The palace corridors were quiet at this hour, hushed beneath the weight of moonlight. But not silent.
Two guards leaned against a marble pillar near the western gate, their whispers threading through the cold night air.
"Have you noticed him lately?" one muttered, shifting uneasily. "The forgotten prince… Gabriel. He's been sneaking out. Too often."
The other scoffed, though his eyes darted nervously toward the shadows. "What business would a useless prince have out there? Maybe he goes to sulk. Or drown his sorrows over Lady Evelyn's betrothal."
"No," the first guard pressed, voice lowering. "It's not like that. Haven't you felt it? Whenever he passes, the air grows heavy. I swear, even breathing feels harder. And his eyes—gods, I dare not look too long. It's like… something stares back."
The second guard frowned, uneasy now. "Careful what you say. If the king hears whispers of strange behaviour, it won't end with just Gabriel."
The first guard swallowed hard, falling silent. Still, both men stood a little straighter, watching as a cloaked figure slipped silently past the gates, swallowed by the forest beyond.
Gabriel moved swiftly, boots crunching frost-slick grass. His cloak concealed his form, his aura restrained as much as possible, though he knew it could not be completely hidden anymore. Power left traces.
Tonight, he would test that power.
He breathed in the crisp air, summoning the panel in his mind.
📜 System Panel
Name: Gabriel Ashford
Realm: Novice Rank – High Stage
Health: 120/120
Stamina: 120/120
Strength: 19
Agility: 20
Endurance: 18
Spirit: 23
Mana: 20
Affinity: Water/Ice (Awakened)
Skills: God's Eye, Subjugate, System Inventory
Techniques: Eternal Frost Scripture, Glacial Mirror Aegis
Subjugated Beasts:
Dungeon Rat [Novice – Low Rank]
Cave Lizard [Novice – Mid Rank]
Shadow Hawk [Novice – High Rank]
Cave Serpent [Beginner – Mid Rank]
Each beast stirred faintly in their spirit bonds, sensing his intent. Gabriel's lips curved. Tonight's prey would stretch them to the limit.
Deeper into the forest, silence fell. Even the insects quieted. His breath plumed in pale mist. Then—
A growl.
Low. Rumbling. Ancient.
Gabriel's head rose. Emerald eyes blazed from the darkness ahead, and with it came pressure so thick it was like standing beneath a collapsing mountain. His muscles strained under invisible weight.
[Target Detected.][Direwolf – Beginner Stage Mid Rank.][Estimated Subjugation Probability: 12%.]
His chest tightened. "Twelve percent…"
This beast was a full stage above him, its strength severalfold his own. But it was exactly what he sought.
The Direwolf stepped into the moonlight. Its shoulders rose higher than Gabriel's chest, its fur silver-white, every muscle taut with predatory grace. Each exhale misted, and with every step the ground seemed to bow.
Gabriel inhaled sharply, forcing his body to steady. "If I can subjugate you… then I am ready."
The Direwolf moved first. A blur of silver, faster than his eyes could follow.
"Glacial Mirror Aegis!"
His hand cut through the air, glowing blue as symbols carved themselves into existence. The glyph pulsed, and a crystalline dome snapped into being just as the Direwolf slammed against it.
BOOM!
The impact cracked the air like thunder. Frost sprayed outward, shards of ice hissing into the soil. Gabriel staggered, teeth gritted.
[Health: 120 → 115][Mana: 20 → 12]
Almost half his mana gone—one strike.
The Direwolf snarled, pacing around the shield, emerald eyes glowing with malice. Gabriel's heart hammered, but he forced himself calm.
"Serpent, bind it!"
From the shadows, the Cave Serpent lunged, its thick coils snapping around the Direwolf's hind legs. Venom dripped from its fangs as it sank them into the beast's flank.
The wolf howled, muscles bulging as it thrashed, throwing the serpent into a tree with bone-cracking force.
[Serpent Health: 95 → 72]
The hawk swooped, wings gleaming as it released Sky Rend. Blades of air slashed the wolf's muzzle, forcing it back a step. At the same moment, the Cave Lizard burst from the ground, tail whipping against its ribs with a heavy thud.
