This Is The End?
1555 Words
Aerith saw it—the sheer terror that flashed in Arvis's eyes the instant their gazes met, just as she hurled herself off the cliff. In that fleeting moment, she glimpsed something she hadn't seen since they married—a flicker of panic, desperation.
"Why did his eyes look so sad?" she thought with a bitter laugh. "This is the choice he made."
A whirlwind of emotions churned within her. Aerith could sense her wolf's desperation clashing with her thoughts, its agonized howls mingling with her turmoil.
As she fell through the darkness, memories surged to her mind.
She squeezed her eyes shut, reliving that blood-soaked night. A small girl, clutching Arvis's hand, raced through the woods. The screams of agony and the nightmarish shrieks of mutants tore through the air, making her small feet falter with every echo.
The world had been forever changed by the scarcity of food and resources after endless wars, sparking mutations in plants and animals. Some wolves developed extraordinary powers, becoming known as "Talents."
Some could control fire, others commanded the wind. Some spoke with animals, and the rarest of all had the power of purification. Aerith's parents were among the elite graduates of the Federation, a renowned academy for these special gifts.
No one had imagined that mutants could break through Silver-Dawn's formidable defenses. But that night, the unthinkable happened. Aerith lost everything—her parents, her home, her childhood.
Her mother's words echoed in her mind: "You must keep him safe." Arvis was the future of their pack, their hope.
As they fled through the woods along the escape route her mother had made, Aerith glanced back at their burning home―only to see a hyena lunge from the shadows. Without thinking, she shoved Arvis behind her, throwing herself into the path of the beast.
The beast’s jaws clamped onto her hand.
The pain was sharp and burning. She cried out, her body trembling with exhaustion and the strain of their escape. Her vision blurred, and just before she lost consciousness, she saw a pair of glowing purple eyes in the shadows—eyes that mirrored the concern she had seen before.
When Aerith awoke, she stared at an unfamiliar ceiling adorned with Renaissance frescoes. Soft murmurs filled the room. Among the faces, one stood out—the Alpha of Silver Dawn, a man in his mid-twenties, relief washing over his face.
"You are safe," he whispered. "If it had not been for you, dear Aerith, I might have lost my son forever."
"Did I do well? Mother said she and Papa would meet me at the end of the woods," Aerith asked, her wide, amethyst eyes pleading for an answer.
Too young to grasp the full tragedy, she searched the room for her parents. Her mother had promised that if she did well in escaping, they would never leave her alone again.
The Alpha's silence was heavy.
He sat beside her, gently stroking her curly blonde hair. The Alpha smiled, though it didn't reach his eyes. "Yes, you did."
She didn't fully understand then, but as time passed, the horror of that night crept in. The terror she felt that night left deep scars on her young heart that could never fully fade.
Though pack rules dictated that Aerith should lose her status after her parents' deaths, the Alpha's deep friendship with her father allowed her to keep it. Yet, this privilege bred resentment—commoners despised her, and aristocrats never fully accepted her.
Aerith was unable to communicate with other children because of the trauma, and that made her a prime target for bullying. Every day after class at the academy, older students cornered her, taunting, “What is wrong with you? You always look like a ghost.”
“She can’t even shift properly.”
"Why is this talentless fool even among us aristocrats?”
The insults escalated until one of them knocked her books to the ground, laughing as she scrambled to pick them up. Aerith had always endured their words, after all, what could she possibly do?
She was utterly weak. But that day, she had enough.
"I heard her parents were just as worthless during the invasion." One of the boys sneered, and without a second thought, Aerith slammed her onto his face, trembling with rage.
"Say that again about my parents, I dare you!"
He was shocked, and then he cursed, raising his fist as Aerith almost flinched. But a calm voice sliced through the tension just before he could hit her. The bullies froze as Arvis approached.
He was feared and respected by all, no one dared to say a single word.
"What do you think you are doing to the Alpha's family?" he asked, his voice unnervingly calm.
