My body crashed to the arena floor, and my world became a tumble of dark sand and my own limbs. A pulse from my cloak helped dampen the blow, and the sand cushioned my fall as I slid to a stop.

I tried to stand up, but my side screamed in protest. I raised my hand, and what little light shone through the darkened room illuminated the bright red dripping off my fingers.

Cage. Dark shadows. Insane giggling.

In pain, I shut my eyes. My heart pounded in my chest.

Memories came flooding in.

No!

Red fabric squeezed down with enough pressure for my shoulders to ache. The rush of pain made me take a breath and I sputtered, spitting out the gritty particles of sand off my tongue.

Must… get up!

Another loud roar called out, closer this time, close enough to set my head spinning. Foreign thoughts screamed in my head.

No understanding, I couldn't understand—a headache pulsed in synch with my heartbeat.

Have… to get… up.

I tried to stand once more, but my leg gave out almost instantly, and I collapsed to the sand in agony.

My mana bubbled, and I couldn't contain it. The world brightened, then dimmed repeatedly.. I pushed up and brought myself to lean on my other leg.

I turned my head, but a mound of sand blocked my way. A swing of my hand created an explosion of sand that pelted my skin. I swung a second and third time until I coughed and waited for the cloud to settle.

What I saw made my stomach plummet deeper. Alice no longer swung her axe. She didn't send out waves of ice or exploding forceballs into the crowd of human puppets.

No.

Her axe lay forgotten on the floor. She roared with a howl that splattered fat droplets of blood down the side of her snout. They joined the spittle that crawled down her throat and slid across her blonde fur.

Sand fell away as she grabbed one of the men by the throat and slammed him into one of the women. A roar drowned out the crunch of bones.

She released her grip and ran towards the towering monster. It reached for her, and she leaped, jumping onto its arm. For a moment, she managed to run up its limb, but then a hand, faster than she could move, smashed her to the floor.

The towering monster's form blurred and wavered before re-solidifying.

Alice! No!

It lifted her up and hammered her into the ground before casually flicking her away. Her body rolled and tumbled, bowling into the crowd of puppets. A scream escaped my lips. My vision blazed with colors, and I saw a vague outline form around the monster. It glowed shades of purple and dark grey before fading from sight.

I moved to stand up; my leg screamed, my side hurt. Nothing else mattered. I had to get up!

Another roar, and I finally looked up, only for my blood to run cold.

Devon…

The monster swept its large fist over the sand, but Devon jumped backward. As the arm passed by, he leapt onto it, much like Alice had. But he didn't run up. No. He sank his claws into it and ran forward, sending black ooze fountaining into the air.

But then the monster's body blurred once more, and Devon sank to the ground. Like lightning, a leg came down and crushed the wolf beneath its foot.

I wanted to scream again, but sand flew into my mouth.

I screamed anyway.

"You are a pup! A child! Weakling! For all the favour the gods give you, the best you can do is howl at the moon!" the creature's voice taunted. The voice echoed through the cavern, blaring into my mind like wardrums with every syllable.

Devon's form lifted into the air, his limbs bound to his body as the monster squeezed.

"Aaargh!" Devon roared.

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My leg collapsed. I dug my elbow in and crawled, inch by inch.

They will die.

My blood burned, and I couldn't see straight. The darkness closed in, leaving only Devon, the monster, and the creature behind it all, illuminated by a half-buried vial light.

I dug my fingers in and pulled. My elbows splashed sand into my face, but I ignored it.

Another roar, this time from Devon, wet and furious.

Prey! Ki–They will die.

"When I'm free. When I destroy those chains, I will torture every last Grimm until I swallow each of you whole. Your Lore will grow mine. Be proud!"

A connection in my chest stirred, and the shadows around my arm began to bend before snapping back into place.

But that didn't matter.

I moved; I kept crawling. The creature looked away, ignoring me. To it, I was nothing, a broken pup!

Kill the prey!

Loud stomping shook the sand and some fell into my nose. Pressure started again, the kind that pushed me down and held me still.

"Your lore, oh heartless one. Do you want to give it willingly? Or shall I take through force."

My cloak flared and I felt the resistance slip away but something wet trickled down my pants and stomach.

Almost there…

"Hmm. What if I drain the female pup first? Will you scream then?"

