“Not again.” Adam mumbled to himself. He found himself back in the barren forest. The naked and dried trees loomed over him and small icicles drooped from their branches for as far as he could see. He wasn’t sure what he had been doing before this. He had the vague impression that he should be doing something. Or had been doing something important, but for the life of him couldn’t remember what it was.
He started to walk. His time spent in this forest had taught him that the visions could be short, lasting only a few seconds, or incredibly long. At least his perception of time while he was here felt that way.
Adam felt more at peace being here than he had before. In a way, this hallucination was the only connection he had back to his old life before Primordial Energy. He knew it was different now but still, small comforts. Even if that terrifying wolf was here, he didn’t think it would be able to harm him. Not locked behind that odd cage that Atlas had left behind.
A shiver went down Adam’s spine as he heard snicker from behind him. He turned, finding himself looking up at a monstrous wolf, its hair white with strands of black. It stood about the same height that Atlas had been, with canines nearly the size of Adam himself.
“I was so pleased you allowed me to help earlier.” The wolf said, his mouth not moving with the words, but they still came out as if the beast was speaking. “I was worried you would be too stubborn like that old fool, Atlas. Though I must admit, I do miss him at times.”
Adam stared blankly back at the wolf. Too terrified to move. He felt like he should run, or scream, or fight back in some way, but his body just didn’t listen to him. It was as if his blood and muscles had been turned to ice. The Wolf leaned in closer, and Adam could feel it’s rancid beath wash over him. Where he expected it to be hot, he felt a frigid air envelop him. He shivered and the wolf chuckled.
“Don’t worry, little titan. I merely wish to talk with you.” The wolf brought its head back up and sat on its back legs, still towering far above the forest. Adam had to crane his neck to look up. “Afterall, Atlas left you with a gift. I feel it would be rude if I didn’t extend the same courtesy.”
The wolfs eyes flashed a deep yellow before fading to an almost white blue and Adam felt the chill in his body dissipate. There was a sudden rush of memories and he remembered what he had been doing before. How he had accepted the wolfs help, though he didn’t know what that had meant.
“How?” He started to say but stopped, his mind working in overdrive.
“How what?” The wolf waited for an answer, but Adam didn’t give one. It sighed. “I am not the enemy here, Adam. Yes, I know your name. I know everything about you. Afterall, I’ve been a part of you for a long, long time. Don’t you remember? We’re practically old friends.”
“You’re an Eldari. Why would you give me a gift.”
“I am no such thing.” The wolf hissed. “Not all beastkin are Eldari just like not all Eldari are beastkin.”
The sky turned a deep shade of red and an enormous pressure descended as if the very universe was pressing on them. The sky rumbled as thunder rolled through the forest.
The wolfs ears pinned back and pressed against his head and he bared his teeth through a snarl. “All right, all right. I won’t mention anything like that again.” He said. “Stingy. Not like a few words to a baby squire will change anything.”
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The sky turned back to its usual black and the pressure receded. Adam took a shuttering breath. Shaken to his core at whatever had just happened. “What was that?” He asked.
The wolf sighed. “The Primearch didn’t like me sharing certain information. As this is a skill crystal vision and directly under his purview, it would be wise to abide by his rules, lest I find my own connection with Primordial Energy severed.”
Adam’s mind reeled. The wolf hinted at so much. It was still no doubt trying to sneak information to Adam without directly going against whatever this Primearch figure was. But Adam, didn’t know what to believe at this point.
“You know, it’s really quite insulting that you would naturally trust the Titan because he looks more like you and see me with only distrust. Afterall, I’ve only ever helped you. Like in Iraq, that last deployment before you retired.” The wolf trailed off.
Adam didn’t really have any memories of that time. It had been a blur. All he remembered was that the hallucinations had gotten so bad he was having a hard time differentiating reality from fiction. He had been discharged following Iraq. Since then, he had spent a considerable amount of energy just ignoring that time.
“I sense your pain. I have lived it myself and know it well. We are so similar, my young child. I do not wish for us to be enemies. Afterall, have you not seen just how beneficial a partnership between us could be? I lent you but a fraction of my power so you could save your friend, and you handled that beast that was so far above you with ease.”
The feeling of his body being flooded with power returned. Adam had felt an immense energy swell within him. If he had held it for any longer, he was sure his body would have imploded.
“Sadly, there are external forces limiting my ability to intervene in such a way again. For now, it is enough that I was able to help at least once.” The wolf laid down, resting its head to be eye level with Adam.
Adam felt an odd sense of peace from the wolf. He could also feel what it had cost the wolf to lend him some of its strength. He knew that the wolf wouldn’t harm him in that moment. Or perhaps couldn’t, because he wasn’t actually there. This was another skill vision, only it appeared the skill he was being given was from this wolf.
“So, what happens now?” Adam said. He was still uneasy about talking too much. He didn’t know enough about this world to freely converse with beings of such power. What if he accidentally agreed to something and the wolf took control of his body or something equally as twisted.
“I am merely here to give you a gift, as my old friend once did.”
“You didn’t seem like much of friends to me.” Adam said.
The wolf chuckled again and licked a massive paw that rested to Adam’s right. “We had our differences, but those were more of friendly spats than anything. Afterall, what is a little fight between old friends that goes back millenniums.”
Adam shrugged. Not daring to say more.
“I know I can come off as… nefarious at times. Perhaps it is in my appearance or in the way creatures who look like me have been perceived for all of history. Sheepdogs and wolves and all that.” The wolf stared pointedly at Adam with the words before going back to licking his paw. “Still, I just want to show you that I mean no harm. I only wish to be given the same opportunity you extended to Atlas. In return, I feel we could have an equally beneficial relationship.”
“Equally beneficial?” Adam asked. “What could I possibly do for you?” It was sounding more and more like a scam to Adam.
“It is nothing that I truly want from you, Adam. I just want you to progress. And if I can aid you in that endeavor then that will be enough for me.”
It sounded like a win-win to Adam, but he knew nothing ever came free. There had to be more to what the wolf was saying, he was just too ignorant to even have a chance at guessing what it could be. This being was thousands of years old by its own admission. How could he ever hope to understand the workings of creature that old.
“Then why does it seem like you’re tormenting me. Like an animal locked away in a cage. I find it hard to imagine Atlas would have done that for no reason.” He couldn’t help himself. He had to at least get some information.
The wolf blinked its massive yellow eyes before sighing. “We could call that more of a philosophical difference of on how to proceed. He wanted to do things one way, I disagreed. He and I were on the same side, though. I know that may sound crazy as you only ever saw us fight and his final gambit ended up locking me away in a cage. But I assure you it is the truth.”
Adam had no idea what to believe, so he stayed silent. No matter what he said or asked, this wolf could just talk circles around him.
“I can feel our time coming to an end. It has already been a struggle to keep you here this long.” The wolf said. It shook its head as if to clear it. “Do not believe all you hear, and even less of what you see. There is far more happening than you could possibly understand.”
The sky reddened again and the pressure from before retuned. The wolf bared its teeth but kept its eyes locked on Adam.It was a moment of seriousness that Adam hadn’t seen from the wolf yet. Every other word and interaction had dripped with sarcasm. The wolf leaned forward and pressed its snout to Adams chest, a faint blue-white light emitted from the impact.
“Farewell. For now.”
Adam’s vision went black once more.