CHAPTER 7

"You want to hear a story?" Sapphire's mother asked Winter and Sapphire, after hearing about their travels.

"I don't mind," Winter responded. Sapphire also nodded.

"This is a legend passed down among the wolves for generations, since the time of the first wolf species," Sapphire's mother explained. "No one knows if this is true or not, but it still makes for a great story.

"A very long time ago, when the world's were being created by the Goddess of Chaos, she decided to create many creatures to inhabit them. Some were to be only found in specific worlds and some were to be in all. Wolves were chosen to be one of the creatures to inhabit all worlds. It wasn't any species of wolves you know, it used to be a now extinct species called the Spirit Wolves. They were incredibly powerful wolves against whom even multiple dragons and phoenixes stood no chance, but they weren't happy with it. They wished to not be on the level of gods in terms of power, they wished to be much simpler. But there was no one to listen to that request of theirs, till a blissful moment.

"The wolves came upon whom they believed to be a goddess, an exceptionally kind and unbound existence. Her true name is forgotten in history, but she is known as the Goddess of Wolves among us. She loved the wolves, and the wolves loved her. After much time they took to her their request, but she lacked the necessary abilities to make such a thing happen. However, she was exceptionally close to the Goddess of Chaos, belonging to the order known as the Immortals, created by the Goddess herself and serving directly under her.

"They were very powerful near immortal beings who carried out the Goddess's will. Except the Goddess of Wolves, she was allowed to do as she wished and at times she even argued with the Goddess of Chaos, even proving wrong several times, and causing the Goddess of Chaos to rethink her decisions without any ill aftermath.

"She took the request to the Goddess, but the Goddess denied her. The Spirit Wolves were mysterious even to the Goddess, they were powerful beyond her with mysterious powers that surpassed even those of a god. She wished to understand them and needed the Spirit Wolves to remain as they were to be able to accomplish it. And thus, the Goddess of Wolves returned without results, but she did not give up just yet.

"While the Goddess of Chaos was the most powerful, there was another entity, whom the wolves believed to be superior to the Goddess in intellect, wisdom, and sometimes, even power. The entity was also especially close with the Goddess of Wolves, having been the reason she was able to join the order of Immortals from what we know. The wolves knew him as 'The Creator'."

"The Creator," Sapphire gasped under her breath.

"But even he denied the request," Sapphire's mother continued. "The Spirit Wolves were dear to him too, and he didn't wish for them to change. Unlike the Goddess he appeared to have no ulterior motive than the selfish desire to preserve what he loved, but the Goddess of Wolves was not going to give up easily.

"In her time with the Goddess of Chaos and The Creator she had seen all sorts of powers multiple times, the miracles of life and creation, the power necessary to grant the wish of the wolves, the risks involved, she knew it all. The wolves accepted it, they knew she wouldn't let anything happen to them. And so, the Goddess of Wolves attempted to make the wish of the Spirit Wolves come true.

"She achieved the target, though not in the intended way. She divided the Spirit Wolves into many other species, it was all she could do with her limited power. The Winter Wolves, the Blood Wolves, the Midnight Wolves, the Infernal Wolves, and many others, the Blood Wolves being the closest to Spirit Wolves and are even believed to have retained some of their powers, and Midnight Wolves believed to have retained their physical prowess.

"Such an act did not go unnoticed however. The Creator arrived just as she did that miracle, having sensed the surge of energy from it. He was furious, more than willing to kill even all the wolves there to quell his wrath, but he knew it won't change anything. While he was furious, it was not at the fact that the Spirit Wolves were now divided into a large number of different species, he barely even paid any mind to it. It was due to the fact that the Goddess of Wolves used too much of her own life energy to fulfil the wish of the wolves, threatening her own life.

"She seemed to be on the verge of dying and the wolves now felt guilty, not wishing for their wish to be fulfilled in exchange for their beloved Goddess. They requested The Creator to save her, even if it meant reverting what she did. He simply laughed and informed them that her life energy will replenish slowly over time, she was simply too exhausted due to using too much of it. He reassured them not to worry much and take care of her while he attended to other matters. From what we know it seemed as though they liked each other, but a Greater Guardian falling in love was unheard of."

"The Creator seems really powerful," Sapphire sighed.

"He is. He is simply a Greater Guardian, yet his power surpasses most beings. Their work is to guard the soul realm, counselling the souls of people who died, and returning them to the cycle of rebirth. They are not very powerful and believed to be below the Immortals in ranking and power, but The Creator commanded power beyond even the most powerful Immortals, comparable to that of the Goddess of Chaos. He showed it to the Spirit Wolves and the Goddess of Wolves as he trusted them, but not even the Goddess knew of his power, though all were aware of his wisdom and intellect," Sapphire's mother explained.

"There is a new legend too now, which I came across quite recently. It's more of a rumor however." Sapphire's mother added. "It is believed that the Goddess of Chaos has died some time ago, and that the Creator is now assuming her position. It's simply a rumor though."

Winter could tell that Sapphire was thinking hard about all of this, comparing information from Appraisal to what she is just finding out. The look on her face was focused, much more focused than in a life or death situation.

