While the ship continued its journey across the sea, Jeremiah remained confined to his quarters.
The room was small.
Dark.
Barely large enough to contain him.
Yet even if it had been twice the size, it would not have made a difference.
The real prison existed inside his mind.
Every waking moment was consumed by the same thoughts.
Tiza.
The Shadow Wolf. The battle. The humiliation. The failure.
Jeremiah paced endlessly across the room. At times he laughed. At times he shouted. Sometimes he spoke to himself as though carrying on conversations with invisible people.
His obsession had reached a point where even the guards stationed outside his door had grown uncomfortable.
They could hear him at all hours.
Muttering.
Cursing.
Repeating Tiza's name over and over again.
Like a prayer. Or a curse. Then one evening, the door opened. Jeremiah immediately turned.
Campbell entered alone.
The guards remained outside.
For several moments, neither man spoke.
Campbell calmly studied him.Jeremiah looked terrible.His injuries had been treated, but the damage to his pride remained fresh.
"You look awful," Campbell finally said.
Jeremiah's eyes narrowed.
"I'll kill him."
Campbell sighed.
"No."
The answer came so quickly it caught Jeremiah off guard.
"You won't."
A dangerous silence filled the room.Campbell stepped closer.
"Do you know why you hate him so much?"
Jeremiah clenched his fists.
"Because he's a monster."
Campbell shook his head.
"No."
"Because he betrayed us."
Again, Campbell shook his head.
"No."
Jeremiah's breathing grew heavier.
"Then tell me."
Campbell stared directly into his eyes.
"Because he became what you were supposed to become."
The room fell silent.Jeremiah froze.For the first time since Campbell had entered, his expression changed.Confusion.Campbell pulled a chair forward and sat.
Then he began speaking.
Years ago, the military had initiated a secret project.
An experiment.
One hidden even from most high-ranking officers.
Its purpose was simple.
To recreate the abilities of the werewolf bloodlines inside human soldiers.
The kingdom wanted control.Not coexistence.Not understanding.
Control.If they could replicate the power of the wolves, they could build armies unlike anything the world had ever seen.Soldiers stronger than ordinary men.
Faster.Deadlier.More resilient.The perfect weapons.Jeremiah listened carefully.Because deep down, he already knew where this conversation was leading.
"You and Tiza were candidates."
Campbell's words landed heavily.
Jeremiah remained silent.
"You weren't the only ones."
"There were dozens."
"Most died."
"Some went mad."
"Others simply failed."
Campbell leaned forward.
"You survived."
Jeremiah's jaw tightened.
"But the experiment failed."
The words cut deeply.
Because Jeremiah had spent years convincing himself otherwise.
"The military classified you as a failed result."
Campbell continued.
"You gained strength."
"You gained skill."
"But nothing more."
"No transformation."
"No awakening."
"No true evolution."
Jeremiah's fists trembled.
"And Tiza?"
Campbell smiled faintly.
"Tiza was different."
The answer felt like poison.
"He became the Shadow Wolf."
The room grew colder.
"He succeeded where everyone else failed."
Jeremiah lowered his head.
Campbell watched carefully.
"That is why you've spent your entire life chasing him."
The commander spoke softly now.
"You aren't trying to defeat him."
"You are trying to prove you should have been him."
Every word struck home.The mask.The cruelty.The constant need to dominate others.
The obsession with power.The hunger for recognition.Suddenly Jeremiah understood.Everything.Years of hatred.Years of envy.Years of rage.
All rooted in a single truth.He had been the rejected version.The inferior version.The failure.
While Tiza had become the success.
"No."
Jeremiah's voice was barely a whisper.
"No..."
Campbell simply nodded.
"There is something else you don't understand."
Jeremiah looked up.
"Tiza wasn't merely a successful experiment."
Campbell's expression hardened.
"He was already carrying wolf blood."
The revelation shattered whatever remained of Jeremiah's certainty.
The room spun.
The experiment had not truly created the Shadow Wolf.
It had only awakened what already existed inside him.Which meant the military had never truly replicated the bloodline.The experiment had failed.Tiza was the exception.Not the result.Campbell stood.
"Now do you understand?"
Jeremiah said nothing.His entire life suddenly felt like a lie.After several moments, Campbell spoke again.
"This brings me to why I'm here."
Jeremiah slowly raised his eyes.For the first time, Campbell smiled.
Not kindly.
Strategically.
"I want to offer you a choice."
Jeremiah listened.
"You can remain here."
"A broken man."
"A failed soldier."
"A shadow chasing another man's achievements."
Each sentence struck harder than the last.
"Or..."
Campbell paused.
"You can become something else."
The room grew silent.
"You can become the father Tiza never will."
Jeremiah blinked.
For the first time, genuine surprise crossed his face.
Campbell continued.
"The child."
"The Moon-Caller."
"You can help raise her."
"You can shape her."
"You can guide her."
His voice lowered.
"You can make her into everything Tiza refused to become."
The idea settled heavily between them.At first Jeremiah wanted to reject it.To laugh.To curse.
To throw the offer back into Campbell's face.But then another thought emerged.A terrible thought.A beautiful thought.
One that wrapped itself around his broken pride.
He might never surpass Tiza in strength.
He might never surpass him in battle.He might never kill him.
But perhaps...
There was another way.
A slower way.A crueler way.One day the child would grow.One day she would ask questions.
One day she would choose who mattered to her.And if Jeremiah stood beside her long enough...If he became the man who raised her...The man who taught her...The man she trusted...
Then perhaps he could take something from Tiza that no battle ever could.His place.His legacy.
His daughter's love.For a long time, Jeremiah remained silent.Then he smiled.
A small smile.
A dangerous smile.
Not born from ambition.Not born from loyalty.But from obsession.
"I accept."
Campbell nodded.Exactly as he expected.Outside, the ship continued forward through the darkness.And deep within its walls, a new monster had just been given a purpose.