Howling Laughter

Cage and the others spin around just in time to see Ludan walk from the tower's doors, expression flat as always, steps slow and methodical as he approaches, "Thought I'd let you all just slip away, eh?" The Epoch smiles, shaking his head, "No, no... You have to entertain me, first." Cage glances down at Ludan's hand to see the red skin ripped away, revealing flesh a deeper shade of crimson beneath. The skin grows slowly, reaching down his fingers and underneath the five rings.

Yoru's face twists in confusion and fear, "Don't you need to stay in the tower? To hide your power from the city?" She asks with a shaky voice, "Why show yourself now?"

Ludan's smile vanishes as he stares at Yoru, "Do you truly know how long a millennium is?" He asks, "I've watched hundreds of generations pass. I've watched this city transform from a desolate settlement of wood and stone to an empire of military power and knowledge. Yet in all that time, during all that change, I've looked the same, sounded the same, and done the same things every day. Well... That will no longer be the case."

"Does that change involve killing us?" Kyro asks, scowling at the Epoch, sword gripped tightly in his hand.

"The people of Raj need an example," Ludan replies, spreading his arms out wide and looking out over the wall, to the light of morning greeting the sky, "Thievery, murder…" he glances at Yoru, "…Assault. Any who believe themselves above the law will know I stand as their retribution. I once believed that the threat of slavery would suffice... but I am no longer so ignorant."

Cage glances at Yoru. Her eyes are wide, her hands tremble, and her lip quivers uncontrollably. She's terrified. Disturbed. Is it because of Ludan's presence? Or is it something that he said?

Cage then looks at Kyro, who watches Ludan's every move with narrowed eyes. Ingen stands beside him, fingering the steel of his warhammer. The violet-skinned man glances over at Kyro, "Well?" Ingen asks.

Kyro grunts, "We take him," he says, looking back at Cage, "Can you take the dog?"

Cage looks up at the Spider-Eyed Wolf, and it grins back, each ghastly tooth like an old, battered blade as they bear down at him. He looks at Kyro again, nodding, "I guess I have to," Cage says.

"True enough," Kyro says, reaching down and gripping Cage's shoulder. The Rajin leans beside his ear, "Be quick if you can. I'm not sure we'll survive without your help," Kyro whispers, looking over at Yoru and Detor, "Put them in one of those bubbles."

Cage nods, black arm forming and slithering toward Yoru and Detor. Yoru looks at the arm as the hand splits into a thin black bubble. She looks at Cage, brows, and lips trembling, blue hands clutched at her chest. Then, the bubble covers her and Detor.

Cage and Kyro's eyes meet, and the Rajin straightens, nodding solemnly, "Good luck," Kyro says, turning and facing Ludan again. Cage turns as well, breathing deep as he looks up at the Spider-eyed Wolf. One of the swords appears in his black hand. It may not help, but it's worth trying, Cage thinks.

The Spider-Eyed Wolf stares down at Cage, and the corners of its mouth curl unnaturally, "You are the man they call Cage?" the Wolf's deep, rumbling voice vibrates Cage's eardrums, "I've heard many interesting things about you..."

"Really now?" Cage responds, revealing his own pearly grin, black eyes wide, "I hope you're not disappointed."

The Wolf laughs, a loud howling that echos through the cave of Betor Mountain. It looks down at Cage again, the grin stretching wider across its beastly face, "That remains to be seen," It says, turning and gesturing with its giant head toward the gate, "Come. Let us have ourselves a nice... private conversation."

Cage watches as the Wolf steps over the fifty-foot wall with ease. He glances back at the others. Kyro and Ingen stand silent before Ludan, their weapons tight in their hands. Ludan looks at Cage, his expression verging on something close to confusion.

Cage purses his lips, then switches the sword to the other hand as something appears in his black one, "Kyro," Cage calls, tossing the object to the Rajin.

Kyro snatches it out of the air, looks down to find a rage stone in his palm, then nods to Cage. Cage returns the gesture, then turns and walks toward the gate. He flies over the wall with the help of his black arm, landing on the stone softly. Cage looks up, past the dark stone and marble buildings and the ones covered in snow farther off.

Cage can't see that blue star—it always rises behind Betor Mountain—but he knows morning has arrived. It doesn't snow at the moment, but the gathering of those grey clouds says that things will not stay the same. With every breath, a puff of thin mist flows from Cage's mouth. It's cold, the kind that transforms the smallest bumps into a bullet through the flesh. However, Cage can't focus on that, not with the opponent before him.