"The Alpha’s family?" one stammered. "Sh-she is just favored, not real family!"
As Arvis stepped closer, their confidence shattered. Leaning in, he whispered, "Ask your parents how many limbs it takes to prove you harassed the Alpha's family."
His words made the other boy turn pale.
Aerith looked up at Arvis, both grateful and confused. She had always thought he viewed her as an outsider. However, Arvis glanced at her with a detached expression.
"If you are going to be weak, call for help," Arvis said before turning away without waiting for a response.
Aerith's pride stung from his words, only fueling her resolve.
Growing up in the same house, she relentlessly challenged Arvis, determined to surpass him. Yet, no matter her effort, she lost every time, her frustration mounting with each defeat and her attempt to awaken talent remaining fruitless.
Though Arvis found Aerith's challenges childish, he couldn't deny the enjoyment he derived from the little wolf's relentless games.
The gap in their abilities only widened as Arvis awakened a second talent, causing a stir among the packs. He already wielded the rare talent of fire manipulation, but when he became the first wolf to awaken the unparalleled talent of purification, it made him the only wolf to command the two most powerful abilities known to their kind.
It wasn't long before the Federation caught wind of the exceptional young wolf. Arvis became the first wolf to be accepted into the federal school without even taking the entrance exam.
After Arvis left to pursue his studies, loneliness settled over Aerith, intensifying her determination to awaken her talent. She began to dream of the day she, too, could join the federal school.
Arvis's outstanding performance at the federal school allowed him to graduate ahead of his class and secure a position as a high-ranking official in the Federation.
By the time Arvis returned to the pack, Aerith had turned eighteen. Not even a day had passed since Arvis returned to the pack, and Aerith's wolf was already more restless than ever.
Aerith couldn't understand her wolf's sudden agitation. At the dinner table, meeting Arvis after years, a myriad of emotions surged through her, her wolf howling inside— ‘Mate.’
From Arvis's confused look, Aerith knew he felt it, too. But they said nothing, her gaze lingering on the boy who had become a man. The bond tugged at her, yet her heart shattered when she learned he had a girlfriend at the academy.
On the other hand, the Alpha insisted that Arvis heed the mate bond. But it only widened the rift between him and Aerith.
“I have never seen her as a lover.”
He said, and she felt a sharp pain that never faded.
The memories now reopened her wounds. Tears fell as Aerith was plunged into the sea, bracing for the end. But instead of drowning, the water cradled her, lifting her above the waves.
Pain squeezed her chest as a strange energy surged through her, overwhelming yet protective. For a moment, she thought it was over, her vision blurring. But the gentle waves soothed her as she regained consciousness.
Aerith lay in a daze, unsure how she had survived the fall, especially since she couldn't swim. Blood still seeped from her wounds.
Every muscle ached as she forced herself up, the pressure she had felt still lingering. She stared at her hands, trying to understand what had happened.
"Did I awaken a talent?" she wondered, heart pounding. She mimicked the hand signs she had seen other talents use, but nothing happened. Confusion set in—if it wasn't her talent, how had she escaped certain death?
Aerith scanned her surroundings, unsure what to do with this second chance. Her senses sharpened as she heard a rustle from the dense woods near the shore.
She gasped, eyes fixed on the shadows. The rustling grew louder, and from the shadows emerged massive, mutated centipedes, larger than pythons, their grotesque heads snapping wildly. Hundreds of legs slithered across the ground with sickening speed.
Aerith's stomach churned. Her worst fear—arthropods. She froze as her knees buckled, paralyzed by the sight of their repulsive forms. The scent of her blood pulled them closer, their mandibles clicking hungrily.
Her wolf howled inside her, urging her to flee, but there was nowhere to go. The sea behind her, monsters in front. Her fingers trembled, barely able to form fists. She was too weak. She could barely dodge the jet of fluid that hissed past her, burning the ground.
- Writer
