The ground split beneath them.
A deep crack tore across the snowy plain like lightning in reverse, glowing white-hot from the inside.
The air trembled.
The mountains vibrated.
The snow slid away as if fleeing what was coming.
Kanah tightened her hold on Owain's shirt as he shielded her with both arms.
"Owain… what is that—?"
He didn't answer.
He couldn't.
His body was rigid, muscles locked, instincts screaming.
Gerrin staggered backward, face turning white.
"No… NO… The First King wouldn't—he CAN'T—"
Yllas dragged himself upright, wings trembling but ready.
Helion bared his teeth, curse marks flaring.
"What in the nine hells did he unleash?"
The crack widened.
A roar bellowed up from the depths—
Low at first.
Then rising.
Rising.
Rising—
Until the mountains themselves seemed to shrink beneath it.
Kanah flinched violently, covering her ears.
"Owain—!"
"I've got you," he whispered fiercely, pulling her against his chest.
"I won't let anything touch you."
The roar ended in a deep, pounding thud.
Then another.
And another.
Footsteps.
Massive.
Ancient.
Wrong.
Something climbed out of the earth.
The First Beast Emerges
Shadows twisted in the crack, forming a massive silhouette.
A creature pulled itself upward, claws tearing grooves into the cliffside.
Snow evaporated around it from sheer heat.
Kanah strained to see past Owain's shoulder.
"What… what is that…?"
Gerrin answered in a whisper that sounded like a funeral bell.
"The First Beast."
Kanah blinked.
"The what?"
"The very first creation," Gerrin said shakily.
"Before dragons, before wolves, before elves. Before species. Before kingdoms. Before the Beastworld itself."
The creature stepped fully into the open—
And the world seemed to shrink around it.
Its form shifted and flickered like a half-remembered nightmare.
Part wolf.
Part dragon.
Part shadow.
Part nothing at all.
Its eyes burned silver-white.
Not alive.
Not dead.
Something in-between.
Kanah's breath stuttered.
"Owain… it's looking at me—"
Owain's growl vibrated against her spine.
"I know."
The First King's voice rolled over the wind:
"Trial Four: The Body's Limit."
"Survive the First Beast."
Kanah choked.
"SURVIVE—?! That thing is bigger than a house!"
Yllas stumbled forward, wings half-open.
"That creature was never meant to be fought by mortals—"
Helion's curse-marks flared.
"It shouldn't even EXIST—!"
Gerrin slammed his staff down.
"OWAIN—MOVE—NOW!"
Owain reacted instantly.
He grabbed Kanah and leapt backward just as—
The First Beast struck.
A shockwave ripped across the valley, flattening snow for miles.
Yllas was flung into a tree.
Helion rolled violently across the ground.
Gerrin crashed onto his back, staff skidding away.
Owain dug claws into the earth, shielding Kanah with his entire body as the blast hit him.
His ribs shook.
His lungs burned.
His vision blurred.
But he stayed standing.
Kanah clutched his shoulders, breath shaking.
"Owain—your hands—!"
They were bleeding again.
Badly.
"Owain—you can't fight that—you'll die—"
He didn't look at her.
He looked at the monster.
And his voice dropped into a tone she'd never heard from him.
Low.
Cold.
Determined.
"I'm going to keep you alive."
"Owain—"
He shifted.
Not fully—
not into wolf—
but into something between.
His bones cracked.
Fur pushed through his skin.
Amber eyes thinned into slits.
His voice was barely human.
"Stay behind me."
Kanah grabbed his arm.
"Owain—you just recovered—your heart—your ribs—your blood—"
He gently pulled her hand off.
His eyes softened.
"You chose me."
Kanah felt her chest tighten painfully.
"Owain—"
"And because you chose me," he said quietly,
"I refuse to let the world take you again."
Then he broke into a sprint.
Straight toward the First Beast.
Owain vs. the Primordial Monster
Owain hit the creature's leg first—
a blur of claws and teeth.
He tore through its hide—
but the wound sealed instantly.
The beast swung its massive claw.
Owain ducked—
Barely—
And the claw struck the mountain instead, carving a canyon into the rock.
Kanah gasped.
"O-WAIN—!!"
He leapt backward, dodging a snap of jaws the size of a wagon.
Gerrin forced himself upright.
"This isn't sustainable—Owain can't keep that up—his body's still damaged—his heart's strained—"
Helion staggered forward, tail low, curse glowing.
