It’s her!
Yu couldn’t get those words out of her head as her Qi seethed, demanding to be released.
It’s her, it’s her, it’s her!
The world took on a red hue and Yu couldn’t stop the flood of desire to slaughter the woman in front of her. Nothing else mattered in all the world at that moment. The guards, the nobles, the differences in power, none of it mattered. Only the need to put her hands around that woman’s throat and squeeze.
“There it is,” her master’s voice stated matter-of-factly.
Then she was somewhere else. The surprise was quickly overwhelmed by the fury in her heart. A growl rumbled from her chest and Yu’s fingers stretched out as if they were claws, hoping to reach for that… monster.
It was her!
Her master’s voice echoed around her. “The veil will prevent use of any affinity except Spatial. I have lifted the binding placed on your use of your space and time powers. You’re free.”
The growl was now rumbling through her entire body. She was taking in deep breaths and ground shook beneath her with each exhale.
“There is a large pack of Wind Wolves inside that cave in front of you. Exterminate them. Release your power. Enforce your will upon the world!”
For a brief moment, something did not feel right, but that hesitation vanished as those images and that woman’s face once again rolled through her mind.
It was her!
Image after image continued to batter Yu’s mind. Pain, betrayal, heartbreak, fear, fury…
It was her, it was her, it was her, it was her, it was her!
Yu screamed, letting lose the last vestiges of any hold she had had on her Qi. The forest turned silver to her eyes as she released her affinity. All of it. She was free. Finally, she was free. And that woman would suffer.
How could she? It was her! How could she? It was her!
She roared to the world again and then she stepped.
Yu appeared inside the cave as far as she had been able to see from the outside, and in front of her lay two wolves with fur mostly gray but tipped yellow. They jumped at her appearance, rising to their feet quickly and faced her. But to Yu, they, along with everything else, was also red. In her mind, everything was blood red, like the blood of a little girl, betrayed.
It was her! How could she!
Yu roared yet again, this time flooding the words and the world with her Qi. Reaching forward with one hand, she flattened it in the air, and slammed it down.
The pair of wolves who had just stood crashed back into the ground. Yu growled, her hand pushing harder down. The wolves whimpered, but Yu only bellowed at them. Crunching sounds from the beasts made Yu growl even louder, the very air vibrating with the sound.
No longer satisfied with these two now-silent monsters, Yu ran past them, releasing a roar that caused the cave to shudder and dirt and stone to fall around her.
Three more wolves ran around a turn in the cavern pathway and charged at Yu, howling and barking the entire time. They leaped forward, mouths wide, teeth bared.
How dare she!
Clawed hands reached forward and the wolves froze. Time had stopped around them and she reached forward gripping each wolf by the neck, digging her fingers in, and ripping out their throats. Blood flew as she released her hold on the world, and she ran forward, stepping every time there was an opportunity to advance further.
More wolves would occasionally appear, some attacked her, some cowered before her. All died. Some she crushed with gravity, some she froze in time and tore to pieces. At one point she had used gravity to twist one wolf inside out and it had exploded.
She felt only rage and saw only blood. And the entire time, the same mantra kept running through her head.
How dare she! How dare she! How dare she!
***
The Wind Wolf had recently completed his first evolution. It had been glorious. He’d been small and stupid and weak. Now he was big and smart and strong. Now he could send his power outside of himself. His wind would allow him to consume. Yes, he was great. He was alpha.
Everything had started going right when he and his pack had fled into this cave. He could not recall what it was, he only knew that his pack had been chased away from their original territory by something strong and into here. He had not yet evolved at the time so it was hard to remember, but once they arrived and he sensed the power of the Heavens and Earth here, he knew it was their new home. And with the purity of the Heavens heavy in the air, he had evolved into an alpha.
Thanks to his strength, his pack could hunt more and greater prey. With him as alpha, they could expand their territory, push against others, make other hunters their food. And with the expanded territory and food, they could grow the pack. And of course he could mate with many of his females, producing strong offspring and growing further.
His might also allowed them to swallow other packs, absorb their weaker members to grow his. He obviously had to kill the strongest so they could not grow as he did and challenge him. Best of all, he could use their strength to grow himself, making him an even stronger alpha. The more he consumed the strong, the greater he became. And the greater he became, the closer he would be to his second evolution. Then he would rule over all his territory without concern. He would not just be great, he would the greatest.
So he had driven his pack, pushing their lands out, finding prey from which to grow. They had killed the wild but tasty boars first. Next they also drove away or killed the stupid dogs, even though they were numerous. The spotted cats were mighty, but with his wind, he cut them up and the pack worked together to kill them. He fed well that day, growing more powerful.
