The days that followed were the best of Coker's life. The cave by the stream felt less like a hiding place and more like a home. Every morning, he and Bren would train. They weren't just practicing old forms; they were experimenting.
Bren's idea was simple: "If Apex can become a tool, it can become anything. Let's not just think about fighting."
So, they tried new things.
When they needed to reach a high branch for fruit, Coker focused, and Apex stretched into a long, glowing blue pole. When they needed to cross the stream without getting wet, Apex formed itself into a smooth, flat bridge. When Bren cut his hand sharpening a stick, Apex glowed with that same warm, healing light and soothed the cut until it stopped hurting.
Each success made them laugh with delight. Coker's control became incredible. He could make the Thorn-Beetle form skitter up a tree trunk. He could make the Swift-Feather do loop-the-loops in the air. He and Apex were truly becoming one.
The memory of the bear attack was still there, a quiet warning in the back of their minds, but it was fading, replaced by trust and friendship.
One afternoon, they were practicing by the stream. Bren was trying to teach the Rock-Tusk form to kick a small rock into a target he'd drawn on a tree.
"Not so hard!" Bren laughed, ducking as the rock flew over his head and splashed into the stream. "You're supposed to hit the tree, not drown me!"
Coker laughed, letting the form melt away. "It's harder than it looks!"
It was in that happy, quiet moment that they heard it.
It was a sound that didn't belong in the peaceful forest. It was a high, piercing scream of pure terror. It was a human scream.
The laughter died on their lips. They both froze, looking at each other, their eyes wide. The scream came again, sharper this time, filled with pain. It was followed by the deep, angry roar of some large beast.
It was coming from the direction of the main path.
Without a word, they both started running. They crashed through the bushes, their hearts pounding, not with fear for themselves this time, but for whoever was out there.
They reached the edge of the trees and peered out onto the dirt path. What they saw made their blood run cold.
A merchant's wagon was overturned, its wheels smashed. Boxes and bags were scattered everywhere. A single horse was lying on its side, not moving. And in the middle of the chaos was a massive, snarling Wolf-Hound. It was bigger than any natural wolf, with matted black fur and eyes that glowed with a sickly yellow light. It was a monster, one that had clearly gone wild.
And it was circling a young woman.
She was backed against the broken wagon, holding a piece of wood like a club. Her dress was torn, and her face was white with fear. She was maybe a few years older than they were.
"Help!" she screamed as the Wolf-Hound lunged. She swung the wood, hitting its snout. The beast yelped in surprise and anger, but it only made it angrier. It backed up, preparing to lunge again and finish her.
"We have to do something!" Bren whispered, his voice tight with panic.
Coker's mind raced. The Wolf-Hound was huge. It was fast. It was nothing like the Thorn-Beetle or the Rock-Tusk. This was a real killer.
The old fear, the feeling of being a useless Zero-Star, tried to rise up in his throat. He wasn't a hero. He couldn't fight that.
But then he saw the girl's face. She was terrified. She was going to die.
He couldn't just watch.
"Create a distraction!" Coker said to Bren, his voice suddenly steady. "Now!"
Bren didn't hesitate. He yelled at Riley. "Go! Bark! Be loud!"
The brave little badger shot out of the bushes, running in circles around the Wolf-Hound, barking and growling as fiercely as he could.
The Wolf-Hound was confused. It turned its head, snapping at the annoying little creature, giving Coker a precious few seconds.
Coker focused. He didn't think about the Rock-Tusk or the beetle. He thought about the Wolf-Hound itself. Its speed. Its power. Its sharp teeth.
*Become it,* he commanded Apex. *Become what we need.*
He threw the slime onto the path.
The blue light didn't just flash; it erupted like a small star. When it faded, a second Wolf-Hound stood on the path. But this one was made of shimmering, solid blue energy. Its eyes glowed with a calm, blue light instead of a sickly yellow. It was a perfect, spectral copy.
The real Wolf-Hound stopped chasing Riley. It turned and saw the blue copy. It froze, confused. It had never seen another creature like itself.
The blue Apex-Hound didn't snarl. It didn't bark. It just stood there, waiting.
The wild Wolf-Hound's confusion turned to anger. It saw the blue creature as an intruder, a challenger. It forgot all about the girl and the badger. With a furious roar, it charged at Apex.
The two beasts collided in a whirl of snapping teeth and blue light. It was a terrifying, violent dance. The real Wolf-Hound was strong and savage, but Apex was solid and unrelenting. They rolled over and over, a tangle of dark fur and glowing energy.
"Now!" Coker yelled.
He and Bren ran out from the trees toward the overturned wagon. The girl stared at them, her eyes wide with shock and hope.
"Come on!" Bren said, reaching for her. "We have to go!"
But as they helped her up, a terrible sound filled the air. A sound of sharp teeth crunching down.
The real Wolf-Hound, in a burst of savage strength, had managed to sink its teeth into the blue, energy-made leg of the Apex-Hound.
And in that moment, something new happened.
