Paths Beyond (Under Rewrite)

"What's going on?" asked Bark with a tremble in his voice.

Keen steadied himself, his knuckles white around the shaft of his spear. "That was no ordinary wolf," he said grimly. "We need to leave. Now. My guess? The creature that drove these two Hooded Horns this far out is the same one we just heard. It must have broken through the barrier from the inner forest." His voice dropped. "If we don't leave everything behind and retreat immediately, we won't make it."

Without hesitation, Keen raised his whistle to his lips and blew three sharp notes, the sound piercing through the frigid air. Moments later, three distant cries echoed back. Keen's shoulders relaxed slightly. Brawl's group had heard the call—they were retreating to the village.

Bark's eyes drifted to the sled. The Hooded Horn carcass lay piled high, a monumental prize. "You can't be serious, Keen," he said, his voice thick with desperation. "Leaving this behind is insane. Do you know how many people this could feed?"

Keen turned to him sharply, his voice hard. "And if we try to haul them both, we'll be killed. Then the village will have nothing. What would happen if three of the best hunters died today? We're not risking this for greed."

Bark's jaw clenched as he struggled against the logic. "I... I can't do it, Keen. My son's naming ceremony is soon. What if this winter is worse than the last? What about the people who rely on us?"

Grey interjected before Keen could answer. "What if we take just one sled?" he suggested. "The wolf's an animal. It won't leave easy prey to chase us down if we're fast enough. Between the three of us, we can carry one Hooded Horn and still get away."

Keen hesitated, glancing between Bark and Grey. After a tense moment, he relented. "Fine. One sled. But we move now."

They quickly secured the smaller of the two Hooded Horns to a sled, tying themselves to it with ropes. The three of them began jogging through the forest, their breaths clouding the cold evening air. The dim light of the setting sun cast long shadows, and the mist rising from the snow made the woods feel like a labyrinth of frost and shadow.

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Far behind the hunters, a colossal wolf prowled through the forest. Its coat was a living shadow, black as obsidian, each strand shimmering faintly under the moonlight like rippling water on a midnight lake. Along its spine, jagged tufts of fur rose and fell with each breath, bristling with latent energy. Golden eyes burned in its face, bright and sharp, but their intensity carried more than hunger—they gleamed with a purpose that surpassed mere survival.

The wolf slowed as it neared its prey. The scent of the dead Hooded Horn filled its nostrils, thick and musky, promising a meal that could sustain even its immense body for days. Yet this was not just another kill. This hunt had driven it far from its territory, across the strange translucent barrier that separated its world from this one. The barrier was no simple obstacle; it had repelled the wolf many times before. For days, it had prowled its edge, observing, analyzing the faint pulses of energy that wove through its translucent surface. When it found the cracks, it had struck with force and precision, tearing through the veil that had long kept it at bay.

Crossing the barrier had been a calculated risk, but one the wolf deemed necessary. Its current form, powerful as it was, had limits. To evolve further—to reach the next stage, where its strength and intelligence would ascend beyond anything it had known—it needed more. The Hooded Horns had been a promising target, each brimming with the kind of essence it required to grow. Their capture and consumption would have been a step forward, an essential link in its chain of progress.

Now, with the prize before it, the wolf lowered its regal head, steam curling from its nostrils as it inhaled deeply. The massive carcass of the Hooded Horn lay still in the snow, its thick pelt crusted with frost. The wolf's sharp claws dug into the ground as it moved closer, its body humming with tension. It opened its jaws, crystalline teeth glinting like frost-covered blades, and prepared to tear into the prize it had pursued for so long.