However, the best meals came from the two-legs. They were the perfect prey for his pack, being weak but numerous. They had had an alpha too, but the Wind Wolf alpha was stronger. Of course he was. He was great and he had his pack.
They found many groups of two-legs. The two-legs tried to hide inside strange unfamiliar caves with straight walls, but his pack sniffed them out and heard their cries. His wolves ate well those nights and grew stronger. Only the two-leg alpha was of interest to him though. The others were too weak.
So things were going well for the Wind Wolf alpha and his pack… until something strange happened. The alpha felt a strange power on the wind. A threat.
Another predator had arrived, and it was strong. He stood up, centered among his pack, and he howled the sound of warning and battle. He barked at some to send them to attack the threat. He felt it a certainty they would die, this threat far too much for those three. But that was why he had sent them. They were growing strong and he would have had to kill them anyway. Instead, he would rally his pack and they would attack the—
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Then power similar to what he had felt when he evolved pressed down on the alpha. It was if the very essence of the world was demanding he submit. At first he felt cowed and he watched as his packs’ tails curled in and they lowered themselves to show their bellies. He almost did as well. But then he remembered that he was alpha. He was might and power. The heavens had granted him that power, the power over the very wind, and he would not submit.
Suddenly a two-leg appeared. It did not run into the cave, it simply appeared, standing there, the world’s might pulsing out like the beats of a heart. The power of the world weighed down on the alpha and his pack with each throb of its strength.
But he was alpha. He would not falter. He would be strong. He would grow, and this two-leg’s might would be become his. So he pressed against the power, raised his muzzle to the heavens, and howled. He used his power over the wind to fight against the two-leg’s power. The two-leg failed to hold it at bay and it offered strength to his pack. He watched as his pack recovered thanks to his strength, and they howled in response. They could not press against the two-leg’s power, but their unity enhanced him. That was pack.
Then the two-leg, breathing heavy and growling the entire time, screamed. This was no howl of harmony, but the wail of death itself.
Silver light that had previously encompassed only just beyond the two-leg’s form, blazed so brightly it was like when the moon was full. And the two-leg disappeared, just how it had appeared. Suddenly, he heard howls again, but not of battle. These howls were of pain.
He turned to find the two-leg among his pack, ripping them apart. The alpha turned toward the two-leg and summoned his power. He opened his mouth and wind in the form of his teeth shot toward the invader.
He was excited then. Surely, the loss of a few of his pack was sad, and they would sing the mourning song. But he would kill this two-leg with the wind from the heavens and then consume her might. It was possibly even strong enough for him to evolve again.
But that was not what happened. The two-leg vanished as his wind teeth arrived to spear it to death. At first he though perhaps he had caused it to explode, ruining his meal. That had happened before when the wind inside burst. It was very frustrating when that happened.
The alpha quickly became aware, however, that that was not the case. Rather, he heard yelps and whines coming from his other side. He quickly turned to find the two-leg back amongst his pack. But instead of tearing them apart, the two-leg thrust forward its forelegs, paws in the shape of claws, and forced them upward. The wolves of his pack surrounding her rose into the air, towards the heavens. Then the two-leg brought those same clawed paws down and her wolves crashed to the earth causing cracks to form in the stone and their bodies to flatten.
He quickly created more wind teeth and flung them at the enemy, but once again it was gone. He was worried now. This two-leg fought like those panthers that used the shadows to hide and attack from stealth.
Well, he had beaten them, and this two-leg would fall the same way. He was mighty enough to defeat the powerful panthers, so he could defeat a soft two-leg.
Calling on his own power, he summoned it to himself, allowing it to build up. He knew the two-leg would continue to kill his pack, but they were many and could grow again.
Strangely, the two-leg had started speaking in the muddled two-leg language. He did not understand what, “It was her,” and “How dare you,” meant, but she said them over and over again, progressively louder each time.
He built the power as fast as he could, but his pack died around him. But they fought, even beyond the pressure the two-leg released. That was pack. They fought for each other, and for their alpha.
However, he had underestimated this two-leg. It moved faster than the wind he wielded, and it decimated his pack. His wolves exploded, were torn apart, were crushed. And the entire time, the two-leg yelled her fury and power.
He knew then that his time was up. If he did not act now, his pack would die. So he released the power he had built, and swirled it around him. He howled his anger and sadness and frustration and demanded the Wind crush this two-leg. Cut it to pieces like it had done to his pack.