Apex didn't just feel pain. It reacted with a new instinct. A deep, primal instinct to consume.
Instead of trying to pull away, the Apex-Hound's form *flowed*. The part that was being bitten dissolved, allowing the real Wolf-Hound's head to plunge forward into its blue body. Then, the blue energy closed around the real hound's head like a watery fist.
The wild Wolf-Hound's angry snarls became muffled, panicked gurgles. It struggled wildly, its body thrashing, but it was trapped. The blue light glowed brighter and brighter, engulfing the entire beast, swallowing it whole.
There was one last, choked yelp, and then silence.
The blue light faded.
The wild Wolf-Hound was gone.
Standing in the middle of the path was Apex, back in its slime form. It glowed with a fierce, powerful light, pulsing like a heartbeat. It was slightly larger. And it seemed… satisfied.
The forest was quiet again.
The three of them—Coker, Bren, and the girl—could only stare. The entire fight had lasted less than a minute.
The girl was the first to speak. She looked from the slime to Coker, her eyes wide with awe and fear. "You… you saved me," she whispered, her voice shaking. "That… that thing… it's your summon?"
Coker quickly walked over and picked up Apex, putting it back in his pocket. Its light was too bright, too obvious. He nodded, not knowing what to say.
Bren stepped forward, ever the practical one. "Are you hurt? What happened?"
The girl took a deep, shaky breath, trying to compose herself. "My name is Elara. I was… I was taking supplies to Ironhaven with my father." Her eyes filled with tears as she looked at the overturned wagon and the still horse. "The Wolf-Hound came out of nowhere. It attacked the horse first… then the wagon… my father… he told me to run, to hide… I don't know where he is!" A sob escaped her.
Coker's heart ached for her. He knew that feeling of loss, of being alone and scared.
"We'll help you find him," Bren said immediately. "Riley can track. Right, boy?"
Riley grunted and immediately started sniffing around the wagon, his nose to the ground.
Elara looked at them, her gratitude clear. "Thank you. Thank you so much. I thought I was going to die." Her eyes flickered to Coker's pocket. "Your summon… I've never seen anything like it. What is it?"
Coker and Bren exchanged a worried look. The secret was out again. But this time, it felt different. This wasn't about showing off. This was about saving a life.
"It's… complicated," Coker said finally.
Thankfully, Riley interrupted with an excited series of grunts. He'd found a trail leading away from the wagon and into the trees on the other side of the path.
"He's found someone!" Bren said.
They helped Elara up, and together, they followed Riley. The trail led to a large hollow under a fallen tree. And there, curled up and clutching his leg, was a man. He was unconscious, his face pale. His leg was bent at a bad angle, clearly broken.
"Papa!" Elara cried, rushing to his side.
Bren checked the man's pulse. "He's alive," he said with relief. "But his leg is broken bad. We need to get him to a healer."
Elara looked up, her face desperate. "Ironhaven is still a half-day's walk from here! He won't make it! I can't carry him!"
Coker looked at the man's pale face, at Elara's tears. He thought about the warm, healing light Apex had used on the fox and on Bren's cut.
He made a decision.
He walked over and knelt beside the unconscious man. He looked at Elara. "My summon… it might be able to help. It's not a healer, not really… but it can try to ease the pain. To… stabilize him. So we can move him."
Elara looked from Coker's serious face to his pocket, where a soft blue glow was visible. She had just seen that "thing" destroy a monster Wolf-Hound. Now he said it could heal? She looked confused and scared, but she had no other options. She nodded slowly.
Coker placed Apex on the man's broken leg. He focused. He didn't think about fighting or consuming. He thought about peace. About calm. About knitting things back together. *Help him. Please.*
Apex glowed with that same soft, warm blue light. It spread over the man's leg like a gentle blanket. The bone didn't magically fix itself, but the terrible swelling seemed to go down a little. The man's breathing, which had been shallow and ragged, became deeper and more even. The pain lines on his face softened.
Elara watched, her hand over her mouth, tears of a different kind now streaming down her face. "It's a miracle," she breathed.
When Apex was done, it slid back to Coker, its glow returning to normal.
"We can make a stretcher," Bren said, already grabbing branches and using vines to lash them together. "Between the three of us, we can carry him to Ironhaven."
As they worked, Elara kept looking at Coker with a new expression. It wasn't just gratitude. It was a deep, profound respect.
"You're a summoner," she said quietly. "But your summon… it's not a beast. It's something else. Something… more."
Coker didn't know what to say.
"What's your name?" she asked.
"Coker."
She smiled softly. "Thank you, Coker. I will never forget what you did today."
As they carefully lifted her father onto the makeshift stretcher and began the long, slow walk to Ironhaven, Coker felt a strange feeling. He had used his power not for himself, but for someone else. And it had felt better than any new form, any new strength.
He had saved a life. He had helped someone.
He looked at Bren, who gave him a proud nod. He looked at Elara, who looked at him like he was a hero.
For the first time, he didn't feel like a Zero-Star Summoner.
He just felt like a summoner.
And it was enough.