"Anyways, I will sleep now as I feel tired, you can wake me up if you need anything." She informed resting her head on the ground and falling asleep within a few moments.

"What do you think?" Winter inquired.

"He is our target," Sapphire grinned.

"Target?" Winter gasped.

"He has answers, the ultimate being and our ultimate test, but we need to train before we get to that level," Sapphire replied.

Winter shook Sapphire violently, bringing her back from her maniacal line of thought. "Are you out of your mind?" Winter exclaimed, not loud enough to wake up Sapphire's mother. "You want us to go fight a god?"

"I am sure he wasn't born as a god, he trained to reach that point, then so can we," Sapphire shrugged.

"Yeah good luck with that, I will go explore the world while you work on that dream," Winter sighed.

Sapphire opened her mouth to say something but stopped as she felt something, causing her ears to stand straight in alarm. Winter and Sapphire's mother also felt it, but weren't able to tell what it was, while Sapphire knew instantly.

"So you are also joining this battle?" Sapphire exclaimed as loudly as she could, turning away from Winter and looking in the distance. "If so then pick your side, do you stand against-" Sapphire was cut off by an arrow that planted itself in front of her feet.

Tossing it upwards with her Shadow Manipulation she grabbed the arrow and took out the piece of paper attached to it. Tossing the arrow in the air she kicked it with a charged attack, sending it right where it came from. Sapphire took one look at the letter, burning it in her hand right after.

"If that's so then come whenever you want, I won't back down this time, Kessho!" She exclaimed back.

"Are you sure you want to fight that monster?" Winter inquired.

"No, I don't," Sapphire sighed. "I am scared of losing, she is stronger than me, better than me, I don't stand a chance of winning."

"And you still want to fight her?" Winter inquired.

"If I won't, she is more than enough to wipe out all the Wolves by herself. I don't think even father will last against her for long. It doesn't matter how strong her opponent is, as long as they can't block or dodge her blade it's pointless, and that blade is not easy to block, it sliced effortlessly through that Werewolf which even I found hard to cut," Sapphire explained.

"So, we are joining this battle?" Winter questioned.

"Yes, we will. I will have to fight her sooner or later, might as well be sooner than later," Sapphire declared.

"Right beside you forever, in both life and death." Winter said with a bow.

"Let's make this battle worth it then." Sapphire announced fist bumping Winter.

"Seems like you two really are a great pair," Sapphire's mother observed. "Still, be careful please."

"We will," Sapphire replied.

"I will take care of your reckless daughter," Winter responded.

"Please do," Sapphire's mother laughed.

"Might as well inform father and the "alphas" of their death's arrival." Sapphire shrugged walking back towards the place the alphas were, Winter following right behind her.

"It must have been a dragon," Icicle growled.

"That was no dragon," Midnight shot back, "that was death itself."

"It certainly was," Sapphire agreed. All eight wolves present turned their attention to her. "I will keep that monster occupied, so everyone else won't be killed within the first two minutes of the battle," Sapphire announced.

"You wish to fight whatever caused that?" Rose inquired, worried.

"Yes, I know who and what caused that. I have never fought her, but I stand a better chance than anyone else here, speaking from having seen her fight," Sapphire informed.

"You are powerful, but Midnight is still stronger than you," The elder reminded.

"How powerful her opponent is won't matter once she unsheathes her blade. Nothing lasts against it, not even the thick hides of Werewolf lords even I struggled slicing through, and I don't suppose there is anyone here who can use a sword better than I can. I will be surprised if she doesn't simply slice through my blade before slicing me, but no matter the number of slashes I won't die as quickly as anyone else here would," Sapphire explained.

"What do you mean by that?" Storm questioned.

Unsheathing her katana Sapphire sliced off her left arm. It fell to the ground, but another one grew within the blink of an eye, earning a shocked gasp from everyone.

"How does that work? Can all Midnight Wolves do that?" Icicle questioned.

"No, I have never seen anything of that sort." Midnight shook his head.

"No need to worry about how this works or why I possess such an ability. All you need to know is that if I won't fight her the battle would be over within the first five minutes, and there is no guarantee I can defeat her as she possesses this very same ability," Sapphire informed.

"If that is the case," The elder sighed before anyone else could speak, "then I won't stop you, but I request you to be careful against that monster. The angels bless her and the demons protect her, she is not one to be taken lightly as even the gods fear her power."

Sapphire nodded and headed back, Winter still following her.

"Where are you going?" The elder inquired.

"Fighting her in the open ground is a death wish, she moves too fast for me to keep up, I need to find a way to gain terrain advantage. I will look for a suitable battlefield to lure her to, if I don't die before I can get her to it that is." Sapphire informed waving her hand.

"Let's prepare for our death then." Winter shrugged and smiled at Sapphire.

Sapphire smiled back and led their search for a suitable battlefield, searching through the cold tundra, snow crunching below their feet as they marched all around looking for a suitable place. Their search ended fairly soon however, Sapphire found just what she wanted before long.

"This is it, the place where our battle will take place," Sapphire declared. "Be prepared, Kessho, I will not be holding back, and I expect you to do the same."