Chapter 28: The Ritual Pit
The moon hung heavy and swollen in the sky, casting silver light across the Vale like a watchful eye. Around the edges of the den, torches burned with red flame—lit from the Oathstone itself, their heat humming with ancestral power.
At the center of the gathering grounds was a pit—circular, ancient, carved with the claws of those who came before.
The Ritual Pit.
Few had seen it. Fewer had dared enter it.
Tonight, it would decide who truly belonged to the Crimson Howl.
---
Kael stood before them, bare-chested, eyes burning gold beneath the flicker of fire. His wolf stirred restlessly beneath his skin—not in rage, but anticipation. The bloodline was awake now. And it demanded growth.
> System Prompt (private):
Initiate Pack-Wide Baptism?
Effect: Awaken Pack Bloodline – Stage 2.
Requirement: All participants must bleed into the pit and survive the pull of their instincts.
Warning: Failure may result in soul fracture or madness.
Kael swallowed.
This wasn't a trial of strength.
It was a trial of identity.
He stepped into the pit.
Tamir followed next, then Flam, Milla, Harn, Lira, and even the one-eyed warrior who had once challenged him. Every fighter, elder, and pup with a soul to claim the pack's name descended.
Each made a single cut across their palm.
Each drop of blood sizzled as it hit the pit floor.
And then…
The pit howled.
It was not a sound made by man or beast—but by memory.
Ancient, raw, and furious.
The blood began to move—rivers of red crawling across the symbols carved into the stone. The ground pulsed, then cracked, and a blaze of crimson fire surged upward around them.
Every pack member screamed—not in pain, but in awakening.
Kael gritted his teeth. His body jerked, convulsed. For a moment, he lost control, his wolf trying to tear free in panic. He dropped to all fours, claws digging into the stone, eyes burning gold and black.
> System Alert:
Pack Bloodline Sync: 100% – Stage 2 Complete.
New Passive Ability: Crimson Pulse – Shared Pain Resistance and Healing Boost in pack proximity.
New Feature Unlocked: Pack Combat Chain.
System Evolution: Initiated...
Around him, the others howled—Flam's voice deeper, Tamir's higher and wild. Milla's eyes glowed white, and the one-eyed warrior shifted into a form wreathed in faint flame.
The chaos bloodline had touched them all.
But only a few had truly accepted it.
---
When the light faded, thirteen still stood.
Kael rose to his full height, steam rising off his shoulders.
Thirteen wolves… thirteen marked.
The rest had passed out, too unstable to continue—but alive. The bond had not broken.
"This…" Kael said, voice low, "is what it means to rise."
Tamir grinned, blood still dripping from his arm. "I felt you in the fight. Like you were… guiding me."
Kael didn't respond.
> System Whisper:
Pack Combat Chain: Linked to Alpha. In combat, shared awareness and synced tactics enabled.
Only active when within proximity.
Kael looked out over the Vale, fire flickering across the stone.
Now they were a pack reborn.
And the world would feel their howl.