Chapter 77: Cht 77: Recognition
Gin remained still for a long time.
Even with his spiritual sense tightly woven around the area within a few tens of meters, he hesitated to move. His silver-blue form glimmered faintly beneath the forest’s filtered light, nestled in the shade of a half-collapsed ridge and surrounded by the lingering remnants of blood energy mixed with elemental. His body still ached, dull pulses of pain trailing through his muscles like fading aftershocks from an earthquake but the greater turmoil lay in his mind.
How was he supposed to approach them?
The others the ones he’d once traveled beside, spoken with, stayed beside as more than just a companion were just ahead. Unaware that the wolf prowling the ruined landscape was the very person they might be mourning. Or worse... fearing. He had no idea what he looked like to them now. His body, majestic as it was, was foreign even to him. He still hadn’t come to terms with it.
Would they attack first and ask questions later?
Would they even believe him if he tried to explain?
The uncertainty gnawed at him.
He lowered his head slightly, letting his ears fold back, eyes still closed but spiritual sense wide and alert. Every breath he took came with a strange blend of wild instinct and primal reasoning. The wolf’s sharp nose picked up faint scents burnt earth, corrupted blood, the metallic tinge of recently spilled elemental energy. But his primal awareness filtered those details into thought, into concern, into strategy.
’Think Gin. Don’t rush.’
So he stayed hidden among jagged stones and shattered tree roots, pacing occasionally in slow, cautious circles. Each step came with care. His muscles tensed and relaxed in rhythm, his balance gradually adjusting to this new form. There was grace in the movement, even wounded but it lacked the ease of instinct. He was still adapting.
Then it happened.