Chapter Thirty-Five: The Den

Inside the mine, he found, well, a mine. There were ore veins along the rock walls, and glowing crystals were embedded into the walls in some places. The glow of the crystals was faint as if they would die out at any moment.

Support beams had been set up, along with mining carts on broken rails and crates with rusted pickaxes leaning against them. Deep shadows resided in the corners of the mines.

As Ash entered, Lilith took her dragon form, serpentine with scales ranging from all the purples found in the depths of winter.

Lupine eyes opened up within the shadows, deep growls rolling forth from them as if from nightmares.

Oh, those aren’t shadows, Ash thought, tightening his hand around the handle of his sword.

Four void black wolves padded from the two corners, eyes filled with anger.

Lilith sent him various images, one of them of a bear defending her den.

Yes, they are defending their territory, Ash thought back to her. Likely, they were also being pushed by the dire wolf farther in. Ash sucked in a breath, letting it out slowly as he allowed the clarity of the sword to focus his mind. He reached for the cold winter of his elan and drew the icy threads that were his elar.

He tried to keep the wolves in sight as they began to circle him, their growls beginning to sound like a miniature thunderstorm that echoed like detonations across the room.

He couldn’t let them surround him. He needed to attack, to cull one as quickly as possible.

He flowed forward like a stream, moving into falling frost dragon.

The wolf hadn’t been expecting to be attacked; it tried to dodge, but Lilith suddenly informed him of this, and an adjustment was all he needed to cleave through the wolf with his blade, sending sanguine blood splattering into the air like water from a geyser.

Another warning from Lilith, and he flowed, ducking under the wolf that tried to take him from the side, saliva dripping from its mouth, its earthy, animal scent and hot breath heightened to his elar-enhanced senses.

Claws that would have ripped through his armor and gnashing teeth that would have pierced his flesh barely missed him, and he whirled around, his blade slashing outward, opening up the wolf’s side from tail to head, splitting it like a burlap bag, spilling its guts like rice.

Lilith pushed another warning into his mind, but as fast as he was, and although he had just killed two wolves in a matter of moments, he couldn’t avoid the wolf that slashed at his back. His armor stopped some of it, but he still felt hot agony split through his upper shoulder blade as the wolf’s claws opened up his skin.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

His clarity warbled, but Ash maintained it, pushing the elar outside of his back; his frost dragon wings exploded outward in a cloud of freezing air, shining with pale blue-silver-white light with veins of icy purple highlights.

His wings beat, and the remaining two wolves were coated in layers of frost. Ash kicked out with a foot, shattering one into chunks. He whirled, and with a cracking of ice and chips of ice bursting forth, he beheaded the last wolf.

He nearly collapsed from the pain and would have if not for the rush of power that flooded him. Power poured into his elan, and it swelled slightly. Briefly, he examined his elan and felt not just the usual chill of winter from it but something wild, like the forest at night, air against your flesh, and the full moon’s light.

This must be what they meant, Ash marveled.

He winced as his marveling was short-lived, replaced by sharp pain.

Wet liquid was trickling down his back, and Ash knew it was blood. Its metallic scent filled his nose, and he wrinkled it, eyes briefly closing as he tried to control the pain. He swallowed, his breathing shaky.

He wanted to take a healing potion, but he only had two of those. The ingredients hadn’t been cheap.

He almost face-palmed. He didn’t need to drink the whole thing. He uncorked a healing potion and carefully took a small swallow of the red liquid.

He sighed as he felt his flesh itch, knitting itself back together. The blood was still trickling, squishing a bit as he reached one hand over his shoulder to touch the wound.

Rolling his shoulder, he sighed. He was fine.

Now, he had two choices to make. He could continue forward, and almost certainly fight more wolves, or he could leave and try to adapt.

Lilith sent him an amused thought, followed by an image of him sitting cross-legged while she was nearby.

“Oh, yeah. You can keep watch for me. Thanks, Lils.”

She cocked her head, smoke puffing out of her nose.

Her wings seemed to shrug, and she turned her green gaze toward the path deeper into the mine.

Ash sat down, crossed his legs, and focused on his elan.

The wild feeling of nature was still there. It was like a cloud hanging over his ball of elan. Operating on what Rosalia and the others had told him earlier, he pulled on the foreign elar and breathed slowly. In and out. He didn’t draw it; he thought it would be a terrible idea.

Instead of drawing it, he used his thoughts to pull it through his elan. As he did, he felt a portion of it change, become a part of his elan in truth, changing from the wild to winter ice. He repeated this process several more times; some of the elar was lost each time, but some changed, becoming one with his elan.

When he was finally done, he snapped his eyes open. Lilith gave him an approving nod. He knew he could pull a little more elar from his elan now. Not much, but a little.

He blinked as he looked at Lilith.

He pointed at her,

“Did…are you bigger?” He would have sworn she was a little bit bigger.

She stretched outward, wings extending before folding across her back. Her green eyes were suffused with a satisfied gleam.

So when I adapt like that, she grows larger. That has implications, Ash considered. He knew that she likely grew alongside him, but seeing it and putting together how was different.

Stretching, Ash gestured to Lilith, and they proceeded down the path and deeper into the mine.

It widened into another larger room, looking much the same as the first.

Except it was hotter here. He didn’t feel it, as the elements rarely bothered him, but the warped air and the four wolves that rose as he entered confirmed it when their paws ignited with a brilliant flame.

Ash quickly took out his fire resist potion and took a small swallow. At a glance, he thought each potion was enough for three doses. He still had to be careful; he didn’t know how deeply he had to go before he found the fire dire wolf.

He raised his sword high, preparing the falling frost dragon form. Lilith darted to the side, out of the way, keeping her eyes on their enemies.

“Come on then, let’s see what you got,” Ash barred his teeth as the wolves charged him, fire roaring.