[Direwolf Health: ??? – Slightly Injured.]
Gabriel's breath came ragged as he tightened his grip on the weapon in his hand — a chipped, rust-eaten sword he had scavenged earlier from a collapsed armour rack. The edge was dull, barely worthy of the name blade, but it was all he had.
The Direwolf circled, its silver fur bristling, eyes glowing with malice. With a low growl, its jaws parted, and Gabriel felt the surge before it came — a torrent of frost gathering in its throat.
Elemental… His heart lurched.
The beast exhaled. A cone of freezing wind and razor-sharp ice crystals howled across the cavern.
"Glacial Mirror Aegis!"
The shield burst to life, a gleaming wall of crystalline light before him. The torrent slammed into it with thunderous force, the cavern shaking, ice splintering in every direction. For a heartbeat, Gabriel thought it would shatter. Instead, the Aegis absorbed the storm — then snapped, hurling it back in a brilliant arc of frozen shards.
The wolf howled in shock as its own attack raked across its flank, tearing fur and drawing blood.
Gabriel staggered, sweat freezing on his brow. His knees nearly buckled.
Mana: 12 → 6
Half his energy gone in a single defense. His chest burned, lungs struggling against the cold bite left in the air. He tightened his grip on the sword and charged, thrusting at the wolf's exposed shoulder.
The blade scraped against its hide, leaving nothing more than a shallow line.
The Direwolf turned, lips peeling back to reveal teeth long as daggers. Its paw lashed out, and Gabriel barely threw himself aside as stone shattered where he'd stood.
He was hopelessly outmatched. His sword couldn't pierce its body, his strength was nothing against its speed, and he could feel his mana bleeding away with each desperate defense.
But he wasn't here to win by force.
The wolf lowered its head again, energy building in its throat — another elemental strike. Gabriel's vision swam. If I block again, I'll have nothing left… but if I don't, I'm dead.
He lifted his head, staring the direwolf straight in the eye. His last gamble.
"Subjugate!"
The circle of power snapped into place, threads of mana clawing at the beast. The Direwolf's attack erupted, but Gabriel forced the spell through the roaring gale, screaming as his reserves poured into it.
Mana: 6 → 0.25
The vortices in his pupil tightened. The Direwolf thrashed, ice shards scattering as its aura resisted. For an instant Gabriel thought he'd fail — but the spell dug deeper, drinking the last of his strength, locking around the beast's core.
With a final snarl, the Direwolf collapsed, its eyes glowing faintly as the mark seared into its body.
Gabriel dropped to his knees, gasping, his sword clattering to the floor. He had nothing left — barely a flicker of mana remained in his veins. But the Direwolf no longer moved against him.
It stood, panting, frost curling from its maw… then lowered its head in submission.
. Gabriel fell back against a tree, chest heaving, body trembling. Sweat drenched his brow, blood streaked his lips, but a savage grin tore across his face.
He had done it.
📜 System UpdateNew Beast Added: Direwolf
Cultivation: Beginner – Mid Rank
Health: 110/110
Strength: 25
Speed: 30
Spirit: 30
Mana: 25
Affinity: Wind/Darkness
Skills: Lunar Howl (aura suppression), Void Fang (darkness-infused bite), Gale Step (explosive speed burst)
Gabriel's head lolled back against the bark. His vision blurred, his mana completely drained, spirit trembling on the edge of collapse. Yet his grin only widened.
"Now… my army is a bit worthy of fear."
The Direwolf lay obediently at his feet, the serpent coiled weakly nearby, the hawk perched above, the lizard crouched low. Broken, battered, but alive.
And victorious.
Above the treeline, the moon watched coldly, its light silvering Gabriel's face.
Unseen, far in the distance, cloaked eyes watched once more. The assassins had returned.
The leader smirked. "So he dares climb even higher. The king's useless son… is not useless anymore."
The forest swallowed their presence again.
But Gabriel, head bowed, already whispered into the night, voice ragged yet burning with steel.
"Step by step… I will make them kneel."