Night fell like a pall over the forest, as a storm of dark omens shook the golden branches of the Great Tree of Life. Veran and Dairon could feel the change in the air: the acrid smell of sulfur, the muffled roar of creatures from an endless nightmare.
The Demons had arrived.
A vortex of shadows opened in the sky, tearing reality apart like a bloody wound. From the breach emerged hell-knights, their steeds wreathed in flame, and giants with scorched skin, black horns and eyes filled with hunger. At their head was a colossus of pure evil: Zareth, the Lord of Ruin, a demonic general whose very name struck terror.
Zareth raised a giant axe soaked in the blood of forgotten worlds. "This time, the Tree will fall!" his voice thundered, shaking the ground.
Dairon gripped his bow, his eyes narrowed in determination. "There are too many of them, Veran… we cannot win alone."
Veran clenched his fists, feeling the power of the storm coursing through his veins. "We must not win. We must hold out… at least until dawn."
But dawn would never come for him.
The Desperate Battle
The first waves of demons crashed down upon them with the fury of a hurricane. Veran unleashed lightning and wind, his inhuman speed transforming him into a living storm. Dairon struck with arrows imbued with holy energy, felling one enemy after another.
But for every demon defeated, ten more took its place.
The roots of the Great Tree moved in defense, enveloping the monsters and crushing them like insects, but Zareth's power was too great. With a single swing of his axe, he cut off huge sections of the age-old roots, shaking the forest.
Veran saw the truth. There was no escape.
A group of demons descended on Dairon, and the half-elf was overwhelmed. He cried out in pain as claws and fangs tore at his flesh.
"DAIRON!" Veran lunged forward, striking down his enemies with bolts of lightning. But it was too late. The young archer was on the ground, blood dripping onto the sacred roots.
Zareth laughed. "Now the Tree will fall, and you with it!"
The Lord of Ruin raised his axe for the final blow.
The Sacrifice of the Storm Wolf
In that instant, Veran made his decision.
He used all the power he had accumulated in his two lifetimes, every fragment of the Time Dragon's blessing, and channeled it into one final attack.
"NOT TODAY!" he shouted, unleashing a lightning storm so powerful that the sky lit up as if it were day. The energy struck Zareth squarely in the chest, knocking him backward.
But it came at a high cost.
The power consumed his body, burning him from the inside out. Veran felt the life drain from him as he fell to his knees. Dairon, wounded, crawled toward him, his eyes filled with horror.
"Veran, no!"
The Storm Wolf smiled faintly. "Live… and protect the Tree."
And then everything went black.
Rebirth in the Blood of the Hydra
Veran's body lay lifeless among the roots of the Tree. His sacrifice had stopped the attack… but at what cost?
Dairon gritted his teeth, filled with rage and grief. But just when all seemed lost, the ground shook. The roots of the Tree began to pulse… and Veran's blood mingled with the sap of the forest.
But it wasn't just sap.
It was the power of the Deep Root.
And something even older answered the call: the power of the Hydra's flesh.
Veran's body began to change. His wounds closed with unnatural speed. His skin grew tougher, his muscles tensed with new strength. His heart, once dead, began to beat again… but differently.
When Veran's eyes opened again, they were no longer those of a wolf.
They were those of a creature reborn.
A being with the power of the Hydra coursing through his veins.
Dairon stepped back, shocked. "Veran…?"
The warrior rose slowly, looking at his hands, at his body, feeling a new energy within him, wilder, more primal.
"I am not the same…" he whispered, his voice filled with a new and unstoppable power.
The Puppet Master's Shadow
Far away in his dark tower, the Puppet Master of War watched the ritual of rebirth, and for the first time his smile faltered.
"Interesting…" he murmured. "The Storm Wolf is dead… and in his place a new beast has arisen."
And as the world held its breath, a new threat was awakening.