"So..." The Spider-Eyed Wolf rumbles, padding slowly back and forth through the large plaza in front of the tower, its many eyes all trained on Cage, "...You truly did it, then? You killed the massor, a monster that even the Master is powerless before?"

Cage nods, one hand fingering the grip of his sword nervously, the other pulsating black nothingness. Just like the Wolf says, Cage has slain an unkillable monster, and though the Wolf does not know, a giant that could destroy miles of land with a single step. To add to it, he's already fought against the summons of an Anima User. He nearly died then, but he was not as strong as he is now.

Knowing all of this, Cage is confused by the fear swirling in his heart. This beast is strong, it would be foolish to think otherwise. But even more than that, those eyes, beady and great in number, have a glint to them. Intelligence, cunning, strategy. This Wolf knows things. Things that beings with a heart and brain shouldn't even know.

The Wolf hums, its white, misty figure shimmering as it moves, "Good... excellent," the beast grins as it speaks, stopping several meters away and facing Cage, "Perhaps I will enjoy myself then. I can only hope that you will as well." The Wolf's figure shimmers again, and its left front leg disappears from its body.

Cage's eyes widen, and the hairs on the back of his neck stiffen. From the corner of his eye, Cage sees a blurry white figure bolting toward him. The Wolf's leg. The attack is too fast for him to dodge, so he raises his arms to block it. The floating leg smashes through his weak defense and into his side, sending him flying through the air, the bright opening of the cave and that tower spinning in his vision relentlessly.

Cage lands on his neck several paces away, tumbling across the stone street, bones crunching with every thud. He rights himself, skidding on his bare feet until his back thumps softly against the marble wall of a home. Cage gasps, pain thundering through his skull, left arm, and right leg. His bones shift slowly, pulling themselves back to their rightful places. But not fast enough.

"Come now. I was even so kind as to give you a warning," The Wolf steps up a few paces from the panting man. Those black eyes look up and meet its gaze, and Cage grits his teeth in frustration.

Suddenly, fast footsteps can be heard from a street to the side, and Cage looks to see several guards approaching quickly. They notice Cage and ready their weapons to apprehend him, "So you're the one that caused the disturbance earlier! You're the reason those two disappeared, aren't you!? Where are they!?" The guard in front yells, spear tip pointed toward Cage.

The other guards open their mouths to speak, but their yells are halted by an unnaturally loud growl that vibrates the stone beneath their boots. All of them look up at the Spider-Eyed Wolf, their eyes widening, steel weapons clattering on the street as they meet the beast's gaze, "Do not interrupt us," The Wolf hisses, gravelly voice booming through the street

The guards scramble and run the opposite direction, leaving their weapons behind without a second thought. The Wolf chuckles as it watches them disappear down the street, "That look never gets old," it rumbles, looking down at Cage. Or where he once was.

Something tugs on the beast's tail.

Cage's black arm stretches forward, the hand wrapped around the Wolf's thick, ghostly tail. He turns and digs his feet into the stone, gritting his teeth with effort as he pulls on the tail with all of his strength. The Wolf's claws scrape across the stone as it's pulled back a small amount. However, the beast only grins as it looks at that shapeshifting black arm, "...Interesting," the Wolf growls.

Suddenly, Cage stumbles forward, and his black arm returns to him, the tail in hand. Cage grins as he sees the giant translucent appendage, and his black arm shifts and engulfs it, taking it from the world in the blink of an eye. He feels the pressure build up inside him, making his skin feel tight around his body.

If Cage is right, then that bloated feeling will come in handy. He could be wrong, but he feels that there won't be many other options. For now, he just needs to survive. Easier said than done.

Cage turns and looks up at the Spider-Eyed Wolf, noticing that the beast looks almost surprised, those beady eyes wide, jaw slack. Then, that wide, sharp grin appears on its snout again, "I see!" the Wolf laughs, its tail materializing on its backside again, "Pests can be scared off, but they always return."

Cage furrows his brows, watching the beast's movements. As far as he knows, his powers should be unknown to this world, an anomaly that can't exist. The Wolf had seemed surprised for a split moment, but that was replaced with a knowing look and words that make not a bit of sense.

"What are you talking about, you damned dog?" Cage hisses. If there's one thing that makes him frustrated, its being laughed at for his ignorance.

The Wolf chuckles, its grin as wide as ever, "The Master must not believe it to be true. After all, he hasn't seen you take things from reality like you just did," it says, "If he realizes, well... you'll be a pile of flesh, boy."