A howl, one that cut through the noise and filled my bones with molten lead, resonated. The energy swirled then drained into my chest. My fingers dug deeper into the sand, and I scratched my nails against the grit.

It took a few more lunges, flopping my body forward, my strength coming in bursts, until I saw it: the three spikes of elongated obsidian impaling the creature. Its form was no longer human. Two tall horns, longer than my arms, and a torso that bent with each flicker. The outlines of its body were a haze, clouding the air around it.

Kill! Kill! Kill!

My teeth gnashed and a howl built its way up. The monster padded over to its master, holding the limp body of Devon and Alice in both hands. It dropped Alice to the floor, uncaring as she sunk into the sand.

"Let's keep it slow. I'll feed on that emotion you're feeling. The resentment, the anger, the fury! The loathing in your chest. Scream it out, give it all to me!"

Sharpened teeth scraped my tongue, sending copper down my throat.

They'll die…

I let the heat build. Another inch. More sand collapsed, but I flopped closer. Closer. CLOSER.

A guttural scream tore across my thoughts, and I swept my arms out in front of me. In my sight, showing against the dim light, the creature raised its arms like a conductor. The monster braced one massive, meaty fist against Devon's body, while the other pinched his arm between two fingers and tugged.

"Aaarghh!"

It wasn't words, barely a scream.

They'll die!

I extended my arm and pulled forward one last time. The creature was less than a meter away.

A long, shadowy limb rose up, and its ring finger bent forward, forcing my chin down, burying it into the sand. I couldn't breathe; the pressure hurt.

The fire inside my veins grew, pushing towards my neck, and I let it. Another pulse from my cloak stopped the flow, just long enough for my blood to rush to my face.

Burn! Blaze, grow the flame into a towering inferno.

My mana responded and shot down my arm, connecting to the image in my mind. It took over, even as I couldn't breathe, the air crushed out of my lungs. What little air I had left, I imagined it fueling the flames, acting as fuel to bring the inferno closer to eruption.

Ek.

Kalla.

Another scream and a wet, visceral ripping sound shattered the image. The fading wisps I gathered.

No!

My core shuddered. The pressure eased and my head shot up. The dark world around me faded, and I saw the creature, clear as day, surrounded by ethereal chains connected to the spikes. They pulsed with white lines so thick that they flashed across my vision like a blinding light.

A tether, long and skinny, a pale grey oozing with black shards, connected to the creature's head and extended like a fishing line into the sky.

I pictured it all turning to ash.

The sun blazed in my head, and I let it burn the void away.

Incinerate it all!

The monster threw Devon's body to the floor. And blood splashed up, coating the monster's foot.

They'll d-

“Ek kalla heiðarloga!”

A loud whine filled my ears, overpowering the screams, the static, the laughter.

The world turned into a blazing flash of bright orange.

Time seemed to stop, yet it didn't. The energy in my chest made me feel light, almost giddy. And the only thing in my mind was the need to burn.

I repeated the phrase, and another fireball concentrated and shot out. A single, deep thud spilled sand over me like a wave, but I forced myself to stand, favoring one leg.

Another explosion blinded the field. My hoodie burned.

It didn't matter.

I took a step forward.

Burn!

Another explosion rocked the arena, and the creature came within reach. A long shadowy limb tried to grab my arm, but I let the flames crawl up my skin. Black shards crumbled into motes of white ash that lifted into the sky.

Burn!

Another explosion occurred, and something heavy collapsed to the ground, followed by a distorted screech.

With only a foot apart, I lunged and grabbed the middle binding in the center of the creature's chest.

The creature tried to reform but failed. This pattern repeated over and over, until only the eyes remained, the smile gone.

"Oh.. pup! You do have teeth, how ma-"

The flames popped, and its form exploded, only for it to hazily reshape, the left eye missing. I willed another, but a hungry call from my core denied me. My anger demanded more! And yet the flames would not come!

A cold, wet nose touched my leg, and I looked down to see my summon with my axe clenched between its jaw.

"Now that's a Grimm."

In a flash, cold iron bisected the creature into two. The shadowflesh sizzled and splattered my face. I inhaled the sweetened air, letting the scent fill my nose.

The creature slipped through my fingers, becoming a deflated skin of black leather.

I looked down, and my axe sank into the sand.

"Cain…"

Devon's eyes met mine, human, torn and bloody.

I smiled wide.

"Hunt Complete."

And then the world blurred as my head hit the sand.