Winston stared in defeat at the crater before him. He’d put everything into the fight. Everything! And all for what? Throughout the entire fight, Thalysar had smiled, he had laughed. Winston had come to make him pay, to punish him for what he’d done, but he’d enjoyed it! It was as if Winston had done Thalysar a favor. And when Winston finally had him, he had just vanished.

  Winston looked down at the lone crystal sitting in the dirt. All of his effort had earned him a single crystal from Thalysar’s body. The man had dozens!

  [Glassheart(Serath) - Epic]

  Winston tilted his head. ‘Glassheart’? That sounded strange. He leaped into the crater and put it in his spatial ring. He didn’t have much time until the rest of the camp was upon him. He needed to get out. Now.

  Dashing away from the scene of the battle, he wove around tents, avoiding anyone he saw. He desperately wanted to see Erynd, but at the same time, he dreaded it. What would he do? He doubted Erynd would be alone, so he couldn’t run out to see him. Not being able to make contact would just hurt more. Winston knew the chances of happening upon Erynd were slim, but he tried not to look at faces anyway, just in case.

  ?? ′?? ? ??` ??

  Halfway up the mountains, Winston ran out of energy. He’d spent so much in the fight against Thalysar that he’d barely had enough to escape the camp.

  Looking around, Winston found himself on the same ledge that he’d been on the first time he’d climbed up the mountain. In the middle were two scrawny trees, each barely clinging onto life in the frigid cold.

  Unlike last time, Winston didn’t stop to sleep. No, he had to keep going. He had to get back to the pack. Winston didn’t know why, but he needed someone. He couldn’t stand being alone for much longer. The grief and guilt and failure all pressed down on him, slowing his ascent.

  Winston began to consume the stone around the cliff. It didn’t provide much energy, but it was enough. An hour later, he set off once more, taking a final look at the trees before turning away. They were strong. Even in a world meant to kill them, they survived, growing out of a tiny patch of dirt. Winston had to do the same.

  Eventually, Winston truly could go no longer. On his first trip up the mountain, he’d taken days. Now, he’d covered half the distance in a few hours. Still, he was exhausted. He’d pushed himself as hard as he could, but now it was time to rest.

  Winston curled up under a ledge, looking up at the sky. It was still snowing, and Winston did his best to take comfort in the beauty.

  Finally, he closed his eyes.

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  ?? ′?? ? ??` ??

  For the first time since he’d found the pack, the nightmares were back. Winston let out a soft whimper. They were so much worse than before. Joining the images of Roderic and Renir’s deaths was the pup. Lying dead upon the rock floor of the cave.

  Winston shook his head, desperately trying to clear his thoughts, but it was in vain. The images had burned themselves into his mind, a monument to his failures.

  So he trudged through the snow, ignoring the icy bite of the cold as he moved.

  On his way, an Acolyte 1 deer found him. It had attacked him, but Winston defeated it with ease. Then, he let it go. He couldn’t bear to take any lives. Not now. He knew he had to if he wanted to grow, but that could wait until tomorrow. Today, he would only mourn.

  As he made his way up the slope, Winston felt his anger begin to fade. His grief only grew.

  Then, as he grew closer and closer to the cave, he heard them. Their howls were unlike any that he’d heard before. They were so full of emotion. But at the same time, they were empty. They got louder as he approached, echoing in his head.

  When the camp came into sight, he saw them. Gathered around in a circle, some howling at the empty sky while others nuzzled up to the bodies.

  Winston stopped a few meters away. He’d only been with them for a few weeks. He didn’t belong with the bodies that he barely knew. Instead, he mourned silently from afar.

  An hour later, most of the wolves cleared, walking back into the cave. Winston slowly moved towards the bodies, feeling a pang in his chest as he got a good look at the tiny pup. Slowly, he crept forward, making sure not to disturb the pup’s mother, who was sleeping beside the body. Winston nuzzled the fragile pup.

  After a few moments, Winston trudged towards the cave, leaving the mother alone to grieve.

  As he entered the stone shelter, Winston saw the alpha. It tilted its head to the side in anticipation.

  Winston sighed. He knew what the wolf was asking. But he had failed. He hadn’t killed Thalysar. He hadn’t avenged the fallen wolves. Winston looked away, avoiding eye contact with the alpha. The wolf breathed a breath of disappointment before turning and walking away.

  Winston returned to his nest, weaving around grieving wolves. When he sat down, he pulled the crystal out of his spatial ring, inspecting it.

  [Glassheart(Serath) - Epic]

  Winston's eyes widened as he tried to sell it to the System Shop to see the price. 3000 credits. That was enough for him to purchase [Energy Conversion Core]! His excitement was gone a second later as he remembered the dead wolves.

  Before he sold it, Winston wanted more information. He needed to know what a glassheart was and why the rarity was so high. Scrolling through the information page of the shop, he found what he was looking for. The System Shop had a wealth of information on the Caltherans. Winston knew all the info was verified by the System, but it still felt strange to be buying information about the Caltherans from the Caltherans.

  Winston hesitated for a moment as he glanced at the price. 282 credits. It would leave him with enough to purchase the skill, which was 3750 credits, but it was still a hefty price.

  Winston closed his eyes as he purchased the information. Even though he was ready, he still flinched in surprise as a torrent of knowledge entered his mind. He hadn’t fully known what to expect; the information he’d purchased in the past had come both as knowledge and as a System screen he could pull up at any time.

  When he’d absorbed everything, he felt his head begin to ache. Despite having slept just hours before, he needed to rest, but there was one thing he needed to do first. Now that he knew what the Glassheart was, he could sell it.