Cage grits his teeth, "Don't play around with me, you-"

"Enough talking," The Wolf interrupts, its mouth moving quickly. Then, it's head disappears in a puff of energy.

Cage spins, eyes wide as he sees the Wolf's head floating in the air before him, massive jaw open wide and waiting to bite down. Cage raises his black arm, and the blade-like teeth snap closed on it. Cage's feet leave the ground as he's thrown through the air, but before the teeth can release his arm, the thick darkness covers the beast's head, and it disappears a moment later.

Cage flies up toward the ceiling of the cave, his robe and hair fluttering in the chilling wind. He flings his black arm behind him, and the hand explodes into a massive sphere. Cage catapults the sphere forward, and one of those boulders shoots from the darkness, the air whistling around it as it rockets toward the headless body of the Wolf.

Cage hisses through his teeth as he slams against the cave ceiling, his vision blurring as the back of his head smacks the rock. An eardrum-bursting explosion sounds as he begins to fall, and Cage looks through swimming vision to vaguely see the boulder slam into a home, the Spider-Eyed Wolf nowhere to be seen.

As he falls, cold wind assaulting his nostrils and eyes, Cage looks at the courtyard before the tower. All he can see through the blur in his eyes is a flash of bright green light. They are still fighting, which means Ingen and Kyro are alive. Hopefully.

Cage sighs, feeling relieved even as he sees a blob of a white figure flying up toward him. It's the Wolf, the boulder must have not done much.

The Spider-Eyed Wolf turns in the air, and Cage can only brace himself as a hind leg slams into his stomach, sending him flying over the snow-covered city that's just now waking up. Cage squeezes his eyes shut, bracing again and expecting a wave of excruciating pain to come at any moment.

The wind whistles in Cage's ears, and he feels his robe flutter aggressively across his body. Without warning, the impact comes. Cage crashes through a wall, marble, and wood exploding around him, nearly every bone in his body shattering all at once. His already slowed momentum is halted completely as he smashes into something strangely soft.

Cage lies on the bouncy material for a long moment, eyes wide but seeing nothing but blobs of brown and white. He tries to scream, but all that comes is a puny whimper. His skull, ribs, legs, and arms are all reduced to useless lumbs of skin and bone. Bone that has been reduced to powder.

He lies there for what seems like an entire day, the pain pulsing through his body in waves. It never leaves, it only shifts from hot white flashes to paralyzing vibrations of agony. After a while, Cage's bones reform, allowing him to at least move. But the pain, while now manageable, stays with him. He has a feeling that it will only leave when he leaves this planet.

Cage grits his teeth, pushing himself up, testing to see which parts hurt the worst. After a few hard blinks, he finds that he's lying on a bed, a familiar one at that. The wooden frame is smashed to smithereens beneath the white mattress, the sheet, and pillow strewn across the floor near the wall ahead.

Hissing and groaning, Cage stands slowly, eyes scanning the chunks of marble and splinters of wood covering the floor planks. There's no doubt now, this is Cage's room, or Mavyl's, he should say. If the identical placement of the table, dresser, and door weren't enough evidence, then the small leatherback notebook on the table is.

Cage limps over to the table, wincing with each step. His bones are still shifting inside him, and even the smallest movements cause a spike in pain.

Cage stops in front of the wooden table, kicking a small piece of broken marble aside. He picks up the notebook, rubbing his fingers across the smooth, cold leather. He wishes he could open it and read through the pages of notes and random thoughts written inside, but there is no time. That Wolf is somewhere out there, waiting for Cage to show himself.

The darkness takes the notebook, and Cage turns, black eyes looking over the familiar room, and the unfamiliar gaping hole replacing the window that was once there. Cold air and morning light flows in through the makeshift opening, and though it's muffled, the sound of yells and screams comes too.

Cage's time here was short, a little over a week in all. However, that detail doesn't dampen the wave of nostalgia that slams into him. This room was the beginning, the first place where Cage felt he was able to think clearly. He remembers long nights of studying, testing his powers, and a conversation with a dead man.

Cage has tried to take care of this room, out of respect to the one that left it to him. Hopefully, Mavyl is satisfied, if he's still watching as he said he was, "Sorry about the giant hole. At least it'll be a bit cooler in here," Cage whispers, chuckling.

Cage sighs, straightening his back. There are still pulses of pain within him, but the Wolf will not care for that, so he won't either. He walks over to the hole in the wall, and with a quick inhale, drops back into the battlefield of Yellen.