The forest was unnaturally still.
Moonlight dripped between skeletal branches, bathing the clearing in silver where blood had stained the earth. Gabriel stood in the centre, chest heaving, every muscle screaming for rest. His sword hung useless at his side, its rusted edge nicked and bent from the desperate clash.
The Direwolf lay before him — proud, terrible, but subdued. Its eyes glowed faintly, not with hatred, but with a reluctant submission. The sigil of subjugation pulsed faintly between them, a bond sealed in frost. Gabriel's breath clouded in the air, each exhale a ragged struggle. His body trembled, not from fear, but from exhaustion.
He had won — but only barely.
From the shadows, figures stirred. Cloaked shapes crouched among the branches, their faces hidden, their presence so well masked that even the Direwolf had not noticed them. Eyes glimmered beneath their hoods, watching.
One assassin leaned closer to another. His voice was a whisper, yet it slithered like venom."He's done it. The boy is quite something- he managed to defeat the beast.""Shall we strike?" "No. Not yet." The leader's tone was sharp. "Better to let the fire consume itself. Spread the word!!. Let the palace burn from within."
No more was said. Their forms melted back into the darkness, carrying their poisonous whispers toward the empire.
The clash had not gone unnoticed.
The snapping of branches, the thunder of paws, the howls of fury — the forest was alive with echoes of Gabriel's desperate struggle. And noise in the wild always draws predators.
The ground shuddered. Trees splintered as something vast moved through the underbrush. Gabriel's head jerked up, eyes narrowing. From the dark came a crash, and then a roar.
A Forest Troll lumbered into view, skin like cracked stone, moss clinging to its arms, eyes blazing with hunger. Its nostrils flared as it caught the scent of blood.
Gabriel staggered back, almost dropping his sword. He couldn't even lift it properly. His mana was all but drained; his body refused to obey him.
The troll bellowed, raising its massive stone club.
Gabriel clenched his jaw, forcing the words through parched lips. "Protect me."
At once, the ground trembled as his new bond responded. The Direwolf leapt forward, snarling, its fangs glinting with frost. The Serpent slithered around Gabriel's legs, coiling into the underbrush, its scales flashing faint blue. The Hawk screeched, wings cutting the air like blades. The Lizard stomped forward, the soil beneath its claws shifting, small spikes of earth jutting upward.
The troll swung. The Direwolf darted in, sinking its teeth into the beast's ankle. The stone club slammed down, shaking the ground, but the Serpent coiled around the troll's arm, pulling it off balance.
The Hawk dove, claws raking across the troll's face, blinding one eye. The troll roared, staggering backward. Then the Lizard struck — its claws glowed faintly as the ground itself betrayed the troll, a jagged rise of stone catching its foot.
It stumbled.
"Now!" Gabriel croaked, voice hoarse but commanding.
The Direwolf lunged at its throat. The Serpent constricted tighter. The Hawk slashed, tearing flesh. With a sickening crack, the troll toppled, crashing into the earth like a felled tree.
The clearing shook. Silence followed.
Gabriel swayed where he stood, vision swimming. His beasts growled low, standing in formation around him, their bodies bruised but victorious.
He tried to speak, but no sound came. His sword slipped from his hand and clattered onto the stone. Darkness swallowed him whole.
Dawn broke with pale gold light.
Gabriel's eyes fluttered open. Every bone in his body screamed, but he lived. Around him, his beasts stood like statues, eyes scanning the trees, loyal and unyielding. The Direwolf's breath misted in the morning chill, the Serpent's coils tightened at the sound of every rustle, the Hawk perched above like a sentinel, and the Lizard crouched by his side, stone flakes across its back.
Gabriel pushed himself up slowly. His head throbbed, and only then did he realise how long he had been out. The sun was already rising.
Too much time has passed…
He staggered to his feet, forcing his aching legs to move. His beasts followed in silence as he left the forest behind.
The empire was alive with whispers.
By the time Gabriel passed through the palace gates, the poison had already spread. Servants froze when they saw him. Guards shifted uneasily, their hands tightening on spears. Courtiers stopped mid-sentence, staring until he vanished around corners.
"He's awakened ice… how did that come about?"
"the kid is cursed... Ice- in sunfire kingdom?."
"No, worse. They say he bends beasts to his will."
"but he is an ice afinity awakener i thought beast taming is a lost techniques for soul awakeners"
"Unless... dual awakening"
"Or he might be using a sorcery how can he suddenly awaken in two affinity"
The words hissed from mouth to mouth, carried like smoke. Gabriel's shoulders tensed, but he did not slow.
The inner courtyard.
"Gabriel!"
His siblings rushed toward him. His younger sister's eyes brimmed with tears as she clung to his arm. His elder brother's face was pale, torn between relief and suspicion. Their mother stood a little apart, her gaze piercing, studying him with an intensity that felt heavier than chains.
"Where have you been?" his sister cried. "Do you know what they're saying? The whole empire is restless!"
Gabriel frowned, voice low. "I noticed. Everywhere I walked, they stared as if I were a monster."
His brother stepped forward. "The whispers… they say you've awakened. That you wield ice. That you can Tame beasts. Tell us- is it true?"
For a long moment, Gabriel said nothing. The weight of their gazes pressed on him. Finally, he exhaled slowly, mist curling in the morning air.
"…It is true."
His sister gasped, recoiling slightly. His brother stiffened, his jaw tightening. Even their mother's lips parted, but she did not speak.
Gabriel's voice was calm, measured. "I awakened ice. As for the rest…" He allowed himself the faintest of smiles... It is merely beast taming. its part of the ability of soul awakeners. I can guide them, bend their will slightly. Nothing more."
The explanation eased little of their fear, but it gave them something to cling to. His sister nodded hesitantly, though her grip on his sleeve remained weak. His brother looked unconvinced but said nothing.
Only their mother's eyes remained sharp, as if she could see through the half-truth.
The silence shattered with the arrival of a messenger.
"Prince Gabriel." The man bowed stiffly, though his eyes flickered nervously toward him. "His Majesty requests your presence in the hall. Immediately."
The words hung heavy in the air.
His siblings froze. His sister paled. His brother cursed under his breath.
Gabriel did not move at first. He only looked toward the towering doors of the throne hall in the distance, their shadows stretching long across the courtyard.
The rumours had reached his father.
He adjusted his tattered cloak, straightened his spine, and began to walk. His beasts padded silently behind him, though every step felt like it echoed across the empire.
The palace was silent save for the murmurs that swelled outside. The throne hall loomed ahead, its great doors waiting like the jaws of a beast.
And Gabriel, Prince of sunfire kingdom, walked toward judgment.