moved out of the way. I could practically hear the adrenaline pumps as the wolf's sharp teeth closed in on it.

My Eclipse Heart was a whirlwind, the energy inside it pulsating and churning. The black-red aura that always surrounded me, the aura of Eclipse, was growing in size, spreading throughout the whole area. It was do or die. Either I got out of here or died.

Expelling Gu from my front, a wave of power slammed me back, the wolf's jaw missing my head by an inch, but its claws still caught me. It was a deep cut on my chest, and blood flew, but it wasn't anything too bad. The wolf's head had gone through the burnt of the Gu cloud I'd expelled, and it had been a bit burned.

A sound of mists swirled, reverberating through the cave. It seemed to affect the wolf as it winced back. It growled and shook its head in defiance, its fur around its face smoking and smelling like burning hair. It snarled at me, its tongue hanging out as it breathed heavily. Its mouth opened and closed, a drop of blood dripping to the floor. I'd only managed to draw a single droplet. Fuck. This wasn't something I could handle at all. Meanwhile, my body was anything but unscratched. I was a mess. My leg was in pain, and my arm wasn't any better.

"Come on!" I screamed, trying to rile up the wolf. "What? You gonna stand there and not eat me?"

It was stupid. But I wasn't thinking straight. If I'd been thinking straight, I'd have known to dip a hand into my inventory and chug down a bunch of potions I had, or maybe use an item or two to get a better edge in this fight.

However, I had no experience fighting and this situation wasn't helping me one bit. Definitely, I'd bit more than I could chew, I should've stuck with the rabbits.

Gu swirled around me, the energy within it growing and expanding. I could feel it. The energy was almost bursting. It wanted to be released. I don't know where that came from, maybe it was the adrenaline pumping, pushing my Eclipse Heart into overdrive in this moment of need. Maybe it was my will to survive, my need to grow and become stronger. Whatever it was, I was grateful. I would've died without it.

The wolf came rushing at me. I could practically see its intent, to kill. It had no thoughts, no intelligence behind its actions. It was a wild, savage, killing machine. And I was its target.

The black-red aura grew around me, swirling violently, creating a hurricane of energy around me. Gu expanded, becoming bigger and bigger. A cloud, dark and red, spread from my position and went towards the wolf. The wolf seemed to notice something was wrong and slipped to the side, releasing its Gu finally.

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And it was fair to say it crushed mine. It was a simple burst of Gu, no shape, no form. Mine, on the other hand, had some semblance of shape and theoretically should be far stronger. However, when the dark blue Gu met with my dark red-black Gu, the wolf's Gu exploded forward, devouring and gnawing away at my Gu.

My eyes widened. The wolf's Gu was devouring mine. It was going to kill me, it would eat everything. The wolf's Gu would devour everything. That was a scary thought. It was a primal, savage, beastly aura. Something that couldn't be contained.

A sound, strange yet familiar, like the red mists, rang out. Gu swirled through the cave, followed by the almost unbearable sound. The wolf winced, and I did the same.

My Gu, the black-red cloud that had surrounded me was sucked back into my body. The wolf's was, too. It was an instinctive reaction. I capitalized on this chance. Whatever this voice was, it helped me, for whatever reason.

I dipped behind, running towards the crevice leading through the giant rock. I'd been trying to guide the wolf towards my destination and I'd somewhat managed. However, now that the wolf's attention was focused on the strange noise, I didn't have any time to spare. I ran towards the crevice, slipping in.

Not even a second later, the wolf's nose slammed against the crevice, sniffing, the hot, humid air blowing out as the rock cracked. My stomach flipped, but I didn't look back and continued crawling. The wolf's growls and snarls were loud. They were the sounds of pure, unadulterated anger and rage. I shuddered, knowing that the wolf would tear me apart if it ever caught me. Its teeth grazed my feet as it snapped its jaws at me. I was barely an inch away.

"Fuck!" I cursed, as I finally managed to slip through the narrow hole.

The wolf snarled, its mouth opening wide, trying to fit through the hole. However, another whistle of the sound snapped its head around, making it whine like a pitiful dog.

I didn't waste time and sprinted down the corridor even as my bones protested and the pain in my legs, arm, chest, and body was hot and fiery. It hurt. It really did. But I was alive. I'd survived. And it was a good feeling.

Finally, I emerged into a familiar cave leading back to where I'd come from. However, my happiness was short-lived as the wolf's growls sounded from behind, as it chased after me.

I ran.

I ran through the tunnels, not looking back. I wasn't a coward, maybe I was. I didn't care. I needed to survive. I'd kill this thing later. That was certain. My eyes burned with determination, and the pain and wounds I had were ignored.

My breathing was hard, my lungs screaming for air.

I ran.

The wolf managed to keep up. The sounds of its heavy paws echoed through the caves. It was right behind me. Its jaws were close, almost biting into my legs.

Safety was just ahead. There were no thoughts. I had no plan.

I was close. So close. My feet thumped against the floor, leaves crunching with my blood mixed in the mix. My Eclipse Heart, and normal heart both slammed hard. My mouth grew dry, lips chapped. There was no other option. My life was on the line.

The wolf's nose almost brushed the back of my legs.

The tunnel finally ended, and the wolf was close behind. I slipped through a narrow crack, just wide enough for me, and slammed a whirlwind of Gu against the rock, sending the wolf skidding backward as it snarled, gnashed, and tried to dig through the rocks and debris that started crashing down on it.

The rock crumbled slightly, and the wolf's claw dug through.

But by then, I was gone.

***

I groaned, collapsing to the floor, holding my stomach.

I was bruised, wounded, and bloody. I had a lot of scrapes, but nothing life-threatening. Being a cultivator again came with its perks, my body was already healing, albeit at a very slow rate.

I took a moment to gather myself, the adrenaline pumping through my veins, and took a look at my chest where the wolf's claws had grazed me.

They were long, deep, and wide, the wound was ragged and torn. Blood trickled out. However, the pain wasn't as bad as it had been. I was probably going into shock. Or I was numbed. I didn't really know. And now that my head was out of the metaphorical gutter of survival instinct, I recalled the things I could have done with a few simple potions and some other stuff I had in my inventory. Poisons daggers to throw, for one, and a few Gu-packed bombs, for another.

"Fucking hell!" I said, shaking my head.

I'd made a mistake. One of the many I'd undoubtedly made. But still. It sucked. I felt like shit. I couldn't fight, not as good as I'd want to. I slapped my face, wincing and crying hard in pain to get myself back into calm thoughts. I sighed, shuffling through my inventory and chugging down a few potions.

The healing effect was immediate, and the potion's cool taste was refreshing. The wounds on my arm and chest slowly closed up, leaving nothing but faint marks behind.

"Good," I sighed, furrowing at the scars. They weren't as deep, and they'd fade in time, perhaps not. Regardless, they'd be there for a while.