Zander had only been flying for a few minutes when his target came into view. Standing alone in a forest clearing, the Sirius alpha seemed to be waiting, his stance confident and unyielding. The moonlight cast an eerie glow on the figure, highlighting the unnatural golden sheen of his eyes. Zander's lips curled into a smile, anticipation burning through him like fire in his veins. It seems that mutt is expecting me, he mused, his thoughts laced with excitement for the battle to come. Without hesitation, he angled his wings and dove, landing with a flourish just a few meters from the Sirius.
The Sirius were no ordinary clan of beasts. Once ordinary wolves, they had evolved into werewolves with the advent of mana. Their transformation had been both a blessing and a curse—granting them immense strength but plunging them into chaos. The wolves, drunk on their newfound power, had turned against one another in an endless struggle for dominance. It was said that during this period of madness, four true alphas had risen above the bloodshed, uniting the pack under their rule. Thus, the Sirius clan was born—a force so formidable that even their origins were steeped in myth and speculation. At least that was the information all forces had about their origin but for whether there was truth to it or not no one knew, the true origin was hidden, and no one knew the finer details. Even then one thing was for certain, the Sirius were strong, stronger than anyone including their fellow beasts could imagine
They had developed abilities that defied logic, and their bloodline had reached a level of strength that many deemed impossible evolving beyond what anyone would expect from a group of wolves. This advantage, combined with their ruthless discipline, had allowed them to rise to the top of beast hierarchy. Though they adhered to the traditions of packs and wolf culture, the Sirius were anything but primitive. The hierarchy within the clan was absolute—betas submitted to alphas, and even the most ambitious alphas bowed before the true alphas. To defy them was to embrace death.
The wolf before Zander now was no mere pack member. He was an alpha—a warrior whose strength radiated like an aura of menace.
The Sirius were planning something and zander though interested in battle was also conscious of the fact that something wasn't right. From the time the messenger stepped into his office he had had his suspicions. For one, he had kept his face obscured—an odd choice for one entrusted with an urgent council message and secondly, the way the message was delivered did not follow protocol. The council, for all its inefficiencies and bureaucratic squabbles had certain protocols to warn affected bases and sending a messenger was not one of them. That guy was suspicious.
Also, there was no way a king stage awakened especially a Sirius who were known for how agile they were and their penchant for assassinations would be discovered as easily as the man made it seem. The whole thing smelled like a trap which was one of the reasons Zander refused to allow any subordinates follow him into battle. Their target was him and he would find out exactly what was going on. What could the Sirius be planning? Why go to such lengths to lure him here. Besides he was Zander phoenix and strength was something he never lacked, he feared nothing and no one. If not for the fact that the beasts outnumbered them 1 to a thousand, he felt the phoenix alone could have wiped them out long ago. Besides that was not a far-off possibility now that that monster had been born. Any way it was time to tackle this issue and see just how deep the rabbit hole went
The Sirius alpha finally moved, his muscles rippling under his dark, fur-covered skin. He bared his teeth, a low growl rumbling from his chest—a sound that spoke of raw power and dominance. Zander remained still, his sharp eyes meeting the alpha's unwavering gaze. For a moment, the forest was silent, the tension between the two warriors crackling like a live wire.
The aura of two King-stage Awakened collided in a clash of incomprehensible power, both vying for dominance as their energy rippled across the battlefield. To truly grasp the magnitude of the cataclysmic event about to unfold, one needed an understanding of the progression of power—of the journey from an unawakened mortal to a being capable of shaping the world itself. To understand the cataclysmic event that was about occur one needed to have an understanding of the various stages in the progression of power. Normally, a person would go through an awakened ceremony when they were twelve summers old, where they would officially step into the ranks of power as a novice stage awakened.
Each, then they would progress to the mid stage of the novice realm then late stage and finally peak stage of the novice core stage during which mana would be used to temper their bodies preparing them for the stage ahead the intermediate core stage. During this stage one unlocks their elemental affinity and begins their path in mastering that element or multiple elements in the case of geniuses.
For those with bloodlines this was the stage for awakening their bloodlines as their bodies have been primed during the novice stage to be able to bare the strain of their bloodlines. This stage was also divided into early, mid, late and peak stages before one would then have the qualifications to seek the next stage which was the advanced core stage. Within this stage one seeks the complete mastery of their elements being able to use the ambient mana to control the elements of their affinity in ways intermediates could never even hope to accomplish. This was the true stage of elemental mastery. This stage was also divided into early, mid, late and peak stage after which one gained the qualifications to seek the next stage which was the expert stage.
In this stage the awakened begins integrating the elements of his affinity becoming one with them. This grant's increased control and manipulation of their elements needing only but a thought to move their elements according to their will. After attaining the peak of this stage, one would then breakthrough to the mast core stage or master rank.
On this stage one begins comprehending laws usually ones related to their elements though when it came to this the opportunities were endless as prodigious talents may go beyond the norm as was done some time in the past. After one attains a sufficient mastery and comprehension of their law, they then gain the qualifications to break into the grandmaster stage or rank were the begin laying the foundations of their world of law. This inner world when developed to a certain level could be projected outside the body creating a domain where the caster is absolute, and his will is law.
The effectiveness and strength the domain usually depended on the quality of the law and the comprehension of the caster towards what was used to create the inner world or world of law.
And then there was the King Stage, the summit of power in the known world. This stage represented more than strength; it was synonymous with influence, authority, and inviolability. Those who reached the King Stage were no longer just warriors—they were true experts who had formed the foundations of a complete world of law within themselves. Their domains could not be breached or resisted by anyone below their level.
There was a saying whispered in reverence and fear: "The only one who can fight a King is another King." All below were but ants, and they would do well to know their place.
While it was not uncommon for geniuses to defy the boundaries of their stages—a novice defeating an intermediate, or an expert holding their own against a grandmaster—such miracles did not apply to Kings. At this level, the chasm between stages was vast and insurmountable. The power of a King Stage Awakened was absolute, their dominance unshakable by anything less than an equal.
And now, two such titans were about to clash. Their auras surged and twisted, filling the air with the weight of their power. The ground trembled beneath their feet, the heavens above seeming to darken in response to the cataclysm that was about to unfold.
To the unawakened, it would be a spectacle of unimaginable might. To the Awakened, it was a reminder of the unyielding truth: that the path to power was one of infinite struggle, and only those who reached the summit could claim to stand above all others