The clearing was painted in moonlight, the earth torn and soaked with the blood of wolves. The bodies of Shadowfangs lay strewn about like broken dolls, but the real weight hung in the silence that followed.
Aiden still knelt over the Alpha's corpse, chest heaving, his dagger slick with gore. His vision pulsed faintly red, his body trembling from the aftershock of the devour. It was all he could do not to collapse.
And yet, what froze his blood wasn't the hunger.
It was Elias.
The older hunter stood at the edge of the clearing, half-hidden in the shadows of the trees. His amber eyes gleamed with something unreadable—shock, suspicion, maybe even fear. The bow in his hand remained lowered, but there was tension in the way his knuckles whitened on the grip.
"How long," Elias finally said, his voice cutting through the stillness like a blade, "have you been hiding this?"
Aiden's mouth went dry. "I—I don't know what you're talking about."
The lie rang hollow, even to his own ears.
Elias took a step closer, boots crunching against dead leaves. "Don't play me for a fool, boy. I've been watching you since the Direbear. No one your age cuts through Rank 5 monsters as if they were rabbits. Not without help. Not without… something unnatural."
Aiden forced himself to steady his breathing. His dagger remained clenched tight, though his arms ached from exhaustion. "And what exactly do you think I am?" he asked quietly.
Elias stopped a few paces away, close enough that Aiden could see the sharp lines of his face in the moonlight. His eyes narrowed. "That's what I intend to find out."
---
The air between them thickened, heavy with unspoken truths. Aiden could feel the hunger whispering, urging him to strike, to silence Elias before his secret spread. But his chest tightened at the thought. Elias wasn't just any hunter—he was one of the few Aiden respected.
And maybe, just maybe, the only one who might understand.
Still, revealing himself was dangerous.
"I train harder than anyone," Aiden said slowly, measuring each word. "I don't quit. Maybe that's why I can keep up."
Elias's expression didn't change. "Training doesn't explain this." He gestured to the clearing, to the heap of mangled wolves. "Training doesn't explain why your eyes glow red when you fight."
Aiden flinched before he could stop himself. His hand reflexively brushed against his face. He hadn't even realized the glow had lingered.
Elias's voice hardened. "Something is inside you, Aiden. Something that's feeding you power. And I've seen enough to know it isn't normal."
Aiden's heart pounded, each beat echoing louder in his ears. He wanted to deny it, to laugh it off, but Elias's gaze cut too deep.
So he said nothing.
That silence was answer enough.
Elias exhaled slowly, lowering his bow. "I don't know what you are. But I know this—power like that always comes with a cost." His eyes narrowed, sharp and warning. "And when that cost arrives, it won't just be you who pays. It'll be this village."
The words struck like a blade. Aiden's throat tightened, guilt gnawing at him.
Elias turned to leave. "Think carefully, boy. Decide whether you're fighting for us—or against us. Because when the day comes, I won't hesitate to put you down if you become a danger."
With that, he disappeared into the trees, leaving Aiden alone in the clearing.
---
The next morning, the village carried on as if nothing had changed. Hunters mended their gear, women tended to the wounded, and children played in the square. But for Aiden, every step felt heavier.
Elias hadn't spoken a word since the confrontation. He hadn't told the others—yet. But his silence felt like a noose tightening around Aiden's neck.
Training with the village hunters was different now. Elias's watchful gaze never strayed far. Every strike Aiden made, every sparring motion, every breath—it all felt judged.
And yet, the hunger didn't care.
At night, when Aiden slipped into the forest again, the voice grew louder, more insistent. The devour surged within him like fire, begging to be unleashed, to consume more, to grow stronger. Each monster he felled, each essence he absorbed, chipped away at the fragile restraint he clung to.
Sometimes, he wondered if Elias was right. If he was a danger.
If, one day, he wouldn't be able to stop himself.
---
Three days later, the choice was taken from him.
The village alarm bells rang at dawn.
Aiden bolted from his home, dagger in hand, heart hammering. Villagers scrambled in panic, shouting about monsters breaching the forest edge.
When Aiden reached the gates, his blood ran cold.
A Rank 6 Basilisk towered over the defenses, its scales glinting like iron, its eyes burning with venomous light. Behind it, smaller creatures poured from the forest like a flood.
The hunters rallied, arrows and spears flying, but the Basilisk's aura alone crushed the air around them. Several men fell to their knees, choking under its presence.
Aiden felt the hunger roar inside him, clawing to be unleashed. This was it—the moment his strength would no longer stay hidden.
His hands trembled, not from fear, but from the certainty that once he acted, there would be no going back.
And as he stepped forward, Elias's eyes caught his. The older hunter gave the faintest shake of his head, as if warning him one last time.
But Aiden knew. If he did nothing, the village would fall.
He let the hunger loose.
---