"I'll go—"
Yllas grabbed him.
"No.
If your curse snaps again, you'll lose your mind. She needs you sane."
Helion snarled.
"I'm not watching her die!"
Kanah turned.
"None of you are going alone! We fight together—"
The First King interrupted:
"The trial is hers.
Let her protect herself."
Kanah's chest tightened.
"No… no—I can't fight that—I can barely STAND—"
The First Beast roared.
Owain was flung across the snow.
Kanah screamed.
He tumbled—
hit the ground—
slid—
—but pushed himself up again, panting, bleeding from the mouth.
"Owain—STOP—please—STOP—!"
He spat blood and looked back at her.
Expression soft.
Warm.
Loving.
"I told you," he whispered,
"I'll keep you here. Always."
The beast's tail whipped toward him—
And Owain was forced to dodge again.
He was fast.
But the creature was faster.
Its claw slammed into Owain's side—
And Kanah heard the crack.
Owain fell backward, gasping, one hand clutching his ribs.
Kanah sprinted forward—
but Gerrin grabbed her.
"DON'T—he'll kill you if you enter the strike zone—!"
"Owain is DYING—LET GO—"
"Kanah—LISTEN TO ME!" Gerrin shouted.
She froze.
Tears blurred her vision.
Gerrin pointed to the First Beast.
"That thing isn't meant for Owain to fight alone."
Kanah whispered:
"Then who—?"
Gerrin swallowed hard.
"You."
Kanah's heart stopped.
"No."
"Yes."
His voice was firm.
"He's buying you time. Because YOU are the heir. YOU are the trial bearer. YOU must deliver the blow that ends it."
Kanah shook her head violently.
"No—Gerrin—I don't have any magic—I don't—OWAIN NEEDS ME—"
"Yes," Gerrin whispered.
"Which is why you must survive this."
Helion stepped beside her.
"We'll keep it off you."
Yllas, barely standing, nodded weakly.
"Use what you learned. Use what you ARE."
Kanah stared at them.
Then at Owain—
struggling to stand again
blood dripping down his chin
still forcing himself between her and the monster.
He wasn't fighting to win.
He was fighting to buy her time.
"Owain…" she whispered.
He heard her.
Even mid-battle, he glanced back.
And he smiled.
Just a little.
Soft eyes.
A promise.
Kanah wiped her tears with the back of her shaking hand.
"I'm coming," she whispered.
She took one step forward.
The rune on her chest lit up.
White fire ignited at her fingertips.
The First King's voice boomed:
"Awaken your lineage."
Kanah staggered.
"My… lineage…?"
"You are not merely the heir.
You are the vessel of three crowns."
Gerrin's eyes widened.
"So that's it—she's meant to use ALL THREE—"
Kanah's rune blazed in violet—
silver—
gold—
and finally, a blinding WHITE.
The First Beast turned toward her.
It saw her.
It recognized her.
And for the first time—
It hesitated.
Kanah felt the power crackle up her spine.
Hot.
Cold.
Burning.
Freezing.
Perfect.
She pointed her shaking hand at the monster.
The beast roared, charging.
Owain screamed—
"KANAH—!!"
But she didn't run.
She stood her ground.
She clenched her fist.
"I am NOT dying again."
Light erupted from her chest—
A beam of white energy surging upward, slamming into the First Beast's face.
The creature reeled backward, roaring in agony.
Gerrin gasped.
"She awakened judgment magic—!"
Helion muttered breathlessly:
"That's… impossible."
Yllas swallowed hard.
"And inevitable."
The First Beast reared back.
Kanah fell to her knees, breath ripped from her lungs.
Owain ran to her instantly—
sliding across the snow
catching her just before she collapsed.
He pulled her to his chest.
"I told you," he whispered, voice shaking,
"I'll always—"
But then he froze.
Kanah looked up—
And saw what he saw.
The First Beast was not dying.
It was evolving.
Its form twisted—
shrank—
reformed—
into something smaller
faster
more lethal.
Gerrin paled.
"…No.
No, that wasn't the final form—"
Helion cursed.
"Oh gods—"
Yllas exhaled shakily.
"This is only the beginning."
The First Beast lowered into a crouch.
Kanah trembled in Owain's arms.
"Owain… oh god… I don't know if I can do more…"
Owain held her tighter.
"You won't do it alone."
The First Beast roared—
And charged them both.