So his power took its greatest form. A swirling mass of wind slammed down upon the ground before him, and swept toward the invader. It tore apart the ground, the bodies of his pack, and even a few living wolves who could not escape in time. His cyclone of power rushed at the two-leg, leaving a swath of destruction in its path.
The two-leg, who had been reaching towards another of his pack, stopped, whipping its head toward his power. He was so angry that he did not even revel in the fear he knew the two-leg must be feeling. He was just glad that it would be dead, and this great threat to him and his pack would be gone. The alpha knew the two-leg would die, so he allowed himself to fall to the earth, exhausted from the release of almost all of his power.
Watching the two-leg die would be a relief and he started to feel proud of his power and his victory. He used this ability not just because it was strong and tore apart its victims. But also because the amount of power used was strong in and of itself. The heavens and the memories from his ancestors told the alpha that it was the very pressure of the power itself that was the true might of this technique. It created a burden on the world itself that prevents any in its vicinity from using their own power. It was all about his might versus his victims’. This cyclone was how he had defeated the panthers who could escape through shadow, and it was how he would defeat this two-leg. He knew he was mighty and thus he knew he would win.
As he looked on while recovering, the alpha started thinking about his pack and how he could make his pack great and strong again. He accepted that this battle was a blow, but those that survived would be stronger for it, and they would submit to him even further as the one who was strongest.
So, as the cyclone neared the two-leg, he thought about how after his recovery, he would take this technique of his ancestors and use it in an area towards where the moon rose. He had been hesitant before because of the tree lizards that lived that way. They could use the vines and branches of trees to aid them and attack him and his pack from on high. But with the cyclone holding their power at bay, his pack could snare them while they were thrown to the ground.
Yes, this was a good plan.
His mind returned to the present and the inevitable victory over the two-leg when something odd happened. The cyclone had slowed. It was strange because it should be speeding up, not slowing down.
He looked at the two-leg who had her two clawed paws forward, facing the cyclone. The silver power that before had been surrounding the entire two-leg’s body and mane, billowing strongly around its head, was now concentrated on the forelegs and paws. And it was growing brighter and brighter as the cyclone slowed more and more.
The alpha did not understand. His power was great, and his ancestors showed him that the cyclone always won. He looked within himself, to the memories his ancestors left for him, and found that they would occasionally add more power. So he decided to do that. He had little left, but what he did have, he sent into his will over the wind.
The cyclone pressed forward, but he felt a force push against him as well. Like before, it was as if the heavens themselves were weighing against him. Glaring and baring his teeth, he pushed, and the spinning wind slowly continued toward the two-leg. It in turn growled louder and pushed back harder, slowing his cyclone once again.
This close, the alpha saw some strangeness in this two-leg. None of the others he had killed had strange slitted eyes like a cat or lizard, nor did any two-leg have teeth or claws as large and sharp. And the exposed skin of the face, neck, and shoulder seemed strange too, but he could not figure out how.
However, none of that mattered to the alpha. All that he cared about was victory. So he growled out the last trickles of his power and thrust it all forward at once. The cyclone responded, as he knew it would, moving forward and slamming into the growling two-leg.
It disappeared inside his cycle of wind and heaven’s might, and he howled his victory. The two-leg would be sliced apart and then he would consume what remained, growing stronger.
He relaxed then, at peace with his strength and his and his pack’s future. Until something changed. His cyclone, the pure expression of his connection to the world and the power of his kind, froze. In fact, the world froze. Everything was still. The stones flying in the air, the wolves rolling on the ground, the dust falling from the ceiling, even the very wind itself that was supposed to be under his control. Everything became motionless.
He tried to look around to figure out what was wrong with the world, but found he could not move either. Then he heard a sound. The only sound, in fact. Rumbling that was slowing increasing in strength.
Then the two-leg appeared again, just in front of it. The white coverings which it had worn as a pelt were torn apart, showing its skin. Skin which he had finally figured out. The eyes, the teeth, the stripes. This was no two-leg. This was a beast, one of the mightiest.
His ancestors’ memories had warned him of certain creatures to stay away from, even as a pack. This was one such being.
A symbol that he recognized but did not understand now appeared on this monster’s forehead. “王” shown like the moon, and he could do nothing but prostrate himself before it.
The silver monarch floated before and above him amongst a world frozen by pure power and authority. It stared down at him from above, showing its dominance and its superiority. It crossed its arms in front of its chest with its paws at its shoulders and stayed that way for a breath of frozen time that might have been an instant or an eternity. Then it threw them out wide and behind, and it screamed at the heavens.
The very world shattered, and the alpha knew no more.