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The forest had changed.
Yuki could feel it—not just in the stillness of the wind or the thick scent of old moss, but in how the trees themselves seemed to watch. Each step he took felt like it echoed through the roots of the earth, drawing unseen things closer.
Something was stalking him.
He paused beside a fallen trunk, senses extending like ripples in a pond. A faint shift in the air—softer than breath—triggered the instinctive hum of **Predator's Wisdom**, and for the first time, it did not speak in words. Instead, it guided his gaze upward.
The canopy moved.
A flicker. A shadow detached from the boughs, its body coiled like a ribbon of void. It dove.
Yuki twisted just in time, the claws of the **Hollowfang Stalker** grazing his side, leaving a cold numbness behind. Its form was lean and wiry, coated in fur darker than night, limbs stretched unnaturally, as though shaped by something not meant for the forest.
*Status effect: Paralysis (resisted)*
The system message flickered through his mind like static. *Resisted?* Yuki's eyes narrowed. His scales pulsed with faint heat. A secondary resistance—perhaps from one of the earlier title boons?
The Stalker landed in a crouch, baring its needle-like fangs. Its eyes shimmered like black opals, reflecting nothing.
This wasn't just a hunt. It was a test.
Yuki let his mana gather in his throat—**Flame Sovereign's Breath** igniting in his core. But before he could release it, a sudden tug in his chest held him back. A warning. *Instinct? No... something else.* A whisper of wind tugged his horn, and his tail lashed sideways.
The Hollowfang lunged again. Yuki didn't dodge.
He moved.
**Aether Drift**—or something like it—flared briefly, a flicker of premonition born not from skill, but potential. His form shimmered half a meter left, and the Stalker's lunge struck air.
*Skill Awakening: \[Wind Veil] – Passive movement assist*
Yuki didn't waste the moment. Claws ablaze with **Flame Clad**, he slashed upward, catching the creature mid-turn. The impact scattered its smoky fur, revealing sinew and chitin beneath. It screamed—not in pain, but in fury—and its form scattered into mist.
It reformed behind him.
But this time, Yuki was faster.
He twisted and exhaled, not with brute force, but with control. **Flame Sovereign's Breath** arced like a coiled serpent, thinner and sharper than before, slashing through the creature's torso in a clean sweep.
*Critical Hit. Weakness exploited. Hollow Essence destabilizing.*
The beast shrieked, collapsing to its knees, body half-charred, twitching.
Yuki stalked closer. As he raised his claw, something tugged at his mind—faint, like a memory not his own. A pull from **Predator's Wisdom**, urging not death, but understanding.
He leaned close.
"Why... do you hunt?"
The creature, eyes flickering, managed a single rasping sound before it dissolved completely, leaving behind a faint shimmer of obsidian mist.
*Unique Drop: \[Hollow Core Fragment] acquired.*
*Skill Acquired: \[Shadow Slip (Unstable)] – short-range evasive blink*
Yuki exhaled deeply, his breath steaming in the forest gloom. He could feel it now—the stirrings of something beyond mere fire. His flame, while dominant, no longer felt alone. The wind around him stirred in rhythm with his heartbeat. The way he moved, the way he anticipated—*that* wasn't instinct alone.
It was **resonance**.
Something watched him again, but this time, it felt… curious. Distant. Ancient.
And above, high in the canopy, a single leaf broke free from the trees, spiraling downward like a dancer on unseen currents.
Yuki lifted his head, the wind catching under his wings.
He would follow where it led.
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